after seeing some of jude hill's fun boro and strip woven jeans (and shirts and more), i thought i'd poke around the web and see what anyone was doing that had a more masculine look (being male, after all, and frequently lamenting that men really have very little exciting clothing). the first image to pop up was this fun one from last year's polo line. of course, the jeans are fantastic, and just what i was looking for...but i couldn't tear my eyes off that amazing flag in the background! maybe it's because independence day is right around the corner (for those of us who live in the u.s.). maybe it's because i've always liked tattered american kitch. i dunno...but i'm thinking i may have to have a wade through my stash this week and see what i can tease out of it that might make a wonderful flag similar to that one (at least in concept).
but, for the moment, back to boro and/or strip woven jeans...
i found a ton of ideas and fun things to do...even a few tutorials on ripping, fraying, fading, and other destructables that bore a lot of promise for many fun days and nights this summer... at least, toying with the techniques and seeing what i come up with and all of its accompanying variations, derivatives and explorations!
from the denim blog:
"ripped jeans have been worn as a fashion statement since the 1970’s. many chose to deform their jeans in an effort to separate themselves from mainstream culture. ironically, the mainstream eventually embraced ripped jeans.today ripped jeans and patched jeans have become part of the fabric of american culture. both styles are now welcome in places that range from the dorm room to the board room, the art studio to the art opening, and the vegetable garden to the garden gala."
dolce & gabanna has made an art of ragged and patched jeans...not to mention a fortune what with them ranging upwards of $85 a pair and more!
i remember mom throwing jeans out long before they reached this stage of deconstruction, no matter how much we protested!
but i have to say...my most favorite pair by far has been an 8 year (and counting) project from lucy b's flickr stream:
now that's a pair of recycled & reused jeans to aspire to!
one more thought...a crossover piece...an atarashii boro denim flag:
this extraordinary patched american flag was handcrafted from recycled vintage denim by american textile artisan judy augur in 2009, and is a true piece of modern day folk art, measuring 125” x 75”, and backed with sturdy canvas. it is currently at auction to benefit ralph lauren's pink pony fund. perhaps something a bit smaller would be within this artist's grasp at creating?
in any case, i'm off to answer the louder than usual whisperings of a couple cloths...
namaste'
some great boro. look forward to seeing your interpretation.
ReplyDeleteThis post reminded me that when I was a kid, my father just could NOT wrap his head around wearing ripped jeans. If he saw holes in our jeans, he would attempt to rip them off of us for fun! I can;t remember if he was successful ever, but my sister and I got him back once when there was a hole in his undershirt- we chased him all over the house, cornered him and tore the undershirt to shreds! Thanks for calling up that memory!
ReplyDeleteAnd BTW - I like the flag, too.
I have news for the denim blog ... ripped jeans were leading edge fashion in the early 1960s at least - I remember being fascinated as my older brother would go about properly destroying a new pair of jeans - bleach, chains, rips, and the one that I found most fascinating - loading them with small rocks and pebbles and then repeatedly running over them with the car.
ReplyDeleteOkay, Joe, I know I wasn't looking at the flag! (Something in the way.)
ReplyDeletetoo funny, cheryl! i see your point though...but perhaps you can tear yourself away from the studmuffin for few moments and take a look at what you can see of the boro flag behind him. it truly is wondrous!
ReplyDeleteDid you see this?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.njherald.com/story/news/13FLAG2-11
I try to find a new blog each day. Love yours. As I work my way through the quilts awaiting quilting I am contantly distarcted by 'Boro". I love it.
ooh! that is very cool! thanks for pointing me in that direction...i had not seen that one! your quilts are quite stunning, as well! i, too, was a traditional quilter (especially scrap quilting), but have more recently been permenantly distracted by boro and kantha! welcome, and so glad you found my blog!
ReplyDelete