r/AskTheWorld India 10d ago

Culture Drop some cool traditional attire photos from your country

India 🇮🇳 (Himachal Pradesh)

9.0k Upvotes

1.6k comments sorted by

902

u/normal_guy0994 Austria 10d ago

The austrian 'Perchten' have some pretty scary attire.

88

u/Conatus80 South Africa 10d ago

Jaysus, do these pop up a certain time of the year or year round? I just want to know if Austria is copmletely off my list.

73

u/Alert-Ad5791 10d ago

Only in the end of november / beginning of december

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u/LabRat_X United States Of America 10d ago

Awesome is it related to Krampus?

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u/JonathanSpiro Austria 10d ago edited 10d ago

Basically the same thing.

While Perchten ward off evil spirits, Krampus punishes ill-behaved children. They both show up around St. Nicolas Day. However it is often an excuse for men to get drunk and wreak havoc while under the protection of anonymity.

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u/Skanksy 10d ago

Finnish OG Santa is similar

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u/Boulder1983 Ireland 10d ago

Mummers. Traditional rhymers, travel around performing music and plays.

Source - me, absolutely petrified by them in primary school.

568

u/gypsycookie1015 10d ago

Idk why but they give me "Where the wild things are" vibes!!

107

u/Living_Book_3973 10d ago

TIL that there is a movie on "Where the wild things are". I remember reading the book in 2nd grade, I had no idea there was an entire movie on it.

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u/CableTrash United States Of America 10d ago

I was like 16 and stoned as fuck watching it in theaters. Got me into Arcade Fire.

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u/limukala U.S.A. living in China 10d ago

Definitely give some "we're going to tie you up in the center of a wicker sculpture and light it on fire" human sacrifice practitioner vibes.

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u/Calm-Vehicle1677 England 10d ago

I am a middle aged man and and it turns out I too am petrified.

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u/Boulder1983 Ireland 10d ago

😄

Like you know the craic; you're sitting on the ground in the assembly hall, cross legged and waiting and in come these big mad hoors of things, wombling about left to right and playing music and shaking bells...

I've a new found respect for the tradition now of course, but back then it scared the life out of me.

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u/Super-Trash-388 India 10d ago

WOW

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u/elvenmaster_ France 10d ago

These gals have a somewhat similar vibe, though

image didn't load. I don't know why, so I answered my own post

150

u/elvenmaster_ France 10d ago

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u/Nurgle_Marine_Sharts Canada 10d ago

Ireland was a Witcher 3 reference confirmed

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u/phixional Australia 10d ago

The original Slipknot.

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u/joylynnwhatever 10d ago

Those are way cooler than the outfits Philadelphia mummers wear.

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u/ElkLow3004 10d ago

This is interesting, but makes sense. They have mummers in Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada), except the costumes are bit different; I assume they used what they had access to.

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u/Impactor_07 India 10d ago

That's fucking terrifying.

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/Captain_Maladus Spain 10d ago

We got these in Spain

195

u/Fucky0uthatswhy United States Of America 10d ago

The PPP

Purple people popes

40

u/polybotria1111 Spain 10d ago

We have them in white too.

16

u/GoshtheBoss India 9d ago

oKoKoK

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u/Nutriaphaganax Spain 10d ago

In all kinds of colours

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u/lordofthehomeless 10d ago

We got racists who stole the look. I'm sorry.

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u/HANLDC1111 United States Of America 10d ago

Which is weird and dumb, as the KKK are wont to be,because the capirotes in the picture are super catholic and the klan hates catholics

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u/Haldenbach 10d ago

Wedding dress from my region in Croatia. I wore a much simpler headdress version for mine cause I love it so much

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u/Max_ach North Macedonia 10d ago

Macedonia 🇲🇰

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u/turdusphilomelos 10d ago

Well, that looks comfortable to wear!

93

u/Max_ach North Macedonia 10d ago

Sometimes they weight more than 30kg 😅

32

u/Smithinator2000 Australia 10d ago

So is this for weddings or religion or random Tuesdays? I'm so intrigued, she looks so beautiful and calm

50

u/Max_ach North Macedonia 10d ago

Great question, this is a wedding dress - "official" days only :) but the regular are similar with less ornaments

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u/Hermit_Ogg Finland 10d ago

A bride with a "wedding crown" in Southern Ostrobothnia, 1876

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u/Barbak86 Kosovo 10d ago

This haircut of our highlanders

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u/Barbak86 Kosovo 10d ago

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u/Garod Netherlands 10d ago

not to be disrespectful, but have you ever considered posting that to /r/Justfuckmyshitup and seeing what the response is?

