Object Details
maker
Ruffins, Fath Davis
Description
This dashiki, a garment with West African origins and associations, was made and worn by Fath Davis Ruffins. Born in 1954 in Washington, DC and raised in the city, Ruffins was educated at Radcliffe (BA) and Harvard for doctoral work and has been a curator the National Museum of American History since 1981. She made the garment herself in 1970 when she was 16. Derived from a Yoruba word, a dashiki is a loose-fitting, colorful tunic that was initially worn chiefly by men in West Africa but adopted in the U.S. by men and women alike, worn with either pants, a skirt, or matching headwrap (headwrap is not pictured here). During the late 1960s dashikis became popular in the United States because of young people who wanted to signal their connection with African cultures, Pan-African and Black Power movements.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Gift of Fath Davis Ruffins
Date made
1970
ID Number
1984.0826.02
accession number
1984.0826
catalog number
1984.0826.02
Object Name
Dress, 2-Piece
Other Terms
Dress, 2-Piece; Entire Body; Main Dress; Female
Measurements
overall, mounted: 31 1/2 in x 22 in x 13 in; 80.01 cm x 55.88 cm x 33.02 cm
part, dress, flat: 31 in x 33 in; 78.74 cm x 83.82 cm
See more items in
Home and Community Life: Costume
Clothing & Accessories
Data Source
National Museum of American History
general subject association
Women's History
Black power—United States
African Americans--Civil rights
African American women
Link to Original Record
Record ID
nmah_373625