United States

Hawaiian bangles avaHawaiian culture is wonderful. It’s much deeper than you see from the first glance. And Hawaiian clothing and jewelry traditions can easily surprise you. For example, did you know that Hawaiian traditional metal bangles with engraved text and patterns originate from 19th-century England? Of course, before that, Hawaiian people used authentic jewels and adornments (made from natural materials, like wood, seashells, beads, etc), but these metal bangles became a large and significant part of the local culture and heritage. They’re not just baubles, but lovely jewelry pieces that tell a story.

walking gown avaWhen we see beautiful vintage gowns in museums and at various exhibitions of private collections, we often can’t begin to understand the amount of work done to preserve those pieces. It’s a pity, thousands of historical garments are kept in museum storage and seldom are shown to the visitors. But luckily, these days, the museums started to make videos for us to see the authentic clothes of different eras. Here is an American dress from the late 1800s displayed by The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Conservation Laboratory.

Loom avaIn this article and video, an American master weaver will tell us a little about a barn loom that was used to make coarse linen for slaves’ clothing. This loom is exhibited at Mount Vernon, in Virginia, the US. And by the way, Virginian weaving looms differ somewhat from other linen looms – you can read about it below. Also, this is your chance to watch a 200-years-old American weaving loom in work.

KSU Museum avaAmerican history of fashion is rather special. People in the US usually consider the clothing of first settlers as its beginning. That’s why the exhibition of the Kent State University Museum shows vintage garments of the mid-1700s as the oldest pieces in the collection. In this article, we’ll demonstrate the close-ups of various dresses and other clothing articles of the 18th – the beginning of the 19th century. Also, you’ll find out some curious facts about American and European fashion.

Civil War fashion avaAmerican Civil War fashion gave us beautiful garments – floating skirts, delicate fabrics, elegant decorations, and so much more. This period of American history is meaningful and complicated, while the female dresses used at that time are pretty simple but extremely graceful. Here are several women’s and girl’s dresses (typical for the 1860s) exhibited in the Kent State University Museum, the US. They can tell us a lot about the Civil War fashion and lifestyle.

Kapa avaIf you still believe that the Hawaiian folk costume consists only of coconut cups and banana leaves, this article may surprise you. Locals did produce handmade fabric. And, be the way, the process was complicated and very long. The traditional Hawaiian fabric is made from a special tree bark. To think that you can make fabric out of the bark of a tree is amazing. That was the fabric of the Hawaiians – that was their kapa cloth.

make Santa Suit
If you don’t have a Santa Suit at home, you know, one of those that you can put on and then you're walking around pretending you're Santa. We’re gonna show you how to make a funny one here.

pilgrim avaThe pilgrims. What did they look like? And, more important, what did they wear? Americans are taught about the life of pilgrims who came to the New World in the 16th-17th century, even the kids know a lot about the first settlers. But the info the people are told is not always true and accurate. For example, how do you think, is it true that small pilgrim boys wore girly gowns? Find out below.

hawaiians avaIf you still think that Hawaiian national costume consists of a coconut bra and a grass skirt, this article is for you. The traditional clothing of Hawaii is much more delicate, complicated, and good-looking. Some costumes survived only because people had secretly kept their traditions. Modern variants of Hawaiian folk outfits are rather modest, but years ago locals used to wear body paintings and tattoos instead of clothing.