Is all I dare: off in a few minutes to Somerset House to see Ashish. This is from backstage before Corrie Nielsen - my first show, first day, London Fashion Week, and it was FABULOUS. I love Corrie Nielsen.
When I first met Tali Lennox (her model name: her dad is Israeli film and record producer Uli Fruchtman, and her mom is Annie Lennox, so she goes by both), it was at a fashion week, and I took her photos and she liked them so much she used them as her facebook profile, so we became facebook friends.
I didn't know who she was, just thought she was really nice.
Now she's like, everywhere: Burberry campaign, blah blah blah, but the thing is, she's still really, really nice. Normal: a real girl's girl. The other thing about her is she is an absolute chameleon: she looks totally different all the time. So you might think you don't know her, but you do, trust me.
I saw her at Vogue's Fashion Night Out last Thursday night, at the private Juicy Couture party: she was guest DJing, along with a guy who seemed to be an actual DJ. (I have just been informed by Elise @Juicy Couture: that regular DJ was Johnny Borrell, lead singer of Razorlight. KICKING MYSELF for being such an idiot, ignoring him, not taking his photo, and so on, but I was too busy chatting with Tali).
'Do you have to learn how to do this?' I asked. 'Not really,', said Tali, as she kind of wiggled the thingys on the board around, to show me how easy it is. Not rocket science, clearly.
Champagne and killer Cornish frozen yogurt in rose or elderflower, by HedgeRow: as Sabine said, those Juicy girls really know how to throw a party.
Bags packed, car arrives at 18:30, so cold I don't even feel like swimming, just hanging out with my mom, sewing my beloved old white Brooks Brothers shirt that my husband discarded before he was my husband.
A little soundtrack to play along with this post:
Top shot is my cousin Adam and his wife Ann's daughter, Aili, who is five. I met her for the first time this summer - the last time we saw them, in London, Aili and Oliver weren't yet born - and now that they're back home on the West Coast, I miss them so much.
Family: it really matters. Meeting these charming, well behaved children - our cousins, our family - seeing myself, my mom, my uncle, (who died suddenly and tragically, years ago, shown above with my mom) in their eyes.. they make me wish we had children.
There was a moment, during my mom's birthday weekend, when she was telling the children - cousins who had met and bonded within minutes - about their great grandmother, her mom, who died two weeks after I was born. Then she told them about my Grandpa - their great grandfather. They were SPELLBOUND. (These are my parents, above, shortly after they were married. It is the only time I saw photos of my dad with a roll on his waist: he was always so fit, swam and played tennis and ran, but he said when they first got married, he was so blissed out he got 'fat').
A few days later, I was walking back from the pool on a glorious sunshiney day - you know the kind, when it feels like summer will last forever - and I had this sudden thought: one day, I won't be here. I wonder if one of them will tell some as yet unborn child about me. I hope so. I hope they will remember me, as I remember my family in my heart. I wish my father, and my grandparents, were there to celebrate with us, but they were. They so were.
I really hate to leave - one of my homes away from home - and as I do, I make my wish that I will come back. This was the most perfect holiday, ever. And oh, by the way, this is me.
What is it, about summer, heat, sunshine, that makes certain moments.. golden. When you know, AT THE TIME, that you are living in a memory. One that will stay with you all your life - that you will look back at that moment, that snapshot - maybe all the other people in that photograph will be long gone, or perhaps simply gone from your life - and you will think: YES.
Yes, this is all that matters. Being present, here, now, alive.
The day I shot these was just.. GOLDEN. It was so hot, and I was in town - had just met a friend at the V&A - and while I cooled my bare feet in the water, this bunch were frolicking around, posing for each other's photos.. it was all so Gilbert and Sullivan that I suggest you click below while reading this piece.
There was a great series on the BBC recently, called the Age of Glamour. Brought on, ironically, as a result of the Wall Street Crash. One show - which I can't link cause it's gone - was about that golden period between the wars, when the privileged youth in England were on a kind of creative rampage. Dubbed the Bright Young Things, they were all about image, breaking the rules, having fun, and especially, reinventing themselves, and recording it, via the medium of photography.
It was all about image. About self expression, and seeking attention, and getting photographed, being in the papers. Being.. famous. Seen. They were, I feel, the original Self Style Bloggers. Everyone was a star in his or her ascendency.
Funny connections... Mat Buckets (buckets & spades) - who recently graduated! Congrats Mat! - tweeted about the show, and I promised him I'd do this post, which will have to be split into a few - too many shots. And then the gorgeous Imogen left such a good comment and I stopped by HER blog and saw she'd done a gorgeous post, titled.. yup, THESE BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS.
