love is always in your heart

Love is always in your heart, even if the one you love has gone away.

Bianca, in the Knightsbridge Topshop. Dress is £32.00, available here.

@ last!

This morning, Mr. D went fishing at like 6:00, with his publishing friends (yeah, if you were wondering why nothing ever gets done in major fashion magazines, that's why: it's the original FF, Fishing Fridays). He called around 9:00 and said listen it's a beautiful day, don't stay inside.

I then proceeded to spend all day inside with the cat, going thru countless shots from Tuesday morning's preview @ the new Topshop in Knigthsbridge that opened yesterday, painstakingly cropping and adjusting light balance and so on. Liz, who does their PR and who I met last spring (spotted & dotted her in Primrose Hill and cracked up when she told me what she did), had invited me to a 'low key breakfast: bloggers and onliners'. I brought Bianca, shown here. We're friends with her dad, and she's just started fashion blogging. I had just met her literally 30 seconds earlier, and before we went inside, a bit after 9:00 a.m., I asked her to jump.

She said the same thing everyone says: 'I can't jump' but then finished with '.. in these shoes.'



Of course she can. Anyone can jump, if they put their mind to it. Her shoes, by the way, are from River Island.

Anyway, after painstakingly choosing my shots - and I still haven't finished - I went to post but the internet was down. Arrgggh!!! So I went to the park for the last part of the day, and discovered that Gloucester Road had a power cut. Have no idea if there's any connection. But I wanted to start you off with SOMETHING, and will do more posts in the next hour or two, so you'all come back, you here?

If you're in London: who's been to the new Topshop? What do you think? We loved it but then again, we had an amazing experience. As I hope to show you shortly.

on nudity (no offense)

File it under G (for 'Oh for Goodness Sake'), or F, for What the F?

Or, where the real blame lies: under N for Nude, this season's must have colour. If you're in the States, this news is probably as old as yesterday's fish and chips wrapper, but I just read in the Telegraph that Michelle Obama's 'nude' dress by Naeem Khan, has offended some people because - catch this - it's not HER shade of nude. AND to pour salt on the wound, the designer himself, of Indian nationality and born in Mumbai has had the affront to call his own dress 'streling-silver sequin, abstract floral, NUDE strapless gown.' (the context being, he's not 'nude' coloured, either): article here.

It reminded me of a running commentary Pearl and I have held over the true 'griege' (beige and grey) which has emerged this spring via Chanel, but which I first read about as a colour Jackie Kennedy was partial to while in the White House (which, come to think of it: is the White House really, technically, white? I mean, is anything White White anymore. Or, these days, is it a bit more.. cream? Off-white? Magnolia?)




I shot this at Uniqlo's Press Day not that long ago. I especially loved a new line commissioned from the creative duo from NY, COSTELLO TAGLIAPIETRA. The company is named after their grandmother's surnames: both women taught them tailoring, and worked for Norman Norell in the 1960s.




I love this stuff. I mean, look at this gorgeous, drapey number in palest lilac. (sorry: I mean lavender. Or do I mean heather? Or is it more of a greyish pink?)

My theory about the Nude thing is, peach is so passe,. As a colour word, I mean. (As a fruit, ripe in the summer, it's divine, especially with yogurt, or in a pie. Except of course in England, where peaches are always disappointing.)

Besides, real peaches are too orange, too bright to describe the colour nude. It's not quite 'ballet pink'. Seashell pink, perhaps, but real sea shells are anywhere from dirty white to the blue black of mussels, and rarely pink. And beige is so.. beige. I don't know why the word Nude has captured our imagination, but maybe it's because the 'underwear as outerwear' trend is so potent right now. (And I know Mr. Dot is so tired of hearing me say this, but every time I see those three words in print, I wish I was getting royalties because I'm sure I've coined the phrase, and will cling to that belief til the day I die: hopefully, clad in elegant lingerie, in the open air, so they can say in my obituary 'she was wearing underwear as..')




