Nylon - November 2008 - (Page 54) riends forever f S WILSON PHOTOGRAPHED BY LUCA Like Trapper-Keepers and L.A. Gear, friendship bracelets were a near-constant presence during my elementary school years. The bracelets were cheap and easy to make, but much like a coveted It bag, they still designated status. If you were like me, the most you could manage was to weave a few wonky braids, but I clearly remember girls who mastered the art, and in effect, mastered the playground social scene. Sitting against the fence, their backpacks bursting with rainbowcolored tangles of embroidery thread and their ponytailed heads bent over in concentration, their tiny fingers would fly, making hundreds of knots that resulted in stripes, chevrons, chains, and ladders. Being presented with one of these creations was the equivalent of scaling the Prada waiting list, only maybe harder: After all, you couldn’t buy a friendship bracelet, you had to earn it. The tradition of friendship bracelets stems from Native American and Central American craft. They got their name from the idea that the person who made it did so with love, and so the wearer, to honor this, keeps it on until it falls off. Premature removal was like dumping someone from your Top Eight: a sign that you’d become disenchanted with the friendship. Now, Australian designer Scosha Woolridge makes friendship bracelets adorned with buttons and clasps, and while they are wonderful, it’s more economical to buy hand-fuls from streetside or beachside vendors. Or better yet, just make one. KATE WILLIAMS 54 54 the observer stylist: liz cresci. hair: jake dingler for artistsbytimothypriano.com. makeup: sara stewart for artistsbytimothypriano.com. models: ilona at major and ivory rose at empire. from left; top by blue blood, jeans by diesel, top by blue blood, jeans by nobody, bracelets made by nylon’s friends. http://www.artistsbytimothypriano.com http://www.artistsbytimothypriano.com
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