Welcome to Rebecca Symonds seasonal fashion blog. Rebecca is local born and bred and runs a business called Rebecca’s Room Knitting where you can buy handmade knitwear. She has been sewing since her mother would trust her with sharp objects and this started an interest in fashion at a young age. Locally educated, Rebecca studied at University College of the Arts in Farnham, however, in her early thirties she suffered a stroke and woke up paralysed down one side, unable to talk. As part of her rehabilitation she took up knitting and hasn’t stopped click-clacking since! She gets her inspiration from looking at people in the street, long country walks with her dog and the necessity of keeping warm living in a cold rural cottage.
On a rare Saturday night out in Farnham, my friend and I played one of our favourite games ‘who’s the best dressed in the bar?’. After a quick scan of The Slug we both decided on a chap wearing a superb shirt covered in delicately coloured birds – the feathered variety, not a lewd Stag party affair! Fuelled by a couple of ‘lemonades’ I approached Bird-man and, using my feminine charms, asked him where he got such a gorgeous top from? Frustratingly he would not say… grrrr. The morning after, I was still miffed. A quick ‘Google’ search however, revealed Bird-man’s secret though. I love the classic tailoring contrasted with the thoroughly modern fabric design as shown on the right of the picture above. The large expanse of off-white between the birds makes this an extremely wearable shirt for so many men. Perfect with jeans and leather shoes.
Our feathered-friends aIso feature on my much loved Cath Kidston day-bag design shown on the left of the picture, an ideal size for carrying your bits to the office and then perfect for holding a bottle of wine afterwards! They are so versatile; I’ve spotted women from school girls to seventy-year olds carrying them this autumn. Available in her ‘Garden Birds’ fabric which picks up on this season’s ornithological trend. The fabric has been used for loads of her designs, from umbrellas to dresses. The accessories are an ideal way of wearing this trend if you don’t fancy a fully-fledged outfit. Plus, if like me you get the urge to make something unique occasionally, they even sell the fabric by the metre. Spot on for adding a touch of ‘modern vintage’ to your home or wardrobe.
I have a soft-spot for blue tits, as they nested at my childhood home in Folly Hill, Farnham every year, encouraged by my Dad’s nest box building skills. In his honour I’ve designed the following child’s hat, knitted in acrylic so it’s ‘wash n wear’. Embrace the birds this week…but if they have a pulse – ask first!
Rebecca Symonds
Images sourced from: http://tinyurl.com/prutqn4 and http://tinyurl.com/pzhaw6o
