Sartorial Adventure

Dressing Gown

c. 1840

Litchfield Historical Society

La Mode, 8 juin 1839, Paris. Coiffure argus et turban de Maurice Beauvais. Robe garnie de guipure de Me. Doucet, de la Paix. Robe des magasins de Gagelin Opigez. Chemise et col de Oudinot Latel, place de la Bourse. Costume de Drappier, Cassolette à parfumes de Guerlin, Lambrequins de Maigret. Digital Collections of the Los Angeles Public Library

submitted by @thegender 🤎🖤

submitted by @edwardian-girl-next-door 🤍🩶🖤

The Himba (singular: OmuHimba, plural: OvaHimba) are indigenous peoples with an estimated population of about 50,000 people living in northern Namibia, in the Kunene Region (formerly Kaokoland) and on the other side of the Kunene River in Angola. The OvaHimba are a semi-nomadic, pastoralist people, culturally distinguishable from the Herero people in northern Namibia and southern Angola, and speak OtjiHimba, a variety of Herero, which belongs to the Bantu family within Niger–Congo. The OvaHimba are considered the last (semi-) nomadic people of Namibia.

The Himba often cover themselves with otjize paste, a cosmetic mixture of butterfat and ochre pigment, to cleanse the skin over long periods due to water scarcity and protect themselves from the extremely hot and dry climate of the Kaokoland as well as against mosquito insect bites. The cosmetic mixture, often perfumed with the aromatic resin of the omuzumba shrub, gives their skin and hair plaits a distinctive orange or red-tinge characteristic, as well as texture and style. Otjize is considered foremost a highly desirable aesthetic beauty cosmetic, symbolizing earth’s rich red color and blood the essence of life, and is consistent with the OvaHimba ideal of beauty. The OvaHimba are also accustomed to use wood ash for hair cleansing due to water scarcity.

Hairstyle and jewelry play a significant role among the OvaHimba, it indicates age and social status within their community. An infant or child will generally have his head kept shaven of hair or a small crop of hair on his head crown. This soon is sculptured to one braided hair plait extended to the rear of the head for young boys and young girls have two braided hair plaits extended forward towards the face often parallel to their eyes. This style is called ozondato, the form of wear being determined by the oruzo membership (patrilineal descent group). The style remains during preadolescence until reaching puberty. Some young girls, with exception, may also have one braided hair plait extended forwards, which means they are one of a pair of twins.

OvaHimba girl

OvaHimba girl dancing

OvaHimba boy

OvaHimba girl, one of a set of twins!

OvaHimba children, both boys and girls, removing ticks from goats.

From pubescence, boys continue to have one braided hair plait.

A young man wearing a braid known as ondatu. Namibia. Photo by Nigel Pavitt

Once they reach puberty, OvaHimba girls will have many otjize textured hair plaits, some arranged to veil the girl’s face. 

This girl is going through puberty, a fact made plain by her hairstyle, which has been designed to cover her face and help her avoid male attention. The puffs at the bottom are either goat hair or synthetic.

(In daily practice, the hair plaits are often tied together and held parted back from the face.) 

This girl’s braids are arranged to reveal her face, indicating that she’s ready to be married.

Women who have been married for about a year, or have had a child, wear an ornate headpiece called the Erembe, sculptured from sheepskin, with many streams of braided hair, coloured and put in shape with otjize paste. 

Married women wearing erembe

Unmarried young men continue to wear one braided hair plait extended to the rear of the head. When Himba men marry, they start wearing turbans, which they never take off unless someone in the village dies. After a death, their heads are shaved.  Because the turbans are never removed, things can get a little itchy underneath, so men carry pointed arrow-like instruments to scratch it with.

Married OvaHimba men. #s 1 and 3 wear a scratching implement in their turbans.

Widowed men will remove their cap or head-wrap and expose un-braided hair. 

Himba widower. The habit of using a head-scratching implement is hard to break.

[Source]

Wow this is the first time I’ve seen a culture where men are required to wear a headdress after marriage.

every single person in this post is absolutely stunning

Nnedi Okorafor’s novella trilogy Binti has a Himba main character. Otijze is even a plot point.

Now I want to know, what do women do if they are the window?

Ooo, good question! This page tells me that a widowed woman turns her erembe (the antelope hide crown) backwards on her head. The page also tells me that men do remove the turban when they are sleeping. So If you were wondering, like me, how they kept their head/hair clean and cut short, they DO remove the turbans at night, just not, apparently, in public.

It’s a treasure trove of additional information, actually:

The humba or ohumba:

^This woman is wearing an ohumba but not an erembe, so I would guess that she has a child but is either not married or has been married for less than a year?

Also, from this page:

“Women wear a large white shell necklace called the ohumba, which is passed from mother to daughter. Equally popular, particularly among married women, are heavy necklaces made from copper or iron wire, often made from electric fencing; some women wear keys and bullets as decoration. The adult Himba women all have beaded anklets called omohanga, where they hide their money; the anklets also serve as a protection against venomous animal bites.”

^woman wearing omohanga

^woman adjusting her omohanga

Le tisseur de tamis et son aide au métier, Bannalec, Finistère.

A man and a young girl weave sieves in the dining room of a house. 20th century; Bannalec, Finistère (Brittany, France). (More info)

There are a TON of awesome photos of Breton traditional costume from around Quimper in this collection! Examples:

*The quote is from a poem by Song Dynasty poet 苏轼 (Su Shi), but with "old person" replaced by "man"

[eng by me]

When you try to present your regency attire and you end up looking like angry Marshal Ney.

All handsewn. Photo and edit by @thistlesandstories

• Florence, Italy, 2 weeks ago.

• Another fab pic taken by @thestoryalist of Mrs Bo & myself…

• More on our Instagram: @gui_bo @the_angelique_noire

King Herihor and Queen Nodjmet adore Osiris, detail from the Book of the Dead of Nodjmet.

Check out the link for more information!

Ancient Roman bronze shaving razor (1st-2nd century AD)

Read more: https://thetravelbible.com/top-artifacts-from-ancient-rome/ 🤓

Hui people of China

ab. 1735 Man’s suit - coat, waistcoat, breeches (Britain)

coat - brown corded silk, with large cuffs made from brocaded fabric in silk and metal thread, featuring a floral pattern in shades of green, blue, pink and silver on a light blue ground

waistcoat - pale blue corded silk, brocaded in coloured silk in shades of green, blue and pink and silver thread with a large exotic flower design

breeches - brown corded silk, lined with linen and leater, with button fastenings and linen braiding at hems

(National Museum of Scotland)