Historians believe that during the reign of the Chinese Emperor Cheng, scarves made of cloth were used to identify officers or the rank of Chinese warriors.

In later times scarves were also worn by soldiers of all ranks in Croatia around the 17th Century. The only difference in the soldiers’ scarves that designated a difference in rank was that the officers had silk scarves whilst the other ranks were issued with cotton scarves. The men’s scarves were sometimes referred to as “cravats” (from the Croatian term kravata), and were the precursor of the necktie.

The scarf became a real fashion accessory by the early 19th Century for both men and women. By the middle of the 20th Century scarves became one of the most essential and versatile clothing accessories for both men and women.

In recent years, scarves have experienced a revival. In cold climates, a thick knitted scarf, often of wool, is tied around the neck to keep warm. This is usually accompanied by a warm hat and heavy coat.

In drier, dustier warm climates, or in environments where there are many airborne contaminants, a thin headscarf, kerchief, or bandanna is often worn over the head to keep the hair clean.

Over time, this custom has evolved into a fashionable item in many cultures, particularly among women. The cravat, an ancestor of the necktie and bow tie, evolved from scarves of this sort in Croatia.

Religions such as Judaism under Halakhah (Jewish Law) promotes modest dress code among women. Married Jewish women wear a tichel to cover their hair. The Tallit is commonly worn by Jewish men especially for prayers which they wrap around their head to recite the blessing of the Tallit.

Young Sikh boys, and sometimes girls often wear a bandanna to cover their hair, before moving onto the turban. Older Sikhs may wear them as an under-turban.

Islam promotes modest dress among men and women; many Muslim women wear a headscarf often known as a hijab, and in Quranic Arabic as the khimar. The Keffiyeh is commonly used by Muslim men. Several Christian denominations include a scarf known as a Stole as part of their liturgical vestments.

Wollen scarves with Bandhani work are becoming very popular. Bandhani or Bandhej is the name of the tie and dye technique used commonly in Bhuj and Mandvi of Kutch District of Gujarat State in India.

Scarves can be tied in many ways including the pussy-cat bow, the square knot, the cowboy bib, the ascot knot, the loop, the necktie, and the gypsy kerchief.

Balancing faith and fashion can be a challenge for following islam women, finding ways to blend your spiritual side with personal style. today many are the options to be faith minded and fashion conscious.

fashiongonerogue

Wikepedia.

Dayly Telegraph

 Scarf me by Adriana Bittencourt

Scarf me by Adriana Bittencourt / Brazil

I  recently came across  a quote that said: “An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”

I stayed up until past midnight to see both the new and the old year leave.

As my custom on this occasion,  I sit quietly and evaluate through meditation a strict check list of my previous year performances before starting  with a fresh list of new resolutions for the year to come.

I realize that actually I cannot complain. Being  am a very determined person and most of the time, when I decide to accomplish something, no matter the effort involved, I work very hard  to be successful on the goals have set to myself.

There is one small issue and that is beeing too hard on myself .  Due to my extremely committed nature, the list of my goals and new years resolutions is always far tool long.

Looking at the stars in a snowy starless night I realize with clarity that the price I have payed to take my life to the ” next level” was maybe not that worth.

I got extremely stressed during the journey,  just because I have all year aimed at perfection.

Like ballet dancer Nina in the psychological thriller ” Black Swan” personified by actress Natalie Portman ( a perfectionist in real life as well), aiming at perfection resulted in fragmenting even more,  my already tortured soul.

But then, the question is how will I transcend during this coming new year the burden of wanting to succeed in all areas in my life but still manage to stay unconditionally human?

Blinded by my deep quest, I search within the core of my essence answers that don’ t want to reveal themselves yet clearly  in front of me, but watching a flashback of the months that passed though, I have learned

that the destination is always important , but  the journey, the process, the enduring alignment of consistent efforts that translate into small steps going forward, one after the other is what definitely makes us evolve to a better place.

But again, where is the better place? Have we all got in mind what we call a better place?

I decide I am ready to open a fresh page on my new diary next to stars and the candlelight of my bedroom side table.

