Thing 324 Tie Dye

Tie Dye, from the latin words "tiedius dymus", which stranlates in English to "smelly hippy". Don't look that up, it didn't fully reference it, and may have made it up off the top of my head. I have nothing in common with hippies, except maybe facial hair. Possibly the occasional similar style of mumbling stuff that other people can't understand. My poor ma was at her wits end when I small over that one. I'm digressing...

Another thing me and hippies enjoy in common is a complete lack of anything approaching fashion sense. I can yell you all about football, rugby, politics, philosophy and aeroplanes... but fashion? Not happening. And while I know some people like going for the hippy look, let's be honest, it just makes you look like you smell.
For all of that cribbing and moaning about hippies, I've always thought that being confident enough will result in the ability to wear a tie-dye shirt or t-shirt. Fooey says I should have matching shorts, but there's a limit I think, and tie-dye shorts is probably where that line is at.

If you've got the swagger, and I mean that in the confidence sense, not the hip hop sense, then I'm pretty sure you can pull off most looks or fashions or fads. So here's hoping that when I pop into the O'Connell's at the Old Quarter in the next couple of days, with my multi-coloured t-shirt on, everyone in the place WON'T turn and stare at me. I'm full of swagger me.

I do often wonder about the modern day hippies though. I can understand why people from San Fransisco in the '70's wore the clothes they did, freedom of expression, free love, communism... all of that. What I don't understand are people in Limerick City, Ireland, where it rains more than they needed to float the damn Arc, who wear hippie clothes? They're just not practical. And for all the hippiness of the clothes, not a tie-dye t-shirt among them.
I cheated a little. I wanted to make my own tie-dye shirt, and I did that, but I may have bought a kids toy in order to achieve the same. It was sitting in the arts and crafts hobby shop in The Crescent, right in between "Make You Own Jewellery" and "Make Your Own Diary", all in suspiciously pink wrappers.

I'm pretty sure that this tie dye kit was intended for girls, but I'd have though tie-dying was pretty non gender specific. Does that say more about me than it should? Anyway, hot water, some strips of died string and some time.

The result is pictured above. At the top. You dare me to wear it into town some night? Challenge accepted...