Now this post has been a VERY long time coming, but, well, better late than never! I wanted to show you all this heavily appliqued and embroidered tribal jacket I picked up a few months ago during my month long adventure in Laos. Since visiting Thailand back in 2007 I've been obsessed with South East Asian tribal costume and textiles, so when I happened upon the Hmong people of Northern Laos with their super colourful style, I went straight to the markets to get my haggle on.
I picked up this super colourful jacket from a Hmong lady and her daughter sitting behind a small small at Luang Prabang Night Market (love everything handmade/artisanal? This place will blow your mind!) Through a series of smiles and broken English we managed to agree on a price and I managed to find out that the jacket was in fact worn by a local tribe. You can see a bit of wear if you look closely at the somewhat threadbare nature of the batik and stitching, but to me, this just adds to the excitement of owning a piece of traditional costume. Second hand purchases always have stories. 
As I'm currently residing in sunny Sydney and not wandering around the globe looking like a raggedy gypsy, I felt it only proper that I should make an attempt to appear somewhat presentable to my new Darlinghurst neighbours. I've teamed this kick-ass Hmong jacket with a plain vest, a kind of navy skort I picked up in Bangkok for $3 (along with a few other bits and pieces) and my trust yellow Havaianas - all for the cause of promoting a bit of authentic tribal style in the urban sphere. How would you wear it?
If you'd like to learn a little more about South East Asian tribal culture, costume and textiles, you should definitely check out my earlier post on the Vietnam Women's Museum in Hanoi. If you're specifically interested in Hmong design, or even market shopping in Laos, watch this space (or follow me on Bloglovin'!), I've got a whole lot more coming soon!
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