What do you wear when you go hunting?
Before dawn you get up, put on your clothes. Forest green tweet and woollen tartan patterns, pull the leather gloves over your hands before you pick up a flask of hot tea in one, bow and arrow in the other. Your boots throw a loud echo into the quiet morning, as you walk down the wooden stairs. Your horse is waiting for you outside. Who put on the saddle? Never mind. As you climb into it and ride away, the birds start chirping in the trees around, still covered in a thick morning haze. Frosty air blows into your face, as you pull your scarf over your chin.
But what are you wearing?
I have no idea about hunting. I don’t even know if I would or could do it if I was invited to do so. But I know what I would wear, if.
Boots and leather gloves in the same shade of brown. A fancy hat with a feather on one side and a flower on the other. Woollen trousers with a strip of colour on each side. A cashmere turtleneck and a scarf in the same earthy sand colour. Over which I would throw a dark green tartan jacket with wide open arms, slow fashion creation by kesityu. Useful for hunting but equally fashionable for the Apéro in the hunting-castle afterwards.
As I dig through masses of clothes at the 50cent stall I get to grab something soft and green. A tartan jacket, dark colours, serious cut. “That’s good for hunting.” I say to Clare. Because I don’t hunt, and also know I wouldn’t wear such a jacket I am about to trow it back into the pile in front of me. My intuition or simple routine makes me check the tags. “Handmade” “cashmere” and “wool” trigger my attention and I can’t let go of it anymore.
Back at home I take the jacket apart and discover that it is indeed hand stitched all the way.
Every seem consists of millions of tidy regular stitches.
What a treasure!
The respect of this other persons work makes me follow their example and only use my hands to stitch my project back together.
Long winter hours of drinking wine, conversations and watching movies flow into this jacket.
Many hours of sewing at the kitchen table, in the bar or on the balcony.
Trying on each new step, making sure every bit of fabric falls into the right place.
After three weeks of dedicated handcraft, I am now waiting for a hunting-invitation to get my creation to use.
Because whats a hunting jacket without hunting?
Turns out everything is already there. Even the castle.
Only the fact that nowadays we don’t hunt with bow and arrow anymore, got lost somewhere in translation. And my horse and dog must have run away while I wasn’t watching.
Do you need a hunting outfit, designed and created by kesityu? And if not, what are you wearing when you go hunting?
Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your Monday!
All photos and words are owned by ©kesityu.