To browse Academia. This project specifically examines this phenomenon through a study o f youth clothing consumption. Dakar is a consumer society with particular consumer dynamics. In addition to class, patron-clientage and kinship are central to understanding contemporary patterns o f consumption in Dakar. Clothing is a commodity that has been radically altered by urbanization and the globalization o f manufacturing processes and advertising. Clothing is also a realm o f cultural expression that has particular importance to Dakarois and it is the focus o f many urban c In Dakar, footwear and clothing markets are unstoppable forces of urbanism and modernity They are packed with merchandise, and they sprawl beyond the official boundaries set by the municipality.
For better or for worse, footwear and apparel keep the city in motion, give it life, and keep it current with global trends. The movement of traders and transmigrants through Dakar and global' ly'dispersed Senegalese communities informs style and taste at "home" and "abroad. The "social Ufe" of Sebago and its various symbolic meanings assigned by Senegalese in Dakar and New York illustrates: 1 the complex nature of global flows and 2 that the city and its transmigrant communities share a continuous social space.
This picture of complex flows and exchanges suggests the redefinition of city and market boundaries. Second-hand clothes, advertised as brand new commodities, sold in street markets or small shops are a common landscape of contemporary Dakar. After the economic crisis that has stricken Europe since , and the implementation of FRONTEX, international migration from Senegal to Europe has declined and newer forms of mobility and motility have emerged. The sale of second-hand clothing from China, Europe and the United States seems to be the main resource for some young men trying to access the economic and social space of migrants, and this is a popular outlet on the path to becoming an active member of society by gaining the social and economic status of grown men.
The motility of their merchandise through transnational spaces bestows upon these young traders an aura of motility, which increases their merchandise value and their own social status, blending them into the reality of returning migrants. The objective of this article is to open up a discussion about the close link between second-hand clothing commerce, migration and the experience of manhood in contemporary Senegal, taking a cultural approach. The focus of this research is the ways in which young men use the cultural frameworks of migration in the selling of second-hand clothing in order to gain the resources and the social status of men.
This article adds to the growing academic research that studies migration not only as a space—time movement, but also as a cultural configuration involving interactions between the structures, contexts and actions of those who move, those who stay and those who receive migrants. Fashion constitutes a vital part of material culture and is an expression of sociocultural and aesthetical practices in Senegal. Manifold features have shaped sartorial styles for centuries, with sartorial mastery interweaving local techniques and global trends up to today.
