Lately I’ve been pondering style nostalgia. I’m not talking about the endless revival of trends past which comprise the cyclical nature of fashion, I’m talking more specifically about a desire to embrace things which evoke memories of childhood. Leggings (even better, velvet leggings), leotards, alice bands and most intriguingly clothes that resemble animals!
Let me tell you a little story…
Every year, for my Junior school’s annual May fair, the teachers would ask us to bring in donations to sell on the stalls. These donations – books, clothes, unwanted toiletry sets from The Body Shop that hadn’t been touched since Christmas – were stored in the corner of the classroom where they continued to accumulate until the day of the fair.
Inevitably our beady little eyes scoped out any items we might want to procure come the big event, and on one particular year me and my best friend had our sights set on the same thing – a teddy bear backpack. That is literally the only way to describe it. It was a brown bear with a zip across his back and two straps, and I wanted it so badly!
Come the day of the fair, my best friend and I walked to the school gates together in awkward silence – knowing one of us was to go home empty handed. The gates opened and we raced to the stall. If I remember correctly I reached the table first, but for some reason I hesitated for a moment. I don’t think I could cope with the idea that I would only be able to own the backpack at my friend’s expense. Unfortunately she had no such reservations and snatched the bear up immediately (bitch)…
I was so upset by the whole episode that my mum made me a hodge podge of a bear backpack, made from one of my old teddies, which she pulled all the stuffing out of, and the straps off a red backpack. Bless her! I wore it with pride.
Anyway, that is what this influx of animal fashion reminds me of. It makes me smile.
