How do you tell a Yoruba bride from other brides? The answer isn’t far-fetched: by her aso oke regalia. Most Yoruba brides don beautiful aso oke styles on their wedding day.
It’s their signature traditional bridal attire. It’s what distinguishes a Yoruba bride from brides of other tribes. The best part is she doesn’t wear it alone. This attire also makes up the matching outfits for couples from Yoruba land. It’s why the Internet is filled with pictures of a bride in her aso oke Iro and Buba and her groom in a matching Agbada.
If you’re about to tie the knot traditionally with the love of your life, you’re on the right resource.
This post will show you the latest aso oke styles for Yoruba brides. What’s more? The designs you’ll find on this page are evergreen. In other words, they never go out of style. So, when you save them as inspiration, even if your wedding is next year, you can always recreate these styles.
It All Begins with the Aso oke Fabric
Aṣọ òkè ( pronounced as ah-sure-okay) is a hand-woven fabric peculiar to the Yoruba people of Nigeria. They weave this fabric and use it to make outfits such as Agbada (men’s gowns), fila (hats), Iro and Buba (women’s wrappers and blouses), gele (head tie), etc.
Aso-Oke comes from Aso Ilu Oke or Aso-Ofi, translated as clothes from the top of a mountain or top cloth. From its translation, you can tell it denotes a cloth of high status.
The fabric features multiple colors and patterns, mostly stripes. It comes in different types namely:
- Sanyan: This aso oke fabric is woven from wild silk and cotton yarns.
- Alaari: Craftsmen use locally or synthetically grown cotton with shiny threads and perforated patterns to make this type.
- Etu: bears dark indigo colors with tiny white stripes noted for their simplicity
Like every other trend, aso oke has evolved from the initial native styles they were only made for. For instance, we have them now as skirts, jumpsuits, jackets, bags, shoes, and accessories with standout details.
Fashion designers like Kenneth Ize are changing the narrative by using this fabric to design contemporary pieces like this suit Tiwa Savage wore for her Celia album promotion shoot:
The fabric has also been modified to different colors and prints beyond the regular stripes. Some are plain, some feature embroidery while some come with floral touches.
Why Pick the Latest Aso Oke Styles for Yoruba Couples?
Imagine dancing into your wedding venue with your beautiful aso oke outfit and matching gele.
Picture your groom in a matching agbada attire and envisage how he’d dote on you as he appreciates the beautiful diva he’s tying the knots with.
Feel the flashes of different cameras blowing kisses at you as you smile, strut, and dance with your groom.
How delightful would it be?
Well, you can only get all the attention, become the cynosure of all eyes on your day, and grace fashion magazines like Svelte if your wedding attire is superb.
The latest asooke styles help you achieve that goal.
Just get a good aso oke fabric dealer or a great designer like Deola Sagoe to handle your sartorial needs and you’ll be living your bridal dreams with little effort.
Even years after your marriage, when you look at your wedding photo hanging on the wall of your sitting room, you’ll be proud of the bride you were.
Enough of the daydream. Let’s see the gorgeous aso oke styles we curated to inspire you.
They’re all a display of creativity from fashion designers aimed to satisfy chic brides like you who love to turn heads on their day. And to spice things up, these aso oke designs also come with a shoulder sash known as aso oke iborun/ipele in Yoruba.
This sash can be the same color as your outfit or a different fabric altogether.
Furthermore, you can add a slit to your asooke skirt. Yeah, it’s all part of the contemporary tweaks, you know. And if you don’t want to embellish them with embroidery, opt for beads and rhinestones. Or go for a colorful top cloth fabric or maybe mix and match two different colors or different shades of one color together.
But don’t stop there.
Accessorize too.
Do this with your coral beads, beautiful earrings, bracelets, and a matching hand fan. Fans are dual-purposed as they’ll help to keep you cool while adding more accents to your look.
Once you recreate these aso oke styles, rest assured you’ll stand out on your day.
Here they are:
