Fashion faux pas

According to Wikipedia, a fashion faux pas is defined as 'an unfortunate error in fashion etiquette.' With the weather getting cooler (some nights it gets below 50 degrees Fahrenheit), the fashion scene in Gaborone is definitely changing. However, it seems that I am the one who has been committing the most offending fashion faux pas recently.

First, I broke out some of my long-sleeved shirts to wear to work. One day, I arrived wearing a bright orange one (which happens to be one of my favorites). Upon entering the office, I was informed that bright orange is the color of the opposition party and that people likely think that, by wearing this shirt, I am making a statement against the President.

Next, I often wear short socks with my Keen (sandal-like) shoes while I walk to work. It is miraculous how a simple pair of socks can prevent sand and rocks from entering the shoes. During the summer, I took the socks off when I arrived at work-- because even I know that socks and sandal-type shoes are NOT okay. But, with the cooler weather, it seems I have failed to remove my socks in a timely manner and a male coworker informed me that this was... as I already stated NOT okay.

Finally, my worst offense seems to be parading around with 'clothes pegs' on my person. In order to make it easier to take big steps during my walk to work, I used clothes pins (aka clothes pegs) to raise the hemline of one of my long skirts to just below my knees. When I arrived at work, I pinned the clothes pins to the straps of my backpack. Seeing the clothes pins on my backpack, one of my co-workers asked what the pins were for. I told her that I had used them to pin up my skirt during my walk to work. Her jaw dropped (literally) and she and all of the other people in the office began an exasperated flow of conversation in Setswana punctuated my the word pegs (aka pins). They asked if the pegs were EXPOSED during my walk and if anyone SAW them. I explained that by pinning up my skirt I was able to take longer, more comfortable steps and that YES, people had likely seen the pegs. My co-workers were shocked. I had to leave the office- but they were STILL talking about it when I left. So, note to self: don't wear pegs on your clothing.

I didn't, however, remove the clothes pins from my backpack and I continue to get questions and comments about them from strangers and acquaintances alike. It occurred to me that the clothes pins might symbolize something that I was unaware of- maybe, by sporting these pegs, I was projecting to the world that I am possessed by demons or 'available for hire.' But, alas, I've asked around about this and it seems that the only offense I make by having the pegs on my person is a simple fashion faux pas.