Hey ,
I think I was born into the wrong culture.
It's not that I'm complaining (1) - I've enjoyed a really good life. However, I've also missed out.
Let me explain.
Where I lived, we wore 'standard' clothing: jeans and T-shirts, skirts, and dresses, with pullovers and coats to keep us warm. And there was nothing wrong with that. But there wasn't anything special. There wasn't any traditional clothing that showed our history or culture.
Then, gradually, I began to see what people in other parts of the world wear, and I was totally amazed.
In Indonesia, I loved the simple shapes of the traditional tops and long skirts the women wear. Then I learnt how they make the patterns on the fabric (2). Because I like handcrafts, I was fascinated (3). These days the fabric is printed using machines. But going back fifty years or more, the patterns were all done by hand!
I bought a couple of traditional tops and took home. Nevertheless, I didn't wear them often because most of the time they didn't look right with a non-Indonesian person wearing them outside Indonesia.
Unfortunately, I haven't been to India, but I also love the clothes that Indian women wear. It's partly due to the simple way they use the fabric. But it's also about the colours and the patterns of the fabric. And about the beautiful jewellry they wear.
Maybe I've watched too many Bollywood movies...
When I moved, I ended up in Germany. In some ways, the clothing here is boring; it's just 'normal' and generally follows the trends set by the fashion industry. It's the same in most developed countries.
However, Germany has traditional clothing, too, just like Indonesia and India. The most well-known are lederhosen for men (including special socks and shoes) and for ladies a dirndl.
In Germany, you don't usually see people wearing traditional clothes unless it's Oktoberfest. That's when people dress up. Most of the people I've seen look absolutely stunning, although I admit, I haven't really seen very many.
Do you only wear standard, modern clothing, or do you sometimes wear traditional clothes? If you do, what do you wear? Do you like the clothing from other cultures?
'Bye for now,
Andrea
(1) complaining - saying how bad something is
(2) fabric - the 'stuff' clothes are made of, cloth or material for making clothes
(3) fascinated - found it very (very!) interesting
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