Literally white signifies purity, biblically, white represents prophecy, righteousness, and wisdom. We can find this symbolism within the Bible and popular culture.
White is a beautiful colour and you can never go wrong with it. White also symbolizes a fresh start, peace, and cleanliness. This colour has come to stay as permanent wear for women unlike when it was mostly the prominent wear for men.
Besides weddings, baptisms, and communions, white can appear in your everyday wardrobe. It can be a power outfit! From special occasions to any other, it can demand attention and allow you to appear sophisticated.
White also offers a sense of balance. Even though white works with every colour, it’s best not to pair it with any of its own variations and this is what some of our celebrities have achieved with this lovely colour. When you attend parties, you will not see them wear any other colour, in fact, they don’t even wear Aso-Ebi for parties so that they will not deviate from their all-white attire. They have mastered the art of looking elegant and special in this beautiful colour.
It takes someone who is stylish to stick to white attires alone and this is what this set of women have been able to achieve. On this list is, Princess Toyin Kolade, the Iyalaje Oodua of the source, though not until when she became the Iyalaje Oodua about a year ago that she started wearing white. This can be traced to the title she holds now. Even in this short while, she has proved beyond reasonable doubt that she can carry herself well in different white attires. She has also stepped up her style with her new beaded crown and the short staff she holds. She is a lover of gold hence pairs her outfit with such.
By all standards, Princess (Dr) Toyin Kolade is a successful businesswoman and socialite of note. The beautiful woman has her hands in many pies, including oil and gas, furniture, real estate, maritime, hospitality and many others. She has built a network of friends and commands deep respect from young and old, especially in the political, social and business circles. She is also in tune with the modern trends in the fashion world.
She is the Chief Executive Officer of Fisolak Global Resources and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Rashkol International Logistic Ltd, Apapa, Lagos. She is a renowned public figure in the city of Lagos and is regarded as “Iyalaje of Apapa”. Born in Osun State and hails from Ilesha in Osun State. Princess Toyin as the name implies was born into the royal home of Atakumose
Princess Toyin Kolade had always been business-oriented and began her business officially two decades ago with specifics on Clearing and Forwarding. The business that started small has expanded into a big business and is involved in diverse areas. In 1996, her vision widened with the establishment of her parent company, Fisolak Global Resources at Apapa, which has remained her base to date
Princess Toyin is also a philanthropist and runs a charity that she is keeping from the public. In her view, the most important thing is the fact that she touches lives and puts smiles on the faces of people without having to talk too much about it. She is one of the busiest businesswomen in the country and according to her, she has no time for breaks or vacations. Princess Toyin is also a prophetess. She is also a huge lover of fashion and good music. Various musicians accord praises in her name in their albums.
According to her, she was already a millionaire before the age of 21. Princess Toyin Kolade was born into the family of Prince Adejuyigbe. Her mother’s name was Madam Comfort Adejuyigbe. Toyin Kolade’s mum is from the royal ruling family of Biladu ruling house and Arimoro Royal ruling house in Ijebuland. Princess Toyin Kolade is married to Prince Kolade Kayode, Deputy Comptroller of the Nigerian Customs Service and the marriage is blessed with children.
What of the Ex-Queen of Ooni of Ife, Olori Zaynab Otiti Obanor? She is one lady who has mastered the art of fashion from time immemorial. Even before she got married to Ooni Ogunwusi, she had always been stylish. She upgraded her status with the queen of the source title and churned out white attires matched with lovely beads to any functions you see her. She redefined the queening stool of Ife fashion-wise. This pretty former spouse of the Nigerian monarch Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, In 2017, she was awarded Humanitarian of The Year by NGO Kechie’s Project. Olori Zaynab was born and bravely raised in the ancient royal bronze casters lineage of the Bini tribe in the ancient Benin Kingdom. In March 2016, she was married to Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, a traditional ruler of the Yoruba kingdom of Ile-Ife.
In 2017, she filed for divorce. Zaynab is known for her philanthropic works. She has worked as an ambassador of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which promotes women’s and children’s rights, health and equity. She founded The Queen of Ile Ife Foundation (QIIF) and Project Siwaju to support women and children. In 2017, she spoke at the global campaign Deliver for Good, which promotes genderless sustainable development goals. She has launched several initiatives to promote peace and unity across African nations. She was a member of the jury at the Beirut Fashion Awards in 2017. In 2018, she was announced a board member of the Beirut Fashion Council in Lebanon.
This list will not be complete without mentioning Prophetess (Rev) Mrs Esther Ajayi of the C&S Church. She has made many young ladies all over the world fall in love with wearing white attire. They love her looks each time she steps out to events. She has a way she puts her flowing white dress together and her cap to match.
She has made the wearing of white Sultana to be attractive to many ladies. White is generally seen as a boring colour. But Rev. Esther Ajayi has demystified that feeling. She wears only white. And she has been creative with her choice of white. It comes in different fabrics like cotton, lace. She also mixes and matches her fabrics and all of these makes the white she wears very fashionable and attractive let’s quickly tell you that it is not just sultana, they are very expensive to put together with all the dainty stones she puts on them. But beyond her stylish look, she is deep. She is blunt and strict. She is a no-nonsense person. She doesn’t suffer fools gladly. She does not allow indolence. She lives a principled life. That is why she is strict with young ladies. She is never afraid to tell them the home truth about life. She guides a lot of young women right on how to choose their life partners. And to those of them who are married, she gives them quality tips on how to keep their marriages intact.
