Boro Shorties

We put together another fresh batch of ‘shorties‘ this week, made from antique textiles loomed in Japan a long time ago. These are the shorter version of our Indigo Boro Ties, originally introduced in 2011. Still sans leather ring. The fabrics of this batch were hunted down during a recent trip to Japan. These narrow shuttle loom fabrics are of assorted patterns, textures and colors, all one side selvedge and the other side frayed. They range from the turn of the century to the 1950′s.

A mixture of home spun, cotton, hemp, natural indigo, katazome prints, kasuri weave, plaids, solids… these vintage textiles scarves are all one of a kind. We classify them in related groups but they all vary from one another, with specific fade/condition/size/repairs/holes/yellowing due to age. Please understand this is ‘rough and rugged’ neckwear. The condition of some of these fabrics are beyond the wabi-sabi of a little imperfection.

As the fabric will continue to age with wear, your own hand-made repairs will add character. To be clear, those into fancy Italian fashion silk ties might wonder why anyone would want to wear a rag around the neck… That’s when we call in Mr. Rizzo. We just hired Frank, promoted him head of Sales, right on the spot. If you see Frank Rizzo at a street corner near you, go say hi.

Wrapped once around the neck with a simple single knot, they’ll work with different outfits, dressed up or down. These scarves are, in my opinion, less of a statement than the traditional Bandana, somewhat easier to pull off for some. Due to the age of the vintage textiles we selected, some more than a 100 years old, the fragility of the yarn at times calls for hand washing and line drying when laundry is needed.