Of all the new social distancing hobbies popping up on Instagram, learning how to tie-dye your clothes has to be the happiest. Making sourdough bread is time-consuming (and, dare I say, a little anti-climactic), becoming a pro barista involves a lot of gadgets, and learning to knit can be a bit sedentary (albeit highly therapeutic). Sure, you could just buy a tie-dye sweatsuit or sweater, but since you’re not exactly doing anything right now, why not get yourself an at-home tie-dye kit and make your own wearable work of art?
The best tie-dye kits come with everything you need: rubber bands, disposable gloves, and a rainbow of color—just add a blank canvas. Your favorite white t-shirt, a pair of comfy denim, some squeaky clean sneakers will do. The world is your multicolored oyster. So go ahead, shop 11 tie-dye kits to add some color to your weekend.
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Let’s face it: The world is absolutely bonkers right now, and most people are acting accordingly. The CDC’s guidelines to practice social distancing by maintaining at least a six-foot distance from others has thrown a significant portion of the population — excluding those bravely fighting on the front lines against the coronavirus pandemic — into a collective stir-crazy state of panic, within the confines of their own homes. And what does one yearn for when they feel like they’re truly spiraling? Comfort.
Enter the tie-dye sweatsuit. I first spotted the trend on Ashley Tisdale, who gifted the bored masses with a random yet welcome choreographed dance from High School Musical on TikTok, sporting an oversized set and a messy bun. I haven’t followed Tisdale closely since her days as Sharpay Evans, but the viral video grabbed me. She looked happy, relaxed, almost unforgivably cozy. Suddenly, I desperately needed a tie-dye sweatsuit of my own.
Before I knew it, or even vocalized it, I was being hit with Instagram ads for tie-dye sweatsuits of all patterns and styles. Rainbow, ombré, you name it. I even got one for a DIY kit. Editors and influencers I follow began posting tutorials for how to make your own using a plain white sweatshirt and sweatpants — a stay-at-home activity that’s fun for the whole family! And then it hit me. The tie-dye sweatsuit has become the leopard-print midi skirt of quarantine.
Of course, we all remember “the skirt.” Made popular by millennial cult-favorite label Réalisation Par, the ‘90s-era printed piece inspired look-alikes from Topshop, Free People, ASOS, and pretty much every other brand, not to mention a crowdsourced Instagram account, @leopardprintmidiskirt, that documents the trend in the wild, cementing its place in the sartorial zeitgeist. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t unsee the skirt. It was literally everywhere.
Though one is intended for a variety of appropriate uses and the other explicitly for lounging, the appeal of the leopard-print midi skirt and its tie-dye counterpart remains the same. While it could be rendered tacky with the wrong footwear (an unlikely outcome considering the current stay-at-home mandates), most would agree that the tie-dye sweatsuit is just chic enough without being overwhelming; just edgy enough without being too in-your-face.
It’s worth noting that tie-dye loungewear is not something born from quarantine. In fact, its ubiquity can be traced back to last spring, when perpetual cool girl Emily Ratajkowski debuted the laid-back look while walking her dog, Colombo, in New York City. Months later, Gigi Hadid leisurely stepped out post-fashion month wearing a colorful set in a blue-and-yellow print. A few weeks after that, Lady Gaga, giver of infectious, dance-friendly bops, debuted a multicolor version on a plane back to Vegas for her concert residency. And voilà, a star was born (sorry, had to).
Emily Ratajkowski
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Gigi Hadid
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But most covetable things are cyclical, and sometimes inauspicious times call for digging through the archives. Tie-dye sweats are filling a painfully empty void right now. The saturated colors are rife with joy and promise. You can’t argue with the instant add-to-cart appeal.
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Trends may come and go — and hopefully this godforsaken virus goes sooner than later — but as we look ahead to several more weeks of staying holed up inside, the tie-dye sweatsuit, like its leopard-print predecessor, is likely here to stay for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, here are nine better-than-basic options that will make your Instagram stand out from the crowd (or at least six feet away).
This much became clear when Camila Mendes and Lucy Hale wore the same tie-dye one-piece within a week of each other.
Their swimsuit of choice was Cotton On’s Deep V One Piece, which retails for $25.
And they’re not the only ones. Kendall Jenner wore a tie-dyed one-piece in the pages of Vogue. Sofia Richie designed a line of bikinis for Frankie’s Bikinis in, you guessed it, two tie-dye prints.
Whether you prefer a one-piece or separates, spaghetti-strapped or one-shouldered, there’s a printed swimsuit out there that fits your summer aesthetic. From Reformation to Target, here are the best tie-dye swim options worth shopping right now.
A tie-dye T-shirt is meant to be easy, laid-back—something you make for an arts and crafts session in the summer. You expect to wear it with Birkenstocks, on your way to do something outdoorsy. Tie-dye has a very specific identity, but it’s still evolving, especially as certain designers have reinvented and reimagined it as a top trend for spring 2019. Translation: Tie-dye is getting expensive.
You can expect to see many more high-end versions of it in the near future. Right now, you can buy a tie-dye Proenza Schouler sweatshirt or Prabal Gurung maxi skirt; in the fall, there will be Maryam Nassir Zadeh tie-dye puffer jackets and Collina Strada leggings. Celebrities are stoked about this revival, gravitating toward one purple-blue style in particular: a $230 Paco Rabanne T-shirt. It’s part of the brand’s ongoing collaboration with Peter Saville, and the “Love Yourself” graphic has been spotted on Selena Gomez and Rihanna in recent weeks.
It’s a pretty straightforward take on tie-dye. The shirt’s main distinctive feature is a ruched, knotted detail on the bottom corner.
Paco Rabanne’s tie-dye cotton T-shirt is one of fashion’s more straightforward tie-dye takes. It looks like something you probably owned years ago. It seeks to emulate “chill” with the ruched knotted detail that makes it look as if you tied it on the side just so.
Influencers, models, and stylists have taken to this Paco Rabanne top too, pairing it with everything from patterned maxi skirts (as it appeared on the brand’s spring 2019 runway) to jeans.
Listen, the shirt is cool. But not all of us have that $230 tie-dye budget. So we set out to find alternatives that get you the same look but are easier on the wallet. Of course, you could always make your own—all you need is a plain white T-shirt and a tie-dye kit from Amazon. If you want to wear the trend right now, though, consider the seven tops under $90 ahead.
For many, tie-dye has two distinct associations: the psychedelic vibes of the Summer of Love, or the nostalgia factor from days spent crafting at summer camp. And yet in 2018, the color-soaked pattern is having a distinctly fashion-y resurgence—and it’s a ways from the peace-sign emblazoned version you might have somewhere in the back of your closet.
You saw it on the runway at Ralph Lauren and Sies Marjan, and in the Resort 2019 collections of designers like Prabal Gurung—all of which are pretty good reason to view the style in a new light. Tie-dye is as fun as ever, but its latest iteration feels pretty grown-up.
Whether you’re hitting the beach or laying out at home, tie-dye deserves a shot at entering your summer wardrobe (especially with the added bonus of not needing rubber bands and messy dyes to DIY). Brands are doing the work for you, releasing colorful dresses, tees, swimsuits, and shoes that follow the unofficial Haight-Ashbury dress code. Ditch your by-the-book seersucker and gingham for a look that’s a little more relaxed but equally seasonally-appropriate with the tie-dyed fashion picks ahead.
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