French feedsack chic

Photo courtesy Pink Pig, Westport NY 

You know that the days of conspicuous consumption are gone when the hottest trend in decorating is anything made from an old feed sack. Vintage French grain sacks are fetching $75 or more on ebay and sometimes in the hundreds of dollars for finished goods in boutiques. Stylish and green, it's the “hautest” thing on the farm.

Older sacks were reused by frugal wives of years gone by. The cotton bags were soaked in harsh lye solutions to remove the printed labels and the fabric was ready to use for more humble applications. In the 1920s the bags began to appear with allover patterns as a result of their popularity for using after holding animal feed. The Great Depression created the first feed sack craze and our current recession has brought the modest bag full circle.

Photo courtesy Pink Pig 

The latest incarnation of the trend involves real or fake French feed sacks and American ones, both evoking different styles. The American sacks are often more colorful and kitschy. The French are more, well, just French. The other main difference lies in the price. Generally the French sacks, real or faux, command a premium price. You see them in many different settings, from rustic looking pillows to upholstery on an industrial design chair. Their American cousins are far more cheerful looking and lend themselves to retro and country style décor. Both are are often juxtaposed against an item of more refined style perhaps underscoring the irony of this often pricey trend.
 

Photo courtesy Pink Pig

To score some of your own feed sack chic visit these online merchants:
Pink Pig of Westport N.Y. Offers furniture, french inspired fabric items, and one of a kind feed sack pillows.
Ballard Designs offers vintage look pillows and burlap tablecloths and upholstered pieces.
Also Wisteria and Restoration Hardware.

Don't forget to look at allthe great photos of the feedbag look at Olivine in Houston on Cote De Texas