muse: feeling good

Sometimes I think, life is really weird. Here I am, in LONDON! Not just on holiday, but I live here. Married (which in itself sometimes feels weird) and my husband, Mr. Dot, is asleep while I, like a teenager, watch Muse live on BBC2, and go thru photos of my young friend Claire, who moved back to the States a few years ago.

Love this song, New Born:







Claire is such an old soul for one so young. She was just visiting (she's in Scotland this weekend with her family) and we hung out @ the V&A. Of course. And I do believe she's wearing a romper!

They're really good! (Muse). I can't imagine what it must feel like to be there now. They just did a great version of Feeling Good which was going to be the opening music to a TV series we created a few years ago (I was the writer). The Nina Simone version. For those of you too young to know who Nina Simone was, check this out:



I wonder how long it will take for someone to put up the live version of this on youtube? Meanwhile, here's the video:



Okay, this old new soul is gonna shut this laptop down. We're getting up early tomorrow to go swimming again in the countryside, then ping pong party @ friends' house in Chelsea. Hope you're having a magic summer night wherever you are.

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new world, and I'm feeling good. Oh crikey! They're playing House of the Rising Sun. Gotta go.

not totally solid

It's such a treat to have the list for the recent Graduate Fashion Week show @ Earl's Court (thank you Peter! thank you Tanya!). Now I can piece together from the shots who did what.

I love this collection from - I hope I've got this right - William Hamill of UCA Epsom. Here's an article about it on their website. I've chosen this one because - isn't it funny how this can happen? - I've suddenly woken up recently and decided that I love print tee shirts. Especially soft photographic ones - very 70s surfer dude.



Actually that makes two looks I've made an 180 degree turn on: printed tees, and harem pants (sorry, TROUSERS in Brit speak: pants is.. pants). That's another thing: you know how people say they've made a 360 degree turn? That's absurd! You'd end them up facing in the same direction you started.

Anyway, I love this look and love his whole collection. I'd wear this! In fact my friend Natayla, who is editor of a wonderful online fashion magazine called Its Fashion Week, was just this morning wearing a gorgeous print shirt with harem type trousers today: we did a shoot, I'll show you soon.

Here's my problem: after a lifetime of resisting printed tee shirts, I've got a wardrobe filled with plain solid tees in every colour but mostly black or white. Anyone want to swap?

What's mostly in your tee collection: prints? Or solids?

pink variations: a short story

You know how sometimes you see an image that would make such a great photo? When I was at ASOS HQ, I met Kevin, who at the time was getting into an elevator carrying a stack of boxes. He just carried them so effortlessly, while laughing and joking, and the image of those hot pink shorts (by Peter Jensen, but he got them thru ASOS, of course), the warm mahogany of his skin tone, crisp navy blazer, tan boxes... I mean, granted, it's a Happy Place, but he was unbelievably upbeat.

We saw him later and I tried to recreate the shot but we just used one little box (he had a stack: it seemed taller than him) and it's so lame. He looks like a basketball player holding a tennis ball. It's a scale thing. Still: it's such a cool look. I mean, he's got just the right attitude to carry this off.



I didn't even notice til now: he's got TASSELS on his loafers! Can you see? I'd love to get Mr. Dot in this outfit, but it's never gonna happen. He's got attitude, too, but I'd never ever get him to wear hot pink shorts. I can't believe after all these years, I finally got him to try sushi! Baby steps.

Had a fabulous afternoon @ Earl's Court, shooting the Gala catwalk Graduation Fashion Show. With the big boys!! At the end of the runway, like a real photographer! Talk about energy. I'm wiped out. Tomorrow, I promise.

a rose by any other name

For those of you who have just woken up (as opposed to the people who are still sleeping), late last night I posted a shot of a girl @ ASOS in a dress the colour of which I could not quite describe. The six or seven comments that came in in the next few hours were utterly delicious, and I thank you. The majority went with 'coral', with 'watermelon' running a close second.

On Sunday, when I saw the flash of this girl's pink top, I ran after her, only to realise: it's Betsan! My new friend! With her cute boyfriend Tom! And her top - by freak coincidence - Topshop, like her skirt from Saturday. I couldn't find hers exactly, but isn't this tunic amazing! They call it raspberry, but it is so not: it's really more coral, don't you think?