Anyway, doncha just love this pretty blue dress? It's kind of a steel grey blue.. a bit indigo, actually. You couldn't call it sky blue. Well, you could... it's the blue of a summer sky just before a tropical storm. It's the colour of the sea on a choppy day. Not a tranquil, Carribean sea, which is really more like aqua, or turquoise. Or, in Chanel-speak, VAGUE. Ironic, as the colour is anything but.

Richard E. Grant did a great show recently for the BBC, on the history of the safari, in his continent of birth, Africa. He was talking with a group of Massai, who had a beautiful safari lodge, about how they felt when their first White guests came to visit. Apparently it upset the staff at first: they were a bit afraid of the 'Pink People'.

I don't know what colour I am: I swim so much, that in warm weather, I'm kind of latte coloured. Double shot, that is. Between holidays, my skin has a slightly olive hue. So I guess you could call me Green. As my dad would say, 'You can call me anything you want, just don't call me late for dinner.'

Loathe to post anything on top of yesterday's shots of Roz. But that's the nature of a blog: time must move on, and if you want to see them, you'll just have to scroll down. It's worth the effort. I can't take any credit for the beauty of that post: shooting Roz is like shooting fish.

all white all weddy

I've been wondering when women in London would start wearing white. It's been black black black (& some grey) for so long, that I was starting to think we'd never see it, but sure enough, earlier this week when the sun came out, so did the whites! It was reassuring, somehow: like the first snowdrops appearing in early spring. Better late than never, white?

Altho I don't yet have any good London white shots, here are some from my visit home (to Florida) at Easter. First up: I spotted Barratt, above, on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, with her husband and young kids. Really nice family.



I met this delightful Norwegian mother-in-law and daughter duo - yes, you read it right! - getting along swimmingly, on my way to the beach. I then ran into them later on, shopping a few steps away on Worth Avenue, and I've got the shot somewhere, just can't find it at the moment.



Another postcard from Palm Beach, to inspire you (& me!) for that sunny blue&white palate.



And for some accessory inspiration, the only designer bags I'm saving up for are by DOKKIM, who doesn't have a website, just a shop on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, and another in I think Nantucket. So I can't even link you to a site, but their number is 561 833 3839.



I haven't stopped thinking about his bags (the designer's name is Dok Kim, from Korea). They're so well constructed. I'm not usually like that about hangbags: I mostly wear cloth things from Accessorize, or hand made by my English mother-in-law from old curtains and curtain pulls. Seriously.

Of course, none of this white stuff applies for today: it's grey again, so I'm sure everyone out there is back to black. But tomorrow, the sun may shine again, and when it does, I'm ready with my whites. (Sorry about the title, by the way: I'm playing Dylan right now, and really tempted to do 'It's all white mom, I'm only sleeping' but I'm afraid the reference will be lost on most people, and besides, my mom reads my blog, bless her cotton socks, and I'm such a lazy old cow, she'll believe it's true! (Hi Mom! : )

jelly flip flop

Last Wednesday I posted on my reincarnated hot pink plastic celebrity sandals (which I had previously posted on exactly a month earlier, coincidentally, on May 3rd), and erroneously stated that I purchased them in Next, but couldn't find them on their site. Anonymous has helpfully pointed out that's because I had actually purchased them at New Look. They're online here, listed as 'jelly flip flops', in coral (the first incarnation was a hotter, cooler pink), for 8 quid (either $16USD, or $12, depending on the fluctuating exchange rate). Anonymous, thank you. I stand corrected.

on friendship, ice cream, topshop, leopard prints, and jacket envy

Liz and her friend Annalisa, in Primrose Hill, eating ice cream on a sunny Sunday.

The pattern on Liz's leopardesque print top looks like it's part of Barbara Hulanicki's fabulous line @ Topshop, but today when I was in the shop on Ken High Street, all I saw was it as a skirt (shown here). Annalisa's footless tights might be Topshop, too. There's an interesting spin on the theme, with roses at the online shop.

Speaking of Topshop, I've seen such a beautiful, feminine spin on the motorcycle jacket, first on Stephanie's great blog, Style Odyssey, and a few other places, and today, on Karla from her closet. Which led me to thinking of all the generous spirited women out there, supporting me and welcoming me into this blog alternative universe, and all the new friendships that have been forming - some, with people in foreign lands that I haven't met (yet), and real friendships formed simply through streetshooting. 

