Traditional short print outfit

This shows a short traditional print dress. The Print outfit is the signature costume of the Krios of Sierra Leone. The Krios are an ethnic group living in Sierra Leone and are descendants of different groups of formerly enslaved people who were resettled by the British in what was called the “Province of Freedom”. They came from Britain, northern American states through Nova Scotia, Jamaica, and different African countries. They settled in Freetown between 1787 and 1885.

The Krio culture is therefore a mixture of different people from different parts of the world.
The Krio’s signature costume was the Kabaslot and Kotoku; a hybrid of Ghanaian and Victorian era clothing styles. Kabaslot and Kotoku in Akan means dress and sock. AfroAmerican, Afro Caribbean, and British Styles also influence the dress. The Kabaslot; a unique hand-cut embroidery fashion, was greatly influenced by the rich embroidered dresses of the wives of the slave owners. Slaves were given these dresses by the wives as an acknowledgement of their hard work. But the enslaved were resilient and tenacious to maintain their cultural identity. They transformed these gift dresses to reflect their culture.

The Kabaslot is made from a specific cotton design with a unique hand cut embroidery design across the chest, pockets and the back of the neckline. It is loose fitting, but the waistline is accentuated with a belt. It has a matching scarf. Sleeves are 3⁄4 or full length with ruffles around the cuff. It is normally ankle length. The base for the handcut embroidery was formally 100% cotton lace. Older women wore this unique dress style mostly.
Slaves coming from cold weather continued the wearing of this long-sleeved dress of full length until the Freetown weather became unbearable. Then they started making cotton print dresses but this time with a shorter and more comfortable dress length and sleeves. This is what we refer to as the print dress. It has two box pleats from the imperial waistline.

The heavily embroidered chest was still maintained but this time a ruffle (sometimes piped), was added to the bottom of the slant, about five inches from the hem. The ruffles moved from the hem of the long sleeves to the edge of the short sleeves. Embroidered pockets and back neckline still maintained.

This photo is of a short print dress.