Talking of glamorous and gorgeous traditional attire and outfits suitable for brides and grooms during traditional weddings and engagements, South Africa has some of the best for such colorful events. The Umembeso is an important event in a woman’s life and she needs to look spectacular on her big day. So, we selected 25 Umembeso Zulu traditional attire for couples that you will really admire.
The Umembeso Zulu traditional attire we are going to list and talk about here are classified under these categories
- Umembeso dresses for makoti
- Traditional attire for Umembeso
- Makoti shweshwe attire for Umembeso
Umembeso Dresses for Makoti
Umembeso dress is a traditional attire worn by a bride for the traditional occasion that precedes payment of bride price. It is an important occasion during the traditional marriage rite which must be done before finalizing things. Some of the finest traditional attire for brides, suitable for this glamorous event is discussed below.
1. Handmade Zulu Beaded Vest Necklace
Just exactly as it is, the handmade Zulu beaded vest necklace attire will make the best out of your day. Indeed, this is purely traditional and classy. It is perfect for your Umembeso ceremony, and you are sure to draw attention when you step out to meet the crowd. This traditional dress style is laced with beads of multi-colors. The top is made of beads of different colors which are weaved together with hand to make a short blouse, blended with a fitted yellow gown that covers from the chest downwards.
The style comes with a round single circle scarf which is made with beads of different colors. You can apply your jewelry to match the dress and your makeup in moderation.
2. Fitted Satin Gown with Cocktail Base
Check out this cool attire, it’s undoubtedly an amazing and classic style for a bride to rock for her Umembeso. The excellent touch of modern-day design which embeds the rich cultural heritage of the Zulu makes the attire what it is. The gown is made with satin fabric which is laced with stones from the middle of the body to the knee area. It is sleeveless, with the upper part designed with multicolor beads.
The dress is suitable for your Umembeso ceremony and wedding ceremony. You are going to look gorgeous in this dress in combination with your jewelry and full make-up. The attire can also be combined with other Zulu wedding accessories to bring out the best beauty in you.
3. Zulu Traditional Attire For Umembeso
The color combination of this outfit is second to none, from the skirt to the top, and the Inkehli (hat). The attire is made from Ankara fabric, which has multiple color designs. The top is white fabric, and the shoulder to the chest is covered with animal skin blended with multi-color fabric design and beads, while the Inkheli is made from blue fabric which blends well with the outfit.
You can rock this attire for your Umembeso ceremony, lobola, as well as wedding ceremony. In addition to that, you can rock this attire with other accessories such as beaded hand bands, hand batons laced with colorful beads, and other accessories.
4. Pinky Zulu Traditional Attire
This is another incredible Umembeso attire to rock on your special traditional outing day. The pink color blended with other bright colors will stand you out in any crowd on such a glamorous occasion. The hat, the top, and the skirt, coupled with other Zulu traditional fashion accessories to match the attire is a typical representation of the cultural heritage and endowment of the Zulu culture and tradition. With cool and nice makeup, you are good to go with this attire.
5. Fitted, Loose-Chest Gown with Bead Overlay
You can be gorgeous and sophisticated with your Umembeso traditional attire while bearing comfortability and simplicity in mind. With this dress, you are not looking weird with too many accessories, the watchword here is Keep It Simple. The satin gown is fitted and decorated with colorful beads. The hat is also designed from the fabric.
This simple and incredible style is perfect for both your Umembeso and wedding ceremony, and it captures the full cultural heritage and tradition of the Zulu tribe in a classic form. With your full makeup, you are sure to rock the day gloriously and shine like a queen.
6. The Queen Warrior Traditional Attire
Here is the outfit that makes you look like a queen, a warrior, and a hero on your Umembeso day. This dress depicts the image of a warrior queen, it also establishes and showcases the rich cultural heritage of the Zulu tribe and people. Made from a red shiny fabric, with a closed chest design of soft animal skin that covers from the shoulder down to the first quarter of the body, the attire comes with full options of traditional accessories, a beaded baton, and a small shield. The hat is also made of pure red fabric. The gown covers the entire body down to the feet.
7. The Zulu Cowry Bib Attire
This is another magnificent traditional style in its biggest form of creativity. Kudos to the makers of this outfit for their craftsmanship. The bib is made up of tiny dots of red and yellow beads, with red beads around the circumference of the bib at the tip, as well as the other tip end round the neck. The bib is then overlaid with straight lines of cowries that run from the tip end around the neck down to the tip end at the chest region. The hat is also made of red fabric with a multi-color band at the base with u-shaped hanging beads attached at the front of the hat.
8. Sleeveless Fluffy Dress With Beadwork
Beautiful, classy, definitive, just go ahead and name it, you are not far from the truth. This attire defines in absolute terms the vibrant cultural genealogy and ancestral legacy of the most populous tribe of South Africa. The traditional outfit is suitable for your Umembeso, lobola, and wedding ceremony.
