A blog I like, Preshrunk, featured a shirt with a 100,000 Croatian dinar note sewn onto it like a patch. I really like this idea, and I’m going to make my own version. Paper money acts more like a fabric than a paper (it can go through the washing machine without much damage), so I think it will hold up pretty well.
However, I’m going to use American money for my version. I thought about using foreign cash, mostly because American money is less colorful and interesting to look at, but then I decided against it. Money from another country isn’t legal tender here in America, it’s just an interesting piece of paper. The whole point (for me, at least) of using money as a decorative element is negated by using worthless money.
The shirt on Preshrunk costs $40. I can’t find an exchange rate for Croatian dinar (which were replaced in 1994 by kuna) to USD, but as the dinar is no longer used, the 100,00 dinara note is just a piece of paper (the dinar suffered from hyperinflation, so I can’t imagine it had too much value to begin with). I already have a shirt to use (green, long sleeves, probably cost about $12 new at Target) and I’m planning on using a $5 bill. My version, even using legal tender, will “cost” less than half of what the Croatian dinar shirt does.
What first attracted me to this idea was using paper as a fabric. I’m taking a papermaking class right now, and we’re going to partner with a dance class and make paper dance costumes, so I’ve been thinking about paper as clothing lately. However, the more I think about it, using COLD HARD CASH as a purely decorative element appeals to me even more than using paper as fabric (although I like that aspect, too). I like art that makes people think about everyday things in new ways, and I think that this certainly qualifies.
Even though dollar bills can survive a few trips through a washing machine, if you plan on wearing (and washing) this shirt often, it’s going to get pretty worn, pretty quickly. Take out your wallet and compare a brand-new bill with an old, worn one. Now consider that banks replace old, worn-out bills whenever they get back to them. I don’t think your money shirt is going to last too long.
I had been planning such an idea as a halloween costume. I thought to take out about 1000 1 dollar bills from the bank. Sew them into a smock, wear it as the costume (call it the American dream or something) then take it appart and put the money back in the bank. I doubt any would be dameged enough to be no longer legal tender.
Foreign money has value in the US. Just walk up to any major bank and you can exchange that funny piece of paper for US currency. It’s far more than just an interesting piece of paper.
The $5 US bill has some direct impact, but some of the Euro or British notes are much prettier.
You could use the back of a Canadian 20-dollar bill, with its image of a boatload of… people… paddling along, and tell people that “it’s a statement about immigration”. Let them decide whether it’s pro, anti, or something else entirely.
What about foreign money that’s no longer used (like the Croatian dinar)? I have a bunch of old lira notes from when I went to Italy in the seventh grade. Italy uses euros now, but could I still exchange my lira for USD?
Robot Arm, that’s really interesting. Thanks.
I’m thinking of using Heat-N-Bond, which is the sort of heat-set glue used on patches, to glue the bill to the fabric, then embroidering (by machine and hand) through the whole thing. Hopefully that wil strengthen and stabilize the paper so it won’t fall apart too quickly.
I think this could be a new trend, especially with the hip-hop crowd. Instead of wearing lots of bling, just wear your cash. A simple jacket covered with $100 bills and embroidery doesn’t sound any more ridiculous to me than a big-ass medallion covered in diamonds.
Probably not. When the Euro was introduce each country had time limits where they would still trade old currency for new. I think they all have expired, but I could be wrong. Unless collectors want them, they really are just funny pieces of paper, but some are quite pretty.
That’s what I thought, but since I was getting my information from the movie Millions, where the deadline to turn in the old currency is a big plot point, I wasn’t sure.
