Traditional Clothes
In the old days a young woman had to spend a lot of her free time stitching and preparing her clothes for her wedding day. By rule she could not get married before she finished it as it was the proof of her strong will, hard work and her liability to start an own family.
Since the traditional Mien clothes date back to the time where the tribe still lived in the cold climate of the Chinese mountains they are made from thick and warm material with long sleeves. This was maintained even in the much warmer climate of Thailand, which is one of the reasons why they aren’t worn anymore in everyday life, but only on special occasions. The clothes of the women are very extravagant and decorative. They are dressed with a simple black tunic and long black pants, which are decorated from top to bottom with the complicated as well as very beautiful cross-stitching. Characteristic is the bright red scarf that is wound around the neck as well as the black turban with colorful stitching. Some also wear a red and white sash around their shoulders, back and upper body, which are also embroidered with beautiful patterns. At the very end they put on an extensive amount of jewelry as silver symbolizes wealth and honor. The more jewelry the better!
Less eye catching are the clothes of the men - a loose black pants and a long sleeved jacket with simple and discreet stitching. .Seems like the principle of “less is more” applies to men all over the world when it comes to clothing. ;)
