Harmattan comes with cold, dry wind, dust, and sometimes heat. Dressing during harmattan can be quite a tricky one to pull off. This is because it is usually cold in the mornings, hot and dusty by noon, and either cold or hot by night.
In the mornings it is cold but not on all days, as some days start by being hot while some start cold. It would be wise to dress in a way or manner to suit the weather and protect our body from the toll of the weather.
Fluctuations in this season’s weather can get many people confused when preparing to go out. This is because one minute it’s cold and the other minute it’s blazing hot. Get your pen and scribble down with me as Fashionera tells you ten fashionable ways to dress in harmattan.
10 Fashionable Ways to Dress In Harmattan
1. Trouser/Pant
2. Trench Coat
3. Hat
4. Sweatpant
5. Cardigan
6. Jacket
7. Glasses
8. Mufflers
9. Head Warmers
10. Socks
1. Trousers/ Pants
Trousers or pants are a good staple to own for this harmattan season. Not all pants go for this season because of the switch from hot to cold or cold to hot occasionally. Stay away from light clothes in the morning if you are prone to cold.
When going to shop for this harmattan season it would be wise to shop for trousers or pants that are made of cotton, polyester, or good thermal materials. The material your pants are made of would go a long way to help cover you from the effects of the weather or expose you to it.
Choose pants that cover you from your waist all the way to your knees and ankles. It is better to cover up for the cold in the early hours of the morning. Pants like sweatpants, denim, and thermal pants go a long way during this season.
2. Trench coat
A trench coat is a long jacket that reaches below the kneecap or to your calf or ankle. This is a vintage staple worn by many fashion lovers. This season makes you just remember your trench coat again right?
I know you would ask yourself how a trench coat would come into play this season. But not to worry about that though, stay tuned while I tell you why a trench coat is an Important staple this season.
If you experience harmattan, then you would know how dreadful the cold airy breeze can brush harshly against your skin in the early hours of the morning. Now you see why a good trench coat is your friend this season.
Dressing up for the weather can be quite tricky, this is because it’s cold in the early hours of the morning and hot by noon. When dressing up it would be highly advisable to pick up a trench coat.
It is easy to pull off a trench coat as a fashion staple in harmattan. All you have to do is to dress up in pants and a top, then you wear a trench coat over it. A trench coat acts like a protective covering against the weather.
3. Hat
Hats are very important this season. A hat is a piece of clothing for the head, it covers our head, face, and ears from the direct sun. Harmattan season comes with a lot of dry heat and sunlight. A hat would do good justice to our head.
Hats protect our heads from direct contact with sunlight and cover the scalp from sunburn. Imagine getting a sunburn from the sun, that would be very uncomfortable for the skin, especially this season.
A hat is a unisex piece of clothing anyone can wear be it male or female. There are different hats, like bucket hats, raffia hats, magicians hats, face caps, and berets. But do well to pick a hat that covers your head and has room to shade your face and neck against the sun.
4. Sweatpant
Sweat pants are a popular fashion staple. They are good because they trap air to make you warm during the cold. These pants have become a favorite fashion staple with a cult following. Rocking sweatpants during the harmattan is a good idea because of its functionality.
You can either pair them up or dress them down. Because of the demand for sweatpants and their ability to mutate in fashion, they are produced in different colors, patterns, and materials. Some pants come in thick material that prevents you from cold while others come in light or soft mesh material.
Because of the demand for sweatpants in the fashion world, there are some brands that produce sweatpants that look corporate but still offer a cozy effect and feel. Sweats can be quite fashionable when worn and paired properly.
They give you a great variety of options to choose from or create. You can pair them up to look cooperated with a suit jacket and can also tone them down with a simple hoodie or top.
5. Cardigan
Cardigans are a big fashion staple and have now become attractive when paired rightly. This season brings in its own little Weatherly gifts for us. As dry cold air blows through the atmosphere twice a day, this is enough reason to make a cardigan your new best friend.