Outside large snowflakes falling down like soft cotton balls take me away from reality. Riding  of a  gold and ivory Pegasus  to a realm of dreams and visions I connect to the collective universal structure of my own my inner self.

And yes, I can perfectly design my new year to come.

Possibly reinvent myself as a whole new individual whose past victories and achievements are no longer important into this new  realm of energy .

Dressed like a 1930 adventurous pilot,  I imagine myself once again in a new  glamorous method of air travel.

I look back at the year that just left me and look ahead into the new set of aspirations, inspirations and realm of new possibilities.

The idea of being able to choose my itinerary, direction and perspective empowers me tremendously and make me feel i am alive.

And here my list starts with a trip, a voyage, a turning point a journey .

This journey will be about discoveries of my new self, a self melted into new environments, new challenges, exquisite ways to break new frontiers and on going missions.

To seek out new ways of civilizations and new forms of living life within and out the inner boundaries of my learned behavior and pure instinct.

Yes , this is my first thought while I read on line legendary astrologer Susan Miller’s predictions like  in every passage of a new month.

The people I know whose  signs that I recognize in my own ‘movie”  play one after the other a primordial role into the new set of predictions.

Amused I  figure out what the stars have reserved for me , and if pleased with their hints  I will use them as gifts to get great leverage into my designated path of  intelligent choices.

And if I don’t appreciate the directions the stars are heading me , I will use the prestigious Kabblistic concept that one soul can raise above the stars to meet with her  destiny through free will and absolute certainty knowing about the maximum potential of the divine sparkle within her DNA and a bigger universal plan.

I wish to travel well dressed, in good taste and luxury, with furs and precious jewelry, but knowing how to pay the right price for every item I decide to own.

The price is the one that will allow me to understand that acquiring what I wish to consume will enlighten another human being’s work of art, life devotion and satisfaction.

It will be though educated choice but practicing immediate detachment if indeed it might be the case,’  cause after all nothing stays forever on this earth and the awareness about the impermanence of reality is a must if we are to understand that what we desire in the material world is only an illusion a pure translation of how in reality we wish to feel.

I want to feel that my life like Gandhi’s is a message of integrity where what I feel, what I say and what I  do are all the same.

And I want to be healthy, and if I can why not immortal because after all I can be all I am .

I just have to remember  not to carry with me a heavy load in my luggage as  heavy load will slow me down in the earthy struggle defying gravity.

But who cares after all? As long as I will not let judgment step on my plans and understand I must learn from my mistakes,  universal mercy will never leave my sight.

So definitely ready at last, I am fastening my golden seat belt against all odds, and with my notebook filled of pretty thoughts and fresh resolutions I can now cross peacefully  the new year ‘s door expecting finally safe at heart , the best of what life  is yet to offer.

Joelle’s Picks:

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Other aspects of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honor St. Valentine. Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers.

The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social gathering or a ball.

In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentine cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800′s and now the date is very commercialized. The town of Loveland, Colorado, does a large post office business around February 14. The spirit of good continues as valentines are sent out with sentimental verses and children exchange valentine cards at school.

Valentine’s Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.

The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars.

Each young man would draw a girl’s name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius canceled all marriages and engagements in Rome.

The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off.

He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honor of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.

The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavored to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine’s Day for the celebration of this new feast.

So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.

Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine’s Day. They went singing from home to home. One verse they sang was:

Good morning to you, valentine;
Curl your locks as I do mine —
Two before and three behind.
Good morning to you, valentine.

And to mention a few traditions…In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favorite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, “You unlock my heart!”  In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.

In some countries, a young woman may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him. Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine’s Day, it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.

A love seat is a wide chair. It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections, often in an S-shape. In this way, a couple could sit together — but not too closely!Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off. Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have.

f you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.

Joelle’s Tips

Valentine Cards Courtesy of:

Victorian Valentine Cards

Victorian Valentine Cards

I always  used to say: “When witches are out at night, little fairies stay in. ”

Even being afraid of dark, death, evil,magic, ghosts, witches, the devil, sharp teeth, ghouls, demons, vampires, werewolves, zombies, mummies, skeletons, black cats, spiders, bats, owls, crows, vultures, weird shiny eyes and blood, this year I have finally decided to courageously experience the world of darkness all at once — Halloween in New York City. After all, in my Tarot card deck, death is the representation of the end of an old cycle and the beginning of a new one.