It is totally raining out - grey and cold and wet, real monsoon season in London town - so it felt like the right time to catch up and go back to a memory of sunnier times. Hope you're having a lovely summer weekend, wherever you are. Except if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, of course, in which case, a wintry weekend. Whatever: hope you're creating happy memories, as we speak.
Shot these bright young things in the V&A courtyard. Of course.
I don't know what caught my eye first, that day: the composition of the chair and the dance it made with its own shadow, or the girl in the yellow skirt, reading a book.
Probably the girl: it was an absolutely glorious day, coming out into the sunshine after the utterly spiritual experience (unexpected - it really was a last minute plan) of seeing the V&A's Fashion in Motion catwalk show, by Yohji Yamamoto. The thing for me about seeing any great art form: a transformational film, (like Terance Malack's Tree of Life, which we saw yesterday), or an art exhibit at a museum.. or, a good catwalk show, is how it makes everything after that experience feel like art. It changes the way I SEE.
A girl in a yellow skirt, for example, can become a sculpture. Sitting by a wall in a shaft of yellow sunlight.
Actually, come to think of it, she was actually the second girl in a yellow skirt I saw that afternoon. (And yes - whoever asked is that actually a plastic inflatable skirt, I believe you're right!)
I love how many overlapping stories can happen in once place. This family, coming out of the cafe, for example: there's a whole other story in that, I bet. Which keeps bringing me back to the dream like film: has anyone else seen Tree of Life yet? Did it move you as much as it did us?
The thing that struck me about this girl was how absorbed she was in her book: how oblivious to all that was going on in the huge open courtyard with the pool and fountain at the V&A. (This was the same time I shot the girl in the lace shorts - who is NIA, by the way: more about her, coming up), or the previous post, the girl in the straw hat. Even the guy next to her, who didn't seem to know her, was aware I was shooting, but she never looked up. Not once.
I guess I'll never know, but now I'm really curious: I wonder what book she was reading. What do you think? Actually.. while I'm at it, I need a new book. Any suggestions? The film of my favourite book is coming out soon, by the way: One Day, by David Nicholl.
Typing this in haste: just did the quickest photo shoot with Mr. Dot (remarkably, it went surprisingly well, considering we were shooting in front of a different house than these shots - I had moved a take away coffee cup from the doorway because we knew the owner had died - but the door opened: her sister was there - lovely woman - it was her coffee! Thought I saw a ghost). I just want to get this up to you ASAP because the scarf was a gift from a sweet girl named Gemma, who works with Sky Atlantic HD, and it was part of a promotion for the new series, Mildred Pierce. They sent me the first episode on DVD (I had missed the premiere, alas) and it's great - AND it's started last Saturday. And I've sat on this info and wanted you to know before it was too late. If you're a Sky customer you can also upload anything you missed here.
The other reason for the shoot is this wild challenge - got it in my inbox from a nice dude named Nicholas, who works with a group called SO FEMININE. Now how cool is this for a brief: we'll give you £50 to style a look for under £50, and they'll be putting together a collage of our entries soon. It can be however you'd like - vintage, high street.. which is part of this whole ongoing debate.. so I chose the following:
Vintage scarf: gifted, (but Gemma left the price tag on, sweet thing: £3.99)
Shoes: vintage - god knows what I paid, but it was decades ago.. let's say £15, tops. Probably less
alternate footwear: gifted Havaiana-like flip flops by Elle McPherson - I think they sell for £12??
three ties as belts: husband's friend gave him a shopping bag full. But for sake of argument, £3 in total
bangle bracelet: gifted from Tu/Sainsbury's, I think it sold for £6
necklaces: I strung them together from beads. £5 in total
that's £32, £44 with the alternate footwear - not counting the black bra and the sunglasses - which are from Fabris lane.
Okay, must run - or I'll miss the V&A! I'll do more from this shoot - these are just a few random shots I pulled out. Lovely weekend, all, and have a Fabulous Friday!! xox
I love the scene in Lost in Translation, when Scarlett Johansson's character is telling Bill Murray how lost she is, she even dabbled in photography for a while 'but I was always doing something stupid, like photographing my feet.'
At which point, my husband nudged me. I've been shooting my feet since I first got my hands on a camera. It's an ongoing series: I'm fascinated with feet, as objects: the way they age. I don't know what it is about feet - or the shoes that we put on the feet - but there just are an infinite number of variations. And don't even get me started on nail polish.
