Ladies of Kathmandu (Nepal 2017-03)

Hanging around at Asan Chowk, Kathmandu. Photograph with Leica IIIC camera on Tmax 400 film.

At the Asan Chowk, October 2017.

Dear readers, I have examined (so to speak) the ladies of Kathmandu before. But I could not resist another survey in case they had changed since my 2011 trip.

Taking in the view at Asan Chowk, Kathmandu

The ladies in question are (or were) almost exclusively European (or Western). (But many of these ladies may now be made in India.) Many of them have poofy hair, as if they stepped in from the 1970s. Well, some parts of Kathmandu do look like the 1970s, although the rapid rebuilding after the terrible 2015 earthquakes is changing the city rapidly. I concluded that for Kathmandu's lovelies, color photography really is more effective.

It is strange how lovely lingerie

Can affect a gal's false modesty

If she's wearing silk and satin,

Satin and silk.

Though she knows that boys are evil imps

Yet she yearns to give those boys a glimpse

If she's wearing silk and satin,

Satin and silk.

You cannot expect a lady to exert that certain pull

If she's wearing cotton stockings

And her bloomers are made of wool,

But a woman's woes are at an end

And she's all prepared to make a friend

If she's wearing silk and satin,

She's for pettin' and for pattin'

If she's wearing silk and satin, satin and silk.

It is strange what undergarments do

To convert a maiden's point of view

If she's wearing silk and satin,

Satin and silk.

She will never say her pride was hurt

Should a breeze blow by and lift her skirt

If she's wearing silk and satin,

Satin and silk.

"Satin and Silk" from Silk Stockings, Music: Cole Porter; Lyrics: Cole Porter; Premiere: Thursday, February 24, 1955

The roads near Chhetrapata and around Indra Chowk (square or intersection) are full of fabric and tailoring shops. This clustering of small industries is similar to what you see in many cities, like Athens. And to my untrained eye, the fashions look much alike, so I wonder how a customer chooses one shop over another?

To prove that I am an unbiased reviewer of fashions, here are the gentlemen of Kathmandu, all decked out in their latest dress. "Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not express'd in fancy; rich, not gaudy; For the apparel oft proclaims the man," (Hamlet, William Shakespeare). In the top picture, I am not sure what the little kids are wearing; clothes for a party or wedding, perhaps?

Cloth vendor, near Chettrapati, Kathmandu (from Nexus 4 phone)

The two black and white photographs are from Kodak Tmax 400 film, exposed with a Leica IIIC camera with 5cm f/2.0 Summitar lens. The color frames are Kodak Ektar 100 film from a Yashica Electro 35CC compact rangefinder camera with 35mm f/1.8 lens.