The traditions of  the holiday of Halloween include activities like trick-or-treating, wearing costumes, ghost tours, bonfires, visiting haunted attractions, carving jack-o’-lanterns, reading scary stories, and watching horror movies.

Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century.

The term Halloween is shortened from All Hallows’ Even (both “even” and “eve” are abbreviations of “evening,” but “Halloween” gets its “n” from “even”) as it is the eve of “All Hallows’ Day,” which is now also known as All Saints’ Day.

It used to be a day of religious festivities in various Northern European Pagan traditions, until Pope Gregory III and Pope Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints’ Day from May 13 (which had itself been the date of a pagan holiday, the Feast of the Lemures) to November 1.

A few friends call me to let me know the best venues, private parties, street parades and performances, musicians birthdays and galley openings.

Special events invitations from social networks like Facebook, A Small World, and the New York Magazine A-List are in my inbox, awaiting an RSVP.

Some of my friends suggested we rent a  white limousine for the whole night. I preferred to keep my itinerary free so that I could jump into extremely difficult-to-catch cabs and disappear like a little vampire whenever I felt like wandering in the streets or changing crowds, neighborhoods, energy and atmospheres. And this is exactly what did.

The first place I stepped into is to the  “Spook-A-Rama” exhibit at the renowned  Edelman Art gallery. Edelman Arts is a four-story gallery brownstone on East 63rd Street. It was opened last May, 2008 by Asher Edelman, and is home to an exciting new group of emerging, mid-career and established artists.

The crowd is exquisitely sophisticated and elegant, representing mostly other worlds’ noblesse costumed in intricate Saris of delicate colors, butterfly rich feathered masks, Marharajas turbans and expensive tunics embroidered in gold, Batman and Catwoman, Cleopatra and Counts of Dracula, Venetian-laced  aristocratic noblemen and a woman dressed in gold literally from head to toe.

On my way out, my friends and I separate, as I have the desire to cross the door of a private party at an Upper East Side three-floor brownstone whose entrance was surrounded by skeletons, bloody, suffering ghosts, a barking three headed dog, a hanging bloody pig with his head off, and carved pumpkins.

As a Brazilian and Italian, I realize I have no knowledge about those symbols. I therefore ask a tall, cigarette-smoking drag queen, waiting for exactly who I don’t know.

“A carved pumpkin, my dear, lit by a candle inside”, he says, “is one of Halloween’s most prominent symbols in America and is commonly called a jack-o’-lantern. Where in heaven or hell are you coming from to ask this question sweetheart?” I chose not to answer. He then carries on:

The ancient Celts, on Hallows Eve, would place a skeleton on their window sill to show the loved ones who passed away, kind of like we do jack-o-lanterns. Originating in Europe, these lanterns were first carved from a turnip or rutabaga. Believing that the head was the most powerful part of the body, containing the spirit and the knowledge, the Celts used the “head” of the vegetable to frighten off any superstitions.”

Somebody else passing by adds: “Unmarried women were frequently told that if they sat in a darkened room and gazed into a mirror on Halloween night, the face of their future husband would appear in the mirror. However, if they were destined to die before marriage, a skull would appear.

The custom was widespread enough to be commemorated on greeting cards from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The mirror gaze was one of many forms of love divination around Halloween and other ancient holy days.”

Inside the house, a small child dressed as Alice in Wonderland next to a small skeleton with a white cape welcomes me in. In the dining room a coffin of a size of an adult lies on the main table surrounded with all kinds of candelabras filled with white candles. It’s freaky.

On one side of the room is a line of people waiting for a Tarot reader session by the coffin. And outside is a small porch where possibly a ritual is taking place between Dracula and a masked Phantom of the Opera smoking a cigar around a small bonfire.

Games traditionally played at Halloween are forms of divination. In Puic­n­ (pronounced “poocheeny”), a game played in Ireland, a blindfolded person is seated in front of a table on which several saucers are placed. The saucers are shuffled, and the seated person then chooses one by touch; the contents of the saucer determine the person’s life during the following year.

