FRIDAY STYLE DIARIES by Susie Trezise | @harping_mad

In this blog post, we are sharing the wonderful maker Susie, from @harping_mad, who's style we really love. We set Susie with the challenge of making a Friday Pattern and to show us how to style it. 

If you had to use 3 words to define your style, what would they be?

- Comfortable

- Sustainable

- Artistic

I say “comfortable” first because, as a trained musician on harp, piano & recorder, I left corporate life behind 17 years ago and the image that we were expected to project to clients, which was never my bag and went on to train to teach music in primary schools, adult harp and folk band workshops and private one-to-one harp lessons. At last, I could finally dress exactly how I liked and comfort is number one for me because I might be sitting for hours teaching, or leaping around leading a band, walking my dogs on the coastal path or Dartmoor.

“Sustainable”, because at the age of 68 I have been slowly creating a wardrobe that might even see me out, which might sound morbid, but when we look at the fast fashion industry which is the second-largest polluter of water and third-largest polluter overall, it means I can do my bit towards saving our beautiful planet, and in my own personal style. I almost never wear or sew with man-made fibres like polyester, spandex, viscose, and nylon because they take decades or more to biodegrade, release microplastics into the environment during the process and often during our regular washing of garments made of these fabrics. Also, clothes I have made can easily be altered or adapted because I understand how they were constructed. Many of

my clothes started out as other garments that I later decided I no longer needed, liked or fitted any more. Sustainable fabric manufacturers prioritise long-term ecological and social impacts on the environment. They also promote fair labour conditions.

And, finally, “artistic”, because as performing musicians I like to feel that we look interesting as well as making my music sound interesting. Over the years I have produced some textile art and clothing with embellishments. Adding embroidery or patchwork makes clothing feel special and unique and in turn helps me feel more confident.• Where are you finding inspiration these days? This could be art, movies, music, nature, etc.

As a musician I am inspired by other musicians of all genres, mostly for their musical talent and the beautiful tunes and songs they produce, but also often for the way they dress. So many musicians are so creative in their choice of costume/clothing they perform in! I’m also inspired by artists such as Klimt or Kaffe Fasset for their amazing use of colour and pattern, but as we spend a lot of our time roaming England’s beautiful countryside (especially, Devon, Cornwall & Dorset), I am also very much inspired by nature – by its beautiful colours, shapes and textures. I guess I love to roam the countryside in flowing clothes like the Wilder Gown etc, inspired by Thomas Hardy movies like Tess!

I like to bring natural colours into my clothing as we have chosen in the photos shown here, and I have created linen & babycord clothing with stylistic local scenes appliqued in them. Living by the sea also inspires me greatly with the beautiful shades of blue, grey and sand.

What Friday Pattern have you chosen to make and why?

I picked the Beachcomber Jacket because I instantly felt drawn to it when it was released as my husband and I swim daily at local beaches. In fact, over the past few months, whilst waiting to move house to the Devon/Dorset border, we have made it a challenge to hike to, and swim at, all the beaches along the south coast down to the Cornish & Dorset borders with South Devon! Our RTW rain jackets were falling apart and we both needed new ones just as the pattern came out! I used Merchant & Mills Dry Oilskin for both jackets and it is the absolute perfect fabric for this fantastic jacket in our very changeable weather here in England. The oilskin is non-greasy and very waterproof and windproof. We love the elasticated cuffs which keep the wind out, and the hood, which is often annoying on RTW jackets, is just the right size and well cut. It keeps us protected from wind and rain, but we can see out too. I lined the jackets with some gorgeous paisley lining fabric from our local fabric store. We are now planning another version using wool fabric. I have to say it’s an incredibly comfortable and well thought out pattern, which I have come to expect from the Friday Pattern Company.• Talk us through the ways that you have styled your handmade garment. Ideally you would style the garment multiple ways and break down each

Outfit:

1. Where would you wear these looks?

For Look No. 1 we took a train trip down to beautiful Looe in Cornwall which is quite like our hometown of Brixham but has a better beach! Ours is sandy. The temperature had plummeted to 7oC and we were glad of our Beachcomber jackets to keep out the wind and cold. I styled mine with my Friday Pattern Company Bernadette skirt which I absolutely love. It’s perfect for hiking in and the little belt bag holds my phone and bank cards and tissues perfectly. I think it complements the jacket beautifully. Mr T styled his with his much-worn Thread Theory Jedediah Pants, the first I ever made, and the sweater I knitted him when we first started dating 31 years ago! He was toasty warm too.

For Look No. 2 we went to our local beach in Torbay where we often swim, and it was incredibly windy and really put the jackets to the test. They totally cut the wind. I styled mine with my favourite FPC Wilder Gown as the autumnal colours blend so well with the jacket. I think it shows that, unlike outdoor shop rain jackets, the Beachcomber looks stylish with even a pretty dress. We managed to persuade a not-very-technical walker to take our photos and ended up having a great conversation about hiking and the health benefits, music and, of course, as we Brits are wont to do, the weather!

For Look No. 3, on the day I finished the jackets we walked to beach we swim at most days, which is 20 minutes’ walk from our cottage. This was during the ten days we were underneath a “cyclonic gloom” of trapped cold air and boy was it dark and gloomy and cool! The jackets kept us warm though. I styled mine with my Sew House Seven Oxbow pants in 10oz denim.

2. What is the inspiration behind your styling?

The inspiration behind Look 1 was the sudden icy cold weather and the fact that I had just finished my Bernadette Skirt and wanted to try it out for hiking and that we were taking a train journey on one of Britain’s most beautiful train lines along the south coast of Devon & Cornwall. The inspiration behind Look 2 was I wanted to wear my autumnal Wilder Gown that day for teaching a harp workshop in the morning, after which we headedstraight to the beach because we finally had a sunny day after ten days of gloom and I wanted to see how the jacket looked with the Wilder Gown.

The inspiration behind Look 3 was inspired by the fact that we were walking up and over the very steep and often muddy hill opposite our cottage and down to the beach on a cold and gloomy day.

3. Do you have any tips & tricks for styling?

I guess I always think ahead to what I might be doing that day and dress accordingly, as most people do, but I like to think outside the box and if going on a hike, not reach for normal “outdoor clothing” which personally I don’t think is necessary unless climbing a high mountain like Ben Nevis or Snowdon, or the Himalyas! I grew up on a mountain pass in the Lake District and am aware of the dangers of mountain climbing without the correct gear and wear it when doing so. I do believe that marketing by outdoor clothing shops has influenced people to think they are not doing “hiking” properly unless dressed in the usual uninteresting gear, which, I might add, is usually made in the type of unsustainable and unecological fabrics I mentioned earlier. 95% of the time we both now wear only clothes that I have made myself and I love to try different combinations of handknit sweaters with my dresses etc. For example,

I really like handknit jumpers with linen dresses and handknit socks in winter. Linen is warm in winter too, if layered correctly. I guess I start with a dress or jeans that I always feel really confident in, and then add to that look with cardigans, sweaters, leggings, socks and jewellery etc.

What is a song that you have on repeat right now?

Well, being a folk and early music musician, I listen to other folk musicians on Spotify especially when I’m sewing and just now I am listening to a Dorset Duo called Ninebarrow and my favourite song of theirs is Gather It In which is all about our beautiful countryside which they share a love of, and write songs about. I really resonate with this song because we spent many of our days wandering around our beautiful lanes and fields.

•Where can we find you on socials?

You can find me on Instagram at @harping_mad. Please connect with me. I

love meeting new fellow sewists, knitters, musicians and hikers!