Now new to the Cottage: imported handmade natural fiber clothing lines

Linen has been prized and cherished for a long time because of its breathable, classic softness and durability. Because of this quality, it is well loved for warm weather garments such as suits, jackets shirts, dresses and skirts, in fact it has been a prized fabric the world over. Cultures in North Africa, Egypt, and Sudan, as well as West Asia mostly wore linen, while the Greeks, West Asians and many Europeans more often wore wool. By the Roman period, Europeans wore linen tunics under wool robes so that during the Middle Ages “linen” sort of meant “underwear,” which is probably why most of our underwear is white. Even the word “lingerie” is derived from linen.

Linen is one of the first fibers mankind used to make cloth, and it is made from the flax plant, which is plentiful all over the Mediterranean region and Central Asia. The flax plant is tall and like other reeds, it has long fibers which lend themselves well to spinning into thread. Flax plants are harvested and left to soak in water to cause the hard outside stem to rot away, which exposes its long, soft fibers. This process is known as “retting” flax.

 Customarily,  fibers are spun on a spindle into linen thread. In Central Asia, people were spinning linen thread and rope centuries before the advent of wool, and using the linen threads to weave fabric. Linen is easy to spin into thick, strong thread, or ultra fine. In ancient Egypt sails were made of coarse linen, but for their tunics and garments very fine linen was used, and because linen is not particularly easy to dye, it was and still is often worn in its natural color, which can range from white to light grey. All fabrics have an electric “frequency” and linen has the highest frequency, which is one reason it has historically been used in healing applications (bandages, etc) You could say it “adds” energy to the person wearing it! 

In my travels to Europe I have found some amazing garments, and sources for quality linen garments as well as cotton, another fiber with good “vibes.” I decided to find a way to bring these great natural fabric garments to my customers at the Cottage. One of the really beautiful garment lines comes from Denmark, were Jeanne D’Arc magazine is produced. Their clothing line is really nice, and we will be carrying some of their products, as well as pure flax linen garments from an Italian source I found. We also have some really nice Belgian linen items.

The clothes are fun and comfortable, as well as really beautiful, I’m so pleased that after seeing them in the magazine year after year, I have these lovely garments in the store.

You will love the feel and look of these uniquely designed pants, they just arrived and are available now!

Stop by and browse all the great fashions made from natural fibers with attention to detail like you’ve never seen!

 

 

 

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