Johannesburg - As the elections draw closer, people will see a lot more electioneering on their doorsteps.
But the focus this year isn’t only on who you’re voting for, but also on what election garb they’re wearing. These are some of the favourites:
The Beret
Let’s start with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
Julius Malema’s party brought “sexy” back to the elections when its members began wearing their red berets last year.
The popular headgear spread rapidly around the country and now you can spot at least one person a day wearing it.
EFF, whose members made the revolutionary beret relevant again, said they took their inspiration from Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez and Thomas Sankara.
Although red berets are usually military berets, they have become both a statement of political allegiance and acute trendiness, with some people wanting one purely because it looks cool.
Green with fashion envy, the ANC followed suit and revived its long-forgotten red beret – looking like a copycat in the process.
The ANC denied this, in turn calling the EFF a copycat for stealing the look of Umkhonto we Sizwe soldiers.
Never one to be left out of the style loop, the DA introduced its own beret at an election rally in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, early this week.
With a dark blue beret on her head, DA leader Helen Zille, maintained that the party’s main election headgear was the blue hardhat, but it also sports floppy hats and cricket hats.
The T-Shirt
Once upon a time people would clamour for free oversized party T-shirts, but the election fashion game has recently become a tad sleeker.
More popular evolutions are the EFF tank top worn widely by young women at the party’s recent manifesto launch.
The DA and ANC have played it safe with colourful golf shirts but the ANC has upped the ante by introducing slim-fit printed T-shirts through their “My ANC My Swagg” campaign.
The Party Jacket
It began with the black, green and yellow leather jacket that party president Jacob Zuma made famous as he blazed his campaign trail in 2009 and now the ANC has rolled out a hipper range of grey baseball jackets to attract the younger crowd. The grey-sleeved leather jacket has the ANC logo embroidered on the front left side.
DA spokesman Mmusi Maimane also attempted to bring his party back in fashion when he sported an overall suit and sports floppy hat at the “real jobs” march last month.
The “Trompies” look made him stand out from his peers and reminded us of the long-lived trend of political party overall jackets.
ANC members have been known to don their bright yellow overall jackets at rallies and party meetings.
The loose-fitting coat is usually worn by labourers over their ordinary clothes for protection against dirt or heavy wear.
The Unofficial Fashion Statements
Where there are trends there will always be people altering them to express their own individuality.
Such is the case with a group of young women who attended the ANC rally held at Makhulong Stadium in Tembisa last month dressed in bra tops and booty shorts. They were there in support of the ANC Youth League – as was printed on the back of their red and white short-shorts.
Great excitement erupted on Twitter when ANC snapback caps were launched unofficially on the social network.
The black caps were welcomed by young ANC supporters because of their design and the recent popularity of snapback caps. Snapbacks are adjustable, flat-brimmed caps that were first seen on baseball players and are now a part of urban hip hop culture. - The Star