Editor’s letter

Do you have a ‘road not taken’ in your life? An untrod path you speculate about: what if...? You must. We all do. In fact, we undoubtedly have many. Every day is made up of thousands of decisions that are constantly changing the future, giving shape to something mutable and fluid that is invented as we go along. A bus you missed, a friend you texted or didn’t text, a yes, a no; on and on, spooling and respooling constantly until one storyline solidifies out of the infinite possibles.

That storyline is the product of all those decisions. And yet, often there is one in particular that stands out — one giant, significant ‘before and after’ moment that feels like it changed everything.

Drilling down into that moment — what it meant, how it came about, what it did or un-did — is fascinating. Today, some of our favourite writers explore this very thing: the episodes and decisions that changed their lives.

For anyone who believes, as I do, that clothes tell the story of our lives just as powerfully as, say, a diary or time capsule, read Ciara O’Connor’s funny, moving tale of a re-thought de-cluttering. Then, grab a picnic — Rachel Allen will tell you how — and head outside.