Today’s interview in the ‘Lockdown Clothing’ project is with Lindsay Parker. Lindsay is a PhD student researching sustainable fashion. She also teach creative arts in further education and has been doing so for several years. Her background in fashion is practice based – she studied footwear design at undergraduate level.
1) Can you describe what your personal style was like before lockdown?
Before lockdown I basically wore mostly black all of the time! Probably my style had become quite boring but I had almost a uniform of black or dark coloured t-shirts, shirts, jeans or tapered style trousers depending on if I was at work or studying.
2) How would you describe your style now?
Now I am wearing anything that is comfortable or loose fitting, which usually consists of a pair of black leggings and a long t-shirt or jumper depending on the weather. I have ended up at my parent’s house in lock down unexpectedly and so don’t have many of my own clothes with me. I have had to borrow from my mum or root through old clothes left behind by myself and my sister. The result is that my style now is much more colourful! I have been wearing patterned dresses or brightly coloured clothes that I wouldn’t usually choose for myself – I feel much more summery.
3) What is your daily routine for getting dressed to remain at home? If you don’t have one, why is that?
At the start of the lockdown I tried to differentiate what I wore at the weekend and during the week so that I felt more ‘dressed’ on the days that I am having to work. This has gradually relaxed considerably! I find that I often get changed several times throughout the day now to do different activities such as exercise or if I move from the house to the garden. I do still change out of my pyjamas every day – no matter how pyjama-like the clothes are that I put on, I feel that the act of getting dressed gets me ready to start the day.
4) Has your approach to fashion and style changed as a result of the current situation?
I feel determined now to be more adventurous again with my own style when lock down ends. When I was a fashion student I put much more thought and effort into how I dressed and I feel that I have lost a bit of that creativity in my own style now. I am now fantasising about rummaging through charity shops and second-hand stores to find unique pieces, and maybe even making some of my own clothes again. I might even search out my old over-locker from the loft before lock down ends!
5) What’s your shoe situation at home? And how does this affect your sense of self?
I have three pairs of shoes that I am living in at the moment. All of them a bit worse for wear. My running trainers. A pair of old trainers for walking in and a pair of slider type shoes that are so comfortable and supportive that I usually use like slippers. If I didn’t have my trainers and couldn’t exercise by running or walking regularly this would hugely affect my sense of self. It’s important to me to be able to move and stay active.
If you’d like to take part in the project yourself, you can find all the information you need in the blog post entitled ‘Lockdown Clothing: a project documenting how we dress at home‘ dated 17th May 2020.
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