the real thing

I saw Vafa outside our favourite supermarket, Sainsbury's. I liked her look, altho I'm not really keen on jeans and boots at the moment. Probably because I'm so into black riding boots with black leggings with everything. And it wasn't the leopard print, which, I'm not kidding, I'm seeing on every single woman I see. It was just her face: she just exuded niceness.

While I was shooting her, I asked a bit about where she's from, where she got that bag, those shoes. She was really shy, really modest & sweet, and (this is the embarrassing part) she said either Kazakhstan, or Uzbekistan, which if anyone has seen West Wing knows, is quite different (I've even looked them up on wikipedia: yup. Very different). And I can't remember which one!



Then I asked where she got her bag: Dolce & Gabanna. I mean, look at the workmanship on this thing: there's even little copper links, along with the silver! I'm just so used to admiring things people wear and it's all Topshop this, Zara that, or H&M, or from a charity shop for £5.. this answer kind of stunned me. Confused, I asked if she works in the fashion industry (she doesn't). So I asked where her boots are from. Jimmy Choo. Oh, okay. I just didn't dare ask about anything else.



They look EXACTLY identical to the pair of vintage Anne Klein boots I wore literally to bits. I had loved them so much: no one wore thigh high boots at the time, apart from professional girls on the beat. They used to fall down and bag around my ankles, which, along with bare legs and little dresses, gave a great kind of girly look. It was so my style, and felt.. special. Damn, I miss those boots.



Thinking further about the comments on the girly girl post: none of the bloggers I've gotten to know seem remotely high maintenance, no matter how girly their styles. (And let's face it: there is nothing more unattractive to a guy, than a high maintenance woman. It's not a question of grooming: if they're 'high maintenance' emotionally, men will run a mile). It may seem a contradiction but, as a group, style bloggers are pretty switched on & low maintenance. True style icons don't spend hours looking in the mirror & checking their looks, and they're definitely not divas.

It's like that great quote by Gore Vidal: 'Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.'

let the sunshine in

Got a bit snap happy for this posting, all the while singing 'this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, the Age of Aquarius' in my head, which got me thinking: Hair came out in, what, the 70s? Maybe Aquarius has already dawned.



Well, apparently, not. According to Wikipedia, it could have dawned as long ago as 1447, or it won't happen til we're all old and grey, in 3621. What I found really cool is when they took the lines "When the Moon is in the seventh house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars. Then peace will guide the planets, and love will steer the stars." and concluded that this alignment occurred on February 14, 2009 – Valentine's Day. Interestingly, only two weeks after Obama was inaugurated President.



Aquarius traditionally "rules" electricity, computers, flight, democracy, freedom, humanitarianism, idealists, modernization, rebels and rebellion, mental diseases, nervous disorders, and astrology. Also nonconformity, philanthropy, veracity, perseverance, mankind and irresolution. Which explains a lot. (Anyone curious, there's more right here).



What does this have to do with streetstyle, you might ask? I saw this group doing some kind of mystical scarf dance class in Hyde Park. Was especially taken with the girl in the long Sienna-inspired hippie era oh-so-dated summer of '06 peasant skirt, and thought: wow, that still works, third time around. And shortly after that, in a different London park (Primrose Hill), saw another stylish blonde flouncing a 'dated' trend, this time in hot pink and black (part of my favourite 'bullfighter' range of black, orange, hot pink, and a tan).



Which reminded me of my friend Amanda last month, also defiantly pulling her orange peasant skirt from the archives of her closet. And it only reinforced what I've believed all along, and Gore Vidal put so well: “Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.”

Sing along with me: 'When the moon is in the 7th house...'

Let the Sunshine In.