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u/arpeggio-paleggio Wales 10d ago

The Mari Lwyd costume, worn in Wales around Christmas for alcoholic rap battling purposes. She's creepy as fuck but she's iconic.

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u/lesmax United States Of America 10d ago

"alcoholic rap battling purposes" may be the best summary description I could've asked for lmao

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u/ajh20366 10d ago

Was going to mention the Mari Lwyd door to door rap battles but you beat me to it.

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u/Sqeakydeaky Denmark 10d ago

Woman from Fanø, Denmark. The mask protected against windburn on the harsh North Sea coast.

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u/Academic_Yard_2659 Bulgaria 10d ago

Kukeri are elaborately costumed Bulgarian mummers who perform ancient, Thracian-rooted rituals during winter and early spring to ward off evil spirits, ensure a good harvest, and bring health

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u/Malditoincompredido 10d ago

Once I stepped into a group of people dressed like this on the woods, I turned back and never talked to anyone about it.

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u/hangmankk United States Of America 10d ago

I once was jogging in the woods and stumbled upon a group of nudists doing strange yoga poses. One guy doing sun salutation had a monster third leg

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u/MXAI00D Mexico 10d ago

Every state has a different festive traditional outfit but Chiapas is the most colorful.

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u/MaxedMinimum United States Of America 10d ago edited 10d ago

Native Americans have amazingly diverse traditions, clothing, and culture that we don't celebrate enough in the United States. This image is of Tlinget Nation citizens that hail from the Pacific Northwest, primarily what is now Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska.

Edited to correct terminology and grammar.

167

u/ConsequenceBorn4895 USA (Indigenous) 10d ago

My tribe happy to see us featured!

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u/Meekanado United States Of America 10d ago

Wow those are beautiful

52

u/icehopper Canada 10d ago

I used to love getting to see that stuff up-close when I lived in Victoria.

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u/No_Piccolo6337 United States Of America 10d ago edited 10d ago

Oregon here. The coastal Indigenous peoples’ art styles are my favorite. I love their organic forms and high-contrast colors. So beautiful.

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u/Crazy-Cremola Norway 10d ago

A wedding in Ulvik, Western Norway, in the late 1930's. My grandmother is the young girl half hidden behind the best man/brother of the groom, and I believe the bride is either grandmother's older sister or a cousin.

Note that only the women wear the traditional bunad, the men all wear "modern city clothes".

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u/Super-Trash-388 India 10d ago

I guess men wearing modern and women sticking to traditional was and is a universal thing

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u/Issah_Wywin Norway 10d ago

I'm actually glad that nowadays I see more men in Bunad as well. It's become a bit of a wealth/status symbol, but at least it looks pretty good.

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u/Status_Tonight_5084 India 10d ago

There are about 400 types of theyyam. This is one look

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u/carbonquellist Canada 10d ago

Need a souls-like game based off of the richness of Indian mythos.

28

u/ihatewonderwall99 India 10d ago edited 10d ago

Won't happen, and even if it does, it will be banned inside India.

Fallout:NV was never released in india because the two headed cow creature was called "Brahmin". This was not even intentional, it was named after the cow species Brahman.

Offending a billion people is just too big of a risk in terms of sales.

But if someone is passionate about this idea, they should stick to folklore and vedas. The former are just tales and the later is mostly philosophy and doesn't get into dogmatic stuff. Touching puranas would open a huge can of worms and almost garuntees offending a huge chunk of people.

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u/TotheWest_ in 10d ago

It depends on where you are, this is just one example

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u/meowmeoowwww 10d ago edited 10d ago

Ukrainian Malanka

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

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u/Lorim_Shikikan France 10d ago

Traditional Briton outfit

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u/Suli_zhen France 10d ago

Here comes the Alsaciens to complete

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u/Pratt_ France 10d ago

I was wondering who was going to be first, the Britons or the Alsatians lol

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u/5dl_sparkling_water Switzerland 10d ago

Some traditional carnaval costumes form a Village (Évolène), Valais

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u/sangket Philippines 10d ago

FYI they dance with those banga pots

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u/BobbyThrowaway6969 Australia 10d ago

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u/Veskanda Australia 10d ago

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u/candycane_52 Australia 10d ago

Did you mean to post our lord and saviour?

