Summer maxi dress and leaving for holiday

This dress is one of my favourite summer dresses. I bought it three years ago in London. The maxi length, the flowery print, its brightness, the colour palette that I really like - so many things to make it one of my favourites for summer. The dress has a very open back and very thin straps that leave shoulders and chest area also quite open. I like it but...

Jewelry and dress of the Maharajahs of India

Maharajah Umaid Singh of Jodhpur, 1920

Today I want to tell you about the dress and jewelry of the Indian Maharajahs. Those guys liked to dress up and were not shy of wearing necklaces, armlets, bracelets and ornamental belts. The purpose of such grandeur was to show their majesty and to indicate the richness of their treasury. Often their costumes and accessories were more elaborate than those of their wives.
Most of them had an astounding collection of jewelry. Many of them had access to private diamond and gold mines and, thanks to that, over the years built up incredible and unique collections of jewels .

Red and white stripped dress

White/red is my favourite stripes combination. This stripped dress I bought last summer while on holidays in Belarus. I like the brightness of its red colour, I like that it has a belt and pockets and that it is made of cotton. Simple yet pretty choice for summer days.

Fishy jewelry

I am a big cat lover and so no wonder I have many cat theme things at home including adornments. But browsing recently through my collection of jewelry I was surprised to notice that I have quite enough pieces of fish ornaments as well: two pairs of earrings and three pendants. Seems that this design started to attract me without even my realization. Who could guess that a fish, not the most attractive in its appearance creature, would become a popular theme for jewelry designs.

Wide legged polka dot trousers

Yet another wide legged pants (my skirt-trousers you can see here). They are of light soft fabric and it makes them comfy and not bulky on the figure. I like as well their not boring print - numerous small polka dot. Mostly I wear the pants with this simple white shirt.

Traditional costume of the Akha people

photo courtesy Hakbong Kwon

My today's ethnic post will be about traditional costume of the Akha people. The Akha are an indigenous hill tribe that live in villages in the mountains of southwest China, eastern Myanmar, western Laos, northwestern Vietnam, and northern Thailand. In all these countries they are an ethnic minority. The population of the Akha today is roughly 400,000.
The basic costume of an Akha woman consists of a headdress, a jacket, a short skirt, a sash with decorated ends and ornate leggings. The clothes are spun by hand, weaved together, and dyed indigo by the Akha women. The back and the sleeves of the jacket are embellished with embroidery, satin stitches of bright colours, seeds, silver buttons, coins, beads, shells or tassels depending on the sub-group of Akha.

"Indian maharani" outfit

Lehenga-choli-dupatta is ( in my opinion) the most beautiful Indian party anssemble worn on special occasions. Saying in plain English it is a set of a long skirt, a fitted blouse and a shawl. The fabrics used to made such sets are usually silk, brocade, heavy satin and chiffon which are further decorated with metal (sometimes silver or gold) thread embroidery, sequins or stones. On Saturday we were invited to a wedding party that took place in a rather posh place. So I figured my lehenga-choli outfit would be the right choice for the party. It is of black chiffon and the skirt is richly embellished with embroidery and stones which makes it pretty heavy. Wearing this outfit I really feel like an Indian maharani.

Twin tunics

These two tunics are like twin sisters: they are very similar but different at the same time. They are made of the same type of fabric and they have the same simple design. The only thing that differs them is the print. I had one of those silly (and luckily rare) moments when I couldn't decide which tunic's print I liked better, so I bought them both.

Forty and one braid hairstyles

Have you ever worn a braid, a simple single braid hanging down your back? I did, a lot...until I turned 16. I think I had the longest hair in our small town - it almost reached my knees. And of course, the only way to wear such long hair is in a braid. Or in two. Sometimes I wore them wrapped around my head or fixed in buns. Anyway, I got really tired and bored with all that and wanted something more fashionable and modern on my head. So I cut my hair off and since then I have worn braids very rarely.

"Country girl" outfit

I bought this skirt almost 10 years ago. It is country style  and what I like the most about it are the lovely knitted inserts. It was sold as a set with a knitted top that, honestly, I was not that happy about: in my opinion it was too short and too loose for this type of skirt. Anyway, I wore it with it. Have a look, here I am in this skirt and top in 2004

Colours of the engagement party

On Wednesday we were invited again to an engagement party. The time of the event's start was at 4 pm and it confused me what to wear: still hot, still sunny. I didn't want to be over-dressed and at the same time to be under-dressed would mean to show disrespect. Finally I chose a black skirt of Western design to pair with an embroidered Indian blouse choli that is a part of another set. Added metallic sandals and a few pieces of  simple jewelry and that's it. I think the outfit had just the right balance between "too much" and "not enough".