''A lively & talkative member of the class''

Only boring people get bored…

…Someone once told me. Now, if this is indeed true then I am boring because I am bored, bored, bored. Not generally, I have plenty to keep me occupied, not least with my many mind improving and mind softening books, not to mention de bobbling my woollen items and organising my tights by denier, gradation of colour fading and general wear and tear. SO no not because I am lacking in things to do or imagine but with ALL, yes ALL of my clothes, my hair and my look generally. So I am looking for some inspiration and I have found it in the form of these most stylish, most strongly imaged ladies

First up Karen O, front woman for the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s always amazing, donning glorious costumes on and off stage and look at that hair: Louise Brooks meets Purdie. Fab- U- Lous

Florence Welch, because her surname like me is Welsh  Welch ahem tenuous, the hair, of course the hair. The fact that she is a favourite of Uncle Karl L doesn’t hurt either. Oh yes and because I really, really want that necklace… Now play nicely Florence and share

Am also loving The Chung in this Stella McCartney trouser suit that she wore to the Elle style awards. Showcasing great use of a grey check in an urban nighttime environment 

And finally, at least for now… As I am reading a book about her; Wallace Simpson (“That Woman”) and whilst the jury is still out for me on her ‘story’… the fabulousness of the clothes, the jewels and her style in general is undeniable. Also I am loving the use of the booze globe as a prop in this photo

So where does that leave me in terms of my new look? I think with a bright red bowl haircut in a grey checked suit, dripping with jewels being propped up by a globe filled with booze. Not bad for a nights work. I’ll post pictures of the before and after.

Delight in the dismal realities of life…

…says David Shrigley and tonight I did as I was lucky enough to go to Brain Activity the new Shrigley exhibition at the Hayward Gallery and it was every bit as good as I had hoped. For me Shrigley’s art has the just the right amount of humour and thought to be very accessible and yet still provocative. Amongst the highlights (and there were many) were: the small stuffed rodent nestling under a wall, the I’m dead dog, protesting over his taxidermied state, a stuffed headless squirrel ( I think that he was called nut ‘less’ kin!) a peep hole which lets you into the secrets of what is actually contained in the inner workings of an everyday wall (guaranteed to surprise) and many fantastically humorous drawings. Like this one:

Another of my favourites has to be the worlds heaviest, least user friendly shopping list

I have also managed to wangle some much sought after tickets to the David Hockney exhibition for me and my mum. I just need to get Lucien Freud tickets and i’ll have scored an artistic hat trick. Back of the canvas!!

St David’s Dressing

If you turned back the clock 30 years or so today to when I was so small I was barely visible to the human eye, I’d have been wearing the following items:

• Tall hat, made out of hard board with thin beaver fabric (!!!???? - what??) glued on to it
• white cap, worn under the hat, made of cotton or muslin with long frilled lappets extending down the shoulders
• bedgown
• white blouse
• petticoat
• small red flannel shawl
• cloak
• skirt , full and made of wool with a black and white check pattern.
• white starched apron
• black woollen stockings and black shoes

Or at least something vaguely similar without the beaver skin(!!) and looking a bit like this:

Because for those of you not in the know today is St David’s Day - or Welsh day, as the Brook likes to call it and the list above are the items that make up the Welsh National Costume, that young girls still wear on St David’s Day in Wales. Ex pats who work in Camden Town and are no longer young, are disappointingly, not required to dress up in the aforementioned attire. 

As a child I didn’t question wearing this ensemble once a year as St Davids Day is a day of fun and celebration and also I liked to play dress up ( I still do). And I suppose that I had always assumed that the costume dated back centuries and centuries and had developed over the years to encompass the practical needs of the toiling Welsh Woman. BUT NO Imagine my surprise when I found out that actually like a 4 piece girl pop ensemble the costume had been ‘manufactured’ by one Lady Llanover the wife of an iron master in Gwent. She felt that it was important to encourage the use of the Welsh Language, culture, arts and traditions and therefore the wearing of a ‘National Costume”. How she came across such random items of clothing is quite another matter.

So do I feel cheated? Actually not in the slightest, it doesn’t mater that it was ‘manufactured’ it’s what it stands for and her reasons that are important . Also there is nothing wrong or new about carving out an identity through clothing; Soldiers, nurses, dinner ladies (tabard anyone?) are easily identified through their clothing. Goths, emo’s, teddy boys, mods all want to be seen as being part of an identifiable group and express this through their clothes.

So on the contrary I say three cheers for Lady Llanover and her excentric costume stylings. She puts me in mind of a modern day marvel Dame Viv who created one of the most exciting movements and spectacular ‘costumes’ of the 21st century….

PUNK

Breaks: halftime and city

It’s halftime. I can stop pretending that I am watching the football for approx 10 minutes phew, it’s been exhausting. I think it’s pretty obvious that I haven’t been watching, the endless tapping on the keyboard and the looking up of hotels in Paris were a bit of a give away.

I am planning a birthday treat for myself to go to Paris pour le weekend. I am going to channel or Chanel this lady

And the romantic in me will go looking for more of these love locks attached to the bridge who’s location I can’t remember

Off to plan my Paris wardrobe

29th of February. Will you…..turn the football off please

I am pretending to watch the football, but I am not watching the football. I have exhausted all of my football chat such as: who is playing in winter white and is that a dark navy or black? Why does the goalie always draw the short straw and get neons? That said neon and sportswear are back in so he’s on trend right now. What’s a silky skill, is it to do with a well cut negligee? Even I know when to give up. 

I am being doubly irritating (imagine that) by occasionally saying to The Brook  ”WILL YOU” and then leaving a large pregnant pause followed up by something particularly tedious, like “make me a cup of tea”, “turn off the football” etc, what fun! . NOTE: this bit of fun only works if the person that you are saying it too knows that it’s a leap year etc. If you have to explain it, it’s not working and no one is finding it funny.

Egg-stra-ordinary

Yesterday my good friend Busy Girl Buys Beauty blogged about gigantic eggs. If I am honest I was a little worried. She claimed to have been seeing giant eggs all over London. Busy girl is not a lady prone to fibs but giant eggs it’s possible, I thought, that she’s hallucinating. After all it’s Easter soon and that’s a time when it’s possible to be in a giant (chocolate) egg state of mind. Imagine then my surprise when today I saw 4 yes count them 4 giant eggs en route (not saying which route) to Victoria from Oxford St. After several cartoon eye rubs I had to believe it. Here view the proof with your very own eyes

isn’t it the prettiest and possibly the biggest egg you ever did see? There are 200 of these beauties all over great London and the hunt is on to find all 200. Even better the money raised goes to charity!