object of my obsession

It's shaping up to be a beautiful Saturday, and we're off to a pool outside London - yay! - but first I have to talk about my current obsession: playsuits. When I met my lovely friend Natayla (it's fashion week), altho I'm not by nature an envious person, I just so wanted to be wearing what she was wearing. She just looked so comfy in her leopard print playsuit by H&M, the material is so silky soft.. I bought a playsuit at Topshop a few seasons back, but there's something about it that doesn't feel right: the fabric, while thin, feels.. hard. The pattern is black background with flowers in orange, turquoise and white.. it's not bad, but it's not perfect.



(I love her cat's eyes sunglasses, btw: must ask her where she got them! And sorry, Nat- she's a teeny tiny slim thing - the angle of the shot from where I was sitting gave her thunder thighs, but they're truly not)

I want a playsuit just like this: something soft, and silky and comfortable. Nat was all smiles when she was showing me how well constructed it is. I mean, if I had the right playsuit, I could re-create yesterday's shot because - guess what, Pumpkins, I tried that trick at home and I can still do splits in the air! With both legs.

So I tried late Thursday night, after Mr. Dot was asleep, to go online to H&M and perhaps, if the price was right, order Nat's playsuit. But I couldn't find my way around the attractive, fun filled site that is H&M. I don't care about the perfect beach - I already know where they are and plan to go there soon - I just want to buy a playsuit!

So I went to the source, ASOS, and found this treasure chest of jumpsuits. (Speaking of: are they playsuits? Jumpsuits? Catsuits? Can we agree on a word, guys?) And scrolling thru all 196, this is the one that screamed BUY ME:



It's not just cause it's polka dots, I swear (I really don't have a wardrobe of polka dotted clothing). I didn't even realise that til after I chose it in my head. The model's look, hair cut, styling with these boots... and, coincidentally, I swear: it's already one of the cheapest, AND on sale. I went online again last night, after he was asleep - after seeing Davina evict Jovan in a very similar number (I swear, it's all I'm noticing on the street now, it's all I want), and I snuck back online and played the game again. They even added styles: previously it was 187, now it's 196 (not too obsessed, am I?)

They say we're only as sick as our secrets, and I'm hoping if I post this, and walk out the door - in my current inferior playsuit, with swimsuit underneath - my obsession will be lifted. Granted, it's only going to leave when I finally cave and buy THIS ONE. Mini polka dots, on sale, for £36. I'm going there next Friday to take photos, maybe they'll have one in stock. (hint hint).

Which one is your perfect style? Or do playsuits leave you cold?

Enough chit chat: off to play.

. . .

p.s. (later) Your comments are all so great. I stand corrected; it's a ROMPER. And my wonderful friend Carry Somers, who has the BEST ethical Panama Hat company, Pachacuti, tweet photo'd me a shot of her today wearing an 18 year old vintage romper. To me, the perfect, definitive romper. Check it out here.

on mothers, daughters, & mermaids

Speaking of mothers and daughters, this is my friend Carry Sommers and her delightful daughter, Sienna (top), at the WEBA awards (read about it on Carry's blog, here). I wish she'd won, but how could she compete against two nice women who created an organic lubrication product for women's, err, intimate parts?
It was a great event, tho, at really cool church in Shoreditch, with yummy canapes that Sienna & I kept scarfing down, but it was quite dark inside. I shot it without flash. Sienna was such a star. I asked her to stand very, very still, which she did, but just my breathing could have blurred it. (I've got a lot of really good ones of them both, shot outside in the still bright summer evening light, which I'll post another day). Had to post these, tho, because I love the colours: green/blue/indigo/purple palette of a tropical underwater scene. The colours of our living room, growing up. Okay, now I miss my mom. Gotta go book a flight to the beach house asap! Can't wait for my brother and sister to come out there with my nieces, and be mermaids with them in the pool, or in the sea.

Have a lovely, summery weekend, wherever in the world you are. And if you happen to live in the Southern Hemisphere, hope it's so tropically warm that it's endlessly summer for you.

fair trade

Just when I started thinking 'I've got enough friends' I've discovered that one of the best - no, truly, the best- things about doing this blog the past few months is the astounding number of real friendships I've formed in such a short time. Some with people - fellow bloggers - I haven't (yet) met, due to geographical logistics, but others - like Carry Sommers, shown here - who, with her husband Mark, below, and a friend, have been literally mobbed at their stand last week at the Chelsea Flower Show. I'm glad my husband met them both, too - we all just got on so well.


I first met Carry & their daughter when I shot her at Spitalfields market last month and we became instant friends: one of those generous spirits who you just feel you've known forever. If you compare the two photos you'll see a great example of true style: she's wearing a different dress, cardigan, even different red shoes, but this is a woman who stays true to her personal style.



As for the hats: they were literally flying off the shelves at the show. It was a feeding frenzy and difficult to get a clear shot of the couple. I can't wait to buy mine, I'm going to wear it with everything this season: floaty nude dresses, everything. (I knew hats would be huge this spring, even before I shot Peony in a fedora last March.)


Pachacuti hats are fair trade, ethical, made in the Andes, classic, stylish, and beautifully made. They're perfect for staying cool in the much anticipated and eagerly awaited heat wave in London: thank you, global warming. We're all set.

keep strong and carry on

Another fabulous example of the strong, bold ethical/ethnic print dress is here on Carry, who has a truly impressive company called Pachacuti that imports fair trade Panama hats and also men's and women's hats in felt and leather. She's won all sorts of awards, met the Queen.. take a look on her site or blog. I ran into her in Spitalfields market and love everything about her look, which feels very much her, and not just some trend she's trying to follow. Her dress is by her friend Katherine Bramwell Cole, a potter. Funny old world: my husband loves & collects modern British pottery, and he's now discovered someone he's really impressed with, too. I love a man in a panama hat, and now I know where to get it!