Category: 2015
Vita Kin x
I’m a sucker for a boho dress with a folksy feel..the bigger the sleeves, the more intricate the embroidery, the greater my little heart beats.
And Vita Kin with her vyshyvanka dresses hits all the spots.
She’s become an fashion sensation purely through her instagram account, marrying the craft crush of her native Ukraine with artisanal cool and easy, wearable bohemian chic.
It’s a bit like wearing your great-grandmother’s favourite linen (particularly if she was Ukranian) down the street. But the pin tucks are edible, the lengths are to die for with en pointe colours and glorious needlework…and the pockets are perfectly placed.
When asked if she wanted to build a fashion empire Vita Kin is reputed to have replied ‘Of course, not. What I want to do is to lie on the beach on a sunny warm day and sell my creations through Instagram. My terms are 100% payment pre order, a 21-day wait for production, paid shipment, and 2 sizes to choose from. I don’t really care about anything else, I really don’t… I can’t even imagine having a factory or anything like that … I’d rather spend my time thinking of new designs...’ How refreshing.
It’s a high risk way of telling a story – there are many opportunists out there more than ready to jump on the band wagon and copy her designs. But no-one can deny it’s her works that fly out of show rooms and have long waiting lists..it’s rumoured that Matches will have some in in August – but chances are they’re sold already. Sometimes less is more and quality can stand for itself. And why does everything have to result in world domination? Sometimes the greatest power to dazzle is with what is simply there, beautifully done.
I don’t just likey. For me it’s the fire pit of timeless love. Forever…
Laters, Kate x
6 Today!!
It’s Charlie’s birthday today..a date that always brings back memories. He was due on the 18 May but I had a date with the operating theatre on the 11 May for a planned c-section. Then I went in on the 5 May for a routine check-up..and was told I had pre-eclampsia and wasn’t going home – I just thought I was feeling shite from being pregnant and looking after a toddler. I was prepped and ready for an 8.00 am section the next morning…and finally was wheeled into theatre at 10.20 pm that evening: the joys of a busy hospital and not being a priority…but, despite nil by mouth all day, I did get to enjoy the last kicks I would ever feel and savoured every one of them. When he finally came out I can still remember the shock of being told his weight – I ‘d been on regular monthly growth scans because of problems with my blood and his umbilical cord and they’d all shown he was within normal limits…then they weighed him and he was a mere 5 lbs 8 oz..he was absolutely perfect but so very, very tiny..but I was always crap at the pregnancy lark – his poor umbilical cord was like a piece of string…honestly, it’s a miracle either of my children made it through – out of 12, they were the ones that did – and for that I am and will remain eternally grateful.
(With his cousin Bea)
Laters, Kate x
Patullo-Jo Copeland x
This wasn’t the post for today..but there’s a gremlin in my computer that won’t allow me to upload new photos – one of the burdens of working by yourself is there’s no IT department to demand help from. The internet is also proving cranky..there’s a storm brewing outside and I’ve noticed when the air gets thick, so does the wi-fi. And it was a Bank holiday in the UK yesterday so everything’s a bit upside down..Charlie’s school bag never made it into school and I’m convinced today is Monday…which I’ll probably be grateful for when Friday comes..
These are photos of the work of designer Jo Copeland, working under the label of Pattullo-Jo Copeland. She worked in New York from the 1916 all the way through the major fashion decades till she closed her label in 1970 and for me, is one of fashions forgotten heroines.
She had an impeccable eye for detail and effortlessly understood the female form, knowing exactly what to exaggerate..and what to skim. These shoulders are a sculptural delight..
and make that waist look tiny.
She proves that good design stands the test of time even when the fickle finger of fame passes on..
Laters, Kate x
Kai x
I have a thing about faces and love portraits: That moment captured in time..the emotion caught forever. This artist – Kai Samuels-Davis seems to have an absolute instinct for committing to canvas impossibly transient sentiment and creating paintings that both emerge and disappear.
He lives with his wife in the small and beautiful coastal town of Jenner, just 70 miles north of San Francisco – and the peace and calm of his surroundings seeps into his work. They’re grounded and real.
In the dream house that lives in my head, I have several on the walls…there’s also a studio where I can pretend to be him..
Laters, Kate x
Charlie’s shoes..
You turn your back on Charlie, turn round again and something has changed in a way that invariably brings a smile..
With the fake summer he got a simple pair of sandals..but he’s invented a new way to wear them. And he’s now wearing all his lycra trainers with a cross too..
