Category: British
I Heart Mr Morris x
But as a rule, it’s been because of his interiors..however..
Nigel Weymouth wearing William Morris Jacket with Rufus Potts Dawson, Amanda Lear and Jess. Photo by Colin Jones 1967.
George Harrison also sporting a fetching number… And the modern equivalents..
Alice and Olive floral skirt. Style.com
Oswald Helgason A/W 2013 Collection..seriously worth checking out.
Crossing the centuries: Maria Sethe.
Which goes to show, when it works..it works.
Laters, Kate x
Temptation..
Ahhhh the summer sales..that obstacle course of want versus need against lust. Thankfully there are some good places to plunder – MiH being one of them. Offering reductions up to 60% at the moment and they don’t just flog off crap stuff. Hold out if you dare and it eventually drops to 75%.
Practical, effortless and the right side of quirky.
Laters, Kate x
Nicely Niche..
I was speaking to a friend yesterday about the appeal of embroidered patches and we were discussing where to buy them. I don’t know the cheapest place to find them (any suggestions gratefully received – I’ll pass them on) but I do know the best:
Hand and Lock has provided the finest hand embroidery since 1767, offering everything from civilian to military regalia to ecclesiastical to couture.
They have the skill to produce intricate delights such as this.
Which can then with their bespoke service and be translated, if you so wish, into…well..the imagination is your limit.
They also offer a range of machine embroidered badges, perfect for every day. You know they know their stuff because the sizes are perfect.
This place is a little slice of living history – it’s even possible to take part in workshops or tour the atelier. This is Britain at it’s best.
Laters, Kate x
Soak and Sleep x
I’ve never met a cotton pillow case I didn’t like and ever since The White Company ate up the homewares market there’s been a focaccia bunfight for aspirational linen shops. Soak and Sleep is one such company, offering fabulous bed and bath products for a lot less than on the high street.
Like these linen bedspreads from £20.90. Which means they’re both easy on the eye and there are bargains to be had…except check details…the sandstone is available at £20.90 but want the navy? and the price rises to a steep £129.
Even so, with the range on offer they’ve got something: Classic designs with an artisan edge combined with lux textures and products you genuinely feel will age with you (..I think that’s a compliment..)
If you need to buy for a special present/wedding/birthday they’re worth checking out. If you need to buy for yourself…I’m jealous.
Laters, Kate x
It’s Mabes babes..
And so the yearly hunt for towelling beachwear starts..
(Personally I now blame Sean Connery, not lycra for it’s demise.)
But I know it’s just waiting to have it’s cool moment again.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel..new on the block is Mabes, a British label purely obsessed with towelling shirts.
From double pocketed chunky large buttoned plain classics..
To retro prints with an edge.
For guys, girls and even little ones…and the prices are sensible (£35 for kids to £74 for adults). So that’s Charlie and The Husband sorted.
(All pictures Mabes and Pinterest)
Now I just need this dress in a white, light towelling please..
Laters, Kate x
Touching the Tide..
The girls are coming in and heading for home!! Row Like a Girl, the 4 girl team rowing 3000 miles in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge Race are due to cross the finishing line and arrive in Antigua today (around 4 o’clock UK time) to claim a staggering 2nd place against 26 other boats and break all sorts of records – like the youngest women ever to row the Atlantic, fastest women etc…
And they won’t be too sad at coming second..they were only bested by another British team: Ocean Reunion – which included the brother of Row Like a girl’s Bella Collins….and adds to their remarkable record haul: First brother and sister to ever complete the challenge..
Behind them many boats are still battling it out..including the magnificent and maverick Row2Recovery…who boast only one pair of legs between them..
And the awesome YorkshireRows – 4 forty something mums proving that motherhood is just a stepping stone…if you dare to dream.
Gutsy, bonkers, courageous, inspirational. It’s been a joy to follow their journeys..and you can be a part of it too – each and everyone of them are doing this for charity..click through tho their respective websites here to see more..because this is special and they deserve everything they get.
Laters, Kate x
David Bowie x
RIP David Bowie, the man who’s gone to heaven.
Hot tracks, cool suits, he was the slipstream where art and narrative collided.
I met him many moons ago as a film extra – we chatted over a chicken sandwich whilst having our hair highlighted together..he would eventually cut my throat. Not many people can say that..
The Picasso of pop and an enigma to the end: A superstar that, in a news crazy world where titbits are commodity and nothing is sacred, managed to keep his illness a secret and death a shock. Utter respect.
Laters, Kate x
Row Like a Girl x
Turn off Big Brother with it’s endless whining voice of entitlement and check out the Row Like a Girl team, now halfway through the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic race. They’re four British girls: Lauren Norton (skipper), Olivia Bolesworth, Bella Collins and Georgina Purdy who are hoping to become the youngest four ever to row the distance and break 2 world records in the process…just a mere 3,000 miles.
They’re part of 26 teams taking part facing sleep deprivation and exhaustion with a continual pattern of two hour on/off shifts, extreme weather conditions including 30-40 ft waves, and health issues with salt sores, blisters and possible infections…
Not something to be taken lightly…
But there’s something saintly about their bloodyminded combination of fun and fierce conviction. They bridge the gap between girly girls and inner strength, racing under the banner ‘strong is the new skinny’ and laughing in the jaws of adversity, making it all look like the most glamorous, fabulous romp on the planet. As I type, the girls are in a strong second but things are looking promisingly awful for the whole fleet with significant headwinds of excess of twenty knots expected…
Really..who needs reality TV?
Laters, Kate x
Kick Start x
It’s that time of year again to slap on the glitz and layer on the lippy…except it’s never really like that. It’s more like normal clothes with a touch of fairy dust.
So far better to get the staples right..and MiH are having a sale right now…
Tempted?
Laters, Kate x
Hats Off!
Hats are having a moment..the humble bobble is back big time..so maybe there’s hope for the rest hitting the mainstream again.
It would be fun. Hats may not speak, but they say volumes about an outfit.
All of these tempting delights are by the talented Karen Henriksen, a milliner working in London who’s perfected the tightrope between modern and timeless.
(All pictures Karen Henriksen and Pinterest)
Oh to have a few precious hours trying them all on and pouting in a fetchingly foxed antique mirror. Such stuff dreams are made of.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 