The hostess of the party suddenly tells me that my friends and I must leave at once. Maybe because my camera was interfering, maybe because it’s part of the theatrical game and atmosphere or maybe she thought we were somebody else. Under those costumes and masks it’s kind of hard to recognize who is a unwanted guest and who is your yoga pal.

This is exactly the reason why I chose not to show my face tonight and hide it under a mask where I can fully experience this world as a spectator and an attentive observant without having any social obligation of wearing the real mask of my daily life.

We hail a cab and head downtown in search of a brighter atmosphere. On the streets, it is clear that New York City hosts the United States’ largest Halloween celebration, known as The Village Halloween Parade, started by Greenwich Village mask maker Ralph Lee in 1973. The evening parade now attracts over two million spectators and participants, as well as roughly four million television viewers annually.

It is the largest participatory parade in the country if not the world, encouraging spectators to march in the parade as well it is sometimes compared to Mardi Gras.

We arrive in a recently opened lounge and contemporary Lebanese restaurant called Ilili. The owner Philippe Massoud is throwing a party where Brazilian models and young international jet-setters  in sexy lingerie dance to the sound of a funky 70′s mood band in an Old Lebanon architectural decor whose attitude and sexy lingerie  is unmistakably New York.

Marie Antoinette in impeccable XV century white wig with delicately stitched scars on her neck, a handsome doctor and bunny girls interlace with Diana Ross divas and Supremes girls while passing through sexy Che Guevaras, Rastafari Bob Marleys and beautiful very thin, long haired Russian model prisoners.

Pilots and hostess and Marine officers are hard to distinguish whether they came straight from JFK or they are in character costumes. Mafia guys dressed in striped suits drink champagne with 1930s French Charleston dancers wearing hairpieces of feathers and vintage brooches.

This crowd is very young and wild, a lot of smoke and I can hardly can get any precision or focus with my camera. I am getting bored. Let’s go somewhere else. Somewhere hot, very hot, where I am expecting to rise from the dead.

My group splits, some go to Times Square to watch the seventy-three Michael Jackson fans dressed as zombies and as the King of Pop himself breaking dancing through his exact steps. Today they are breaking not only the dance but also the Guinness World Record for the most people doing the Thriller dance at the same at Madame Trussauds New York. While Michael Jackson was not able to attend the event, I read he was thrilled with its success.

Prior to the record, participants took lessons on how to do the Thriller dance from Crunch fitness instructors, received zombie mini-makeovers and had the opportunity to take a photo with Madame Trussauds Michael Jackson wax figure.

But here I am. I think I have arrived in Hell. At the Buddha Bar on 9th Avenue, the party “Libertines and Concubines” was hosted by Re-Vamp entertainment. Great party, I haven’t enjoyed myself like that in years. Red chandeliers, high ceilings and DJ Behrouz played excellent mixing world music with tribal house.

From buttons to Buddhas, the East-meets-West wonderland boasted eclectic French-Asian fare in a former button factory. Greeting you with castle-like stone doors, the cavernous 15,000-sq.ft. space is filled with the bold, the Buddhas and beautiful, the people surprisingly friendly, too.

Complete with a jellyfish tank and jellyfish-inspired accent lamps, a sushi bar, an enclosed glass smoking room with a smoking-ban-approved ventilation system, and, of course, four elevated high-roller tables with glass flooring, Buddha Bar transformed itself into a heaven-hell landscape.

Creativity was everywhere, we did not know where to look. TV cameras were filming a few reserved tables of young Indians and little fairies probably children of movie stars.

A black man dressed as Adam, the first man on earth wearing just a bathing suit with a green leaf is at the coat check  with a woman vampire wearing in an 18th century bright red dress, a Zebra young South American man with his sophisticated 1930 British Colonial dressed with fringes blond girlfriend with a glass of champagne reserved a table near the Buddha Bar Palm trees. Very appropriate setting.

