The Land of Smiles Brings YOU: The Three Hmong Amigos*

I know, I know, you've been wondering why you haven't seen this before now. Well, here they are. (There have been so many great posts, I figure I'm going to have to bump somebody sometime, so, here you go.)

Here's the story: Most of the girls in the program have, at some point, tried on their family's spare Hmong clothes (some families even manufacture the clothes/jewelry, which facilitated the whole business.) So recently, April(on the left)'s family asked if some of the students could come over and try on their Hmong clothes; these people LOVE to have silly Americans get all dressed up like Hmong people. I mean love. So, here we are. And Jolysa is on the right. 

All of these pieces are produced by hand; people sit on their porches and spend all day just cutting little pieces of metal and stringing it all together; it's quite the process.

These clothes are traditionally ("traditionally") only worn on Hmong New Year, a time when most men and women find spouses during one of the only respites from the rigorous farming life. Oh and all the cross stitching is done by hand as well, for the most part. 

These are two of April's sisters: Ntxhais and Lia. They are too cute.

This is April's mom, Npis. And their trusty Mazda. (I spend lots of time at April's house actually; it's in the center of the village - convenient for emergency bathroom trips - and she has a sitting room that's good for getting work done.)

Um, they told us to look at the sky . . . I guess.

Then they told us to stand in the middle of the street . . . on the busiest road in the whole village . . . fortunately that means it was perfectly safe.

When I was ready to be done taking photos, they asked us to sit nicely and flare out our skirts. The pleating is also done by hand.

As I was getting changed back into my regular clothes, they offered me a second blouse . . . I put it on. But hey, at least I got to match with April in our matching outfits. Don't I looked thrilled?

If you're really curious, there's a photo essay about Hmong traditional clothing (and how it's changing). If you want to see real Hmong people wearing Hmong clothes, this is your chance. (Or just head out to your trusty Hmong New Year, the biggest party's in Fresno, apparently. Also, the Hmong Studies Journal is one of the most legitimate sites for publication about Hmong topics, in case you were wondering. Don't get me started . . . or you'll never hear the end of it.)

*We watched The real Three Amigos the night before, hence why it was on our brain. (But it's pretty spot-on right?)