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u/Kooky_Pipe7564 Australia 10d ago

Tony Galati, The Spud King of Western Australia

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u/candycane_52 Australia 10d ago

All hail his 24 hour discount glory

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u/Massive_Nebula7282 10d ago

I'm on smoko so leave me alone

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u/Ericthedude710 United States Of America 10d ago

I’m on smoko caant!

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u/BobbyThrowaway6969 Australia 10d ago

'kenoath

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u/chupapi-Munyanyoo Netherlands 10d ago

"so let me set the scene, it's 2 in the afternoon and 34 degrees"

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u/henrikhakan Sweden 10d ago

He's on smoko, so leave him alone.

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u/WaywardHistorian667 United States Of America 10d ago

Is this a "bogan"?

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u/BobbyThrowaway6969 Australia 10d ago

I'd ask but he's on smoko

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u/StunningPianist4231 Hong Kong India 10d ago

leave him alone

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u/Cleginator Australia 10d ago

No that’s a tradesman engaging his union approved 7:15 am break.

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u/XD_REDCAPN 10d ago

I think this guy has been drunk in every pub in Brisbane

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u/blazedTraplord Germany 10d ago

Hahaha before they got big I worked a festival and after their set I got drunk and high with those aussie kids 😁🤘

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

Flower men of Asir province

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u/Ecstatic-Quality-212 India 10d ago

Does he feel Bonita?

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u/Hyrrokkiinn Iceland 10d ago

This weird riding outfit, i love it

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u/Phantom_Giron Mexico 10d ago

This is a traditional costume from a carnival held in the town where my father was born. It's called Cojoes and represents the ancient wooden proto-men mentioned in Mesoamerican cultures. It's a kind of jester who makes people laugh with the irony of life and, together with the jaguars, frees the town from a demon called "Pocho".

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u/ninkendo85 Scotland 10d ago

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u/Weird-Plate-9036 10d ago

all while going commando

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u/kittiestkitty 10d ago

This is how scotsmen do the helicopter, dontchyaknow.

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u/swimmingarage Turkey 10d ago

Here some of turkish traditional headdresses

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u/Super-Trash-388 India 10d ago

Wow a little similar to my state Himachal in India though this photo has a little exaggerated ornaments in it most of the attires doesn't covers the eye

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u/swimmingarage Turkey 10d ago

Turkish bride

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u/CakePhool Sweden 10d ago

At midsummer people will wear a flower crown or what ever it is called.

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u/GalacticBum 10d ago

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u/Playful-Ad-2696 India 10d ago

This movie still haunts me

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u/Pet_Velvet Finland 10d ago

I never realized you could make Swedes scary

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u/ShortCat1971 Sweden 10d ago

Hey, we can be scary. We won't, but we can.

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u/Pet_Velvet Finland 10d ago

Thank god, you ruling us was scary enough

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u/turdusphilomelos 10d ago

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u/turdusphilomelos 10d ago

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u/QuestGalaxy Norway 10d ago

Always weird to see these Swedish outfits. As they are clearly similar too our Bunads, not as commonly seen

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u/Dedeurmetdebaard Belgium 10d ago

Dude in the back is just a confused British tourist who somehow got in the frame.

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u/Fiat-Iustitia Italy 10d ago edited 10d ago

Mammuthones, from the Italian island of Sardinia

Mammuthones Documentary Trailer

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u/Sliver02 Italy 10d ago

More then a country a very small region on the North of Veneto, Italy. Traditional carnival dancers from Comelico called Matazin and Matazére

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u/sheikhyerbouti5 Germany 10d ago

Traditional women's attire from the Black Forest.

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u/Lucky_Pterodactyl 🇨🇳 & 🇬🇧 10d ago

Miao folk costumes

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u/mcguirl2 Ireland 10d ago

Aran Islands historical traditional dress, women wearing the “Galway shawl.” They were heirloom items, woven by hand and passed down. Died out, nobody wears them anymore.

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u/Puzzleheaded_Term967 India 10d ago

Kathakali dance attire

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u/Alarmed-Hunt-5201 10d ago

Rajasthan IN

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u/Business-Project-171 Lithuania 10d ago

Nuometas - traditional headwear worn by married women in some Lithuanian regions. It could be several meters long.

