Around the World in 80 Dresses

You cannot afford a painting by a famous French artist? Don’t worry.   Buy a scarf with the same image. So did I at the Musée Fernand Léger in Biot at the Cote d’Azur. The same you can do with the Haute Couture labels where even a silk scarf can cost a small fortune but will accompany you for years on end. I have chosen the dark brown geometry on beige by Charles Jourdan , the plain squares of hot pink and mustard by Rodier , the jungle leaves on light wool by Grès, who are now making perfumes only. From a friend who owns a boutique I got my signature leopards on a scarf by Etienne Aigner and a somewhat heraldic pattern by Hermès .  It says grande uniforme which means splendid military uniform. The French love that. You wouldn’t think that they ever had a revolution. On a vintage sale I made a lucky find, a silk scarf signed by Michèle Morgan, the French blonde icon of yesteryear with the cat eyes.       The ostrich fe...

Beads are the material of dreams and stories. Introduced hundreds of years ago by Venetian tradesmen the Africans converted the coloured glass beads to a true artistic expression of their own. The colour scheme and the patterns of beads tell a story. In South Africa the Zulu have their beaded love letters and the Xhosa their necklaces, earrings and beaded applications on dresses and aprons. Once I attended a show telling stories by beading at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown.  There the Wild Coast is not far where the green hills are dotted with Xhosa rondavels and the coast line is dramatic.   ©mudunwazib@brandsouthafrica.com I got my beaded necklace from a dear friend, a Xhosa grandmother. For the annual Christmas holidays she had travelled to her home town in rural Eastern Cape and came back with the lovely present.  Katherine-Mary  Pichulik at the Watershed of Cape Town's Waterfront offers a range of modernized beaded necklaces an...

Singaporeans will tell you we are a fusion of different nations. Hearty doses of Malayans and Indians add to a big chunk of ethnic Chinese. Some days I feel like adopting that style of col our ful fus ion . I throw a brightly green Chinese vest over a black dress, add some dark green African bead work and walk high on colourful plateau sandals handmade in the Caribbean. In Singapore’s East Point Mall I pulled the vest out of a bundle of freshly imported jackets in every imaginable colour of the rainbow. The green beads from Spier Wine Estate and market place in Stellenbosch had been resting in my drawer quite some time until I found out how nicely they fit with some bright green, toned down by black.   On a home exchange to Guadeloupe I was looking for souvenirs and found a shop full of handmade leatherware in African colours and patterns. On the street in front of the shop people were singing and dancing. The descendants of African slaves imported by the French ...