Red coral, the multi-purposed protector

When I was on holidays in Sri Lanka I bought this coral roses set, a bracelet and a ring. Though coral is rather popular in Nepal, especially among Tibeto-Nepalese, it is not easy to find something so delicately carved. It is believed here that the person who wears coral will have success in life. Red coral is the most valuable, it is auspicious in Tibetan culture. It is a sacred colour, one of the colours of the five Buddhas and the colour of the monk's garments. It is believed to have protective qualities.
Good coral should be of oxblood colour and flawless. For beads size also matters, the bigger - the better, some corals reach almost golf ball size. In West Nepal the corals worn by many different ethnic groups come in shades of pink or salmon and are sometimes almost white.

Wedding dresses through the 20th century

1890, Canada

Wearing white dress for a wedding is not that old tradition as it may seem. Actually, the fashion for this colour for the bride's outfit came only at the second half of the 19th century and thanks to Queen Victoria. In 1840 she married Prince Albert wearing a white gown and it came as quite a surprise because in those days white wasn't that popular colour in which to be married. Blue was generally the favourite choice for bridal wear because traditionally it was associated with purity and the Virgin Mary. It was also a symbol of fidelity and eternal love. Wedding gowns were seen also in greens, browns, yellows, and even black, if the bridegroom was a widower.
Soon after the queen's wedding women all over Europe and America began wearing white wedding dresses as well. And in 1920s Coco Chanel introduced a stunning new design: a knee length white wedding dress with a long train. And this strengthened white colour as the colour of a bride and nowadays it's very rare for a bride in Europe or the United States to get married in a colour other than white.
Look at these brides of the past in their beautiful white dresses. It is interesting to see how the gowns' design has been changing with the time.

Tribal jewelry and adornments of Arunachal Pradesh

Apatani woman

There are around twenty major tribes and many sub tribes in Arunachal Pradesh, India, and so it is no wonder that there is a big variety of tribal jewelries in this region. Anyway, you can notice some similar elements: practically in all tribes women wear numerous necklaces, bangles and belts. Headbands too are rather common.
Multicoloured strings of glass or stone beads are most favouvered but in southeast Arunachal Pradesh beads of agate stone, brass, and silver are also used. Such necklaces adorn the necks not only of women but sometimes of men as well. Every bead has its own value according to its colour and lustre. Usually they are worn in numerous quantity.

Christmas party look

Went to Christmas party yesterday. I dressed up for the occasion as here everybody try to look their best at any parties. My "little black dress" with a bit of crystal decoration I combined with faux fur stole (to keep me warm and to add some glamour )

Snake motif in jewelry

I am not a big fan of jewelry in the form of snakes but when I saw the photo of this bracelet (dating from 1850) I wish I had something like this in my possession. I like the design and I like the snake itself, it looks as if smiling.
Snakes amulets have been popular since the ancient times, they were being worn at least 3000 years ago. Snakes' cold, scaly bodies, hypnotically fixed unblinking eyes, flicking tongues and their ability to renew themselves by shedding the skin - all these fascinated people, they thought that snakes are immortal and they know the secret of eternal life. These creatures became a symbol of longevity and immortality and people started to wear amulets to give them long life and guard against sickness.

Evening dresses of the last Empress of Russia

These evening dresses of 1910 belonged to the last Empress of Russia, Alexandra Feodorovna. Now they are in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Peterburg.
The Empress followed fashion but didn't like any extravagance and extremity in clothes. Her evening dresses are simple yet elegant. She liked long, flowing folds and light colours. Most of the dresses are decorated with embroidery and beads. Most of her clothes were created by the local designers and tailors one of which was famous Nadezhda Lamanova.

Beautiful handknit dresses

I am in love with these knitted clothes by a very talented Russian designer Anna Lesnikova. She creates different things like sweaters, coats, cardigans, dresses, skirts, jackets. I like her bright colours, interesting ideas and style. In Russia she is called "the Queen of knitwear" and she deserves this title.

Such different Indian brides

photo credit  Raj Kumar

When being asked about an Indian bride most people would portrait her in red sari with lots and lots of golden jewelry. That is a typical image of a Hindu bride. But in reality it is not quite so because in different parts of India brides wear different kinds of clothes, ornaments, and adornments that are usually typical of the area. A Rajasthani bride would wear a lehenga, a Punjabi bride would wear a salwar-kameez, and a Maharashtrian bride would wear a nine-yard saree. The costume is usually in shades of red, pink or mustard. Like her clothes, the bride's ornaments also differ according to local tradition.

Dance costumes of Sri Lanka

Today I want to take you to Sri Lanka again and show you some of its dancing costumes which impressed me no less than the dances themselves. They are striking, colourful, unsual in style, and once seen can't be forgotten.
One of the most impressive from my point of view is so called ves costume, the common dance costume for most of the Kandyan dances. It consists of a large white loincloth, which is wrapped to form a kind of pair of loose trousers. The upper body is bare, except the large breast ornament, a kind of beaded net, constructed of small seashells and silver beads. The arm and shoulder decorations are also made of silver, like the impressive tiara-like headgear with its large ear ornaments. According to studies, it is believed that the outfit was simpler in older times - the tiara was in the form of a naga snake and now it has seven protruding “leaves” or “flames”. It was during the two last centuries that the outfit gradually got its present, spectacular shape.

Traditional dress of the Rabari

First time I got to know about Rabari was when browsing the internet I accidently found a photo of a rabari girl in festive costume. The dress and the adornments of that little princess simply delighted me and I decided to make research and to find out more about these people and their traditional costume.
Semi-nomads in the Thar Desert in the Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, the Rabari are a tribe of about 400 000 people. They are known for impressive embroidery which is very vigorous, with many bold shapes. Designs are taken from mythology and from their desert surroundings. They use glass mirrors in various shapes: round, lozenge, rectangular, square, triangular, and beak shaped. Rabari women decorate with embroidery literally everything: their own clothes, men's clothes, children clothes, bags.

Russian nobles at the fancy dress ball of 1903

On the 13 February 1903 in the Winter Palace a grandiose fancy dress ball was given. Called "The 1903 Ball", it remains the most celebrated festivity arranged in St. Petersburg during the reign of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of the Romanov House. Costumes for the ball were created according to the illustrations by the artist Sergei Solomko with the help of the costume consultants. The 17th century was the chosen period for the masquerade. Ladies wore sarafans and kokoshniks, while men sported dresses of archers, falconers, etc. The Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was dressed as Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna and the Emperor Nicholas II as Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

Beads in the ethnic jewelry of Africa

Samburu woman. Photo credit Sankara Subramanian

Beadwork is the most popular form of adornment among many Eastern and Southern African people. In earlier times beads were made from ostrich-eggshell, wood or bone but in the 19th century coloured beads from Europe came to the continent and tens of thousands of them began to be used to make amazing ornaments. These ornaments started to play an important role in social life of tribal people of Africa.

Ethnic costumes of Russia in photos

One more post dedicated to traditional costume of Russia. These photos were taken in 1979 by Aleksandr Bozhko during ethnographic expedition around different regions of Russia. The costumes themselves date mostly from the 19th - early 20th centuries and are from the collections of different ethnographic museums of Russia.

Red colour for engagement ceremony

Today we were invited to an engagement ceremony. I wore newly-bought ethnic style long shirt with Patiala pants. The collar and the buttons of the shirt are decorated with beads. And red is festive colour here.
A few photos from the event.