Category: Uncategorized

February 6, 2018

100 Years

Greta Gerwig is only the fifth woman ever to be nominated for best director at the Oscars.

Marie Curie – honoured twice with the Nobel Prize, in 1903 for physics and 1911 for chemistry. Between the years 1901 – 2017 only 48 women in total have been awarded the prize.

1984 was the first year women were allowed to run the marathon at the Olympic games. The gold medal was won by Joan Benoit Samuelson.

The Oxford and Cambridge boat race. First rowed by women in 1927 and then annually since 1964. The women’s race was only televised in 2015.

Today marks the 100th anniversary of women in the UK getting the vote – but don’t be fooled into thinking this was all women – we’re talking women over 30 with ‘property’..the real equality would take another eleven years.

100 years later discrimination is still rife. Except it’s not talked about, because it doesn’t happen. In fact there are so many people convinced of their good intentions towards women that they don’t even notice their glaring disrespect for them: Grid girls? Equal number of grid boys please, along with female racing drivers, women mechanics, female engineers, women running F1 teams – and lets add heading up the car companies as well because we still need an explosion of the myth that cars are just for boys. Time to grow up.

Laters, Kate x

June 11, 2014

Geo-caching..

Ever heard of Geo-caching? Nor had I until a friend mentioned it..it’s an app that basically uses GPS to find treasures hidden by others all across the world (over 2 million and counting). We used it for the first time on our little holiday..First you see a map that marks where the booty lies, then a compass points you in the right direction and counts down the metres to your prize.

The pleasure is it leads you to unexpected places..the journey is half the fun..

Our trail led us to this memorial dedicated to Airmen from World War 1.

You get within 10 feet of the treasure..then you have to start looking..

Success!

Inside was a log book to mark your discovery.

And then you can choose a prize – as long as you’ve got something to put inside as well..we left some dice! Then it’s time to return it to it’s little hidey hole for another explorer to find..

It’s a fabulous way to add an extra spin to a day…any day!

Laters, Kate x

June 10, 2014

A Cut Above x

How to describe the Lanvin 2015 Resort Collection?…An incredibly seductive grace without a hint of bodycon or skin…

Bows in clever, contrasted black and white that call out and tempt.

Lines that flow and suggest.

Little hints at the past – like this outfit looking as if it has stepped out of Renoir painting dated 2015.

Red, white and black..who would’ve thought they could look so colour-blocked chic..

Now with a flash of dusky pink, like a slice of lemon in the perfect cocktail.

(Those shoes!)

Oh to look like this, striding down the street, ready to take on the world..

(The jacket! And quilted!)

It’s a Collection that strikes a powerful note with a myriad of stories – elegant, super-chic silky illusions..but still always up for a sneaky gauloise behind the bike sheds with smudged bright red lippy and dancing eyes…

Laters, Kate x

May 26, 2014

The Devil….

Is in the detail…

The title should read ‘Espadrille Competition – The Entries’ ..but unfortunately we are in Kent and struggling with a very poor internet connection that doesn’t like pictures. Unless a miracle happens and photos magically start downloading I am going to postpone this post till Monday 2 June…and re-start all posts then. And enjoy the time with my family!

Sending love, Kate xxx

May 11, 2014

A Little Something..

For Mothers Day in the States…Which I totally recognise is a bittersweet day for some hence humour rather than the saccharine. This was like watching myself in a mirror…

Laters, Kate x

April 9, 2014

She Did It!!!

Our lovely Claire (we’ve been following her since the start) only went and won the whole damn thing!! She entered the Worth Foundation Fund..and scooped the £150,000 top prize to invest in Air & Grace plus the priceless prize of business mentors from the retail industry!!..I couldn’t be more proud, delighted – THRILLED! It seems like only yesterday we were having a drunken conversation at Gillian’s house where she was outlining her dreams…and she’s only gone and done it! It helps that she is highly talented, dedicated and driven..but goes to show what’s possible when you put your mind to it…congrats you star!

The plus side for me is I get to write about ‘Grace’ on Claire’s Blog…she’s our fictional, exceptionally stylish but rather kooky muse of the Brand, she tells the story of the shoes through her eyes…and I get to re-live my miss-spent youth all over again!

It’s really true..it’s a big world out there…but anything is possible! Sigh…

Laters, Kate x

March 6, 2014

They Came Out to Play…

Sarah Burton. Her time is now. Producing the eye-searing clothes that would’ve had Isabella Blow dragging on her ash-dripping ciggie with uncontained pleasure..

