shelby.on.style: What's old is new again... and again.

Everyone knows that fashion is a vicious cycle that is constantly inning and outing, revamping and reinventing, mixing and matching the old and the new-er. Ever since I could remember, going shopping with my mother always brought on the comment “I wish I would have saved all of my old clothes, I wore all of this!”

Well, the latest fad that is sweeping the fashion world is Tie-dye. I know the first thing that comes to your mind is hippy, stoner, peace and love right? Well after looking up the origins the technique dates back to ancient China -- the T’ang Dynasty to be exact.

Some tribes went as far as dyeing each thread by hand before weaving the fabric. They often extracted dyes from blackberries, safflower, cabbage, onion, marigold, sage and indigo. Though it was practiced for many years in numerous countries it did not make it’s way to the US until the great depression. Girls would take old sacks, tie-dye them and make garments, curtains, tablecloths and pillows. Tie-dye re-emerged during the 60’s as a statement of individuality and since then it has come and gone numerous times.

Recently stars like Fergie, Victoria Beckham and Rihanna have been rocking skinny, tie-dyed jeans, so I think its safe to say it’s here to stay -- for a while. In recent magazines I have even seen denim jackets, enamel jewelry and even shoes with the look of tie-dye. It’s no surprise that tie-dye is back in these hard times, in my opinion it’s the easiest do-it-yourself way to add a little something extra to that old pair of jeans your not ready to let go of quit yet.

Happy Dyeing!

shelby.

::Shelby Stasenka is a Fashion Designer in Los Angeles, California, works with Apliiq, and is the Fashion Editor at JarrettHill.com

::Follow Shelby on Twitter @LuckyDolll