I was so pleased when the Spanish Boot Company asked me to do a guest blog for them. It got me thinking about what I wanted to write about and in the unusual times we are living through now it has for me brought into sharp focus the things which brings us joy, what ever that might be.
I want to explore the evocative nature of fashion and how we link what we wear to how we feel and the power fashion has to change moods but particularly how fashion can make us remember - what we wore to a memorable event, a gift from someone special, treasuring a piece which has been handed down the generations. There are so many examples. Quality, long lasting pieces make this possible, a bespoke pair of boots, a tailored jacket...
This then got me thinking about sustainability and fast fashion. We’ve all bought pieces which are not investment pieces and they don’t last however much we want them to. But often when I have lost a piece I have loved which has literally fallen apart because it really wasn’t made to last, I lose memories with that piece and it always seems a real shame.
I have so many items of clothing and accessories which are more than just the pieces themselves to me. Your first pair of riding boots, the bag you bought at that souk on an adventure abroad, as well as the obviously memorable pieces from momentous events like weddings, christenings and so on.
I forget the countless times an item of fashion as been the centre piece to a story from my own life and has served as paraphernalia to illustrate and enliven a tale and my own story telling. Not to mention how pieces through history have taken on huge significance after the passage of time. Any walk around any of the gorgeous corridors of the V&A, just by way of example, are testament to how fashion takes on special significance and become museum pieces.
So the moral of this piece is to invest in sustainability rather than throw away fashion and it will be an investment in a piece which will add to your story and add to your storytelling, to friends, family and future generations.