Wednesday Word: Boro

[calzephyr77]

Here's an interesting word, technique and historical textile that I learned about in one of my classes this semester. Boro (ぼろ) refers to clothing that is repaired many times over, creating a unique look. Historically, materials used would be natural woven cloth such as cotton and hemp that were woven by peasant farmers in the Edo period. The

Comments

[shivver13]

Oh, now that's interesting! I grew up in Hawaii, where the local pidgin (it's actually a creole) borrows words from many languages, including English, Hawaiian, Japanese, Chinese (mostly Cantonese), Tagalog, Korean, etc. My mom, who was born in Hawaii but spoke Japanese as her first language, used to call clothing that was ratty or dirty "boroboro". As in, "Gon' t'row dose shorts away, all boroboro."

[calzephyr77]

Thanks so much for your comment. Boroboro is not too far off. It's Japanese for something repaired or in tatters. There's probably a link between the two words.

[adafrog]

Cool.

[full_metal_ox]

Boro-without dismissing its beauty, resource, and frugality-falls under the vast heading of Poverty Signifiers That Become Cool Once Rich People Want Them.