How to tie a Nigerian "Gele" using Aso-oke.

In Western Africa, Nigeria to be precise, the "gele" is an accessory worn with a traditional Nigerian outfit. It is usually worn by females with a traditional attire, for specail occasions like weddings, naming ceremonies, burials, church services, and religious celebrations.

The gele can be tied with different textures of cloth material, but it is usually tired with an aso-oke.
The aso-oke is a hand woven material , it  is popular amongst the western part of Nigeria and varies in colors and texture.

The aso-oke is usually found in fashion stores in Nigeria and in other parts of West Africa.
For foreigners who do not live in this country, there are websites that sell them online,

I have never used any of them, hence I can not vouch for their authenticity, below is a url of one of
such websites :  http://www.africastyles.com/Accessory/aso-oke2.shtml.

For all those culturally diverse and broadminded females out there, this is a great skill to learn! So hop on and let's go on a fashion journey through a diverse culture.

Step 1: Spreading out the "gele"

The first step is to spread out the aso-oke, and tie on the head firmly, like you would tie a typical head scarf.

The aso-oke can vary in texture and length. As a beginner,it is advised to use a "gele" with medium length and texture, to prevent things from getting too complicated.

To stand out in the crowd, use a multicolored aso-oke, if you are comfortable with just looking nice and not making a statement with your "gele", then a plain colored aso-oke will do just fine.

Comments

[Pbaby]

Thanks so much for your wonderful comments

[FR12]

me yello too

[beadydani]

At last I found a tutorial on Gele, I am so glad you posted this. I  love Nigerian attire but don't know how to tie Gele, so I leave it out. But I will give this a try.

Thanks for a lovely and carefully explained tutorial.

[dupsies]

Thank you for educating people on how to tie an Aso Oke  head wrap. Dupsie's African Clothing is an authentic African Clothing store. All our items are authentic and made in Africa. We carry various types of Aso-Oke's (SIlk, Net, Double Net, Damask Aso Oke, Metallic Aso-Oke and more) Here is a link to the Aso-Oke's we have:

http://dupsies.com/Dstore/african-headwraps-asooke-c-81.html

Thank you once again for the post.

[canida]

Neat, I've wondered how that was done!  Very clear, thanks.

[Pbaby]

You're welcome and thanks for commenting.

[Z..]

Excellent! I saw this headdress at a festival a few days ago and wondered how it was done!

Good timing!

[Pbaby]

Thanks so much for your wonderful comments. Glad you found it helpful.

[insomniaSAH]

You're so pretty!

I learned how to tie one of these from a website a few months back and was actually wearing a variation to keep my head warm today (dropped below 50*F in my area). I love how snug they are and how they keep my hair out of the way :3

GREAT 'ible.

[Pbaby]

Thanks for the comments.. The girl in the picture is not me though, fyi ;-)...