ABSTRACT
The tie-dye phenomenon had its roots in the centuries-old practice in which Nigerian women tied cotton fabrics into knots, dipped them into dyes, and produced materials ablaze with splotches of color. No one seems to know how knowledge of the process spread to the US; however, by the late 1960s, hip fashion boutiques were buying one dollar white cotton T-shirts, tie-dying them, and selling the rainbow-hued products for up to six dollars apiece. The company joined forces with Van Raalte Co. and Arrow Co. to package ready-to-dye garments with bottles of Rit in tie-dye kits. Soon department stores were sponsoring tie-dye parties in which youthful consumers could learn how to turn a pair of blue jeans into an original work of art, or convert ordinary bedsheets into a light show on cloth. The market for tie-dye clothing began to flatten out by the mid-1970s. However, it has remained a marginally popular youth fashion, particularly as a do-it-yourself practice.