My feet are wearing Revlon's Sunshine Sparkle (042), which to my mind is a more pleasing, paler version of yellow than Chanel's Mimosa, which is a bit.. hard core. Although, ironically, it doesn't sparkle, not like the lovely little pot of the Swiss brand Mavala's Acid Yellow, (123) which is truly bright and sparkly: like a sprinkling of glittery gold dust.
I'd like to start playing around with the pale turquoise colours, as stripes or a colour block version of a French manicure.
Shot, by me, at the V&A courtyard, on Monday: our one hot day of the summer. We're back to blustery conditions here in South Ken. Even the cat is cold, and he's got a fur coat on.
If anyone is reading this while having lunch (UK/Greenwich Mean Time), breakfast (US - Eastern Seaboard) or any other meal anywhere in the world - probably best to turn away from your screen now. Because I'm going to talk about my friend Reid Peppard, and her rats.
It's not just rats. It's road kill. Fox molars. It's the kind of gross stuff that makes girls go 'yuck'.
Reid is brilliant. She's beautiful, for starts - a California girl who graduated from Central Saint Martins, lives with her artist boyfriend in East London, works at her studio every day, come rain, come shine, and who at the moment, has a Snot Bag for a head, so I'm doing this post as a little get well gift. Along with a little ditty from UB40, which you can click on now as background music for this post:
Reid is an artist, taxidermist, and accessories designer: real, gorgeous serious jewelry, and headpieces - even, as I discovered altho she's too modest to mention it, the 'rat headpiece' worn by Lady Gaga.
Stuffing rats for head gear is not all she does, of course. She's a conceptual artist, possessed of a beautiful mind, and she doesn't cause any deaths, but - this is an important part of her work, because she is strictly anti-meat eating - she only uses road kill, i.e., animals that are already dead. After writing yesterday about the ethics in clothing - and thank you to all who wrote those wonderful comments- I now turn to the controversy surrounding food. Opening THAT whole can o' worms.
Reid Peppard is one of those rare creatures: beautiful, smart, talented, massively funny, generous spirited, gentle, and kind. And - lucky me - Reid is also my friend.
Reid is wearing a vintage leather jacket with shoulder pads big and tough enough for a game of American touch tackle football. Check out Reid's Rats (RP/Encore), let me know what you think - and get well soon, Snot Bag Head.
I was about to shut this off for the night when I saw, on twitter, that today is Audrey Hepburn's birthday. She would have been only 82. It's hard to imagine: she died so, so young. And yet she feels so real and alive and present in my life.
There have been times, especially in the last year, when people have behaved, let's just say, badly. And - I swear - when I wanted to react, instead, I'd ask myself 'what would Audrey do'. And I know that she would behave with dignity, and not rise to the bait.
In December 2009, I had the privilege to be invited to a private preview at Kerry Taylor auctions, before an auction of Audrey Hepburn's clothing, from a young girl who knew her when she was first starting out as an actress. As Audrey had never had a daughter of her own, she gave this girl some of her best dresses, throughout her life. I did some posts on it: the experience really moved me.
So many tributes, and great quotes, like this one from @Miss_Dafne_Dior:
"I never think of myself as an icon. What is in other people's minds is not in my mind. I just do my thing."
Or this one, from @WomenOfHistory: "For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people."
But perhaps my favourite re-quote, from @Nerizzle:
Happy girls are the prettiest girls ~ Audrey Hepburn
Funny old world.. Sabine (Psynopsis), my lovely friend, commented recently that she's 'a little afraid of yellow' and I know what she means: that hard, fully saturated yellow is one of the most difficult colours, mainly because it's almost impossible to go head to toe without anything black, and if you do, you're veering dangerously close to bumblebee territory. Or NY taxicab.
But pale, lemon yellow.. and gold.. ooh la la!
And it's uncanny, how.. visionary Peter Philips, Global Creative Director of Cosmetics for Chanel, is with capturing our collective imagination. It's like a chicken/egg thing: I honestly don't know if I'm in the mood for a certain colour because Monsieur Philips decided six or eight months ago that I would, or if he is able to instinctively tap into our dream state - where I believe all creativity is born, like some kind of Eden-like pool - and just know that right now, what we want to wear, with all our white and shades of cream, is pale yellow, and nails tipped as if with molten gold.
Actually you can see how truly charming he is in a video on Nowness: Beautiful Dreamer.
