in this case, they were going for a lavish high school production of Mid-Summer Night’s Dream look (you know, all whimsical trees and flowery bowers). The other main difference is that they’re segregated by gender. I’d like to imagine that the men have epic limbo contests or something but I really don’t know what they do. However, I do now know what the women do… they jiggle around in preposterously awesome dresses.Seriously, these things are a wonder. I’ve never seen anything like them in the west. It’s as if every dress must have 5 dresses’ worth of stuff on it. Lace? Check. Satin? Check? Rhinestones? Check. Emroidery? Appliques? Sequins? Check, check, and extra-check (the more sequins the better). Velvet? Mesh? Pearls? Attached 3-quarter lengths sleaves? At least 3 conflicting neon colors and an asymmetrical neckline? Check! More than anything else, they resemble figure skating costumes made into full length ballgowns.
These are some extremely restrained examples:
Adding to the peculiarity of it is that, whilst all the women are dressed like this, not all of them will show it. Some are sashaying their magenta be-ribboned asses around, cleavage everywhere and eyes so heavily made-up that they sink to slits. Others wear the abeya (floor length black gown) but with their perfect coifs uncovered. Others keep the head scarf and the abeya on. Others, usually only a few older women, wear the headpiece that extends over the nose and covers the mouth with a triange of metal (the shape of these always reminds me of a beak and so when I see their wrinkled faces with pointed metal beaks I see some sort of half-hag / half-hawk creature of Greek mythology). Anyway, all this is in the same room, so as you look around, you see a lot of black, a few bird monsters, and pockets of intense color and cleavage.
I wish I could share pictures, but of course cameras are forbidden because no man can see them dressed that way unless he’s the hubby. Sorry! Girls only!
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