add color to your life!

rags ‘n prints

we all know that dressing is hard. it’s not because we don’t know how to dress but its often hard to find the clothes that we want. the right clothes in the right size, the right style, the right color for the right occasion. I’ve always wondered ‘why would anybody want to go see a tailor or designer to have clothes made or buy from their inventory while we have so many choices from the department stores. then it hit me that the answer is not further than looking at myself. how I came to the design business. when I was young, I got tired of tailors who failed to make the clothes that I wanted in the styles that I wanted.

not everybody has tailoring skills but you don’t have to. ain’t it great that you can have an idea any vision for clothes and have someone make them for you while you take care of the things that matter in your life? the purpose of rags ’n prints is to provide ready to wear that is cool and stylish and make beautiful and unique garments that fit your body, style and budget. why rags ’n prints? we try to use traditional and eco friendly fabrics with natural fibers in contemporary styles. beside denim, most of the material is sourced from africa or is inspired from africa. material we use are all natural, comfortable to wear, easy to care for. they may look raw but yield a subtle beauty. they also tend to attain more beauty as they age.

denim has evolved from its humble beginning as trousers for the cowboys to a must have fashion item in every closet. popularized by hollywood, it was soon adopted by the counter culture, it turned into a perennial icon until it caught the eyes of fashion designers who styled it in so many imaginable ways that it has a life of its own.

hemp was considered so raw that it was exclusively used for sacks and bags until some artists started using them in mixed media. it’s not easy to trace its introduction to fashion but is still adopted by only the bold who dare try out new things.

mud cloth is fabric that originates from mali and as its name suggests, gets it’s distinctive rustic colors from dyes obtained from the mud. it has long been frown upon and used only in traditional settings until it started being used in home decor as wall hangings and other crafts that use african materials. all of a sudden, it surged in popularity when if found its way into the wardrobes of european and american men and women.

african print was not originally african but appealed to the tastes of african women who adopted it their favorite cloth for dresses and skirts and head wraps. for a long time, western women black and white shied away from the prints as they were deemed too colorful to blend in. people are slowly discovering its rich beauty, aided by some designers who featured them on the runway and some celebrities who dared showing their colors in african prints.

in a sense rags ’n prints clothing celebrates the vibrant cultures of africa without sacrificing the modern look. we borrow from universal civilization: from the sleek angles of italian design to the draping ample shapes of japanese traditional wear and african robes and dresses, it’s a mix of afro eurasian forms of expression.

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make a statement with accessories

what you wear and how you wear it is an expression or your style. you can stand out by creating your look with bold ethnic accessories that show your unique you. that’s style expressions!

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