Dress exhibit at the National Museum of Mongolia. Photograph: Willem VogelsangLast week, while in Ulaanbaatar, I had the chance to visit the beautiful National Museum of Mongolia, which not only has a fascinating display of archaeological finds from the area, but also an exquisite gallery showing the richness of sartorial traditions in the country. Well represented, with texts in English and Mongolian, the exhibition gives an idea of the enormous variety of local dress traditions, for both men and women. Really worth seeing is also the showcase with headdresses and others with other accessories.

To date I did not have the chance to see another dress museum, namely the Museum of Mongolian Costumes, which is located nearby, and which I hope to visit in the near future. I do include the web address though (click here), in case any of the visitors of the TRC site ever visits Mongolia. The director of the Museum however is now in (digital) contact with the TRC, after my meeting a relative of hers at a conference here in the city. It is a small world. The next few days I will be visiting some friends in the north of the country, and I will keep my eyes open for any remarkable garments !

Willem Vogelsang, 10 August 2014