The styling of this outfit with enough beadwork is indeed incredible. The beaded top is a sleeveless, fitted, and short blouse that is joined to a long skirt made from red silk and fine linen fabrics. The skirt is tight at the waistband and loses out from there, down to the feet, forming a conical shape and in layers. The hat too is made from a piece of red fabric with a multi-color band around the base. You can rock this dress with your earrings, necklace, wristwatch, bangles, and makeup which should be applied moderately.
9. Traditional Beaded Gown For Umembeso
This is an absolutely incredible outfit for your Umembeso ceremony. The astonishing colors of the beads and their creative arrangement is second to none. It is yet another wonderful way of showing the world the beauty of the Zulu tradition and its cultural endowment. For this attire, the top is rich with colorful beads of yellow, blue, red, green, and black. The top has an open chest and is sleeveless. The heavily beaded top is attached to a plain red silk fabric at the waist region and runs downward to make a fitted skirt. The hat is also laced with colorful stripes of beads, and the wristbands are as well made from beads of different colors.
Traditional Attire For Umembeso
For your Umembeso ceremony, here are some excellent and stunning apparels that will make your day glorious and glamorous, while maintaining the uniqueness of the Zulu cultural heritage and tradition.
10. Zulu Umembeso Cultural Attire for Couple
This is a cool way for couples to show the world what the Zulu culture is all about. The outfit expresses the rich culture and tradition of the people of the Zulu kingdom and how they have cherished what they’ve over the years until this present time. The colorful dress of the bride and the animal skin worn by the groom is a magnificent combination. This is suitable for the Umembeso and the traditional wedding ceremony.
11. Modern Zulu Umembeso Traditional Attire
Are you the type that loves a taste of the modern world while rocking the local traditional attire for Umembeso? You can absolutely have that by infusing the local traditional touch into your western lifestyle through this perfect blend of fashion. This is a pointer that you can rock your modern style for your Umembeso while still maintaining that unique and rich cultural heritage of the Zulu tribe.
Here, the bride has a milk color fabric, tightly fitted with an open cleavage. The dress is long and loose from somewhere close to the knee area downward to the feet. It is in the form of conical overlap and has black and milk color buttons attached to it. Also, the groom’s attire is western with a touch of tradition. It has a bib made of animal skin with designs on it and a scarf made from animal skin as well.
12. Traditional Zulu Attire For Umembeso
With this unique Zulu traditional Attire for Umembeso ceremony, it is a case of tradition in full display. Here, the groom is dressed in a bib made from pure animal skin and a skirt of pure leather skin with a leather hand band and a scarf made from the same animal skin the bib is made of.
Also, the bride is dressed in a skimpy blouse made from beads with amazing and beautiful designs, while the skirt has a beaded waistband with a puffy or blown-out white fabric of fine linen. The hat is made from black fabric with black-and-white stripes of a band at the base, in combination with other accessories.
13. Zulu Traditional Attire with Pure Animal Skin Bib
As far as Zulu cultural wears for weddings and Umembeso are concerned, taking your time to properly select what will be the best fit for you to wear for your Umembeso is important. This is mainly because you have a whole lot of outfits to select from. This is yet another great and beautiful attire that speaks volumes about the expression of the endowed Zulu kingdom’s cultural inheritance and traditional legacy.
The bib, which is worn over a vest, is made of pure animal skin, and the headpiece for the groom and his hand bands are made from the same animal skin. The bride’s hat on the other hand is made with red fabric and a multi-color band around the base. Additionally, you can rock this style with your earrings, necklace or neck pain, hand bands, bangles, and other accessories. Your makeup should be moderate for perfect and outstanding elegance.
14. Traditional Attire of Woolly Leather Strap
Who says you can’t be creative with your casual clothes by blending them with the traditional accessories available to form an amazing attire while still retaining the original plan of showcasing that Zulu tradition, cultural affiliation, and sense of belonging.
The groom’s outfit of jeans and a shirt missed with Zulu traditional items of clothing in this sense expresses it all. With a bib of animal skin long enough to reach the waist, and a wrap of leather strap around the waist, coupled with two woolly leather straps wrapped around the leg from the knee downwards and a leather cap, the expression can not be better done than this.
The bride’s outfit is magnificently displayed in a simple manner with a perfect touch of excellence. It is a long, white gown with an open chest and a multi-color design of fabric overlay in the chest area and from the knee downwards. The gown is sleeveless and fitted, with a small headscarf.
15. Simple Traditional Zulu Attire
This simple traditional apparel is perfect for that special day of Umembeso. The groom’s outfit is a pure blue fabric top with some patches of multi-color fabric around the shoulders, the center of the chest, and round the two edges of the short sleeve arms. While the bride’s dress is a plain white fabric with patches of multi-color fabric attached to sleeves, the center of the chest, waistband, and a big flap of the multi-color material attached to the gown at the knee area.
