Mata Traders

Get ready… GET SET… go!
Matching sets, at the link in bio. 👯‍♀️

Handcrafted quality. Fair trade production. Feel good about what you wear.

Info on our Summer Sale below!

Our polka dot ikat is a double ikat, one of the most labor-intensive textiles made anywhere in the world, and produced in only three countries on earth: India, Japan, and Indonesia. What makes it double ikat is that both the warp (vertical) and weft (horizontal) yarns are individually tied and resist-dyed before a single pass of weaving even begins. The two sets of dyed yarns are then woven together so their patterns align precisely: a process that requires extraordinary skill and patience.

This ikat is handwoven on a manually powered loom by artisans in rural India who have specialized in this tradition for generations. It can take nearly a full day for one craftsperson to weave enough fabric for a single Ilona or Lola Dress. From start to finish, fabric production alone takes 75-90 days - before cutting and sewing even begins. It’s one of the longest fabric timelines we work with.

The soft edges of each dot are not a flaw. They are the hallmark of the hand-dyed process. Because the warp and weft yarns are dyed separately and then brought together on the loom, the level of shading and precision at each dot edge will vary naturally. Occasionally, the lightest wash of blue can also make it through the resist bands in subtle, irregular ways. Every dot is truly its own.

You may also notice the very rare stray yarn woven into the fabric: a natural byproduct of the shuttle passing through the loom by hand. This is not a defect, but a mark of the process.

No two pieces are exactly alike. Each meter of this fabric carries the unique signature of the yarns in that bundle and the individual handling, pressure, and rhythm of the artisan who wove it.

20% Off everything through tomorrow only. Use code SUNNYDAYS and find something you’ll love.

You know the feeling.

It’s morning. You wake up and already, you’re doing a million things. Your to do list and your schedule are packed. You haven’t gotten groceries, you haven’t fixed that door that won’t shut quite right, and you still haven’t gotten back to your friend about that thing next weekend.

It’s easy to get lost in all of the must-do’s.

Getting dressed is the first thing you do for yourself every day. And it shouldn’t be a chore, and you shouldn’t have to make 12 decisions about it right out of the gate.

We get it.

Our clothes are designed for this specific morning. Clothes that start off your day feeling good about what you’re in, and feeling even better about how it’s made. Clothes that go wherever you need them to.

We have relaxed and more fitted fits, styles that stretch and some that don’t, fabric that breathes, and pieces with pockets. They’re easy to layer, great with any accessories, and such a simple solution to the morning brain fog.

You make the decision the day you buy it, and then every morning after, your decision has already been made for you.

We want to make your day.