If I close my eyes I can still picture the white plastic bag that encased it, feel the soft knitted structure of it and wince slightly as the sickly dusty pink hue that enhanced it appears in front of me.
It was 2005 and I had just started high school, friends were at a make or break stage as we all geared to find our BBF for the next five years. The latest trend to sweep the school and the nation was ponchos, the perfect item to keep us stylishly warm and the perfect gift, or so you would think.
So when my, yet undecided, BFF handed me a white plastic bag bearing my birthday present this was ultimately the decider. And there it was, the dreaded flashbacks start again, the garish pink poncho that will haunt me for the rest of my life.
The distinguishing pink monstrosity that I pulled from the bag was visible on my face and let’s just say my BFF was not decided on that day. I did wear it nonetheless and walked around school looking like a giant marshmallow for the rest of the day. Any evidence to support this this has long since been destroyed.
Understandably, when I noticed the increasing number of ponchos appearing in shops, preparing us for the autumn season, I got that dreaded feeling in my stomach, and started to wonder – can 2015 bring back the poncho, and bring it back the right way? I hate to admit that it can.
Thus, I have rid my fear of the armless knit and bought one. It’s warm okay and surprisingly stylish! Childhood horrors have now disappeared and I strut about in my brown River Island poncho with confidence.
Every shop on the high street has an array of ponchos to keep us warm this season and we can see why!