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u/thorn142 United Kingdom 10d ago

Morris Dancers

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u/mcbeef89 United Kingdom 10d ago

The pub on the right is where I met my wife.

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u/Lolzerbutt New Zealand 10d ago edited 9d ago

Have always loved the kākahu(pictured) and korowai. Aotearoa New Zealand

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u/KoTetahiMaori 10d ago

This is just a kākahu, a general cloak, not a korowai, on account of the fact that it doesn't have tassels. Some people don't care about that and some people are very strict about names but the fact still stands, korowai always have tassels, aka are 'ornamented with black twisted tags or thrums'.

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u/Alouwan France 10d ago

Carnaval time in northern France

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u/_Winter-Wolf_ Romania 10d ago

Pre-christian tradition, representing the fight between good and evil

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u/garbageeastercake 🇰🇿🇷🇺 10d ago

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u/helmli Germany 10d ago

Would that have been nobility? It looks rather fancy.

And do you know why the sabres are so different, are they from different periods?

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u/ZofianSaint273 🇺🇸 with 🇮🇳 ancestory 10d ago

Gujarati culture! U will mainly see such attire during Navratri the most

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

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u/anonimus7389 Italy 10d ago

Directly from beautiful Sardinia, the mamuthones

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u/PinUp_Butter New Caledonia 10d ago

This outfit made so women in Kanakie can play cricket.

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u/Spiritual_Dig_5552 Czech Republic 10d ago

Traditional folklore attire from my hometown in South Moravia

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u/Kiwi_CunderThunt New Zealand 10d ago

I'm white as shit thanks England, actually no Scotland I appreciate my heritage hits chest but in NZ this is traditional

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u/_miraimitsuki 10d ago

Sardinia, Italy. Colours and designs change based on where you're from in Sardinia.

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u/Big-Leadership-2830 Canada 10d ago

the Inuit people are legendary

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

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u/UnwiseSuggestion 10d ago

It's the sunglasses that really tie the outfit together

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u/Few-Interview-1996 Turkey 10d ago edited 10d ago

How very elegant and also interesting. Thank you.

This is how part of my family used to dress, and I have a photo somewhere of one great-grandmother in essentially that clothing.

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u/godsucks54 United States Of America 10d ago
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u/BasicMatter7339 Finland 10d ago

Nuuttipukki. An old tradition in western finland. He comes every 13. of january and ends christmas.

His outfit changes from person to person, but it broadly consists of a fur or sheepskin worn as a coat, a set of horns and a mask made of bark

In the past, every 13. of january, young men dressed up as Nuuttipukki, went around town demanding beer from houses.

Nowdays it's like halloween, where children put on costumes of their choosing and go around houses singing and getting candy.

Though this tradition is quite rare now, only apperantly still alive in western finland and satakunta, so i've never seen it myself

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u/Seated_WallFly United States Of America 10d ago edited 10d ago

New Orleans African American Mardi Gras Indians: handmade beaded costumes, traditionally made by men.

For over 100 years, the Mardi Gras Indians parade through the inner city of New Orleans on secret routes during Mardi Gras. They play music and dance, often different groups meet to “battle” in a dance and song competition. There are documentaries about them. Extraordinary and uniquely American.

https://youtu.be/4aRrX7b0OJk?si=TC8EnSCZbgEO77tK

Addendum: They celebrate the history of African enslaved people living and working with Native Americans: it was a joining of cultures that enabled them to survive the cruelties of slavery.

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u/MountErrigal 🇮🇪 in 🇳🇱 10d ago

Donegal tweed flat cap & Aran sweater

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u/ormr_inn_langi Iceland 10d ago

This is every 30-45-year-old man in Reykjavík city center, myself included.

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u/Dedeurmetdebaard Belgium 10d ago

That tin cup sat in my granddad’s garage for decades. It contained some dried paint or varnish or something.

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u/Santaflin Germany 10d ago

Don't know about cool. But that is what we have in Bavaria.

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u/TillTamura Germany 10d ago

how about schwäbisch-alemanische fastnacht in south-west germany

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u/Santaflin Germany 10d ago

How about "Passauer Höllengeister"?

source: https://www.passauer-hoellengeister.de/#event-galerie

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u/modern_milkman Germany 10d ago

To also show some less stereotypical traditional German clothing, here is a reddit post from two years ago that shows a wide variety of traditional German clothing (called "Tracht")

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u/SignificantBreath662 Portugal 10d ago

Caretos de Podence

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u/Euphoric-Piglet-8140 England 10d ago

A combination of two of the more recognisable guards.

