Globe Corner Blogs

Hanoi Fashion -- photo by Nicole

Paris, London, Milan… Hanoi?  Vietnam is known for many things, but high fashion usually isn’t one of them.  I’d been in Southeast Asia for two months by the time I reached Vietnam, and I wasn’t really thinking about what the locals would be wearing.  The crowds in Asia had so far been a mix of t-shirts, jeans, saris, silk sarongs, and brightly colored traditional scarves and jackets.  These were my favorite, the black or navy wraps that tie at the sides with intricate, neon embroidery  along the borders; bells, coins, and seashells are sewn on for good measure.  The Traditional Arts & Ethnology Museum in Luang Prabang identified the design as Hmong, an ethnic tribe found in the mountains of north Vietnam and Laos.  The museum, and its very chic cafe, exhibited local textiles, explaining the designs and customs unique to each region and ethnicity.  Small children, I’d noticed, often wore square caps with pink and green fabric sewn onto the crown and dainty neon pom-poms and bells adorning four corners.  Besides being especially cute, it turns out that parents from animist tribes make these to disguise their children as dandelions, hoping to prevent evil forest spirits from stealing away with their adorable souls. Continue Reading »