Militants, devils and rock stars danced with stunning divas and Russian Sado- Masochistic leathered women serving champagne, clowns and sexy school girls with quilted mini kilts and long wool socks talk loudly at each other while talking on their cell at the same time, probably to meet other costumed friends at a party nearby.

Astronauts and Chinese Empress dolls are spinning my head around. I am starting to get tired and I must still run to to check out Supermodel Heidi Klum’s Annual Halloween party presented by Absolut 100. Heidi and Seal wowed the crowd in their outrageously elaborate costumes at the 1 Oak Night Club in Chelsea.

After a press embargo and its fair share of bureaucratic problems, New York’s hardest door has opened — to those, ahem, who have been deemed worthy of entrance. The boys behind 1 Oak, Ritchie Akiva and Scott Sartiano (who own Butter), have apparently grown tired of New York’s repetitive club scene and are intent on creating a refined environment for the hippest urban influential in the city.

The West Chelsea area is all about atmosphere. And, as with any impossible-to-enter spot, 1 Oak has atmosphere aplenty. Though the exterior is refreshingly free of inappropriate designer cant, 1 Oak’ s interior, designed with leaden proficiency, embraces the noir angularity of patterns ripped out of a castle in the South of France. Dressed as a mixture of the Indian goddess kali, and a multi-armed Voodoo clansman she looks petrifying and wild.

It’s enough. I’ve finally dropped dead. I am ready to be reborn in my flowery bedroom on New York’s Upper East Side with my book of psalms by my side.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Joelle’s Tips:

The Clubs and restaurants:

ILILI Restaurant: 236 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY Tel + 1 212 683 23 22 / + 1 212 683 2929

Buddha Bar: 25 little West, 12 street, New York, NY tel + 1 212 647 7314

1 OAK: 453 West , 17 street New York, NY tel + 1 212 242111

The richly diverse terrain that unfolds up and down the archipelago has spawned a wealth of cultural perspective, a creative sensibility that is constantly in synchrony with nature. Defining the pervasive monotony of the modern, Japan’s arts and crafts work asserts a persistent attachment to the elements and to the Earth.

If you are opening a new Japanese restaurant and need assistance or if you are looking for that Asiatic flair in your home or even if you lack “Eastern spice” in your contemporary lifestyle, young Shoko Aono, director of the Ippodo (eep-poh-doh) gallery in the neighborhood of Chelsea (recently inaugurated from Japan), is the perfect person for you.

Shoko is only 27 and is the heiress of a renowned personality in the art scene of Tokyo. She and the gallery team came to celebrate the gifts of Japan’s artists and artisans with New Yorkers.

They delight in sharing their refinement and genius with lovers of beauty everywhere. Their name extols the grace of a single ear of rice, an apt symbol of Japan. What we learn from them and their guidance is to evoke simple gratitude for the blessings of nature and to express prayers for lasting grace. This gratitude — reflecting in our day to day objects, environment and small ceremonials — will only enrich our thirst for beauty and peacefulness in our lives.

Japan’s underlying identity and rising profile in the global community, with its distinctive combination of culture and values of aesthetics and techniques, is more alive than ever among us. With artistry of compelling importance, Ippodo is a stage for the progenitors of such culture and a platform catalyst of the world’s contemporary art market and new encounters with the spirit of enriching humankind’s cultural heritage.

At the New York salon such philosophy is presented by the Po-An actual exhibition (poh-wwn), a name that refers to the rice ears and to the huts in which Zen monks sometimes resided. It encompasses the finest lifestyle arts in Japan, in tune with the changing seasons. Styled by the renowned designer Uchida Shigeru, the space is a reassuringly Oriental sanctuary for people like us, contemporary spirits.

There, while you will impart the dimensions of time and context to the artistic offerings of Japan surrounded by new-old marvels of painting, ceramic, stone, woodwork, glass and other media, your personal needs are discussed in the Shoko’s welcoming experience of sharing with you the quiet in the realm of tea upon tatami mats.

Sayonara!

Joelle’s picks:

Ippodo Gallery

521 W. 26th St., New York, NY 1001

Tel + 1 212 -967-4899

Fax+ 1-212-967-48-89

shoko@ipodogallery.com