Around the World in 80 Dresses

Years ago my then time sweet heart brought me a precious painting from Russia. The icon is showing Saint Catherine in an embroidered dress in front of a star studded background. The painting makes me always think of my own visit to Russia.  It was a romantic evening in early winter in St Petersburg. The first snow was falling slowly on the square in front of the Hermitage.  From that journey I brought home a lovely fringed scarf. Russian women wear these large scarfs for special occasions. Mine is made of royal – or should I say imperial - blue silk accentuating the embroidered chrysanthemums.  ©  St Petersburg, Nicolle,Shekin, pixabay 

  As to see beautiful sarong-kebaya combinations you will have to travel to Bali. This island so distinctly different from other parts of Indonesia is imbued with Buddhist traditions. I had the chance to attend a royal funeral in Ubud and to witness this important event where a gamelan orchestra played, ladies wore their finest and a sarong seller offered her ware stored in a bundle on her head.   In Malaysia the sarongs are called songkets .  The main techniques are batik (see also post  A New Take on Batik, March 18 ) and ikat . Ikat is the name of a long process of binding the yarn to resist colour and dying it several times to obtain the pattern. Sarongs are now mainly confined to dancing performances and museums.  I bought the batik cloth with the blue flowers from Tiga Serangkai Design in Eastern Malaysia and the black and brown one in Malaysian Borneo from Sarawak Design. In the olden days my red sarong with the golden threads would ha...

The French colours bleu-blanc-rouge are bringing back summer memories from the Cote d’Azur. Once I possessed a silk dress from Leonard , Paris with just a bit too many maritime motifs. Tempi passati . Only the matching scarf held on to my drawer and joined forces with the dock steps. They are making me sail slowly through the light blue air of these early summer days. 

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...

I believe in the power of scarfs. Any plain dress will get a new look with a scarf whatever the style of the scarf is, dramatic, delicate or elegant.    Bright colours and bold patterns may be too loud for a whole dress, on a scarf they come off quite well. You can play with transparent chiffon, soft silk or cosy wool, knot it tightly around your neck or throw it casually over your back.  © HansenHimself, Lesotho, pixabay   For winter there is mohair. Some of the best wool of the quaint mohair goats comes from Lesotho. It is cold in the mountais of the small land locked enclave of South Africa where the ponies are still the main means of transport. Warm mohair and the colourfull Basotho blankets are sheer necessity.  The possibilities for playing with scarfs are endless.