Features and blogging

Picking up a copy of Stylist the other day I was thrilled to see a feature all about pockets (Pockets are a Feminist Issue, Issue 481), in which journalist Hannah Rochell writes about the importance of having a few dotted about our clothing. Oh hear hear! At long last someone who fancies a trouser with a bit of common sense.
Pockets are something I have always felt passionately about, to the point that my one pair of jeans that only has them on the back always tricks me when I wear them, leaving me with a tiny tinge of sadness whenever I go to tuck my house keys in.
Pockets formed the subject of my very first letter to The Times at the ripe old age of seven. The family joke, whenever us girls complained about anything, was always Mum retorting playfully: ‘Well, I should write to The Times!’ So one day, fed up with my pocketless girls’ trousers, I did. This was a very young and unconscious foray into feminism, an early act of mild revolution, and although the response was a long time coming, I did actually get one.
I had to wait a year for a reply (we had gone overseas to live, in the interim) but when we came back home there was a letter waiting – just for me – in amongst all my parents’ post. An official letter, with a proper heading, in formal type and with a real signature at the bottom.
I dined out on the letter for years as did Mum, who I vividly remember being as proud as punch to have been the one to suggest writing in. She would have loved Hannah’s feature as much as I did, having always been (like me) a fan of clever and practical clothing. I have temporarily lost that special letter somewhere in the bowels of our chaotic new house, so until I find it I just have the precious memory of those three politely typed lines, amounting to something like:
”Dear Miss Pearce, thank you for your letter (blah)…” and continuing to summise that maybe it’s because of a general reluctance among fashion designers to avoid spoiling the line of an outfit. Plus ca change…
There is nothing quite like a spot of recognition, and nothing at all like a good old fashioned letter. We should all try writing to The Times at least once in our lives. And bravo, Stylist.