With 2017 marking 100 years of women serving in the Armed Forces, it worked out to be rather appropriate that I started making my up upcycled uniform bags in 2017!
Whilst the bags speak for themselves, I thought it would be nice to give a little bit of information on some of the women behind the uniform which became the bag!
I'm starting with the first Royal Navy one, as it was for a friend, and kind of kicked off all the interest in the bags, as it was the first one in this style with the buttons and badges..
This friend has a (massive) obsession with handbags and shoes, so I knew I had to make her something. I asked her to send me some uniform and I promised I would surprise her with something :-) And this bag was it! Based on a pattern from an indie bag pattern designer called Swoon Bags, the side panels looked perfect for rank badges.
The lining fabric I found is perfect, as she served 22 years in the Royal Navy as Photographer (hence our friendship, we served together at the Defence School of Photography - me in the RAF, her in the Royal Navy) and I thought I'd give you a bit more information on her career in the Royal Navy:
Locations served: Portsmouth, Plymouth, Watford, Central London, Faslane, Cosford, Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Yugoslavia, Malta, Gibraltar, Bahrain, Kuwait plus various oceans onboard HM Ships.
I also asked if she had anything else she would like to add and she very kindly left a bit of a review! "My military handbag is amazing and I love showing it off. I wore it on my arm with pride at Remembrance Parade a few weeks ago and had so much attention about it. It’s a wonderful way for me to still wear my uniform with pride."
