This week has been a flurry of acitivities for us. My brother in law is getting married early next month so preparations are underway. Weddings are a really festive occassion here in Cambodia. I’ve attended several weddings (I have a post in draft about marriage and customs here in Cambodia, hope I could get around to posting it soon..) here and people even guest really make the effort to dress formally for the occassion.
I’m more used to wearing semi-formal or cocktail dresses to parties but since its a family affair I decided to have a tailored made traditional Cambodian dress made for the wedding. I spent the day shopping yesterday for the clothes. I really miss shopping in the Philippines, and waiting for the sale season to get the best prices.
I bought a blue violet Cambodian handmade silk for a long skirt. Plus I also bought 2 sets of top. Its made of lace with satin silk under. Cambodian ladies like to have their clothes really to be so decorative but I prefer a more simpler look so the ones I chose were the ones with less bead work. Here’s a sample of what most Khmer women wear for wedding parties.. I love the skirt.. I’m just not sure it would look good on me. I’m not so used to wearing long skirts. Then again, hope I could pull it off..
The handmade silk can be really pricey. The good ones can go for $80 up per piece. Whew! All in all, I spent a good amount just for clothes yesterday.. sigh!
Handmade silk photo courtesy of www.visit-mekong.com
Photo of dresses from Moniphal, visit her album to see more of traditional Khmer dresses used for weddings
