Watching my sister sew makes me question the value of money. Here I am able to do little more than think with my college degree, and I can't imagine learning the intricacy of stitchwork. These patterns of thick, entirely stitch-filled swirls are worn as borders on the necks of traditional Turkmen dresses as well as around the ankle-cuffs of womens undergarments (and yes, their undergarments reach their ankles).
The dresses are simple, always covering shoulder and elbow, with a few different options of neckline. The popular fabric currently has very small flower print, though Americans have a hard time believing they could stand a full dress of small-pattern flowers. We buy the material for a few dollars at the bazaar, and for a few more dollars a sibling or family friend assembles a koynek. Some come out like potato sacks and others like princess gowns. In the villages this is the only acceptable attire. For formal affairs, such as a wedding, they bring out the similarly shaped dress made of decorative felt. While dresses on the whole met with some resistance, we soon found that if we had to wear long sleeves and skirts to the ankle, this was certainly the best and most comfortable option.
Men wear suits to everything, and boys from kindergarten on wear full suits to school. Too bad their behavior doesn't match their attire! Ironing is very "in" here, of course done every morning by the women of the house. The men wake up and shave themselves (which I believe if women could do for them, they would), returning inside to warmly ironed dress shirts and a hot breakfast. At school everyone's appearance is of utmost importance as can be observed on the Turkmen television station. Cleaned and pressed without a creative stitch to be found. If only the women could stitch art as opposed to well-established patterns, this place could make some money! Until then we'll all just wear matching outfits and call it a day!
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