Fashion - My PNG View
Hi again!Well this time around it is fashion that’s got me to put something together. Mind you, I’m not much of a fashion freak. A bit scruffy looking but not as bad as Shaggy in Scooby Doo. Well, that’s another fashion all together!
I was amazed at the way fashion has changed over the years in my country. It has been slow but gradual. We’ve gone from the return of the flairs in the early nineties, the return of the afros in the late nineties, something that I reckon the Bone Thugs N Harmony brought back and more recently the cargo pants with 6 pockets.
It has truly changed! Late last year I was at a bus stop and noticed 
something that really caught my eye. Because it was the year end, most schools were closing up with their presentation days and graduation days. There were two little girls all dressed up in “Bilum” dresses or dresses made of string.
String bags in Papua New Guinea are called “BILUMS” in Pidgin and “KIAPA” in Motu. Pidgin and Motu are the most spoken languages in the country besides the local languages. There are more than 700 languages in Papua New Guinea by the way, so Pidgin and Motu are widely used to communicate.
I was lucky to have a camera with me so I called the two girls over and asked them to take shots in their “Bilum” dresses. Well when they were up close, I discovered further that they also had their slippers or sandals improvised with matching strings to their dresses. I even took shots of one. Anyway, they obliged proudly and I took shots of them
both. I found out that the dresses were sewn by their mother for that special day.
“Bilum” dresses have recently come into fashion here in Papua New Guinea. It originated from Goroka, in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. It’s been received well and can be a top fashion item if pursued. At the moment, to my knowledge, there is no mass production of the “Bilum” dresses.
I hope one day that this unique Papua New Guinea product can be recognized in the modern world.
Jobby
something that really caught my eye. Because it was the year end, most schools were closing up with their presentation days and graduation days. There were two little girls all dressed up in “Bilum” dresses or dresses made of string.String bags in Papua New Guinea are called “BILUMS” in Pidgin and “KIAPA” in Motu. Pidgin and Motu are the most spoken languages in the country besides the local languages. There are more than 700 languages in Papua New Guinea by the way, so Pidgin and Motu are widely used to communicate.
I was lucky to have a camera with me so I called the two girls over and asked them to take shots in their “Bilum” dresses. Well when they were up close, I discovered further that they also had their slippers or sandals improvised with matching strings to their dresses. I even took shots of one. Anyway, they obliged proudly and I took shots of them
both. I found out that the dresses were sewn by their mother for that special day.“Bilum” dresses have recently come into fashion here in Papua New Guinea. It originated from Goroka, in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. It’s been received well and can be a top fashion item if pursued. At the moment, to my knowledge, there is no mass production of the “Bilum” dresses.
I hope one day that this unique Papua New Guinea product can be recognized in the modern world.
Jobby
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