Story: Middle Eastern peoples

The bridal party of Gabriel Farry and Jamelie Coory gathered in their finery for this photograph in 1899. Lebanese women loved to wear jewellery, especially gold earrings and bracelets, and their penchant for fine cloth and bright clothes set them apart in Scottish-influenced Dunedin. Men too had a keen dress sense and many sold clothes and fabric on their rural rounds. This interest in fashion continued into the 2000s with Farry’s menswear business and the Vanity Walk modelling agency in Dunedin – both had Lebanese origins.