Can you believe Cath Kidston has been around for 25 years? Cath’s quintessentially British designs are memorable and instantly recognisable – and each one reminds me of a different time from the last two decades.
Cath Kidston has taken me from awkward to teen to thirty-something mum of two. My first purchase? A classic floral book bag. I was 16 and used it to carry my folders to college.
Every piece I’ve bought since then has a special place in my heart. These are my favourites…
The dressing gown that cured homesickness. The summer of 2002. It was a month or so before I left for university. My mum and I took a trip to the Cath Kidston shop at Clarenden Cross. Like most students, my sparse new college room needed some cheering up. It was light blue cotton, covered in those quintessential flowers. That dressing gown is long gone – I wore it until it disintegrated. But I’ll always remember it and how it made me feel a tiny bit less homesick. I don’t have a photo of it – pictured instead is dressing gown number two, from 2006.
The bag that made me feel grown up… This bag was an eighteenth birthday present. It was the first proper handbag I owned. It went off to uni with me, and then, after I graduated, accompanied me to my first flat and job in London. It’ll always remind me of those fresh, vibrant days of feeling newly grown-up. And look! It’s still here. These days it rarely leaves the house, but it’s a treasure and I’ll never part with it.
The skirt that reminds me of my Grandma… Another birthday present. A longed for treat when my children were little and money was tight. The first time I wore it I caught it on a door and tore it badly. I was gutted. But luckily, my grandma, who was the most talented seamstress, took it away and worked a miracle. Invisible mending. I don’t think many people can still do that. But she could, and thanks to her magic needle and thread the rip disappeared. She’s gone now – which makes this skirt all more precious. That simple cotton skirt with its secret repair, is a little bit of her. I’ll never part with it
And that’s the magic of Cath Kidston – still going strong at 25 years. What are your memories?
I love the story about your Grandma mending your skirt. It’s lovely that she was able to fix it for you, and that in a way it’s more valuable for having been torn and repaired, than it was when new. Somehow that whole idea also seems very in keeping with the Cath Kidston brand!
Yes, I felt the same and I’ll always treasure it!