We met Californians Jim and Lily, another itinerant couple, on a boat trip to a cave temple down river. They told us about The Hive and invited us to join them there for dinner with another couple. The company was great, the food was excellent, but the best thing of all was the fashion show. It was a showing of the traditional clothing of all the different ethnic groups of Laos. Apparently The Hive has an even better collection of these outfits than the museum.
What also impressed me was the rambling, L-shaped, tri-level stage, the backdrops, the choreography as the models moved back and forth through the three levels of the stage in a carefully rehearsed ‘dance’, and the poise of the young Lao men and women modeling the clothing. The owner of The Hive said they were all a bit shy when they first started, but two years later they have clearly morphed into seasoned professionals.
I would love to have been able to travel to villages where the people still dressed in their traditional clothing, if such a thing still exists in Laos, and as we did in northern Vietnam, and Myanmar. But this was certainly the next best thing. I was completely captivated.
Almost all the photos are from only one level of the stage as it was the closest to where I was sitting, and also happened to have the simplest backdrop so interferes least with viewing the clothing. To simplify things even further I blacked out all the distracting foliage in the background.
This is the clothing of the Flower Hmong. The woman is dressed similarly to those we saw in Bac Ha in the far north of Vietnam.
These final three photos show modern clothing inspired by traditional outfits.
And after the fashion parade? What else? A hip hop show. A group of teenage boys showing their moves. All having a great time, and some of them really good. What a joyous way to end a fabulous evening.
All words and images by Alison Louise Armstrong unless otherwise noted.
© Alison Louise Armstrong and Adventures in Wonderland – a pilgrimage of the heart, 2010-2015.
Sweet! Those are some pretty skookum threads! Were you able to purchase something beautiful to take with you?
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At the enormous tourist night market there was all kinds of clothing ranging from copies of traditional outfits to the long skirts that all Lao women wear (like in the last photo) to cheap western t-shirts and shorts to hippie harem pants, etc – a huge range of clothing at good prices. But I don’t shop 🙂
I actually need some new clothes at the moment but since everything has to fit in my 20 inch case I have to be very practical about it. Also not much point in buying some luscious piece of clothing only to have it sit in a storage locker in Van (like the beautiful embroidered blouse I bought in Bali).
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so true hey? I was actually thinking that while I was writing my comment. You would need a ginormous container to be shipped home if you bought every lovely shiny bit you adored right? Also, I guess the point of your travels wasn’t about stuff hey? lol…. it just would be so hard not to get some little bits…:0)))
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Nah. Not for me. Not a shopper I guess. Have to find some nice gifts though – found some great ones in Myanmar, and now have to find a bunch in Mexico. That’s always fun.
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Love the headdresses, Alison. You have a career in fashion photography if you need it. {{{hugs]}} Kozo
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Aren’t those headdresses wild? So creative and expressive. Fashion photography? Nah, I don’t think so. But thanks for the thought 🙂
((((hugs))))
Alison
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What a wonderful evening. The “Flower Hmong” dress is particularly beautiful!
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Yes, it was a wonderful evening. So lucky to have met Jim and Lily otherwise we wouldn’t have even known about it. Serendipity strikes again!
We were surrounded by Flower Hmong in Bac Ha in Vietnam – all of them dressed in a very similar way (except for the hat though those hats were for sale in the market there), and watched the women shopping for skirts. Absolutely fabulous experience. Oh do so love the infinite diversity in this world 🙂
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Thank you for the fashion show! 🙂
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You’re welcome. What a great evening it was. So lucky to have stumbled into that.
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Alison, I’ve gotten so behind on blog reading (eye condition preventing heavy online time), but I enjoy your posts and pictures so much, I’ll eventually track back through the ones I’ve missed. Such beautiful clothes!
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Oh Michelle I’m so sorry about your eyes! I wish I could wave a magic wand for you. I will hold in my heart a vision of you with healed eyes. (Probably easier for me than for you – and maybe it will help a bit). ❤
Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad you're enjoying the posts and photos.
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Okay here is a really late reply! I went to the”fashion show” last night and was equally impressed. It was one of those moments…. Thanks for the great pics.
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Thanks Joanne. So glad you went to the fashion show. Isn’t is fabulous?! Definitely worth seeing.
Alison
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What a fantastic parade. I’m a sucker for textiles and this is fantastic.
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It really was. I wish I’d been able to photograph every outfit. I too am a sucker for textiles. I bought a huge piece of Guatemalan fabric over 2 years ago and have done nothing with it. One day I’ll turn some of it into skirt maybe. I just loved the fabric.
Alison
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Don’t know if you saw the piece of fabric I bought in Bhutan.
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Gorgeous!
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Hi Alison, Hopped on the link in the comment on Peggy’s post. What a treat. I also like fabrics. These are all gorgeous but the fabric in the concertina-ed type fabric in the Flower Hmong and the lamp style headpiece how gorgeous. But sixth photo down, the red and black outfits – I WANT a pair of those pants with embroidered bottoms. I would wear those with a black top. Louise
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Oh I loved the Flower Hmong outfits – so gorgeous. We went to a Flower Hmong market and saw lots of them
(scroll down to towards the end of the post https://alisonanddon.com/2010/05/11/west-australia-vietnam/)
I also have a pic of me wearing one of those headdresses somewhere 🙂
Yes! I also want a pair of those pants! They are, or are very similar to, Red Hmong. I wish I’d bought some when I was there.
Alison
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You can buy them? Return trip to Vietnam just moved up the priority list.
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Yes, you can buy them!
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