Category: Fashion
Weekend Wanderings..
On Saturday Fairy, Bella and I headed to Shoreditch to the Jumble and Pearls vintage and more sale at the Book Club. (A fab cafe in it’s own right with loads going on…and it’s own table tennis table..)
Shoreditch is an eclectic, buzzing, creative, urban area with stories and something different round every corner. Looking with eyes wide open is a must.
(I was thinking of you, Su..loved the retro letters..)
Opposite the light shop was this fairytale-like Reclamation Yard…we were immediately sidetracked (it doesn’t take much..). Set in an old church it was like stepping through the wardrobe into Narnia…..
I didn’t think so much space existed in central London…
In my dreams this old French haberdashery unit is pride of place in my kitchen holding bowls and plates..and anything else..
We were at Jumble and Pearl to see my wonderful cousin Nathalie (her story here) and see her new merchandise for Sam Says Enjoy Life.
(My sister swears by these bibs and is always being asked where she got them from)
I also had Bella’s portrait drawn by the lovely Jenny Robins.
I’ve always fancied having a wall of framed ‘street art’ portraits of the kids, drawn across the years, seen with different eyes and marking their growth into adults.
Jenny has said she’ll help, so this is the first one…I like to think the finished collection will be like an Installation in it’s own right..
We headed home, very happy with my purchase from Nathalie – one of her new up-cycled denim bags, perfect to hold in style the daily detritus I manage to accumulate and lug around.
I particularly like the pockets..that little bit of embroidery is heaven.
Laters, Kate x
If I was a Beach Babe..
And had no boobs, I would indulge in delicious and saunter the golden sands in one of these little numbers..
Held together by an exotic brew of neoprene, crochet and skill Kiini bikinis are designed to embody the bohemian beach babe vibe.
Handmade, each bikini is unique and lovingly named after friends and their daughters (HOW lovely?)..
For something so small, they are an assault course on the eyes – original, mysterious and effortlessly hip.
Perfect for magical, eternal summers…would you need anything else?
I lust.
Laters, Kate x
And the livin’ is easy x
The beautiful wrought-iron gates of summer, with their warm, lilting voice are slowing swinging open. I can no longer bear to wear socks, but I’m still shocked my feet can blister each year.
MiH Jeans have captured that mysterious, lazy time where clouds disappear, clocks stand still and insects quietly buzz.
Where clothes are worn for nostalgia, comfort and love. And yet you look your best.
Loose, casual layers, ready to be peeled away as the heat rises. Or returned, when the sun sinks slowly away. Cosying up to glowing fires and the rich smell of smoke whilst holding a glass of something wonderful.
Do I want to be there?
The answer, my friend, is Blowin’ in the wind…It’s gently blowin’ in the warm, sultry wind.
Dreaming, Kate x
Button up.. x
Pheobe Philo has done it again. With her Fall 14 RTW Collection, she’s stood outside the circle and injected that tiny little something which like the flapping of a butterflies wing, goes on to rock the very foundation stone of perceived style: Should buttons by symmetrical?
I’m a symmetry girl me: Don’t get me wrong – I love the unexpected, I embrace the fun…but buttons? Don’t they look like a mistake if they’re out of alignment?…or not…? (And there’s that one earring thing to contend with too..)
Quirky or subverted? A quiet act of rebellion or just plain wrong? A new signature out of the trap of mediocrity and a new escape route from containment?…or does it actually make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end?
Or is this the phase where you first look in horror…then slowly digest…before finally realising it’s the best thing since sliced bread? (those shoes!)
Or are their some things that even the great Pheobe Philo can’t change…?
Laters, Kate x
Charlie’s Story..
Today is Charlie’s fifth birthday and running underneath his uncontained excitement and joy are my own feelings of relief and wonder. His birth represents the end of a close on ten year hard fought for battle to complete our little family.
