Tie-dye is a bit of a dirty word to some people. Which is why when it started creeping back this Spring in marvelous colorful puddles, the term ombre popped up as a fancier tag for good old fashioned tie-dye. A bit like dip-dying, ombre is a technique that falls under the same umbrella but has more to do with demure graduated color then crazy curling patterns. Personally I'm a 100% pro-tie-dye supporter, and wholeheartedly cosign all the hippie-dippy barefooted connotations and manic color swirlery that comes with it. It's also particularly heart-warming that some of my favorite designers have embraced tie-dye with the same amount of shiny-happy-people gusto—all of Berardi's awesome sporty tie-dye dresses, tanks and skirts (pics after the jump) are on my list for Spring with Karen Walker's indigo saturated Fall '08 white jeans a good investment for when the weather cools off again next season. Skater Andrew Reynolds has been using tie-dye in his line Altamont for a couple of seasons too, as have Rockers NYC, and I've even spotted a pair of tie-dye splashed SB dunks that Nike has lined up for next season.
But what makes me most excited about tie-dye is that I can actually factually do it myself, as I did one cold, blustery weekend this winter with an equally dedicated friend of mine (there is talk of a tie-dying party) a Spring-prepping season of sorts with buckets of dye, rubber gloves and hot toddies to beat the winter blues. There are a lot of techniques to play with in the tie-dye family, from the more mystic marble effect to the traditional twirling color pattern. In my opinion though, nothing beats the stripe effect for modernity (see my efforts after the jump). My only hope is that one day I'll be able to make a shirt as perfectly tie-dyed as the one Molefi of BLK JKS is currently sporting on the cover of the new FADER.