I love the effortless chic that they both display (besides being really cool as human beings). Tom's plaid on plaid action, for example. I love seeing people on the weekend in two consecutive days: you can almost see their overnight bag, the way, for example, Betsan wore the same green necklace both days, same bag..



Ironically, her particular colour isn't even coral! If you look at the left, in a colour exercise, I increased the yellow: that's more light coral, to me. (Yesterday's dress is probably deeper coral). I think you'd simply call this top PINK.



It's such a simple word: pink. My favourite Aunt Paula sent me a shot of my niece, Aili, in Seattle, drinking pink lemonade and dressed top to toe in pink, including her shades. We all - universally - seem to go thru a distinct pink phase as little girls, and then, tho we seem to grow out of it, we never do entirely. So, curious, I started using my favourite new toy, google translate, to explore the word in other tongues.

I discovered that it's قرنفل in Arabic. In the land of my grandmother's roots, Belarus, it's: ружовы

In Chinese, the 'simplified' version has four nouns (the first is 粉红色), two verbs, and three adjectives (God knows how many the traditional version has). Croatian is karanfil for the noun, but the adjective is actually ROZE. Catalan is ROSA, Basque ARROSA, Czech růžový, Danish lyserød, Dutch, OMG, has TWELVE nouns, ELEVEN verbs (what exactly is the English verb for pink? Does one pink? Have any of you been pinked?), and five adjectives, starting with ROZE, ROSE, ROZIG, ROOSKLEURIG, and - I love this - the fifth is CHIC.

The Estonians have ROOSA, but also KAHVATUPUNANE (that's easy for you to say!), the Filipinos have four adjectives, including ROSA, but also nasa mabuting kalagayan. So far the first variation of 'pink' I've found is from the Finns, God bless them, who have PINKKI, but also VAALEANPUNAINEN, and PUNAINEN TAKKI. Which brings us to the French, who of course have ROSE, but also INCARNAT and GAUCHISSANT.

I could go on (I'm only at the F's), but I really must go. So I leave you with one word: ροζ , which, while being pink, is still Greek to me.

all stars

Last Friday, Shini and I met at the V&A (and yes, for those of you who have asked if I live there: I do. I've got a small room on the third floor with a hot plate and a cot), and Jen, the Style Crusader, bounded in from a grueling exam, all colt like with bare legs, floral dress (from.. H&M? I must ask!) and the same navy Keds Converse All Stars I've got. Mine were vintage when I bought them, and that was ages ago, in NY.



It's such a simple, quintessential summer look. (Her bag btw is her gorgeous genuine Alexander McQueen). Oh and she's wearing my Ray Bans - also vintage, as in, I've had them forever. I've just sent her a bunch of shots and we're going to do an experiment and not tell each other which we're choosing, or what we're posting about. Just a little blog-game. I'm not even sure I've chosen her best shots here: just randomly picked two that I liked. She's oh so photogenic, our Jenny Jen!



Betsan, who you might have seen in a previous post ('lit chic') @ the Hay Festival, also wore her Keds with bare legs and flowered skirt: hers from Topshop. My other pair are a few years old, from Office, and also in cream. Sorry, nude! ALSO, come to think of it, her sunglasses are Ray Bans. Such American classics.

More about Betsan later, and her fabulous boyfriend Tom. They've got such great style.

got your back

The first time I remember hearing the phrase - or seeing it in print - was in an article on Angelina Jolie, possibly Vanity Fair. She was being all coy about how she and Brad were 'just good friends' but how, on the set of of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, they 'had each others' backs.' (And, as we soon discovered but really knew all along: they had more than just each others' backs.)



It's a great expression, tho. It means more than loyalty, or not betraying one's partner - or friend, or colleague. It's about actually looking out for one another. Being MINDFUL of one another. Or, to use a more quaint phrase: beholdent. That word doesn't pass spell check, and I also see it as 'beholden', but I could swear I heard Martin Sheen as President Bartlett use that phrase in West Wing several times in an episode.

Anyway: this dress. This look. I love it. Ran after the girl but lost her. It's funny, the Hay Festival is a lot like fashion week with respect there's this mad dash to queue for events, same as with catwalks, but the rest is oh so chilled.

Anyone know who made that dress? I want one!!!

teamwork

This man was Mr. Dot's choice. He spotted him, but I dotted him.

