June 22, 2015

So Wright..

The news around the world isn’t great at the moment. Condensed down, the underlying message I’m hearing is that big things don’t work (Didn’t we learn anything from the Romans?). And yet the drive to continually make everything bigger and supposedly better runs deep, because if you don’t…you’re a failure; The economy has to grow, companies have to grow..countries, even religions all want to expand till they become these slow moving bloated beasts that eat up everything in their way, with no joined up thinking except feeding this thirst for size and dominance. It’s a big day for Greece today. I don’t know what the right answer is..I’m not sure there is one, except maybe they should never have joined the EU in the first place. But it seems to me that things are becoming more and more about power plays than people.

Thank God for the whimsy of fashion….and the joy that is Linda V. Wright, former model and fashion editor, born in Texas but oh-so far removed from a rodeo riding stetson toting stereotype.

Now living in Paris and running her own shop, Crimson Cashmere,

She’s a lesson in graceful, chic yet expressive dressing.

Like the world’s best perfumes, she’s layered in classics all with subtle, different flavours.

(All pics from pinterest)

You want to sit down with her at a striped bistro table in a busy Parisian street and ask, is this really all possible? Can life really be this easy? This sassy?

Laters, Kate x

June 19, 2015

Oh Charlie….

I’m not sure what it is…end-of-term-itus, the weather..a growth surge? But Charlie and I are having regular run-ins like a pair of bulls in mating season. I picked him and Bella up from school just the other day and he got upset because I refused to carry his bag. I never carry his bag – it’s a principal. But because it had a library book in it, a big one chosen by him, he wanted me to. I had 4 bags and a laptop to carry. There was no way. He moaned and moaned. So I gave him my bags and took his. He couldn’t walk..and moaned again. Took my bags back and told him to stop complaining. He complained more. I said if he didn’t stop, I would dock 20p off his pocket money. He lost 20p. Then I realised we had to go to the shops before going home as Bella had a school trip the next day and needed a packed lunch. In the time it took us to get to the shop he’d lost £4.00. I asked him to wait outside the shop so I couldn’t hear him whine. He refused. By the time we eventually got home he was £8.00 down. I advised him in no uncertain terms that after 45 minutes of pure torture he got out of my sight before I did something I regretted, and maybe the best thing to do would be to go up to his room and punch a pillow till he’d calmed down and could be human again.

Five minutes later he re-appeared with arms outstretched saying, ‘I’m sorry Mummy,’

I went to give him a cuddle…

He looked up at me with his big brown eyes full of concern…’I’m so sorry Mummy….but unless you change your attitude I’m going to have to leave home.’

I pointed down the hall, ‘There’s the front door.’

Laters, Kate x

June 18, 2015

Klemens Torggler

This is a post courtesy of the lovely Lia in Brussels who first introduced me, via a comment on this Blog, to the incredible work of Austrian wizard, Klemens Torggler.

There are a rarified group of objects like the London Underground map that have totally fulfilled their design potential – to meddle any further would be to over-engineer or muddy. And so it could be thought with the humble door – opening or sliding are the only two options.

That is until now. Torggler’s design, based on rotating squares, makes it possible to move an object sideways without the use of tracks. Even if the object weighs 200 kg.

There’s also the Evolution door,a door based on triangles that moves at the touch of a finger tip like a piece of living origami.

What I would give for my own flock of steel birds – The perfect marriage of function and Art.

Laters, Kate x

June 17, 2015

Sun Rocking..

If you’re wanting to uncover your inner Bond girl this summer, Australian label Duskii – designed for swimmers, surfers, divers, sailors and beautiful beach babes – maybe just the one for you..

(This style plus others are on sale NOW at Net-a-porter..)

(Unfortunately the perfectly pert buttocks aren’t included)

If you’re liking the neoprene look but not the designer price tag, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel with southbeachofficial.com and their range of bikinis.

They’re not in the same league, but at £28 for a set…it’s hard to go wrong.

If you’ve got it. Flaunt it.

