Monday, March 19, 2012

March 19th - Le Pareo

Originally the pareo was made of tapa, a tree bark pounded and decorated
with patterns or flowers. It is the basic article of clothing for
Polynesians, men and women alike. Men wear them as a skirt or shorts and
women (creative and inventive creatures that we are) wear them around the
waist as a skirt, tied and draped various ways to become a dress or beach
cover-up and draped over ones shoulders as a shawl.

It is a large rectangle of cloth, usually cotton, but sometimes a poly
fabric or silk is used. They can be hand-painted with gutta or dyed and
dried in the sun, but most are screen-printed.

As you can see by the pictures, there is a very wide variety of patterns and
colors.

I have come up with another use for these bright and colorful prints -
wouldn't they make fun table cloths, especially for a picnic.

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