Now..where are those nail scissors??
Laters, Kate x
Banjooli x
There are three things that caught my roving eye with this remarkable collection of garden furniture designed by Sebastian Herkner for Moroso..
1. They’re brilliantly inspired by the mating dance of male ostriches – (or ‘banjooli’ in Wolof tongue) – who stretch out their wings to show off to the ladies.
2. They’re produced by African craft weavers using fishing net yarn.
3. They make me smile.
Herkner says, they may be based on birds, but they are human in their perfections and flaws. Mi piace.
Laters, Kate x
Trans Shoes.. x
An arctic bloom has descended on the UK; a wave of cold has reached out it’s icy fingers once more. The result in some ways is quite pleasing – deep blue skies and crystal clear air making all around bright and focused (I fear I’m the exception proving the rule..) but it means the weather isn’t honest – it’s horribly deceptive with a chilly, biting wind. Then the wind drops and there’s power in the sun…just enough to make you resent your layers. Basically, it’s complicated – which means thought into transitional clothing is probably essential, so much so I can see the appeal of these sheepskin sandals from Celtic & Co…that warmth..but still cool.
And less Big Bird than Celines infamous slides..
Plus, at £50 they’re a bit of a bargain combined with the extra joy of being a slipper crossover..
I’m seduced..
Laters, Kate x
Kent, Part 3 x
Sunshine in the UK never lasts long – it’s the human reality inside any fantastical tale as was proven in the last part of our sojourn to Kent – the day after our seaside adventure the temperature dropped like a stone (a bit like today) from the low twenties..to low. It was still emotionally sun-kissed with blue in the sky and fluffy clouds but the wind was as raw as a saw blade and straight off the frozen Norwegian fjords.
We were at Sandwich (we’d cycled here with the kids previously in the week – I’m not sure they’ve forgiven us yet as we got lost and ended up cycling at least 18 miles…) which is an historic town full of old, quaint buildings and was once the major port in the area and a centre for weaving.
We were there to take a boat ride with the Harbour Master along the 2 miles of river to the coast to see seals..
The trip out is strange – you pass all sorts of industrial sites mixed with wild flowers and Oyster Catchers.
And it was absolutely freezing! Seriously cold enough to whip the balls off any brass monkeys stupid enough to be out. We raided our bags and pockets for anything that could keep us warm..a tissue anyone??
Charlie on look-out..
Spotted!
Coming to say hello..
And then it was time to head for home, hot drinks and a spell under a duvet to warm up (that was me)…the kids wanted to go swimming! it takes all sorts…
Laters, Kate x
Kent, Part 2
This is Warmer Castle, firmly re-named Windy Castle by the kids and you can see why. They get dragged here every time we’re in the area as it’s one of my favourite places ever.
There’s the faded elegance inside (it’s also where the Duke of Wellington died).
And the gardens are glorious – typically formal English – but manage to be so natural you’re convinced the plants just wanted to grow this way anyway. And the view..sigh..there’s an uninterrupted vista all the way down to the sea..
We found a large dead frog in the pond..true excitement! I didn’t take a picture..
It’s also really good for hide and seek..
Then we hit the hottest day of the year so far…time for a sandy beach..so to Camber Sands we went..
We weren’t the only people with this ingenious idea..
But this is a beach that soaks up people..the view the other side..
It also has one of the biggest tides I’ve ever seen..
You have to run..
And run!
But it’s worth it!
Then you have to run back again!
We found baby flat fish in the shallows..if you prodded them they spun away at great speed like disturbed underwater birds.
And a dead dog fish with impressive spines.
But just to show it’s not all happy families…this is Bella at the end of the day giving Charlie the evil eye for daring to enter her newly designed ferry without buying a ticket first..go on guys..just one smile for Mummy! Please?!
Laters, Kate x
Hellfire!
Wearing a pair of knock-out shoes is like delivering an ironic joke with perfect rumpled nonchalance; If you’ve gone out in a sack, they’ll still make your outfit.
So it’s been a bit of a joy to discover Miss L Fire (with bases in both the UK and US) and it’s heady mixture of new and found..
Bright and compelling, silly but sharp they’re a pop pickers party bag.
Designed with retro in mind, they’re not slavish reproductions but vintage with a twist.
And very happy to burn rubber with a pink tongue to poke out at unbelievers. 
I think I’m in love. I just want to dance down the summer streets to the mellow sounds of the slapped strings of a double bass accompanied by low husky vocals to carry me home.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 