People who struggle with health issues related to cold are warned to stay away from direct contact with cold. Cardigans come in different colors, textures, and sizes. Most come in wool or cotton preferably or a mix of both. You can rock a cardigan with plain pants or jeans, or you can mix it up just the way you like it.
Some cardigans are light while others are lazy. The hack of wearing a cardigan is to look at the weather forecast for the day. This would enable you to know how hot or cold the day would be.
This would make you know how to rock a cardigan better. Wearing a cardigan can leave you looking stranded on some days. You think it might be cold today, and only for the sun to come up against your fashion sense that day, lol.
Checking the weather before you dress up helps your know if you would rock a cardigan for the whole day or if you can have it like a jacket, just handy for when you need it. So that you don’t have to appear inappropriate in your choice of clothes.
6. Jacket
Jackets are a piece of clothing to die for this harmattan season. A good jacket makes you appear more put together and keeps the cold away from your upper body. Asides from the perks of having many pockets in a jacket which is a plus for jacket lovers. Jackets can be quite fashionable if worn rightly.
You can wear them with a top, trousers, shorts, skirts, and jumpers. They are unisex and can be worn by both a male and a female. You can also pair them up or tone them down, depending on how you want to appear or go.
7. Glasses
Because of the sudden rise of dust in the air this period, eyeglasses or shades have become a fashion must-have this season. Harmattan causes dust and wind to blow from time to time, it gets very dusty during the day.
Glasses protect your eyes from direct sunlight and dust particles. This is the reason glasses make it to the top of our list this season. With all the turbulent dust, dry air, and heat, it is important that we protect our eyes from dust in order to avoid germs or bad eyesight.
Protective glasses are not only for fashion, they can protect the eyes from the effect of the weather. Instead of allowing the whole dust in the atmosphere gets to our eyes or direct sun which burns by noon. This is where protective glasses come to play.
8. Mufflers
You can literally feel some air of comfort when you hear about mufflers in cold weather. This season brings in the cold in the mornings and at night even tho it happens at a high probability but not every day. Because of the cold, this season mufflers have become a thing again for the season.
Mufflers are a piece of clothing that looks like a long piece of a necktie or really lengthy scarf. They can be used as scarves for the neck, which can prevent cold from getting to the neck, or for fashion statements. Mufflers can come in wool, polyester, or cotton.
You can rock a muffler on whatever you wear, be it casual wear or a corporate outfit. Luckily for muffler lovers this piece of clothing never goes out of style or looks inappropriate as long as the weather persists, it’s usage.
9. Head warmers
Most people call a head warmer a Bennie, this is also correct as different demographics have a name for their own things. Whether you call it a head warmer or a Bennie, anyone is correct.
A head warmer or Bennie keeps the head warm and prevents air from getting into your head. There are different Bennie, the free ones made from plaiting of wool, the ones made from pure cotton, or the spandex types.
Head warmers have become an important staple to have this harmattan season. Rocking them the right way can be quite fashionable. Good pair of jeans with a colored or plain top goes well with a head warmer or Bennie.
10. Socks
Let’s talk about our good old piece of clothing which is socks. Socks are made for the feet, they are used to prevent cold or dust from getting in contact with the feet. Cold can make it hard to walk especially in the dry season.
Socks would go a long way to help keep your feet warm. They come in various lengths, colors, and thicknesses. Some socks are made of wool while some have a percentage of polyester in them and others pure cotton.
Persons who are very prone to cold or excess air should make sure their feet are covered during the cold. Patients with arthritis should make sure that during the cold they wear socks and keep their feet away from the cold bare ground.
Conclusion
Harmattan comes with its own baggage. The cold air by morning, the hot breeze by noon, and cold air again by night. In this season one has to be careful with how they dress. It is important to wear protective clothing this season. Dressing appropriately matters a lot during the harmattan. Cold mornings or nights can sting because of the weather, this is where protective clothes come to play. Clothes like trousers, cardigans, hats, beanies, socks, glasses, jackets, trench coats, and mufflers would go a long way to help keep you protected this season. Please always remember to use sunscreen and moisturize properly to keep your skin soft and supple to avoid dryness and cracks.