Women apply their skills in clothing competence when acquiring clothing in order to produce dressed body displays to make heads turn. The desire for uniqueness is evident in their shopping practice for new and secondhand clothing as well as in visits to tailors. The cultivation of appearance is most dramatically evident in specific performance situations such as all-female kitchen parties (bridal showers) with demonstrative display of women’s dressed bodies in chitenge fashions. A significant dimension of owning a chitenge outfit is demonstrating it for others to see. At kitchen parties, women’s evaluation of and commentary on heterosexual behavior extends into preoccupations with stylish appearance and dress. The focus is on competitive display in sexually inflected dances, songs, presents, and clothes, as well as the status politics that take place between the participants.

The rapid postcolonial growth of the capital Lusaka, along with the huge expansion of the informal economy, has opened numerous developments in clothing practices and cultures of consumption. Zambians creatively make fashion their own in an increasingly globalised world where dress influences flow in multiple directions and the West no longer is the final arbiter of style. With focus on young women and men, the discussion examines the secondhand clothing market as a popular source for the fulfilment of clothing desires, while discussing the cultivation of appearances along with some of the dress dilemmas that arise from youth, gender, and location.