This morning I happened to see Vivienne Westwood being interviewed on Breakfast TV. She mentioned that in her opinion, people have never looked worse than at this point in history. Her advice was to buy very few things, rather than lots, to make sure they were the best quality you could afford and to wear them often.

Now my four children are all adults, I am used to seeing bits of fashion falling through the door via Royal Mail; ASOS, H&M, Lazy Oaf, Zara are a few of the labels which spring to mind. There was a period when, particularly my daughters, would shop ’til they dropped at Primark – but they seem to have become more discerning. They are all on very part time incomes as they’re still at college, or in the case of the eldest, have left but with a vast graduate debt – but they seem to pick out the best quality they can, buying them at sale prices.

My eldest son is the one with a real penchant for expensive clothes/designer labels – but even he will wait until something is marked down; two days ago he came home grinning like a Cheshire Cat as a £350 jacket he’d had his eye on for some months had come into his ownership for the rather fantastic reduced price of £50. And I have to agree, it was a gem. The lining was immaculate. All the details, that is, buttons, pocket edgings, hems were beautiful -and the material itself was soft, a wonderful colour and made from natural fibres. As long as he manages not to lose it, the jacket will give him many years of pleasure.

Our shops seem to be flooded with ‘disposable’ clothes, clothes which are so cheaply made they are designed to be worn once only before they fall apart or lose shape or colour after the first wash.

Last year, as I was driving around the beautiful countryside outside Glasgow, I stumbled across a small Mill, which had reinvented itself as a costume museum. The exhibition that was then showing was The Little Black Dress. As I wandered around, I was struck by several things; the exquisite workmanship of the dresses, some of which were nearly 200 years old, the beautiful detail – whether lacework, pleats, beading or just the sewing of it – and also by the fact that many of the dresses shared characteristics currently found in a lot of modern fashion – and indeed, wouldn’t look out of place at all worn today.

However, amongst all the dresses, I found the one thing which really touched me – an old knitting work box. As I looked at the weathered wooden needles, I felt real affinity with the generations of women before me who knitted for pleasure or necessity – and I feel honoured that today I can continue that craft and pass on lovingly made clothes, socks and blankets to the next generation.

This is a Sisterhood Circle post, so do click on Isabelle to read the next blog in our group!