Thing #2: Pringle 1815 jumper, circa 2007

When the weather changes and darkness is drawing in, the breaking of the seasonal wardrobe is a consolation in the gloom. In dwindling daylight there's nothing more comforting than cosying up to a favourite woolly jumper.

I always look forward to putting on this oversized turtleneck for the first time in the autumn. Baby soft merino wool with skinny sleeves, a big pouch pocket in and nary a pill in all the years I've been wearing it. This big softie is a masterpiece of knitwear design by Pringle 1815, the second line of Pringle of Scotland, the Argyle pioneers of the rampant lion. 

Thing #1: Doc Martens Safety Boots circa 1994

I once had a job that required me to walk around construction sites, for which I needed safety boots. (Actually it was several jobs and it was a career, but I've since fixed that.) At the time, stylish protective footwear for ladies was very much an oxymoron, so I had no choice but to use my imagination. I'd been through numerous pairs of fugly shoes by the time I discovered these beauties, Classic Docs from the time when Docs were still Made in England.

There's a lot to say about the role Dr Martens have played in Britain's vibrant popular culture, riddled as it is with the angry politics of class warfare played out to a soundtrack of the Clash and the Sex Pistols. Long before they rose again as a fashion brand, DMs were the go-to no-nonsense bovver boot of choice for policemen, football hooligans and political extremists of all flavours. Eight holes and a steel toecap spelled trouble, the kind of people you'd cross the street to avoid.

We are not invisible.

This blog is part of a research project in which I seek to understand how we use clothing to shape our identities. As I've grown older, I've come to view my own style choices as part of a bigger story that stretches back over time. I recognise the collection I've built up over the years as the continuation of something I began around thirty years ago and am still engaged with. It's a work in progress and it gets better every year.