Color Me Dyed

Who says “Dye is dead” ? Tell that to Nicolas Ghesquiere!

Balenciaga’s FW07 collection not only saw big scarves and the amazing Utility heel but batik-printed and tie-dyed garments, too! It sounds like the epitome of eye-sores, but in reality it was a collection that was put together excellently and saw huge success. Thank you, Nicolas, for redeeming the dye.

Now, do not misread here, my little style-protegees. There is still a big difference between this (tie-dye as your hippie parents knew it) and this (tie-dye as Balenciaga knows it)! Do not fall fashion victim to the obscenity directly below this sentence!

I think what Nicolas drove home was that tie-dye, or any dye for that matter, is decent, acceptable and even attractive in small quantities. None of this Grateful Dead/Bob Marley business.

Faded dye colors made a red carpet debut last year with Louis Vuitton and Prada, and while it took a while for them to grow on me I was won over in the end.

One of my favorite renditions of the dye trend is popping up all over the blogworld: dip-dying, particularly tights. Susie_Bubble and Flying Saucerhave both posted multiple posts on the highs, lows, love and hate of hand dip-dying your own garments, but I have only included two links… you are just going to have to explore these two wonderful fashion blogs for yourself to see the others!

As of late, I myself have been incorporating a tiny bit of dip-dye into my own wardrobe courtesy of the lovely blue scarf the father of a friend found for me in Bangladesh. Suffice it to say it is my new favorite thing, and it is all I can do to keep myself from wearing it every day.

The moral of the story?

Die is not dead.

And as long as you enjoy it in moderation, neither is your style.