Loimi-Akha Style

Loimi-Akha Style : The woman's headdress is characterized by a flat, trapezoid-shaped silver piece at the back and alternate rows of beads, and silver buttons over the crown. Strings of hollow silver balls, coins, and beads hang down to the shoulders.

The back of the woman's jacket is decorated with superb applique patterns in red and other colors, outlined with couched thread of a contrasting color. Diamond, triangular, and other shapes of applique alternate with bright-colored embroidery. White shirt buttons, silver buttons, seeds, beads, shells, and tassels are added. Other articles of her clothing are similarly decorated. For full-dress occasions a belt encrusted with cowrie shells and Job's-tear seeds is worn over the jacket, those of unmarried young women being wide with many shells. Girls's caps are ornamented with silver, feathers, tassels, job's-tear seeds, gibbon fur, and beads.

The waist-length jackets worn by men and boys have vents at the lower edge on both sides and in the back, and are similarly embellished. Some have a rectangular chest piece bordered with strips of red cloth and closed with a silver buckle.