Styling ethnic vest

This ethnic vest I have shown on the blog already and today is yet another variation of wearing this cute little piece of clothing. This time I wore it over a purple cotton top paired with a floating maxi skirt in navy blue. I simply love this vest, such cute details and adorable print.

The palm leaf hat of Vietnam

When I was on holidays in Vietnam I felt it would be such a pity to be there and not to try wearing something Vietnamese. Alas, the choice was not that big. Their traditional dress, ao dai, was not available in a ready-made variant and I was just too lazy to be bothered ordering it at the tailor's. So, the only other thing left was their traditional palm-leaf hat, nón lá. Especially considering that it cost almost nothing and was available literally at every corner.

This conical is a symbol of nation, the item that can be easily recognized at any part of the world as Vietnamese. These hats have been made by peasants from time immemorial. The popularity of it can be explained by the availability of the palm leaves and bamboo from which the hats are made from, by the simplicity of the construction techniques and by the multi-functionality of the hat itself. It not only offered protection from the sun and rain. It could serve, for example, as a fan, as a basket to hold things when shopping or as a water container for drinking. However the shape of a hat and the material it was made from depended on the owner's social position: different kinds of hats have been made for soldiers, mandarins, monks and even for kings.

Vietnamese Soldiers in conical hats statues at Khai Dinh Emperor's Mausoleum, Hue, Vietnam. Photo source

Besides, this simple conical hat plays important role in tradition of worshipping Holy Mothers. The Holy Mothers are worshipped in small temples and shrines that are sometimes built behind a pagoda. They symbolise the universe's four worlds: Heaven, Earth, Water, and Mountains and Forests. On the ceilings of the temples and shrines dedicated to the Holy Mothers hand many conical paper hats of four colours representing the four Mothers: red for Heaven, white for Water, yellow for Earth and green for Mountains and Forests.

Kate Moss by Bruce Weber for Vogue US June 1996. Photo  source

What are my personal impressions of wearing this hat? I can say that it is the best choice of a head cover to wear in such climate: it is light and being made of natural material it gives perfect protection from the scorching tropical sun without making your head sweating underneath. 

I wore it during our excursions to the ancient town of Hoi An and to the jungles of My Son, I wore it on the beach. Perhaps I didn't look that glamorous in it but still I felt gracefull enough and comfy. And yes, very Vietnamese.

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Kokoshnik, a symbol of Russia

photo source

Who hasn't heard about kokoshnik? Now and then one can see kokoshnik-inspired modern creations on podiums and in fashion magazines. I believe it is the most known and recognisable garment of a traditional female costume of Russia. This very elaborate married woman's head-wear was common in the northern and central provinces of Russia and was worn on everyday basis as well as on festive occasions.

Tattoo Convention: hairstyles

In my previous post I wrote about visiting the International Tattoo Convention and showed you a few photographs of what people wore at the event, including unusual necklaces, earrings or earplugs and piercing. Today's post is about interesting and not so common hairstyles that I spotted at the Convention. The hairstyle on the photo above is one of my favourite. Not that I am going to make something like this for myself, but I really like it.

Traditional wedding costume and headdress of Europe

I have told you about traditional wedding costumes of India and Sri Lanka, about unique bridal jewelry of Indonesia, Nepal and Morocco. They are so beautiful, exotic and unique that honestly, the European white wedding dress seems a bit plain and boring. But...it has not always been like this. For most European countries a national costume in its most decorated form was worn as a bridal dress and some garment was added to indicate the girl as the bride, usually it was an elaborate headpiece. And what headpieces they were! A variety of colours, fabrics, textures and even precious jewels was used for bridal headdress.

Bride and groom from Bulgaria

In Bulgaria complicated arrangements of woolen braids and bunches of flowers were fastened between the bride's own hair which was plaited in a dozen or more braids. In parts of the Sofia region a bride would wear a huge halo of flowers and bunches of feather grass and her face were hidden by a curtain of numerous thin plaits hung with coins. And in Pleven region brides wore impressive halos of coins. A bridegroom would be distinguished by the white towel placed over one shoulder or around his neck and the posy of flowers or the wreath on his fur hat.

Traditional headdresses of Belarus

Woman from the Western Polesse region in namitka

As I am in Belarus at the moment today I decided to write about traditional headdress of my homeland. It is one of the most beautiful and important part of the traditional costume. Its type, decoration and way of wearing could tell many things about the woman: her age, social and marital status, the place she belonged to.

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.

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.

Unique headdresses of the men of India

photo courtesy Raj Kumar

Previously I posted about interesting headdresses of different ethnic groups but those were always woman's headdresses. Today I want to correct the injustice and write about unique headgear that men wear and for the start it will be about men of India.
One of the most impressive headdresses are worn by the men of Nagaland. According to Nagas the head is the most important part of the human's body as one's soul dwells in there. The materials, colours, manufacture and the manner in which each Naga tribal headdress is worn distinguish tribe from tribe and bond the wearer to the ideal clan image.

Traditional headdress of the women of Brittany

I have already written about the unusual headgear of the Mongolian , Chinese Miao and Ladakhi women. And today's post will focus on maybe not as exotic, but very beautiful head dresses of the women of Brittany. Brittany is a historical region in the north-west of France, with a population of just over 4 million people. This small region is famous for its variety of traditional costume, officially there are 66 of them. Essential part of the women's costume is a headgear called coiffe. There are more varieties of coiffe than of costume, because for a young woman of marriageable age, for a married lady or for a widow coiffe must be different. They vary in size and complexity, from small pieces of lace worn over a bun, to elaborate, towering creations with flowing ribbons, but there is something common between them all: they are of white colour and mostly are made of lace (sometimes embroidered calico is used instead).

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.

Traditional headdresses of the Miao women of China

The Miao, also known as the Hmong, are one of the most numerous ethnic minorities in China. However, the largest communities are found in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. Their traditional dress varies from community to community. Clothes vary in their style, patterns, colour, ornamentation and accessories so than, according to some experts, between 23 and 80 local styles might exist.
Women in some groups have really striking headdresses, as for example, the Long-Horned Miao women. They wrap lots of artificial "hair" (long black threads of yarn) around the horn-shaped piece of wood making extremely huge wig and finish with decorating it with long strips of fabric. Their unusual name comes from this custom of adding a horn to their hair.

photo cortesy Spenser

Perak, a traditional headdress of the Ladakhi women

photo credit Sandro Lacarbona

Some time ago in one of the jewelry shops of Kathmandu I saw something unkown to me and looking very unusual. As it turned out it was a perak, the head ornament of women of Ladakh, India. I was curious to find out more about this amazing headdress.
The perak is a status symbol for a Ladakhi woman, her wealth and position are shown by the number and quality of the stones decorating it. Turquoise is the perak's dominant element. In fact, the word "perak" is said to be derived from the word "per", an old Ladakhi term for turquoise.
The perak is worn by young girls starting at the age of five or six, but these are small and simple. The full perak is worn by a married woman as her most valued possession, if possible, untill old age. The value of the perak's turquoise stones acts as a form of old-age security. The perak also has a practical function: it protects against cold weather.