April, 2016
 Our next stop is............................. Iceland!

Iceland it's such a cultural country with a small population, but this is not an impediment to be one of the most mysterious countries on earth,
Iceland was the last country to be settled in Europe, so thanks to its youth and distance its culture was mostly outside the influence of contemporary culture in Europe and America, until the late nineteenth century.
The icelanders are people who love arts specially literature, there are hundreds of strorytales in which we can see their traditions, the love for their country and the special care they have for nature.
Icelanders are a mix of Scadinavians and British people, but since the nineteenth-century nationalist movement. they posses a distinctive sense of "Icelandicness".

 WHERE IS ICELAND?

  Iceland is an island in the north Atlantic Ocean between Greenland and Norway just south of the Arctic Circle and that's why it's name is like that, because is full of ice.

 When i came to this country, i was so excited for its wonderful stories about The Ancient Iceland, and  i wanted to know how they perceive everyrthing, including fashion.

I learned that the outlook of these people is similar to other nordic countries such as Norway and sweden, but they differ in certain things.
The  traditional dress of Iceland truly reflects the pure Icelandic heritage.
The national dress is known as Þjóðbúningurinn:

 In the other hand we have The Faldbúningur which includes a hat decorated with a curved sheet-like ornament protruding into the air and exists in two variants. One of which is the krókfaldur and the other is the spaðafaldur.

 krókfaldur:

  spaðafaldur:

Also the Peysuföt are black woollen clothes commonly worn by women in the 18-19th century. They usually consisted of a twill skirt and a jacket of fine knitted woollen yearn with a black tail cap

The traditional men’s wear in Iceland is known as Búningur karla and from its all versions, the most popular is Þjóðbúningur karla which normally consists of consists of woollen breeches or trousers, a usually double buttoned vest and a double buttoned jacket called treyja. Although not a traditional costume, the hátíðarbúningur was conceived as a modernized version of the men’s traditional national costume and is frequently worn instead of a tuxedo to formal events.

 Icelandic customs and traditions are inspired by centuries long insular existence and a curious mixture of pagan influence on a christian religion. Icelandic folk tales are ripe with mysticism, ghosts and elves and trolls, and further shaped by the natural forces and a taxing environment. 
 These customs are commonly used at the days of public importance and festive ocassions, because nowdays icelanders use normal or modern clothes.
When i was walking throught Reykjavik, the capital city, i realized that they are just normal pepole, who like to drink coffe and go out with friends, and also talk about the latest news in the country.
Reykajavik has a huge sense of fashion several celebrities such as Beyonce and  Björk travel to this country to appreciate that nordic vibe.
 To understand better Icelands's fashion, here is a sneak peek of the Iceland fashion week.

You can search more information here: https://guidetoiceland.is/history-culture

MARCH, 2016.

WELCOME TO THE GEM OF THE MIDLLE EAST: LEBANON.

When i came to this country i found a powerful culture whose secret weapon is nothing but FASHION!.
 Despite Lebanese are really touchy, they learned how to be involve with western culture. Lebanon it's considered one of the most liberal and  fashionable in the Arab world and its capital city Beirut, is marketed as the paris of the middle east and the source of thousands of successful businessmen.

.Beirut was always a liberal spot, but since the pre-civil war days of the 1970s, the country has certainly become more conservative and you can see it in its traditional costumes.

This country it's a mish-mash of six human civilizations, Roman, Persian, Greek, Arab, Ottoman and the most recent french, so yo can easily see its roots are really strong. 
I had the opportunity to learn about all the cultural aspects, but as always i fell in love with the traditional custome. Even thouhg in the urban areas people wear western outfits, in the countryside mountain people prefer their official customes.

There is a complete picture of a lebanese costume for both men and women.

THE SHERWAL (pants)
THE LABBADE (headdresses)
THE SCARF and lebanese VEIL.

Also there exist:
 THE DRUZE worn by men.

And THE ABAYA:

 

One of the main reasons what i choose lebanon as a travel destiny, is because my favorite designer is lebanese, his name: ELIE SAAB. He's one the most important designer of the world and the reason i'm such a huge fan of him is because he could leave his country and made of him a man of vision and an artist, but never ignoring his people. When we talk about  dresses, there's no one who could do it better, when i was in lebanon i had the honor to attend one of his fashion shows, i literally couldn't stop thinking in a fairy tale, his dresses are for pricesses. it was an unforgettable experience.

I'll leave you a small sample of his great work.