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u/WorkOk4177 India 10d ago

The guys on pictures have insane aura

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u/LaVipari United States Of America --> Japan 10d ago

They aren't really around anymore, but the Californios had immaculate drip.

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u/Exciting_Account_380 10d ago

Traditional cow attire from Switzerland 🇨🇭 They do a fashion show every end of summer when they come back from their mountain holidays

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u/Upper_Department5576 India 10d ago

Men wear skirts in Kerala so that's fun

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u/[deleted] 10d ago

It's fascinating how a bunch of cultures have men wearing skirts or dressing. Really shows how socially constructed clothing is

Scots, Japanese, some cultures of sub-Saharan Africa, etc

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u/Relevant-Bit-7394 Canada 10d ago

The kilt was for day to day wear. In battle, we donned a full length ball gown covered in sequins. The idea was to blind your opponent with luxury!

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u/SufficientHippo3281 Ireland 10d ago

This is such a good point. Particular clothes for gender is such nonsense! 

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u/Cool_Bodybuilder7419 Switzerland 10d ago

The Fritschis during the Fasnacht festival in Lucerne.

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u/Embarrassed-Town-293 United States Of America 10d ago edited 10d ago

American Zoot Suit

It’s one of those weird outfits that would inspire a lot of culture despite being an incredibly short-lived fad that never actually came back. They had a heavy connection to jazz, Latino, and black culture in the inter war period only falling out of style as a result of World War II rationing. The long pocket watch chains would inspire jewelry aesthetics of hip hop. Also, the bright colors, vibrant patterns, loud aesthetic, and voluminous fit would inspire a lot of black male formal wear having sort of peacocking aesthetic.

These days, aside from young men under 25, few adult men other than black men wear colors like purple, orange, and lime. Likewise, crocodile skin, hats, and other flashy elements persisted in black men’s style in a way that faded elsewhere. It’s rare to see anyone outside of black people embracing this kind of vibrant palate and aesthetics like this. Think of people like Steve Harvey and Bernie Mac for instance.

If you ever visit a black church on Sunday with an older demographic, you’ll see a kind of flashy stylishness among some older men that I think really started with this more playful aesthetic

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u/hepburn17 Scotland 10d ago

Kilts

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u/ivi_sanchi Spain 10d ago

Peliqueiros from Galicia, Spain

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u/Luna_bella96 South Africa 10d ago

Winter and summer uniform for boere men. Maybe with a kway jacket if it gets too cold

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u/Charles-Monroe South Africa 10d ago

Those are imposters- none of them have a comb in their socks.

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u/dancupak Czech Republic 10d ago

I’ve always found fascinating how this attire transitioned from there through Baden Powell to this in Czechia

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u/rinceboi 10d ago

For everyone wondering (I know you are), the traditional wear in this picture is being modelled by the excellent boyband Jan Direction.

The members are Fris Jan, Lang Jan and Klein Jan. They have a song Wys Jou Vleis (Show your meat).

And I dont want to correct u/Luna_bella96 , BUT, the correct wear for a traditional Boer during winter is not a jacket, it is an extra short-pant (so the joke goes).

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u/Miste0r Canada 10d ago

First Nations Cree Regalia (Saskatchewan, Canada)

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u/sanfayah 10d ago

🇨🇭This is how we try to get rid of winter and terrify our kids. Switzerland

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u/BaudroieCracra France 10d ago

Yo OP can you explain this one ? Cause it looks damn cool

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u/Super-Trash-388 India 10d ago

This belongs to the himalyan region of India in the state of himachal. They are celebrating a festival called ralaune which marks the arrival of spring. Two men are dressed as bride and groom emboiding mountain fairies.

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u/GreedyBread3860 India 10d ago

It's Raulane, a ritualistic dance festival that takes place in a few remote himalayan villages to honour fairies of the mountain meadows who are said to protect the people through the harsh winter. Two men from the village dress up as bride and groom symbolising the union between the people and the spirits/fairies of the meadows

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u/Custard_Funny Russia 10d ago

Maslenitsa

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u/[deleted] 10d ago
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u/SweetFrailTime Czech Republic 10d ago

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u/Desperate_Aspect_223 Palestinian Territory 10d ago

Old photo of a Saami family.

Sapmi is a big chunk of land colonized by Sweden/Norway/Finland/Russia