Let your fabric do the talking ...

in the tea house of a Balinese temple

I fell in love with Javanese fabric and designs when we visited Bali and Indonesia in the 90's. The feel of the waxed batik, the metallic sheen of the thread, and the riot of colors. What's not to love?

Trader Manto's Tiki Party

It wasn't very hard to incorporate these fabrics into our summers at the beach in New Jersey. Our yacht club always gave us ample excuse to bring out our Javanese and coordinating Polynesian fare to wear at dinner dances and cocktail parties or just to use as a cover-up at the beach.

Tiki team

After visiting the original Trader Vic's in Oakland with my son, I was even inspired to co-chair a Tiki Party at Mantoloking Yacht Club one summer complete with Javanese print tablecloths, a grass-skirted Tiki Bar and tiki statues.

racks of Hollandais at The Fabric Hanger

The Dutch loved the fabric too. After establishing a stronghold in Indonesia in the 1400's as part of their immense trade empire, the Dutch East India Company brought the fabric to their colonies in west and south Africa on the backs of the servants and slaves who wore it.

Hollandais throw pillows go perfectly with my shweshwe quilt

Renamed "Hollandais", the waxed batik fabric became the signature fabric worn by the natives of countries such as Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Togo, Ghana ... and South Africa.








One of the most contemporary and wearable of the Hollandais fabric is made by the Dutch company Vlisco and you can buy it at The Fabric Hanger in Sandton. Vlisco is the fabric behind the popular dress Jill Biden wore to the recent US Africa dinner.













But it wasn't until I actually visited the shop that I found out that many of their heritage fabrics also hold a secret message in their design. For instance, Vlisco has recently re-introduced a new collection inspired by the Heritage Wax known as "Tu sors, je sors." The name of the design translates as "I go, you go."  

The story is that this Wax fabric is worn by newlywed women to warn their new husbands that if, like a bird, he flutters away from their marriage cage, then she is free to be unfaithful, too. The design became particularly popular in Ivory Coast in the 1980's and 90's. When words fail you, let your fabric do the talking.

I am having a coat dress made from this fabric to wear to an upcoming event. Not because I particularly want to send a message to my husband, but because I just like the design. But come to think of it, even after almost 34 years of marriage, I think I'll just leave it out there.