#kareeba

[piononostalgia]

The Kareeba, the styled, open-neck, over-the-pants shirt and matching trousers suit has become the universally accepted dress for formal occasions, work and leisure wear. Elsewhere, It is known by such names as the safari suit and leisure suit, but in Jamaica the Kareeba —a stylized contraction of Caribbean attire— is something special. Although it has existed in various forms in various tropical hot countries, it was not widely known in Jamaica until a whimsical couturier named Ivy Ralph decided to branch out from bush jackets into "a total look," and called it Kareeba, a name now generally applied to the whole genre, regardless of manufacturer.

From Kareeba: Jamaica's ‘Uniform, originally published in The New York Times on March 24, 1976. In it, Prime Minister Michael Manley is pictured wearing a model.

[gabstamatic]

One of my favourite facts: Jamaican fashion designer Ivy Ralph (mother of actress Sheryl Lee Ralph) created the iconic ‘Kareeba’ suit worn by many political leaders in the Caribbean.