It took us a long, long road to have our Bella (over 6 years, 7 miscarriages and after all that, she was an IVF baby) But when she arrived we were finally given the mantle ‘parents’. To have a second child would be the final icing – if there was any possibility I wanted her to have a companion, someone to spread and share the love, to be there with her when we became old, someone to love her like we did. 
When she reached 18 months nothing had happened pregnancy-wise (we had hoped her birth might kick things into gear again..I was sure I stopped falling pregnant because of the psychological kick-back of the losses) so we made plans and turned to IVF again. I still remember feeling like a fraudulent leper walking into the Infertility Clinic holding hands with my toddler. I desperately wanted to hang a sign around her neck saying ‘IVF baby – honestly, I’ve earnt her’.
The Gods were smiling – despite a small number of eggs yet again, all were good quality and the treatment worked first time. Much to our astonishment and delight I was pregnant with twins. We were ecstatic. Except it wasn’t meant to be. Despite being on the magic cocktail of drugs that gave us Bella (Heparin, aspirin and steroids) when we went for our next scan, there were no heartbeats. I’ll never forget the the nurse saying ‘This is so rare. It really shouldn’t happen to both, they’re in separate sacs.’ I had to go into hospital for a D&C. I remember they wanted me to take my wedding ring off. I refused saying they were taking enough and just to cover it with surgical tape.
I was so utterly devastated. It was one of the lowest points I can ever remember. You’d think we’d be used to it, but coming after Bella, it was such a body blow… IVF takes such time and emotional commitment – the whole process is so fraught with dangers and knock backs that it seems as if you’ve been pregnant for months rather than weeks. We really thought we’d cracked the miscarriage problem and had prayed we’d never, ever have to face the trauma of it ever again.
Holding a glass of ouzo the day of the mirror
The following month we headed to Greece to get away from everything and have a holiday. And then something truly incredible happened: I fell pregnant naturally – and literally knew straight away. But how could I? I gave myself a strong talking to in the bathroom mirror – stop grasping at straws, don’t ruin the holiday for the others, stop dreaming, your cycle’s up the creek, move on – Whenever I’d been pregnant (Sooooo many times before) I’d feel sick after one sip of alcohol..but look, I could still drink ouzo… The first weekend after we got back to the UK we travelled to see the in-laws. I was handed a glass of white wine…and I knew it was true.
(Photo by the wonderful Alexandra Joseph)
It was such a bitter sweet time…I hadn’t fallen naturally pregnant in over five years…the joy of hope..the trauma of fearing the worst again. I went back on the drugs as soon as I could..and then it was a matter of waiting. All I can say is that to reach 12 weeks the seconds ticked by like hours..
(Photo by Alexandra Joseph)
But Charlie was meant to be – though he didn’t make it easy..I had notches on my umbilical cord so I remained on daily heparin injections until my 30th week – I looked like a regular abuser. Then I got pre-eclampsia so he was finally delivered 2 weeks early by C-Section at what seemed a tiny five and a half pounds..but he was with us, he was alive – he was an absolute little miracle.
And now to see us as a family together, you’d never know..you’d just think..my….they’re lucky…
(Photo by Alexandra Joseph)
And we are.
Laters, Kate x
JPG Forever! x
Last week Julie (from Vintageattitude) and I met up with hopes aloft to see the John Paul Gaultier Exhibition at the Barbican in London. We walked in, immediately drawn to a collection of iconic Bretons – the stripe so representative of Gaultier, when Julie grabbed my arm…Did you see that? She whispered..I’m sure that mannequin just winked at me….
We were laughing and totally entranced….As we appraoched each mannequin they came to life and spoke to us….so very clever and such a witty touch – a bit like the man himself.
Who was in on the Act to just welcome us. That accent…..sigh.
The whole exhibition felt very intimate – possibly helped by the tube strike – but everything was open and accessible. Human.
Inspiration for espadrille competition?
Around every corner was another legendary memory – from Madonna’s underwear as outerwear tour clothes to championing skirts for men. And you began to realise how many fashion ideas this man has creatively planted over his long, long career- digital printing on the Can-can Dress aka Mary Katrantzou (which has to be the most perfect wedding dress ever. White and demur for the service…outrageous for the first dance!)
