By: Morgan Hawkins
Maybe some of you have noticed the dangling, swaying, colorful appendages now embellishing the latest spring fashions. If you haven’t seen it yet, just imagine the image from one of my favorite classic movies, “Gone with the Wind,” of Scarlett O’Hara visiting Rhett Butler in a Union jail. For those of you who haven’t seen the movie in a while or didn’t watch it as frequently as I did when I was a little girl, here’s an excerpt that should jog your memory.
Picture Scarlett, the queen of vanity, disguising her destitution by creating the most stunning, rich, deep forest green velvet gown from her windows’ draperies. It’s a fantasy that fancies any designer’s imagination. The gown is accented by the rich gold braided cords of the draperies, which make a belt with tassels extending down the length of the garment. The silken cord finishes with the ultimate symbol of wealth and power, gold and green beaded tassels with enough mass that it could contain a small grapefruit.
Springing forward to today’s time when most of us enjoy the comforts of casual, ready to wear clothing we see an old trend working its way back into prominence. No longer will classic adornments be confined to home décor in the rooms we never use. We are on the fringe of redefining what makes a power suit powerful and what makes evening wear a symbol of extravagance. Our casual and formal wears are being accentuated by bringing back the richness of artful trimmings.
In appreciation for the eclectic informality of our trendy hipsterness, tassels and trimmings do not only symbolize wealth and power. Our fringes can be anything from flirtatious to edgy depending upon the style of the garment. In spring 2011, tassels of silk can be replaced by an assortment of textiles from wool to leather.
Here, at Indigo, we have flirtatiously trimmed and tasseled, tribal-inspired bags, which will compliment any casual style. Owners, CaraMiya Davies-Reid and Daniel Sullivan repurposed antique Rajasthani, Thailand hill tribe, Afghan and Uzbekistan suzani fabrics to create hip, vibrant totes. Their redesigned totes are versatile and offer plenty of room to carry beach ware, a laptop or any other small to medium personal item.
The bags pictured below incorporate fabrics from Rajasthani panel skirts, mixed with pieces of fine-quality hand embroidered suzani bedspreads.
Rajasthan, located in northwest India, is world-renowned for their use of mirror work and rich colors in garments and textiles. Uzbekistan suzanis are noted for their meticulous hand embroidery, which lend incredible depth and color to their intricate designs.
Below, the totes are made of suzani textiles combined with hill-tribe fabrics, which give the bags a tribal style.
This spring embrace tasseled and fringed embellishments to keep you on the cutting edge of fashion rather than stuck on the fringe.
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