Animals and plants hidden on your clothes' patterns - from delightful vintage Indigo Moon. Outfit 475.

A popular saying is that one man's meat is another another's poison.  My tastes in food have changed, so have my preferred patterns in clothes. How many of your clothes have interesting patterns which you have never noticed or have forgotten? Have your tastes changed? 

I remember as a teenager being amused by skulls. Now that I am of retirement age, skulls remind me of my nearness to, well, never mind. I just don't like them any more. 

Snakes no longer thrill me. I shugdder or wince, make faces. 

Nor do I think crocodiles are cute. In real life as a traveller, and at home I have learned that they are a barrier to health and happiness and generally stop you in your tracks.

My Vintage Brown Tiger Jacket

 I pulled out of a pile of clothes an old - let's call it vintage, brown jacket with sequins. I noticed something on four legs, a small kitten or a big cat. I like kittens but am not keen on BIG cats. When I looked closely at the design, I momentarily frowned when I found it featured a tiger. I was reassured when, on a closer look, I observed that the grumpy but harmless tiger, was no bigger than a mouse. It therefore would not give me nightmares. That was on the jacket's left side. Were there more little tigers, in the embroidered undergrowth, flashing little sequin eyes?

Palm Tree and Plants

No. I was further reassured that my jacket would cause calm, rather than stress, when I saw a pretty palm tree dancing up the right.

The tiger and palm tree were the main, individual motifs. Other lines of leaves were across the central back, 

Buttons

The jacket has five buttons down the front, one on each sleeve cuff, seven in total. The buttons are a dark brown, Inconspicuous.

I am considering replacing the buttons. Changing seven buttons is a lot of work. A lot of time. You need seven matching buttons. Alternatively five of one sort down the front, two of a co-ordinating set for the cuffs.

I found one set of seven but they were thin with sharp edges.

I had three sets of two and one odd button. The cuffs could be different anyway. I could alternate the other pairs. The odd button, which I rather liked, could be at the bottom or top or in the middle. As I liked it, and the top button is sometimes larger, to be more secure, and decorative. so at the top was where it should go in pride of place

I cut off three of the buttons, intending to replace them. Then I decided to try rubbing the surface. Was it tarnish or paint?

The jacket washing label says it must be dry cleaned. Presumably to protect the sequins, which are already damaged and buckled. The stitching is coming loose with a few threads hanging. But also the brown colour may run, fade, go mottled in water. Or the top and lining might shrink different amounts, being diferent fabrics.

I rubbed one of three removed buttons with a Brillo pad. The button came up with raised sections gleaming, amid the black indentations. Not the entirely gold effect I had wanted, but good enough.

I decided the buttons, now a-gleam could stay on. I would have to sew back the two I had remoed and cleaned.

But I had not entirely wasted my time hunting for co-ordinating buttons. I would use two of the best spare buttons as extras to accent the two ends of the collar.

Did I need to remove the other four buttons? I was worried about wetting and bleaching or even dissolving the fabric underneath the buttons. So I protected the fabric below with piece of card with a slit like a buttonhole for the button. I kept my fingers under the button, to prevent too much moisture dissolving the card, or getteing though it to the fabric.

So far, so good.

Pockets?

No pockets. Never mind. I am wearing the jacket over a cream coloured man's shirt which has two breast pockets, each secured with a button. Under that is my new tee=shirt with five pockets. I shall have to put me hands in the tee shirt pockets.

Sequins

All the embroideries have small sequins, in two sizes of sequin, the usual and tiny.

Indigo Moon

The label is Indigo Moon. Made in India.

The company was in production in the 1980s and 1990s. I found dozens of items, mostly only jackets, but also a couple or skirt or trouser and jacket sets through Ebay, and Amazon, Preloved, Etsy, Oxfam, Depop, The Frockery, Messina Hembrey, Micolet, My Vintage, Vinted. 

The colours were browns, blacks, blues, bright reds, multi colour or two contrasting colours, vibrant. They were a riot of patterns, applique, patchwork and embroidered, a delight for the eyes. 

Prices

Prices were around twenty or more pounds to forty plus pounds. Postage varied from nil to high. One advertiser calimed the original retail price which the manufacturer recommended to the retail outlet was over a hundred pounds, 'RRP £120'. Since that would have been back in the last century, the equivalent price today would be higher.

My style with cuffs seems the exception. Most were wide cuffs at the end of A shape sleevers. Lots of plus sizes.

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