Dress in Benin

Video Transcript

“Many people in Benin wear traditional clothing. For men and women the traditional garb there is called a ‘bomba.’ For men, they will wear a long tunic shirt, a long, loose tunic shirt with loose trousers. And women will wear a wrap skirt called a ‘pagne,’ and then just a loose top. That’s the most traditional garb in Benin. Many people also wear Western clothing, jeans and khakis, things like that. And that’s perfectly fine as well. For service members that are going to Benin, just remember that everything that you wear needs to be clean and pressed, and it can’t have holes or rips or anything like that in it. Personal appearance is very important to people, so how you present yourself means a lot. For men you should be wearing slacks and maybe a button down shirt or a polo shirt with either nice shoes or nice leather sandals. For women I’d go a little bit more conservative in your clothing. Just make sure that your shoulders are covered and that your legs are covered to about the knee. No shorts, no spaghetti straps or anything like that. Just make sure that you’re just a little bit more modest in your clothing.”

In this video, a Beninese expert discusses clothing in Benin.