Hmong Outfit :: White Hmong Wenshan & Beads

October 3, 2021 - Carolyn Chang Leave a comment

Hi, Everyone! I finally get to showcase an outfit that took me a while to refurbish and match up pieces. So far, I have finished two outfits and have four more to work on. Today, I’m going to showcase a White Hmong Wenshan outfit based in China as part of my Hmong Outfit Series.

:: White Hmong Wenshan ::

White Hmong in Wenshan county, Yunnan province in China wears this outfit. They are distinguished by their embroidered headwrap with tassels and shirts and aprons with white embroidery. Nowadays, the embroidery is either done completely by machine or a mix of machine embroidery and someone manually turning the fabric and filling in details with thread. In the past, the embroidery was all done by hand.

When I took my original jackets apart, I noticed similarities to the jackets of White Hmong in Laos and Thailand. One difference is that they don’t make an additional cut down the back of the shirt. This step usually allows the dab tsho to sit lower and not so close to the back of your neck. Additionally, I added more fabric to the sleeves to make the sleeves wider and more comfortable to wear. There is a slight taper to the sleeves as well.

Not all outfits have beads. I added beads to my outfit and used a simple pattern because I wanted to highlight the blue fabric I used on my shirt. Usually, beads are in a pattern to form flowers, butterflies, and birds. Unfortunately, I lack that patience.

:: White Skirt ::

Traditionally this group of Hmong wear white skirts. The apron/ sev tends to be short about the same length as the skirt or a little longer than the skirt. Typically, a square piece of embroidery is worn in the back under the two tw. I’ve heard it referred to as money bag / hnab nyiaj but it doesn’t have a pocket to store anything inside. To me, it looks closer to a super short second sev on the back. This would make sense as there are groups of Hmong in China that wear two sev with their skirts.

In addition, leg wraps or nrhoob with matching embroidery are worn as well. I thought about adding beads to my leg wraps for this outfit but I held back mainly because beading is extremely tedious for me.

:: Outfit Details ::

Head wrap / Phuam

Jacket / Tsho

Skirt / Tiab

Apron / Sev

Belt /Hlab

Leg wrap /Nrhoob

:: Photography ::

Simply.kcy

Thank you for reading! I want to give a shoutout to Chey, my photographer for this post. Please help support her work. I think that she took gorgeous photos during golden hour and would definitely recommend booking her if you are in the Bay Area.

Finally, I can’t wait to feature the next outfit. Hint- It’s going to be another outfit from China.

Hmong Outfit :: Butterflies & White Hmong Thailand

August 7, 2021October 3, 2021 - Carolyn Chang Leave a comment

Hi, Everyone! Even though I took a long break from my blog due to grad school and difficulty collecting pieces of outfits, I have a new update featuring a White Hmong Thailand outfit. While I can’t wait to show you the various outfits that I completed, I have to be patient and share one at a time. Who knows I might disappear again. Today, I’m going to show one of my favorite outfits as part of my Hmong Outfit Series.

:: White Hmong Thailand ::

This outfit is worn by some White Hmong in Northern Thailand. In the past, I’ve seen the outfit worn in different provinces from but not limited to Chiang Rai, Nan, and Phetchabun. They can be distinguished by their head wrap and extensive embroidery on their jackets and even pants! I love the cross-stitched butterflies on this outfit.

Jackets and apron pairings come in different colors. The most popular ones I’ve seen are blue or black. Usually, the headwrap has a grid stitch pattern and small pom poms or flat small circular fringe. I’m going to attempt to make my own outfit so lookout for a future blog post about the result. My shirt is pretty boxy since they didn’t trim excess out of the body of the shirt. It is also missing a dab tsho on the back of the shirt.

:: Blue Pants ::

Unlike the White Hmong in Sayaboury and Luang Prabang in Laos, this group typically wears blue pants. Usually, a royal blue. For special occasions, both men and women wear an embroidered pair of pants.

They wear two sev, one in the front and the back. Typically, the sev features cross-stitch or grid stitch, or a combination depending on the shirt pattern. On their tw siv, they embroider along the border as well. Along the ends of the tw siv, a siv paj co is attached. This group does not wear hlab ntxoo.

:: Outfit Details ::

Headwrap/ Phuam

Jacket/ Tsho

Pants/ ris

Apron / sev

Sash/tw siv & siv paj co

:: Photography ::

Victoria Chang

Thank you for reading! The next post will feature one of the outfits that I refurbished and resized. In my free time, I’m working on a couple more so I can wear matching outfits with my sister and cousin.

Fresno Hmong New Year :: Outfits & Yearly Reflection

January 1, 2019December 6, 2020 - Carolyn Chang Leave a comment

:: Fresno Hmong New Year ::

In my last post, I mentioned that I had prepared too many outfits this year for Fresno Hmong New Year. I had to narrow it down to the outfits that took me longest, had sentimental value, and had prior reservations. Now that Hmong New Year is over, and its the start of 2019 I can put my clothes away and start packing. I won’t be able to do as many Hmong Outfit Series posts as I’m starting grad school and moving to San Jose. However, I’ll try to fit in as many as I can throughout the year. I might be busy with grad school, but I know I won’t stop collecting outfits. Honestly, I’m a little sad that I won’t be able to sew as often but I know that I already have plenty of outfits for Hmong New Year.

:: D A Y 1 ::

I made my cousins and I matching outfits this year. We went with the White Hmong Xieng Khouang style. I wanted something simple but I made a mistake with my fabric choice. Next time if I’m short on time and making lots of outfits I’m sticking to cotton. Plain and simple. I actually burned one of the shirts while ironing so that set me back. It’s still rewarding when I look at our pictures together. It’s not my best work but looks good from far away. This year my cousin’s boyfriend dressed up with us as well!