I have piffling regrets. Nothing to plague me on my deathbed, just trivial remorses made more annoying by the fact that I could fix them if only I weren’t so lazy.
I wish I’d read Wolf Hall (or at least watched the TV adaptation so I could pretend I had). I wish I had a showpiece karaoke song. I wish I could change a tyre and that I got to reveal this skill during a torrential midnight downpour in the middle of nowhere to a car full of people I kind of don’t like but still want to impress. I wish I had conversational Mandarin. But, right now, I really, really wish I could sew.
It’s this summer’s clothes that have done it. As you must know by now, the 70s are big this year and that was a decade that loved the handcrafted look. A-line dresses and skirts, simple garments without darts or tucks that you could easily make yourself. Homespun decorations, such as wooden beads, tassels, embroidery. My 70s childhood was full of this stuff. I was always being made to sew or knit or crochet, but I stubbornly refused to learn. Big mistake, because it’s all back this summer and it costs a fortune now.
The thing I hated most as a kid was patchwork. It’s the ultimate craft for uptight OCD pedants. All fiddly corners and neat stitching. But it looks so great when done properly – truly creative and unique.
To see what I mean, look at this season’s catwalk shows. Prada’s patchwork dresses in shades of brown, yellow and green are amazing. Anna Sui, Tommy Hilfiger and Peter Som’s collections feature patchwork as a mending tool, showing prettily patched clothes in leather, denim and suede. Marni and Proenza Schouler did modern takes on the strip-piecing technique. Marni’s had heaps of flowers and ruffles and sequins and looks particularly amazing.
Patchwork is available off the catwalk, too. It’s a good buy for summer not only because it’s a big trend, but because its busy patterns and stitched design are the antithesis of workwear. It’s synonymous with downtime, with holidays, weekends and festivals.
There are lots of denim and suede clothes to be found at Zara, Topshop and Asos. Although it’s expensive, I love this strip-pieced dress by MiH, a posh denim brand created by Chloe Lonsdale. Her father, Tony Lonsdale, founded The Jean Machine in the 70s and was known as the “blue jean king” back then. Chloe’s denim may be pricier, but the label has a lovely range of washes and finishes.
There are also lots of patchwork prints out there. & Other Stories has some cute printed dresses and shorts, and look for nice prints on shoes, bags and swimwear. I swear I had a swimsuit like this one by Australian label Minkpink when I was six.
If only I’d paid as much attention to the craft lessons as I did to my clothes. Still, plenty of time to learn: the patchwork trend is set to carry on into the autumn, too.
Follow Alice on Instagram @aliceefisher
