Clothing

Wrong picture.

There are these beautifully embroidered patches being sold at the market. Their clothing is a plain dark blue calico but not for the embroidered patches and trim would be drab and plain. So one just buy a ready embroidered patch or trim to embellish the dark blue clothing. I remembered my grandmother's wardrobe, she didn't have access to these trims, so her clothes were plain and drab. She wore these baggy Chinese pants and Chinese styled top, which unbuttoned from one side. I remember her making those Chinese buttons or watchamacalit. She didn't wear anything else, no Western clothing at all. Here in Yunnan I see the minorities wearing very similar style clothing but much more beautifully embellished.

A beautifully embellished Chinese style top. They buy plain calico and dyed them with Indigo to get this dark blue color, then they embellish it with colorful patches and trim which they can either make themselves or just purchase them from the market. There are people there who does nothing but sewed these with old fashioned sewing machines.

These are beautifully embroidered baby carriers.

Others prefer to wear those cheap Chinese made clothing.

They use these blankets to cover the seats of their people movers.

These are the plain calico fabric from which they make their fabulous clothing. It is fascinating to witness these things. We just go to the store, maybe a Walmart, to get our ready to wear clothes which are most likely to be made in China. Here, in these parts of China, they still retain their own style. I hope they don't change but retain this endearing lifestyle.