There are certain patterns, symbols amd colors that has thrilled me since my upbringing, be it pink or blue, fleur de lis, crowns, heraldic eagles, ostrich feathers or this then unnamed, fabulous, geometric pattern (yes, history has always been my treasure chest).
Unluckily, I never spotted meander ribbons it in Norwegian fabric shops. - With a population of less than 5 million people spread over a relatively vast territory, assortment can often be insufficient for individuals with tastes as specialized as my own.
However, my first meander ribbon was detected in the textile district of New York at a romantic New Year´s holiday some years ago. Dark blue and golden yellow, a revelation according to my - specialized - taste. And a bit too costly for my mental wallet, that later has expanded. It was supplemented with several yards of a less pricy version; white and golden metallic. It looked cheap on the catwalk too.
The black and golden yellow relative of the preferred, woven ribbon was, however, detected in San Francisco a couple of years later. From it the British empire, czarist and Napoleoic inspired collection "Imperivm" (F/W 2010) was actually born:
Not letting the meander pattern slip my mind, I thought: "But there must be more than this!" The is a world of oppurtunities out there in our Internet age! "Meander ribbon" was looked up at Ebay, surprisingly with no relative results.
Later, the online store of shop no. 1 was consulted. Ah! The term is "Greek key"! So simple it escaped my foreign word-loving mind. Still a bit costly, but in many lovely colors, a meander (or Greek key) fantasy! And Ebay sellers offer it too ...
Then the subject was forgotten for a while. Antiquity is not a a main inspirational source for "Dark Dawn", after all.
Last Saturday, I spotted the very same quality ribbon in a Norwegian shop. Too broad and in wrong colors for anything in my upcoming collection, but nevertheless a great releaf for individuals as me. 50% off a price surpricingly lower than in the Manhattan shop. I resisted.
And regretted. The sky blue and orange one could match at least one of the dresses ... The well filled online store was consulted again. I remember it was a bit awkward for international customers to order from it. Fax orders and more than $50 for the postage only confirmed this and scared me off.
I will actually visit the brick and mortar store in a couple of weeks only, but the assortment of these adored Greek key ribbons there can be varying, to put it diplomatically: I cannot see the beauty in f.ex. orange and black versions. Or orange and dark green or reddish brown ... Or mould green and pink in any of my collections.
OK, back to Ebay again, now only one moth before leaving Norway with my new collection. Oooh, an unpretentious and a bit narrow, but more important; blue and white one! Inexpensive too, and a fair postage rate. Ok, 20 yards must be sufficient for the goddess dress.
But until 10 handlings day made my stomach tickle internally. A message was attached to the PayPal payment: "Hello! I hope it is possible to send this before 10 business days, as I need to use the ribbon for a fashion show outfit only one month from now, and Norwegian customs can take a while. Thank you very much in advance! Best regards."
So, I hope the ribbon will be here within me leaving for my international runway show. If not, I hope it will loook good on the dress a bit postponed instead ...