Yet something else is stirring in me which I hadn't noticed before I started this blog, and it's not pretty: I'm feeling envy. Jacket envy. I want that jacket! I can see so many ways I'd wear it. With neutrals and white cigarette jeans, like Karla, or over floaty nude and pink dresses.. I've noticed on blogs that people will say 'I'm jealous of your shoes' and I'd think, hang on! You're a person! How can you be jealous of a pair of shoes? But now I've got Jacket Envy, and I've got it bad, and it's not funny anymore.

p.s. later that day... SORRY ITEM OUT OF STOCK
Yes, that's what it says. It still hasn't sunk in, but it sounds like, I'm screwed. You snooze, you loose, it's so true. It took me a while to find this because when I googled 'Topshop, motorcycle jacket, sequins', my own blog came up 2nd, but I finally found it: and it's out of stock! Which means.. how does this work exactly, Jacket Envy? Do I now resent anyone who has the jacket? DOES THAT INCLUDE KARLA, who's just been so nice to me, a total stranger? I'm new to this fashion envy concept. Well, thank god for eBay. What goes around, comes around, I always say.

is that peaches on the left?

They're doing amazing things with metallic spandex these days. These (alleged) offspring of celebrities, having fun outside the British Museum, chose to go for the anonymous look in this season's must have catsuits in patterns like aubergine snakeskin or the ubiquitous leopard print.

It's getting harder than ever to tell these days which is a real Hogg, and which is a pale imitation.

off the cuff

Two very different looks, variations on the same theme. Top, an English mother with her husband and whole pack of very young, very robust and adorable little kids, rolling on the floor with them to tire them out at Miami airport before the flight back to Heathrow. Now THIS is traveling in style, she's comfortable, looks great, has that fabulous black & blue thing going on that I'm so into this season.. the ruffled shirt looks feminine & I bet, given her lifestyle, totally machine washable.

The second look was shot at the Hay Festival, as we were running in to see Alain de Boton give a fabulous talk. Didn't even get a chance to ask her name. But she looks gorgeous, don't you think? I read that Gwynnie is tired of gladiator sandals, but as long as there are so many ways to wear them well, as she's done here, I'm still a fan.

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.

model behaviour (dress down friday)

Seconds after shooting Tom & Lynette (sorry, it makes me smile just writing that!), I saw Francesca. I love the simplicity even casually of dark black and navy. (Another favourite look is starting to appear: pale pinks, nudes & neutrals). I'm a Virgo and that's apparently our colours - black, navy blue, neutrals.. very clean, simple lines - and this look totally sums up for me what Dress Down Friday is all about. Of course, it helps to be a model, like Francesca, but still, we can all manage clean, conditioned hair (secret tip: don't colour yours - I never have, and it really helps keep it young & soft) and a nice smile. That's my beauty tip of the day.

That, and a pure heart and shining spirit, and let your smile be your umbrella. Go forth, girls, and multiply!

my reincarnated hot pink plastic celebrity sandals

This just in: my new hot pink plastic celebrity sandals. Last week, my HPPCS broke for the 2nd time, and the Gorilla Glue wasn't holding. You might remember - if you've been reading my little bloggette as far back as early May, that when I was in Palm Beach women were going gaga for my cheap plastic sandals that I've been wearing for years. (story here). Well - call it divine intervention - last Thursday, when I was on a streetstyle shooting deadline (don't ask) and freezing, I stopped in for warmth, on a whim, to Next, on Oxford Street. There they were! About a dozen pair! My new ones are slightly different than their first incarnation: they've got a sparkly real diamond buckle and a kind of buckling effect on the soles which actually help the grip - so they're new & improved.
I was tempted to buy them all but told myself: no, Jill, only one per customer. EIGHT QUID. They're not online, or at least weren't when I checked.  You might have to hoof it over to your local branch. Today's only Wednesday, there's a chance there's a pair left, in your size. Provided, of course, your karma is good.