Russian Folk Costume

Sender: Ave

Young Countrywoman Folk Costume

Clothes Hanging Rack

Sender: Rina-bis
Russian contemporary art

Accessories

Sender: Elena
Colour coordinated shoes, ring, beaded bag? Just the sort of accessories most women go for! :)

17th Century Clothing

Sender: Alena

I don't have the translation of the explanatory script at the back of this card. But my guess is, it is court clothing in the 17th Century. So elaborate!

Hand Made Bobbin Lace of Vamberk

Sender: LucieZezulkova

Old handmade bobbin lace, from the late 1950's, Vamberk, Czech Republic

From the Museum of Lacemaking

I gasped with delight when I received this postcard. Ooh...so beautiful! Handmade bobbin lacework! The lacemakers use bobbins, made from wood, bone or plastic, to hold threads which are woven together and held in place with pins stuck in the pattern on the pillow to create intricate lace patterns like the lace in the picture. Very difficult and requires tons of concentration and patience, I bet. But look at the end products, they are worth all the pain!  

I read that Vamberk's handmade lace is an established cultural heritage. There are special schools for this craft's continuity and even international meetings of the lacemakers in Vamberk. I fully support the continuity of this craft even though I am not from Vamberk!

Hot Pink Shoes

Sender: Purpleferret
'Y' is for 'Youthful' footwear

Shelagh Duffet, an artist living in Nova Scotia, Canada.
www.AliceinParisLovesArtandTea.blogspot.com

Shoes and Eiffel Tower

Sender: Petit Pilote
'S' is for 'Shoes'
Shoes and Eiffel Tower, Paris, 1974

A Nouvelles Images card! I just adore this artistic composition! Don't you?

Yellow Silk Robe

Sender: wqzy8023

Postcard of the Palace Museum: Empress Dowager Cixi's unlined yellow silk robe with embroidered pants. The Guangxu reign (1875 - 1908).

I read that the Qing Dynasty had a strict dress code for court ladies where designs of clothing varied according to ladies' status, the season, and the occasion. Empress Dowager Cixi had the highest status in the court and thus enjoyed the highest standard of dressing code. She wore silk robes embroidered with butterflies, dragons and flowers. 

Kurents in Ptuj

Sender: Copacabana

Copacabana wrote about "Kurents" and their costumes. Some are really heavy, due to the  bells weighing 50 to 60 kg.

Ptuj is a city in Eastern Slovenia on the Drava River. It is known for its historic buildings and its Kurentovanje festival. Kurentovanje is a ten day long rite of spring and fertility involving feasting, processions and caroling. The main event of Kurentovanje is the procession of traditional carnival masks and groups. Its name is derived from the "Kurent", a mythical figure who was believed to have the power  to chase away winter and usher in spring. Groups of people dressed as Kurents wear sheepskins, don masks and fur caps and hang around their waists, chains with huge bells attached to it. All that resulting noise does a great job of chasing away winter. The Kurent also wear heavy boots and special red or green leg warmers, while the head is covered by a towering furry hat festooned with ribbons, and a mask typically sporting a long, red tongue. A wooden club is normally carried in the left hand. By the end of Carnival a Kurent will have collected many handkerchiefs (given by girls & women) which he carries tied around the club.

Franconian Traditional Clothes

Sender: gerschjg