16. Umembeso Apparel Made With Ankara For Couples
This is a nice traditional outfit for couples, perfect for the umembeso ceremony. The style is a simple one but elegant at the same time. The woman’s gown is made from a well-designed Ankara fabric, also, the dress is loose from the top to a little below the knee, and it has short sleeves. The headscarf is also made from Ankara fabric.
For the man’s attire, the top is made of a white fabric material over black trousers. The Ankara patches are attached to the top’s shoulders, neck, down to the chest region, at the edge of the chest pocket, and round the edges of the wrists.
17. Umembeso Dress For Couples
The outfits are made of plain black and multi-color design fabric. The man’s attire is plainly made of plain black apparel with shweshwe fabric patches attached at the center of the chest from the neck down, and also at the edge of the breast pocket.
For the woman’s dress, the top is sleeveless, open chest, and fitted, with one side made of shweshwe fabric and the other side made of plain black fabric. The dress is fitted to the thigh and loses around the knee region. The skirt is long enough to touch the toe. This style can flow well with your jewelry and full makeup.
18. Couples Umembeso Apparel
You and your partner can look uniquely beautiful in your Umembeso ceremony by rocking this simple, classy and perfect Umembeso attire for couples. The man’s apparel is a plain fabric with a patch of the Ankara fabric sewn to it across both sides, while the wife’s dress is also made of plain fabric with Ankara designs sewn to it.
Makoti Shweshwe Attire For Umembeso
Newly married women can rock these apparel for Umembeso ceremonies. This apparel is made from Shweshwe fabric.
19. Long Ballroom Gown
This is simple and classy for Makoti, suitable for Umembeso ceremony. This style has a plain color fabric making up the upper part, with a round neck and body fitted, the sleeves are also short, terminating at the elbow. The upper part is then joined to a loose and free shweshwe fabric from the waist region down to the toe, and that’s it. With this dress, a necklace that matches is used, and other jewelry can be used, as well as makeup.
20. Shweshwe Skirt and Blouse with Fine Net Fabric
This style is good for a makoti to rock for an Umembeso ceremony, as it brings that cultural awareness in a simple form and manner. Here, the blouse is fitted with a loose and pleated flap at the waist, the two long-sleeved arms are made of fine linen net fabric, while the long skirt is also fitted and loose at the knee region, where it is attached to a plain net fabric that touches the toe and is also pleated. The scarf is made from the shweshwe fabric.
21. Shweshwe V Neck Flay Gown
Who says you can’t leave it simple and still express your love for the culture? Taking a look at the dress, it is made purely from a shweshwe fabric with a cool color. This is a short-sleeve dress with an open chest, which forms a v-neck shape. The dress is body fitted at the upper part and is loose from the waist down, with big pleats. The headscarf is made of shweshwe fabric as well. This apparel can be rocked alongside your jewelry and makeup, you are sure to be great and look elegant for the ceremony.
22. Off-Shoulder Shweshwe Traditional Attire
This is made from a combination of shweshwe and silk fabric. It’s another excellent way to showcase the rich cultural legacy of the Zulu tribe. You can always be expressive with this classic attire that tells of the cultural values and the importance of the Umembeso ceremony.
The dress has its top and headscarf made of a shweshwe fabric and the remaining lower part is made from silk fabric. The top is off-shoulder and fitted, it is joined to the plain silk fabric just before the abdominal region, and runs all the way down to the toe. The lower part is also fitted, and loses out around the knee region, at this point, the fabric is pleated. Moreover, this attire can be worn with your makeup and jewelry.
23. Tube Gown with Shweshwe and Silk
This style is made from both shweshwe and silk fabric, and it is unique, elegant, and simple. The shweshwe material is used as a headscarf and another scarf tied around the waist, while the plain white silk fabric makes the off-shoulder and fitted gown. This style can be combined with jewelry to make an excellent outfit.
24. V-neck and Open Sleeve Shweshwe Attire
This is another brilliant and creative apparel with a touch of excellence. It is made from a shweshwe fabric with design and plain silk fabric. The top has an open neck and the two short sleeves are a little open in the front, with the plain fabric around the edges, it also has a waistband made from the same fabric. The lower part runs from the first band down to the toe, which is fitted to the thigh and loses from there downwards. With a necklace that matches the outfit and other jewelry and make-up, you are fully ready for your Umembeso outing.
25. Fitted Gown with Loose Flaps
You can rock your Umembeso ceremony with this stunning apparel made from plain shweshwe fabrics. This is yet another irresistible way of showcasing what the Zulu tradition is all about. It also resonates with other African cultures. This wonderful style is a strapless dress that is well fitted to the body with a band strip of the plain fabric running across the shoulder. It is then joined to a loose and pleated flap of shweshwe fabric around the knee area, with another pleated flap that emerges from underneath the previous flap, which touches the toe. The bridesmaids in the picture also exhibit a similar style but with little differences from the bride’s.
