A Word on Tie-Dye

During the fashion crazed eighties, I didn't necessarily follow the crowd in my clothing choices. Oh sure, I had a pair of leggings, and the odd shirt clip or two. I mean everyone tied their shirt off to one side, right?

But I wasn't as trendy as my hip little sister, with her hot pink boots with the black faux fur trim, levi skirt, and a sweater with a torn out collar, worn off the shoulder over a tank top. And she was only eight.

No, these trends didn't exactly tickle my fancy, but there were a few things I was always on the lookout for. I wanted: a sweater vest that I could wear over a white collared shirt, a plaid pleated skirt and knee-high socks, a jacket with patches on the elbows, Converse high-tops, and most importantly, a tie-dye shirt.

I did get some Converse knockoffs, they were fluorescent yellow and AWESOME. Even cooler than my jelly shoes that hurt my feet. I had a brown corduroy jacket that was almost as cool as having patches on the elbows. And I had two full body jumpers my mom made that were almost as good as a plaid skirt with knee high socks. Kiera thought they were the ugliest outfits in the world, and was embarrassed to be seen with me. She told me so.

However, it wasn't until the decade of decadent style was coming to a close that I finally was able to find tie-dye shirts on store shelves. I suppose it was the grunge style that brought about their renewed popularity....and I was a wholehearted follower of the grunge clothing trend: plaid ROCKS!

Ahem.

Anyway, my first tie-dye shirt that I fell in love with was this over-sized hot number:


Note my leggings converted shorts on my 13-year-old chicken legs. (Except I'm the only one allowed to say that. Leta made fun of my legs and I didn't wear shorts to school for YEARS.) Please look away from my haircut, and draw your attention to the perfect accessory for tie-dye: friendship bracelets.

And I can even make you one today with very intricate designs. I'm an expert. I wore this shirt until it had too many holes to be respectable, but there was no way I was going to let my wardrobe go without tie-dye again.

Another favorite was this patriotic number:



This photo is from an Art Guild trip to Snow Canyon in St. George, UT my senior year. It is the same shirt that you saw in the black and white photo from the last post. It became tradition for me to wear this shirt on Independence day most every year.

Then there was my most stylish t.d. shirt by far:



Yeah baby! The classic Alice in Wonderland print. Please ignore my pretentious hat. This photo is from a series of pictures I took where I was showing off my new wardrobe, the summer before my freshman year of college. (I also had an a-line PLAID dress my mom made for me. Just what I always wanted. But now its at my parents house because I'd look like a dork in it at age thirty.) Thankfully, I don't think I was ever stupid enough to actually wear this hat to school.

I have seen this print on so many shirts and posters its not funny. Not surprisingly, I easily found this shirt still for sale on the internet today. Here is a closer view:



Mine didn't have the extra print on the back though. When this shirt finally bit the dust, I thought about toning down my wardrobe. Just a bit. No way was I going to completely discard my tie-dye fetish, I mean, what if they stopped selling them again? But this time, I went a little more conservative:



I think this picture was taken around 1999. And this, my friends, is the shirt I still own today. Unfortunately, I'm no longer this skinny! But I do still stand like this, like my mom. I swear I am standing up straight. (I hate the way I stand, its like my hips are connected to my spine crooked.)

I love that this shirt is NOT huge on me, its form fitting, and its blue. But if I want to wear it today, I have to wear another shirt under it or my tummy sticks out in a very unflattering way.

So yes, perhaps I still have the same tastes I had at age 10, if slightly modified for my advanced age. Perhaps I asked for a pair of red plaid knee-high socks this last Christmas that I can't really wear anywhere, but I'm so happy to own. Maybe I still want a sweater vest. Perhaps I bought a green plaid skirt last month (sadly not pleated), and thats what I bought my brown shoes to match with.

And maybe, just maybe...I'll dig this shirt out of the bottom of my drawer and wear it tomorrow.