Upside down Eiffel Towers’ for heels on shoes aka Charlotte Olympia (yes, the tights had Eiffel towers too..)- Punk, Eurotrash and the first example of a skort I’ve ever seen. And worn by a man…it went on and on..
This was ingenious..a tulle skirt with the waistband being the very top of a pair of white jeans.
Despite additions such a camo, bullets and desert boots..all the outfits for women were always very feminine.
And even with sequins, furs and skirts..the men’s outfits always remained masculine.
Throughout the mannequins were like celestial beings beamed down from planet Gaultier, each one with their own unique, witty outlook on life. There’s no-one here, right? I exist because I speak. I don’t want to be here, but I can be who I want to be, I am because I am, I am a dream – They were more than sentences on repeat. They were a persona. Just like the Exhibition itself….
Laters, Kate x
Funky and Fanciful x
There’s a serendipity when things that aren’t perfect just are.
Like an unexpected marriage of colour, nostalgia and manipulation.
But then would you expect any more from Karen Walker?
(I want this bow necklace. Like now…)
The Queen of witchy powers, always willing to throw magic into the mix. And cackle with glee at the results..
Laters, Kate x
Here it goes Again..
There are days when nothing goes to plan…that’s when you need to sit back and respect the awesomeness that is OK Go…timeless, fantastic and guaranteed to make you look at the gym in a whole new way…
Laters, Kate x
Do I Fall For You? x
J.Crew is a gentle melodic voice over a Spanish guitar in a bar in Shoreditch, singing of relaxed yet crisp cottons, urban slides and pretending not to care..
In many respects they’re hitting it out of the ball-park…
But something’s not quite right, even when my heart skips a beat looking at this top.
There’s almost a computer generated skill to the precision of desire: The perfect angle of slouch, the accuracy of the turn-ups, the atomic glow of the whites..
Maybe it’s the Jean Paul Gaultier effect – I went with the irrepressible Julie from Vintageattitude on Tuesday to see his Exhibition at the Barbican and oh! how we revelled and laughed in the joy and the humour!
Now I want to throw a Banksy graffiti at this pristine grey marl sweat, fray the edges of the linen and in a pointed bra, Vogue away from the Stepford set..
But I still want this skirt…
Laters, Kate x
A Stitch in Time..
(one side – flowery with geometric)
Beautiful bed linen lifts me away from the world and gives my soul one more colour. My most favourite, treasured set came from my Grandmother and I used to sleep in it as a child when we stayed at her beautiful thatched cottage in the country. Now, even though it is faded and getting worn away, Charlie sleeps in it which is an utter joy because it represents a living link to the past.
(The other side geometric)
But part of the love is not only the nostalgic memories and how soft the sheets are, but the design is just so edible and clever: The pillows, the duvet – even the fitted sheet and the sheet – have the choice of 2 contrasting patterns, one on each side: one flowery, one geometric. What’s always amazed me is that the sheets are one printed piece of fabric yet when you look you never see the other pattern coming through, even now when they’re decades old. And the two sides compliment and work together so fantastically allowing endless combinations and configurations. I’ve never found anything like them…until recently.
A Company – The Secret Linen store – has just started offering sheets and duvets that are reversible. And there’s more..
They’ve used a single off-white warp throughout making every piece feel as though it’s from the same family, so even though each design can have a totally different look, it can all be mix and matched together to create you’re own aesthetic.
And they send out free samples so you can see what you’re getting and check colours..
Also the prices..they’re aiming for great designs and GREAT prices…from £30 for a double duvet? I likey.
But possibly most exciting of all for me (see previous post) THERE’S A SIZE LABEL WOVEN INSIDE!!
Yaaaaaaaaaaaay!! At LAST!!!
Maybe I can finally retire my beloved set before it falls to shreds…….and turn it into a quilt so it can continue giving joy and memories for generations to come.
Anyone know a good quilt maker??!
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 