Despite her being rich, she is still very simple. And she lives a simple lifestyle. She is one of the beams of hope in the white garment churches today. Her full name is Esther Abimbola Ajayi, and she was born on the 2nd of April 1963 in the Mushin area of Lagos state to a Christian family. The popular prophetess revealed that her great-grandfather was the one that brought the Methodist church to Agboyi town in Lagos State. Esther Ajayi has been spiritually sensitive since she was very young. She attended St. Michael’s Catholic School in Mushin, Lagos, and it was during her time there that she got baptised. She then proceeded to Ikeja Senior Grammar School, Bolade-Oshodi, in 1974.
After her secondary school education, she pursued a degree in theology, and she currently holds a BA degree in Biblical Theology from Faith Bible College, Sango-Otta, Ogun State.
Before going into full-time ministry, Esther Ajayi was doing well as an entrepreneur and fended for her parents since she turned 20. She went on to build her first house when she was 25, and it was placed in the care of her parents. Esther Ajayi’s ministerial journey started in 1997 and she would go ahead to found Love of Christ Generation Church, C & S (Iya Adura), London.
Prophetess Esther Ajayi got married to Rev. Dr Ademuyiwa Ajayi in 1984. He is a lecturer in theology at Faith Bible College, Ota, Ogun State. According to the reports, they have been together for over 40 years. Their union is blessed with two boys, two girls as well as an adopted daughter. Rev. Esther Ajayi is reportedly worth between $20 to $50 million.
Another lady on this list is the pretty Yeye Lara Fashola-Fanimokun, an accomplished woman who does not make noise about her accomplishments. This beautiful woman has a lot going for her. Let’s tell you a little about her.
She is the Yeye Olokun Olosa of Lagos.She is a Maritime Lawyer, an Entrepreneur, Founder Olokun Foundation (women and children) and a high priestess of Olokun Olosa.
She is a politician and a valued member of APC. She was appointed SSA to the South West Coordinator at the presidential Support Committee during the last elections.
She has also just been appointed The Southwest Commander of the Peace Marshal of Nigeria(an agency under the Ministry of Foreign affairs). She is a pioneer member.
She recently got The Most Influential Woman award at the Oduduwa Special Recognition Awards. We can go on and on about this lady who is very stylish and beautiful. She also lectures Black Americans on Yoruba traditional religion. She’s from the popular Fashola Family of Lagos. Minister BRF is her Uncle. She is married to the Fanimokun family of Lagos. Meeting her for the first time, you will fall in love with her white attires. She knows how to put them together. She also loves to wear white beads owning to the title she represents.
From time immemorial, lists like this will never be complete, if the Erelu Kuti of Lagos, Erelu Abiola Dosunmu is missed out, why? She is ever known to have been wearing white for over 40 years. She will be turning 75 in a few months, and this shows she has been wearing white all her life. In fact, it has become her signature as she has created a 3-piece Erelu attire with it.
You should have noticed that the Erelu of Lagos, Erelu Abiola Dosunmu wears only white if you are a social person. If you haven’t, we can tell you she does. And we can tell you why. A while back, Erelu spoke about how she adopted white as her main colour.
“I have been Erelu of Lagos since 1974 and I had spent a lot of time, abroad in France, Switzerland and America. All I wore were beautiful silk clothes. When I opened my shop, I made Aso Oke into European wear. We appeared in front of Harpers & Queens, we appeared in Vogue Magazine. But when I came home, I found that it wasn’t adequate wearing my European outfit, I had to sort of conforming to our traditional way of dressing.”
“I looked at the men. When they wear Agbada, they wear a skirt under it. So I decided I can do that too. That was why I then decided to have my Erelu Agbada, my 3 pieces Erelu Agbada. That way, it is corporate. I can still go for my business meetings and diplomatic functions.”
“Still looking smart. It was something new and wonderful and the Nigerian ladies just loved it. And the bug caught on. One of our 1st ladies copied it and added her own twist to it. I was tickled by it. Every time I see somebody adding a twist to it, I feel wonderful. People are so imaginative and they love to fly with beautiful ideas.”
“It is fantastic. When I took our Aso-Oke to change it and dramatise it, it was still that heavyweight. Today we have all sorts of lightweight and paperweight of Aso Oke. That is fantastic. If you are truly a leader in fashion, what you want to see is people playing with it and taking it to greater heights.
“It has become a billion-dollar industry. And to feel that you are part of that dream is a great achievement.” ”I came up with 3 Erelu Agbada. Apart from the first one I described, I have another one.
The Princes of the family all wear Dansiki, Buba and then tie them on the shoulder. That is also part of what I adopted. So, when I am tired of the Agbada, I can do the one I tie on the shoulder. And then there is the more traditional one but I can’t wear the traditional one everywhere. That is why I did the Agbada and Toga one.
This will surely convince you that she has really come to stay with wearing only whites.
Let’s also talk about Olori Anjolaoluwa Aduke Akinsanya. Popularly known as a white goddess on Instagram, Olori Anjolaoluwa Ayoka lives her alias. She has been seen oftentimes without number in only white attires. She knows how to look stylish in different styles that you will not get bored. Just a look at her social media page, you would have known she has a penchant for wearing only white attires. She loves to pair her outfits with gold jewellery and expensive accessories. She is a pretty celebrity woman who is married to a king.
-TAYO OYEDIJI
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