The £6 fashion secret everyone should know
The other day someone in my family ordered 10 packs of Dylon by mistake. Well actually they’d been sitting in the Amazon basket waiting for me to edit them down. So obviously I had to use them.
I’ve had a soft spot for Dylon since, aged 17, I dyed a pair of secondhand cricket trousers pink (a weakness for pastels even then). They were splotchy and technically mauve-pink-with-white-swirls, but it was the late Seventies and you could get away with murder, sartorially speaking. Everyone said they thought the trousers were gorgeous and I was a genius.
That’s what’s charming about Dylon. It makes you feel like a Blue Peter presenter (or in later years, as I set my sights higher, someone from the Dior atelier). Plus there’s an element of jeopardy as you never quite knew what was going to happen. Aren’t you frightened of wrecking something, people would ask. Er yes, that’s part of the point. I don’t do drugs or drink. Dylon is my weakness.
Over the years, Dylon has refined its act, and there’s less risk involved, which is good because my clothes cost a lot more than they used to.
The latest incarnation is truly idiot proof. It comes in a plastic pod, which is regrettable, but on the other hand, you can offset this against the pink blouse you would have bought but don’t need to because you’re going to turn one of your 20 white ones pink instead. You pop the pod in the machine with your damp garment, wash at 30 degrees for 20 minutes, wash again with Ecover (guilt about the plastic) et voila. Blouse emerges perfect.
I say pink, because once again, it’s in fashion and being mixed with some unexpected contrasts (yellow, burgundy, olive, mustard, nude, cobalt…) to beautiful effect. Even the shade that dared not speak its name for years – fuchsia – has shaken off its tacky Eighties connotations, thanks to Balenciaga, which launched fuchsia thighhigh sock-boots a year ago. Now fuchsia is everywhere. Try Dylon’s Passion Pink. Personally, I prefer softer pinks – which seem to be edging camel out as a more universally flattering and youthful neutral. Dylon’s Peony Pink is a soft and subtle option. I also tried Dylon’s Tulip Red, which produced a lovely cherry.
Venturing further off-piste, I’ve gone the pale blue route and last week, inspired by Daniel Daylewis’s lilac pyjamas in Phantom Thread, I went fully rogue and gave Dusty Violet a go. All, I report, have been successful, all on silk. If you have synthetic fabrics, you need to start doing it by hand, stirring for 20 minutes, chucking salt in… frankly, it’s never going to happen. There are caveats: any man-made fibres in your silk, cotton or linen, will remain their original colour, so only do this if you like contrasting top-stitching (I do) and the zips are concealed. Also, remember the intensity of the colour depends on how much fabric you’re dying – there is still some jeopardy involved. You have been warned.