I had a bottle of gold nail polish just like this, and I"ve looked in my nail polish shoe box and can't find it. Rather than get on the Chanel waiting list, I'll just keep my eye out for someone else's version. Probably, no doubt, a pale imitation, but still.
From top: someone at the Converse party, in lemon midi pleated skirt and sneakers; Stephen Jones' creation as part of the Smythson tribute on display at the Bond Street flagshop store (see previous post: Smitten with Smythson), and, above, just a sneak preview of Jessica de Lotz's work, also part of the Smythson series. We have an absolutely darling mutual friend, Gwyneth Harrison, and if all goes according to plan, I'll meet Jessica at Smythson's tomorrow and she can tell me more about her work, which is mainly jewelry, but really unique, quirky, creative, charming. Actually.. if you'll be in the neighbourhood, pop on down to the Bond Street shop from 5:00 PM (they're open late tomorrow), see the collection and meet her yourself!
I've seen Pixie & Peaches around town - I remember turning down a side street off the King's Road one Good Friday & there they were with their Dad, Bob, and a whole gaggle of girls: everyone just giggling away, really natural, really warm - but I always assumed, I dunno, that she was just famous cause of her dad. I'm sure that's what made her famous to start, but I didn't realise until watching her and Alice Dellal DJ @ the ckone party Thursday night: she's actually.. she's like an actress. She SHOULD be an actress: I wish more people could see how cool she is, just so warm and fun.
I was hanging out with Estelle at that point, and David and Jennifer (Style East) just by the side of the stage, and I went to the front to shoot (they were confiscating cameras: even if we were asked by MTV to shoot, we couldn't, but phones were allowed). Alice was totally serious: checking her notes, just head down, doing her DJ job: I'd be the same way. But PIXIE.. the guys were dancing around - I WISH I could link the music, it was brilliant - stripping down to their Calvins, and suddenly, it got really tribal: they started this kind of mating ritual with Pixie. I felt like I was watching a David Attenborough film.
Spent most of yesterday transferring dozens of photos to the laptop via bluetooth: one by one. I can't show them all here but it was fascinating to watch. Even if the shots are blurry. Apologies to that in advance but hey, it was either that or risk losing my camera!
Oh btw: ckone popup shop is up til just tonight, maybe tomorrow, so the Dot & I are heading there today. It's such a cool space, and I love that little lane, right off Brick Lane: best place for street shooting. It's like shooting fish.
If you can't get to the shop - if you're not in London - then definitely get into the ckone box.
Saw Disney Roller Girl yesterday and the first thing we said to each other was 'I can't stop thinking about Aqua.' I keep reliving the experience in my head all the time. We'll be watching a film or something and I'll suddenly ask 'Did I tell you about the king crab tempora that shatters like fine porcelain and then is the sweetest softest crab?' Navah laughed: she's going thru the same thing!
That dinner, we agreed, was the best meal of our LIVES. A feast that included crispy pork bellies with langoustines that looked like conceptual art, sushi that looked like the most tropical floral arrangement and tasted like HEAVEN, and an array of desserts that included possibly the best cheesecake ever (to get an idea, here's the current dessert menu).
That's a phrase that cracks my siblings and I up: once in Boston, we were at some poncy restaurant and there was something on the dessert menu we didn't understand. Our waiter explained: 'It's lighter than a cheesecake, but heavier than a mousse.' We looked at each other quizzically and ever since, that's our phrase to describe.. an enigma.
AQUA is comprised of three enormous, separate, beautiful worlds: KYOTO, which is Japanese, NUEVA, Spanish, and SPIRIT, which is the bar. So cool.
Thank you to Amy and of the Communication Store, and especially, the chef and staff at AQUA KYOTO: bless you all.
It was so weird.. it was that really hot day in London, last Thursday, and I was on my way to the ck one pop up shop that hadn't yet popped up, and I'd got off the bus and was strolling thru Hoxton, and the ONE person I asked to street shoot turned out to be Lizzie: I just liked the way she looked eating ice cream in the sunshine in front of that wall.
When I asked where she got her dress, turns out everything is from START: because she works there. And the event was starting (!) at 6:00, and after I went to the Truman Brewery, I was coming back there. Small, perfectly formed world.
RoadTrip23 is the natural evolution from StreetStyle London, which is still here, and has been since 2009. Because there's more to the world than fashion, and there's more to the world than London. Lovely as London is.
I'll still be posting street style, if something really grabs me, but have expanded into other areas of interest, primarily travel, the arts, culture. Whatever I feel is beautiful or interesting: either man made, or a natural wonder.
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