Laters, Kate x

June 16, 2015

Clean Slate x

Old fashioned..or functional and full of character? Anaglypta or embossed wallpaper has that decisive, divisional effect.

Personally, I love it..it protects walls from the bumps and bangs of everyday life and offers a rich, timeless texture that’s hard to find anywhere else.

My marmite moment was what they did to it in the eighties..blinging the raised bits with lightly brushed metallic gold and copper paint..I can feel the bile rising all over again. But in a deep, dark matt grey or black?

(last 2 pictures mine, all the others from Pinterest)

It’s time to experiment with samples..how high should the dado go? Maybe a whole wall of anaglypta..different anaglyptas….the mind is happily starting to bubble..

Laters, Kate x

June 15, 2015

Rogue Brogues..

I’ve never been a smoker – I have an issue with burning money to ruin my health..give me a strong glass of red instead and I’ll down it in one revelling in the knowledge it’s allegedly good for my heart. It’s pretty much the same with high heels..why spend a small fortune on objects of torture that look better on the page than on my feet?

Which begs the question, why heels? – and if they’re so fabulous, why don’t men wear them too? Are we women trying to prove we’re a more advanced gender because we can?…or is the joke really on us…

And then there was Heelgate at Cannes this year (which happened after the festival organisers had announced it had made efforts to address the gender imbalance between male and female directors) where women were turned away from the red carpet for wearing flats. Of course, that there was ever a heel code was swiftly denied. But they can’t deny it happened...(At the next A-lister-red-carpet-celebrity-fest I’d love to see parades of women in Docs and men in stilettos all proudly strutting their stuff) (What’s the chance of that?)

The truth, as it generally does, comes down to choice – if heels rock your world, pray indulge and gorge on the many wonderous designs available. If flats are your thing, then all these from Rogues may well float your boat.They’re designed by Katie Harland, who wanted a shoe that was both functional and full of character. She describes them as ‘A love child from the colour and comfort of trainers and the craft and credentials of brogues.’

They’re simply built from 3 pieces of leather with a choice of neon laces.

There’s a slight platform sole in white, a low cut on the ankle and a narrower fit at the toe.

They hit that magical sweet spot of being cross-seasonal, wear with anything for any event…including running for a bus.

The only shoes I now possess are those I can dance in. On that basis…who’s hidden my credit card?

Laters, Kate x

June 13, 2015

Weekend Inspiration..

(All pics from Pinterest)

Laters, Kate x

June 12, 2015

Lemaire x

Who can say no to effortless, elegant Parisian chic?

Lemaire is a collective led by Paris-based uber pair Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran who appear to feed off style instead of calories.

Their aim is exceptional everyday clothing heavily influenced by the atmospheric, historical, heady, cosmopolitan mix of Paris.

Expect deceptively simple pieces in modest, natural materials, updated to modern with a different kick and swing. It’s a palette that oozes cool from catwalk to couch.

There’s a sophisticated allure that’s hard to define.

It’s full of evocative elegance with the sense of languid air, white wine spirtzers and hazy, long days watching the world walk by.

(All pics from Lemaire)

Impossible to resist, undeniably covetable…

Laters, Kate x

June 11, 2015

Sharing…..

Because sharing is caring……let me introduce to a new discovery..the rather magical world of Sugru..

It’s a bit like flubber..you never thought that anyone would ever actually invent it…

It’s a mouldable glue that glues anything and sets within 24 hours..to still remains flexible..

All those dodgy exposed flexes? Sorted.

Plus anything else you care to think of – It’s the ultimate true hero in the fight against the modern disease of built-in obsolescence…

It can cope with hot stuff..

cold stuff..mending cracks in fridges…It’s even dishwasher proof.

And waterproof…

These people can explain more…

But basically the only thing that limits its application……is your imagination…just utterly incredible!!

Laters, Kate x

June 10, 2015

Style Steal x

Cashmere: That hint of luxury associated with both sophistication and artisanal cool.

Now there’s a new label on the fashion block – run by a woman, Marielle, and based in London, Wyse London offers refined classics with a modern edge that really sing.