Comments on: dispatches from my street(s)

By: Tommy M

Tommy M — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 03:10:14 +0000

Here are a couple of options in Manhattan, but if you walk down Nostrand most African import places will have some. The shops here along Bay Street SI have small selections.

* http://aknfabrics.com/

* http://uptownflavor.com/2007/02/20/the-urban-eye-djema-imports/

* http://www.welcometoharlemhiddentreasures.com/

I collect vintage commemorative West African political wax prints, like this

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomathon/3703337024/in/set-72157621155605470/

So if you see any, gimme a heads up.

Tommy, Staten Island

By: Ilka

Ilka — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:45:40 +0000

Hi Tricia
In South Africa we have a gorgeous German print fabric called Shweshwe – I think this must be similar to your Dutch print? Here is the website for Da Gama Textiles (the original Shweshwe manufacturer) – maybe you can order it direct from them?
http://www.dagama.co.za/DaGama%20Home.html
And here is an article about the rise of Shweshwe: http://www.southafrica.info/business/trade/export/shweshwe.htm

By: onparkstreet

onparkstreet — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:56:13 +0000

Yeah, I hear you on the retro 90s thing. I guess being there the first time around makes it not so fun (the retro 80s thing is more fun for me because I was in high school in the 80s and wore a lot of black and didn’t have as much fun with color as I should have. So, in bits and pieces, now, I kind of like it.)

I could go for retro 90s if it was the romantic, Sleepless in Seattle flowerly Meg Ryan drop waist long dresses, somehow made modern, you know? Like Elaine wore in Seinfeld. And the hair scooped at the back of the neck with a ribbon…..

By: “it’s not for me, i’m not really feeling it so much, having been there the first time around…” « OnParkStreet

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:50:33 +0000

[...] 3, 2009 · No Comments bitsandbobbins on the retro-grunge 90s thing the cool kids have moved onto, now that retro-eighties is so [...]

By: Mimi

Mimi — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 01:47:40 +0000

Have you seen the installation work of black British artist Yinka Shonibare? It's amazing, complicated stuff -- dioramas of life-sized, headless mannequins dressed in Victorian styles (i.e., from the height of British empire) made in those Dutch Indonesian wax-print fabrics that were imported to the African colonies to somehow then become iconic of an aesthetic Afrocentrism. Here's an interview with him on-line at BOMB that features lots of photographs.

By: Sue

Sue — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:21:01 +0000

I am old enough to have been there for the birth of grunge the first time, and I think it’s just that the look happened somewhat organically at the (first) time. We all were broke, had the flannel, boots etc… and we shopped vintage because it wasn’t the mainstream thing as it is now – it was cheap. And we were broker than broke. (God the thrift pickings were so much better back then…sigh)

Now it does look like it’s trying too hard, as does the over the top 80s look. (which I also wore 1st time around – ugh) Out of context, it can’t help but look costumey. Same reason I mix my 30s and 40s pieces but hardly ever wear it all as a look.

It needs to be cleaned up or modified somehow, to make it a bit fresher.

For the fabric – it has been so long since I lived in NYC that I can’ be too helpful, but try asking the african art street vendor who is always around MOMA. He might be able to help. It is def going to be a trip to Bklyn/Queens/Bronx to source it. I did find this one:
Nyame Nti African Fabric
2 E 167th St # 167
Bronx, NY 10452
(718) 538-1121?

or ask this site/company for assistance: http://store.calabar-imports.com/index.html

Good luck

By: Anna

Anna — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 15:00:16 +0000

I have ordered from this etsy site Snowdrop, and the fabric was beautiful. The african prints are mixed in with other items. I got some yardage and fat quarters and everything was great quality. Not as nice as browsing a store, but just thought I would leave the link.

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=60802&order=§ion_id=&page=2

By: 39th & Broadway

39th & Broadway — Sat, 30 May 2009 22:35:29 +0000

I’ve been craving an African inspired tent dress for awhile now but haven’t seen one (or the fabric) anywhere, so it’s funny that you should mention it as well. Just wish I had known about this event in Brooklyn earlier.

Love your site!

By: Jessica

Jessica — Fri, 29 May 2009 11:17:12 +0000

I know this isn’t exactly helpful, as it isn’t proper information, but I can tell you there definitely is at least one shop in Manhattan that sells exactly that type of fabric, and various other African things. I have no idea where it is or what it’s called, though – I just happened across it on one of my first trips to NYC (I recently spent 4 years in Princeton, NJ – my first & only visit to the US, so used to pop in to wander around occasionally). It was in quite a residential area, not a very flashy nor touristy part of town… yeah, as i say, you won’t find it from this description, but at least you shd know that what you’re looking for does exist! Good luck!

By: hillary

hillary — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:09:29 +0000

I have noticed that all the girls doing the ripped tights and grunge look around here at least weren’t old enough to of done it the first time (as you suggest). I being similar age to you also was there the first time and wore my moms hand made flower dresses and knee high combat boots to highschool in oh 93?

Also why pay good money to rip something? Tights are not cheap.