The Slow Textiles Group is founded by Dr Emma Neuberg. This workshop was facilitated by slow textiles member Frances Cowper. A workshop to unlock the the past within garments, so they can travel with you... Learning to trace the garment pattern without unpicking the original.

I took a dress I brought when I was student. I found it in a shop on my local high st at the time which had quite an eclectic mix of fashions, but in it I found this gem.

The dress was a treat and I wore it often out with my boyfriend and I would always receive compliments on how much the dress suited me. As the dress was so comfortable to wear I began to wear it more and more, I enjoyed how I felt in the dress, it is soft and feminine whilst remaining elegant and sexy.

The delicate fabric began to catch and tear the more I wore it as an everyday dress, but I felt that this accentuated the delicate nature of the fabric, so kept on wearing it. Now I think it may be too torn to wear as the special dress is was once worn as, so it has been waiting in my mending bag for a day like this.

As we all discussed the garments we had brought to the workshop, I realised that the nature of the fabric and shape of the dress, meant that it was my body that shaped it, leaving an imprint of myself within the dress.

This workshop has made me think about the idea of 'personal classics' and women's body image. The workshop revealed that we all knew what worked well with our bodies and lifestyles. But perhaps it can be hard at times to always hear our inner voice when we are bombarded by fashions that try to make us desire a generic image which changes from season to season.

What I have learnt at this workshop is an empowering skill, it allows us to move away from the feeling that you need to follow the shapes that fashion dictates. I would recommend everyone to look through their cupboard to remember and re trace their own signature pieces.