Japanese-Female

Japanese clothing is very unique style and although it is not as commonly worn today, due to globalization, it is still worn for ceremonies and special events, funerals, coming-of-age ceremonies (seijin shiki), and festivals.

The ladies traditional clothing is a kimono. The assembling of a kimono is usually passed down from mother to daughter. Today it is also taught in school. First, one puts on the tabi, which are white cotton socks. Then the undergarments are put on followed by a top and a wraparound skirt. Next, the nagajuban (under-kimono) is put on, which is then tied by a datemaki belt. Finally, the kimono is put on, with the left side covering the right, and then tied with an obi. (It is important to not tie the kimono with the right side covering the left because this signifies the dressing of a corpse for burial.) When the kimono is worn outside, zori sandals are traditionally worn on the feet.

The zori sandals look like a thick flip flop. Shown below:

The heeled zori sandals are typically worn on fancier occasions such as weddings. They are shown below:

For weddings the Japanese brides typically wear a completely white Kimono and a black one for the grooms.

The Japanese kimono has also become popular in pop culture. The pop-culture kimono does not have a belt and is more shawl-like. As seen in the image below. 

Ghana-Male and Felmale

Ghana is a Northern African country that adds more variety to our diverse world of styles with their own unique African style. Most African styles seem similar to those who do not live there, but I have travelled to Africa and people will be greatly offended if you mix them up with another tribe or group. This is definitely a reason to do your research before traveling anywhere.
One of Ghana's more prominent style, and their national dress, is the smock. The smock is mostly worn by men but can be worn in the form of a dress for women. The smock is a shirt that is usually made out of colorful  stripe patterned fabric. It looks like a fabric folded in half with a very unique 'U' shape neck line. The mens smock can be seen in the picture below.

The females smock looks very similar just longer and more fitting and dress like. Like the example below.

The smocks are made of hand loomed strips of Kente fabric that are usually three to four inches wide. This strips of fabric are then sewn together either by machine or by hand to cause it to have a plaid appearance. The smock usually has an embroidered neckline. 

Usually the men where the smock with a hat known as the Kufi cap. While the chief of the tribe wears the smock with a fez hat which tends to be red and allows the tribe to differentiate among who has authority. The Kufi cap can be seen in the image below.

Overall the Ghanaian style is pretty simple. It reflects their warm weather on the equator with the short sleeve loose fitting clothes. It also demonstrates their leadership patterns by demonstrating authority by the chief wearing a different hat. By knowing the different characteristics of the Ghanaian style you can help to not mistake a people group and thus avoid offending them.

Indian-Female

If you have ever travelled the streets of India, like I have, you would find that there are a plethora of different clothing styles. The style that most intrigued me is the females wrapped in the beautiful saris. I decided to research the particular traditional style worn by the North-Eastern female from India and find out what makes this style unique.

Most of these women wear a sari which is a about 6 yards long and is first wrapped around the waist and then draped over the shoulder. Something I found interesting is that in the Hindu culture the color white, which we would normally wear to a wedding, is their color of mourning that can often be seen on saris of those attending a funeral. 

Sari's are often worn with a Choli underneath. A Choli is the top worn under the sari. It is is often a tight crop top. 

These women also wear a long skirt known as a Lehenga, which is often very colorful with intricate patterns on it. Many types of embroidery are done on these skirts. For traditional weddings the type of embroidery used is known as Gota Patti. This form of embroidery, as seen below, intricately adds designs using beads, ribbon, string..etc. to create designs on the Lehenga.

If the woman is a part of the Hindu faith she might wear a Bindi. Which is a red dot placed centered on the forehead close to the eyebrows. This red dot signifies the beginning of their creation and represents unity in their faith. In some places the Bindi is known as the third eye or Chakra.

That is the overall dress of a Female from North-East India. Sari's are one of the oldest pieces of clothing still worn today by indians. We see that saris are mentioned in Vedas, which is an ancient Hindu writing dating back to 3000 b.c.e. Today 75% of Indian females wear saris. However due to recent globalization this number has been dropping and many females have changed to more modern styles. 

Introduction

It is strange to think that a couple pieces of cloth used to cover our body have become such a significant part of our everyday life. From the first "clothing" of fig leaves in the time of Adam and eave to thousands of different styles around today. Clothing today is used to express culture, climate, religion, and/or personality. I am interested in knowing how other people around the world dress? And why?

In this blog I will describe different cultural fashions from regions all over the world and why they dress in that particular way.