A femininity of drama without being frilly with the power to take us on flights of fancy away from grey pavements and cramped tube carriages.

Blurring the lines between couture and ready to wear, the workmanship is sensational – like elves and fairies have been at work.

Pushing the boundaries, McQueen’s never been ordinary or suburban. In a unique niche, it always has to be more. More than the High Street with the power to defy industry molds.

A bird of paradise brought to life in the urban jungle. You just want to stroke it’s gentle plumes and calm it’s beating heart.

The perfect Oscar dress?

Cate Blanchett?

And all this from the woman with one year old twins?…I doff my vermillion ostrich feathered Tracey to her..but I also want to give her a cuddle…and a nice cup of tea with a biccie on the side..

Laters, Kate x

June 4, 2013

Summer Wishes x

Two whole days of sunshine. Maybe we will have a summer.

I hope so. It’s my favourite time of year for many reasons – but one is the gentle pleasure of walking along a shore line in bare feet with my daughter, looking for Sea Diamonds…

We have quite a collection.

Each one a little jewel of time. I’ve always been fascinated by them, but I’ve only started to collect them seriously after seeing the work of some wonderful sea-glass jewellers..

This is by ecstasea-at-etsy. I love the fact that here the glass takes precedence over the diamonds. And the colours with the gold. These are all by Lisa Hall, an American jeweller.

Maybe one day I’ll get to go to a glass beach like this one near Fort Bragg, California in Mackerricher State Park…

Can you imagine? Although I hear the mudlarking equivalent of diamond hunting is now banned here, but there must be other places in the world…

I want our collection to be made into a piece of jewellery for Bella’s eighteenth birthday – a creation of companionship and shared joy where for a little while we lived on a planet of our own peace.

Laters, Kate x

March 8, 2013

The Three Monkeys.

This post is dedicated to all the ~~piss heads~~ lovely mummies of 10 – you know who you are…in fact, the day has been long: My fingers feel like sausages and my eyelids have lead weights…but I’ll be honest – it’s probably my throat that has taken the biggest pounding…

Did you know that Balham, the great gateway to the south, has it’s very own karaoke bar? Nor did we till last night…welcome to the Three Monkeys – a fab little bar with it’s own basement (another bonus I can assure you) karaoke room complete with costume props – and the added delight of the most delectable, quaffable cocktails I have had the pleasure of ~~downing~~ sipping in a long, long time…

The owner had to wrestle the microphones from their grasps to get them to leave…

March 5, 2013

What would I have chosen for the Oscars….?

It is true, I was so disappointed by the beautiful and the burnt-out’s offerings at the Oscars (see previous post way down there somewhere). I just got the feeling that everyone was trying so hard that those who were actually wearing the clothes – their personalities/likes/dislikes – became secondary to what everyone else wanted them to be.. all the vibrancy, differences and extremes were lost in translation and distilled into something weak, insipid and general.

But one can’t throw stones unless one is prepared to build a green house…so I present the following as a collection of gorgeousness that I would have happily died and gone to heaven in…first up is some vintage – because they knew how to dress for events then:

Vera Wang Green silk Deco style gown – An utter goddess dress, dripping with sensuality and movement like Aphrodite from the – well, forest! Pure lush decadence.

Christian Dior – showing how simple can be effective – check out the buttons up the side. Ethereal simplicity.

Alexander Mcqueen violet gown – despotic tyranny – imagine on a red head…knock-out.

Emelio Pucci silk chiffon gown with golden chain trim – exquisite, you can feel the edges tenderly catching in the breeze.

Vintage Halson. A grecian beauty. Easy to dess up with a shit-hot cuff bracelet and awsome vintage jewellery – see below.

Something a bit different: Pauline trigere Starlet Gown with gold lame piping and bow..sculptural walking art. Anna wants to wear this one – should I let her?!

A Bill Blass black blouson gown with lace sleeves because you don’t always have to have tight fitting dresses. Honest.

Roberto Cavalli draped gown oozing with salaciousness like melted chocolate on a hot day..

Alexander Mcqueen for Louche elegance.

Or maybe something short in this 50s Saks Fifth Avenue Keyhole illusion (the back is a large open circle) Net floral party dress with a pair of vertiginous heels?

A 70s Radley – effortless cool with lyrical lines. Love, love, love.

Ossie Clark because he knew how to design for women, because he is an icon of mine and because he could do print as well. Mesmerising. Check out those sleeves. Delish.