February, 2016

THE BIG RUSSIA


After spending a whole month in china, i went sightseeing more to the north and found the biggest country on earth, but don't get sulk slug !we will know wonderful things about  :  The cold russia.

Russia is home to more than 150 million people and these 150 millions are so blessed to be part of one of the few countries whose culture it's half asian half european and also one of the oldest countries in the world. In the traditional russia we can see how communism is represented in their costumes and how they use this to show the rest of the world their superb role in fashion.
 
 Clothing of Russia is suited to the regions of northern Russia or Siberia is different from the clothing of the southern regions, so i split the two different types in the following lines and then i sorted out into women's clothes and men's clothes.

But there are things that are typical for the whole country in general, like;
The fabric used to make these costumes is 100% fine cotton or silk decorated with fine symmetrical patterns and most of the time these are embroidered.

The typical Russian woman costume (north) is called "sarafan". It's a dress that is usually put over a shirt.
In Russia there were some types of "sarafan" - narrow, wide, straight, with buttons, combining a body and a skirt.
The colors of the typical dress of women also depended on the region, age and social class.

The "kokóshnik" a traditional headdress was also one of the most used accessories in that time.

In southern Russia other Russian national costume was popular, but a little bit different.
This consists of a white shirt and black skirt called "poñova". There were many types poniova (or poñova). The most popular color was blue and black with ornament square.

  The traditional dress of men in Russia consists of a T-shirt ("kosovorotka"), a belt and pants.


"Kosovorotka" is a typical Russian man shirt with the collar buttoned placket and side.
 The belt was an important part of the traditional dress of men in Russia. The typical shirt was put out with a belt of silk or wool. braided belts are also carried.
 The typical trousers were very simple. The pants are made of linen. Long pants depended on the time. For example, to wear long trousers boots pants was up to his knees.

After read and watch all about russian culture all of a sudden i realized that i felt in love with  russian's clothing  when i watched ANNA KARENINA  based on the novel of leon tolstoi. This film is full of history and it shows a very well russian's culture. I promise that you will straight away fall in love with as i did.

 Russia currently is heavily involved in global fashion. Every year the fashion week takes place in moscow and more than 70 russian designers show us that they don't  get stuck in time, they also are in this century and ready to bring out the slums to the runways  now russia is a fashion leader.

if you're a little bit lost,  you can give a stare to my last entry ;).

 Welcome i'm maria jose and i created this blog to let you know about how great and different fashion is, showing you my experience for a year around the world. so stay and enjoy it :).

January, 2016.
THE OLD AND COLORFUL CHINA.

   My brain literally blew up when arrived to this beautiful land, its so shoking: the colors, the people and everything. China is our first place, we had to walk a lot and not to stay in a hotel room, which is very dull. We went through small places and asked a lot of people, we eventually had to  go to a cashpoint and get some money to use it as a bribe to make a chambermaid  speak about secret places or just those who are not that visited. After this you may think  all chinese people are creep, well... no! we actually found very kind people and they helped us on everything we know about this incredible country.
    We visited so many far places, even our phone line was cut off, but we got want we want: a beautiful experience and knowledge.
     It's woderful how china  has evolved keeping its roots and its culture intact THEY DO NOT HAVE NOTHING TO ENVY OTHER CULTURES. They have an acute sense of fashion which  fit with their accurate lifestyle. Its clothes are made of  meanings, colors and a whole history  behind.
 The clothes varies  according to the dynasty of that moment, so everything started a long time ago (206 a.C.-220 d.C.)  when the superb Han dynasty created the most known costume of china: The Hanfu:

it changed through the years, but nowadays its very commom like if we were stuck in time, if you are part of the other side of the world like me, I know what are you thinking; this is not suited for a normal day, but  chinese people still use it, you can see it in a tv show or in a ¡PARTY! and ¿what makes this beautiful costume so important? well it's also used by men.

China is a big country, has an big culture and its citizens have a huge love for their country. I recommend you visit this place and stop doing  boring chores at home, you can have a great  supper in a beautiful restaurant, go to a stall and eat an ice cream or straightaway visit a shop in shanghai, so you can spill the wonder of this land.
  As i said before they still use the hanfu and they are not afraid of  make some changes as long as their culture is respected.

  In the contemporary era Chinese wear their costumes proudly, showing the world new versions of this costume and inspiring designers around the world. it's the old style that appeals to this artist.

So there is you can broach a big knowledge of a normal trip, china is a country that offer you lots of things, but as a fasion lover i recommended you to visit the china fasion week is certainly a sight to see.