Tanned Hide

Did you know that the word ‘tan’, which perhaps we are most familiar with when it denotes a specific shade of brown (or, of course, a suntan), comes from the traditional method of converting a hide into leather by soaking or steeping in a bath of tanbark?

Tanbark is the bark of the oak or hemlock, which is bruised and broken in a mill. How about that! Apparently you can buy this stuff in gardening stores, but since my thumbs are distinctly ungreen, I had no idea of this.

I do like tan shades in my accessories, or outerwear, but never wear it in other types of clothing because most browns don’t suit my complexion. If I am wearing it on a coat however, there’s usually a more flattering colour in between.

It’s handy to have a few tan-coloured belts in one’s arsenal, as they are a great neutral accessory. I particularly like plaited leather. Woven belts are most useful because you can buckle them anywhere, allowing you to wear them over different weights or layers of clothes.

Woven belts are most useful because you can buckle them anywhere …

I was sad to see this thrifted narrow belt eventually give way because the leather was old and no longer supple. When it came to disintegrating in the area where I most buckled it, I knew it was time to mulch it.

Luckily, I very quickly found a replacement in another thrift store: a dark tan belt that is punctuated with a row of hearts. Not the same as woven leather, but the continuous row makes it adaptable to layers, and it is probably sturdier as the leather is thicker. I love it!

Photo: September 2019