Why don't i like tie-dye? Because I don't like tie-dye. It is a matter of personal taste. Why don't I like anchovies? Or steel drum bands? I don't know. Matters of taste and opinion are ultimately not analyzable any further (at least at the level of language and intellect.) It has nothing to do with snobbery or irony vs. non-irony. I don't participate in those discussions. It is personal taste, pure and simple.

I do like nice cheery outfits, though, sure. There's lots of easy ways to do it that do not involve tye-die or flower-print shirts. Just as an example, there were a bunch of people at the Multnomah County Bike Fair taking thrift store t-shirts and other assorted clothing (including a rally beautiful orange cotton jumpsuit) and using old bike sprockets as spray stencils. The end results were totally rad and fun. Heck, you could even do it on top of tye-die.

Like everything, there are exceptions. I could deal with tie-dye I or someone I know did themself. I have a soft spot for DIY things. (That's how tie-dye started, way back when.) Call it snobbery, but things look better that are done by a real person you know (or as part of a craft party) as opposed to at a big industrial t-shirt coloring place. I once interviewed for a job at a big tie-dye place in Seattle, and it was no different than any other sweat-shop/production facility anywhere.

In Re:
#1. Two categories (Good & Bad): What about In Between?

#2. Tie Dye:
Dan, I never had you pegged for a snob of this magnitude! The very idea, likening tie-dye to Thomas Kincaid prints.

Why do you call tie-dye an aesthetic atrocity? If one feels the urge to dress in bright colors (as do some of your hippie family members) why is tie-dye any worse than some bright solid color garment from, say, Target or Saks 5th Avenue? Is it the bright colors you abhor, or the fact that one garment contains too many bright colors, or that too many people create (or wear) this one type of craft and that somehow makes it worthy of disdain by real artists, or....? And on a side note, is it only cool to wear uncool clothes if you wear them ironically? Didn't you get the memo, 'Irony is Dead, Corny is In'?

Yes, there are some real and creative costumes at the fair. Not all of us are artistic or craftsy enough, or have enough time, to come up with these every year. Nobody's calling tie-dye a costume, but it can be a gosh-darned nice, cheery, colorful outfit if that's what you feel like wearing. And it does add to the general ambience of the event. Can you imagine an Oregon Country Fair where a small percentage of fairgoers had totally fabulous, awesome, creative costumes, and the rest of us wore Gap t-shirts? There's room for all clothing styles at the fair. Tie-dye, clashing stripes & checks, greys & earthtones, even Gap t-shirts. The latter few in moderation, of course.

OK, now that I got that out of my system, I GUESS you can still come to our potluck. As long as you bring something really yummy!