Outfit post: not couture but...

Three years ago my cousin was graduating in fashion designing and was making her collection for the final fashion show. I was in London at that time and was lucky to watch the whole process - drawing of illustrations, choosing fabrics, tailoring and sewing. I even helped with some work. It was fun. It turned out that the finished outfits fitted me well and of course I didn't waste my chance to try them on and to take a few photos.

Traditional jewelry of the Tharu women of Nepal

I took picture of this lovely girl during one of the Tharu festivals in Kathmandu. Needless to say I was mesmerized by the jewelry she was wearing. I wanted to find out more about traditional jewelry of the Tharu and did some research.
The Tharu live in parts of the Nepalese wet lowlands along the Indian border. Before the drainage of these areas in the twentieth century, the malaria-resistant Tharus lived isolated along the malaria infested jungles and developed their own distinct culture and religion. They usually settle in small villages and make a living from agriculture.
The main characteristic of  the Tharu jewelry is that it is made of silver or silver substitutes and that is worn in great quantity though nowadays it is much less then what was worn in the past.

Tibetan jewelry: a bit of history

Jewelry has never been worn by Tibetans just in order to beautify themselves. Jewelry in Tibet could serve as amulets, as kind of the bank, which is always with you, or as an indicator of social status.
Most jewelry made from precious metals – silver or gold – was considered auspicious and luck bringing in Tibet. In Southern Tibet it was considered bad luck for a woman to go without her hair ornaments. Up until 1950s this led to women sleeping in their enormous headdresses.

Outfit post: hatting around

I have always loved hats. In my opinion they make any woman instantly look more interesting, chic and kind of enigmatic. With the help of a hat a woman can create different mood and different image, all she needs to do is to chose the right design of a hat. Romantic, cocettish, extravagant, elegant, careless, serious - you decide what kind of a woman you want to be today.
So far I have not been invited by any royals to one of their receptions ; neither I have visited such events like Ascot or Derby. So, no opportunity yet to wear an unusual kind of a hat which I'd greatly liked to. Have to chose more simple and appropriate designs.

Traditional headdresses of the Mongolian women

photo from here

Yesterday I posted a few pictures of the Mongolian wedding dresses that impressed me with their uniqueness and beauty. Today, too, the post is dedicated to the Mongolian women, or rather to their traditional headdresses, which impressed me no less. The most impressive, perhaps, was the head ornament of the married Khalkha women. The main element of their headdress is a special hairstyle, designed to mimic cow's horns. A cow for the Mongols has been the symbol of freedom and nomadic life (I wonder why, because for me there is no more domestic animal than a cow). According to another version, the hairstyle does not imitate horns, but the wings of some mythical bird. In my opinion however, it looks more like horns after all.

Mongolian wedding dresses

Quite accidentally I found these photos of wedding dresses for the Mongolian brides. I was amazed by their beauty and unusual design which combines traditional and modern elements. Very feminine outfits.

Rutilated quartz - a natural antidepressant

Once upon a time I had a bangle with a beautiful turquoise stone. But one day the stone fell out unnoticed and got lost. The bangle has stayed this way for some time and finally I remembered about it and decided to repair. But as now I have another beautiful turquoise bracelet I wanted to a different stone. And I've chosen quartz, and not the ordinary one but rutilated. Rutiles are small needle-like inclusions inside and they really make the stone look more interesting. Thanks to these inclusions the stone got a couple of poetic names, like "Venus' hair" or "arrows of love". These rutiles can be red, yellow or, as in my case, black. They can create different patterns and of course, the more rare and unique rutiles' desing inside the stone, the more valuable it will be.

Animal teeth and claws jewelry

retouched photo by J. J. Williams wikipedia

This beautiful lady is Queen Emma of Hawaii. And on this photo she's wearing a tiger's claws necklace. Such kind of adornments has been worn for centuries because teeth and claws of animals have been believed to possess strong amuletic powers. Though it should be noticed that not of any animal, say a mouse or a rabbit, but only of scary wild beasts like tiger, bear, leopard, wolf. Such amulets appear in the adornment of many cultures.

Mounted in gold or silver, a bear's tooth or a tiger's claw is believed to magically increase the physical strength of the wearer. In some countries it is said that a bear-claw amulet will also help a woman during childbirth. In other countries, a wolf's tooth attached to a baby's body will protect the child from fear and from toothache. In China (and from there it spread to casino cities) a tiger's claw or tooth mounted in gold is said to bring luck to gamblers. In China the tiger is referred to as "the gambler's god".

Costumes and masks of the Cham dancers

These photos I took during New Year's celebrations but New Year was Tibetan and called Losar. They celebrate it in their own way. During this festival the Cham dances are performed. They are meant to be enjoyed as entertainment but they also present religious messages and a bit of Tibetan history as well. These dances are performed by monks dressed in rich costumes of embroidered and appliqued silk brocade. Preparations of the costumes is a difficult tusk that requires a great deal of skill.

How I welcomed 2013

In my country it is believed that the way you welcome the New Year will affect the whole year. Means, if you are happy and laugh much then the year will be same - happy and joyful; if you are sad or worried, expect many problems in the coming year. So everybody tries to have as much fun at the New Year's Eve celebrations as possible.
According to this belief I should expect a good year ahead. I enjoyed the evening and actually didn't notice the time had passed. There were friends, there was music, there was performance, there was much food and wine, and there was dancing.