What do you do when you arise? How do you dress, what influences your style?
Are you constantly bombarded with glossy magazine articles that dictate how you ought to dress and what you ought to wear?
Are you a little more experimental? One day you may choose to go for the 1950’s housewife look, the day after you may go for the bohemian 1970’s flower power look, and after that, consider the ‘boating by the riviera’ look.
Are you governed by the role you have taken on, governed by a style suggested to you, or are you able to add your own zest to give it the depth and originality you so desire.
After all, each of us are original to the core. Even though you may position your self to the 1950’s Rockabilly’s or draw influences from the 1920’s, or even a group of your choosing, you still bring that original spin to it.
You might add that extra line of black eyeliner in a way that accentuates your eyes, or wear a particular shade of nail polish that suits only your skin tone. Or have a go at colour blocking – depending how bold you’re feeling.
So, working as creative designer and director, this is what I birthed in the summer of 2014.
Having looked at the shapes of Japanese Sash belts, I decided to take it into a new modern form. By choosing to use Liberty fabric with a beautiful art nouveau style print, this brought a new dynamic to the piece. Or by sewing lines in a contrasting thread, onto a plain fabric, thus creating a new surface decoration.
With every new creation, is an element of discovery.
Even to the wearer, will there be a new discovery. As each time you choose to wear it, you will discover new and exciting ways of how to wear it, that there will be a new journey being birthed every day.
What used to be an old scrap of material, now becomes a beautiful sash belt.
The history of a sash, better known as an Obi, is a traditional accessory to be worn with a keikogi or kimono (Japanese dress). It can be as much as 30 cm wide, tends to be much heavier in weight (dependant upon the type of fabric it is made out of), and as much as 13 feet long. As they are traditionally used to wrap around the middle section of the body and tied in various knots, either at the front or the back. One particular type of decorative knot is called a musubi. As I read about it in more detail, there are 10 ways to tie a knot, all suited for a particular occasion.
You can find more about the fascinating history of an Obi here -www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obi_(sash)
These modern day belts tend to be worn on the hip, usually to enhance the look of a dress, or over skinny jeans and a slim fit tee. With this particular design, I choose a simple and light weight black strap detail, tied in two separate places, so as to keep the width of the belt flat, pressed flat against the body, rather than have a flaw and allow the corners of the belt to curl.
As you choose to buy into these beautiful products, you will be able to create many styles that not only suit your style but are also unique to you.