Hay Literary Festival, Saturday.

every picture tells a story, don't it

Shot at the Hay Literary Festival on Saturday.

be still my beating heart: JESUS @ ASOS

There is a story behind this story. Of course there is.



Yesterday, having infiltrated ASOS HQ, or the Happy Place, as I now call it, I was taken on a tour: they actually have a CATWALK, with models being filmed and still shot all day long. It's insane.





Later, by accident, I found myself shooting an empty dressing room when who should walk in, but Jesus. Changing his shirt. God is he cute. And really, really nice. We chatted a bit and then I started shooting him and he started doing that thing that models do. After that, I honestly don't remember anything, not even his name.* It was a bit scary, actually. I think I realised he's American, but the rest is a blur. I couldn't hear over the beating of my own heart.

*(My lovely new friend, ASOS Nat, who is at the core of the story and who was with me at alleged incident, and somehow was more conscious than I, just told me: it's RANDY. Swear to God.



When I was young and single, I had several 'types', but this wasn't one of them. Friends would see a guy and say 'he's your type': tended towards young Bob Dylan, kinda scrawny, curly hair.. Mr. Dot was kind of my type, but more bad boy than I normally went for (he was more like a young Mick Jagger). I tended to go for a kind of geek chic type, but after yesterday, I'm a convert.

Messiah chic, in black and white. Shirt, jeans, belt: ASOS. Hair and tattoos: model's own. As for the story behind the story, what I was doing in the Happy Place: stay tuned.



What's your type?

shini's snippets of shiny thoughts

Two phrases keep going thru my head lately: 'snippets of shiny thoughts', and 'it's not about the clothes.' The second phrase will be in my next post. The first, is the name of Lucy's blog and as you know (see end of previous post) today Snippets is having her first birthday. (Are blogs female? Anyone who's French, can you answer that? Actually.. Le Blog de Betty.. guess blogs are male).

Anyway, this post isn't about Lucy, it's about Shini (Park & Cube). This is Shini's shirt, and it's her Shiny Thought of the Day.



Take one lacy body (in this case, I believe it's Topshop, but lots o' brands are doing it). Add a ribbon or two, criss-crossed, attached with a small box of gold safety pins. Add a few more. Do it - presumably - as a procrastination procedure when you're meant to be studying for finals.

Coincidentally - altho, really, is there such thing as coincidence? Or is it just God working in small ways? - my lovely friend Toni, who was actually a 'real' friend - recently met - before I even knew her blog - has just done a fabulous post ('seeing double') which starts off with the line:

"Inspiration comes mostly from others not from ourself, and anyone who tells you they are never inspired by others is probably not being completely honest with you."



I am so inspired by Toni. I'm inspired by Shini, by all of you. I've frittered the morning away letting tweets by brilliant women like Rachel Johnson lead me, like woodland fairy sprites, to Caitlin Moran, to Claudia Winkleman, to a hilarious piece on SATC by Lindy West.. just totally energised with inspiration. All these beautiful minds.

p.s. Oh joy! Pure coincidence: just went to tell Shini her post is up, and saw she's done the definitive post on the Perfect Day. ('Princess March') It looks just like the post I was about to do, only better. Influence out of sequence.

@ 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.

roz, on primrose hill, sunday morning in spring

Sunday morning: while the rest of London slept, Mr. Dot and I made our way in our lovely old car to Primrose HIll, to meet Roz, of Clothes, Cameras and Coffee, and her very cool, yet very warm, mum. (She doesn't name her in her blog so I won't either).

While Mr. Dot waited in the car, reading the paper, I scooted up the hill, breathless, a few minutes late. They were already there. And they are absolutely delightful: even more wonderfully wonderful than I had imagined. We'd actually tried a previous weekend, and couldn't get a plan, but this one fell together easily.



Roz is just extraordinary to photograph: she brings something to the moment that feels so quintessentially English: she is Alice in Wonderland, she's grown up, sophisticated and brilliant, yet with that sense of childish wonder that I hope to feel forever. It was just a brief visit - half an hour, maybe a bit more - then we all went on our way. We met a friend in Primrose Hill (the town) and I just felt so buzzed by the meeting - as I sense they did, too. I'm sure- I certainly hope - that we'll hang out again, either here or the countryside. We're just all so on the same page.



The wonderful thing about Roz's style is it is so uniquely, creatively, her own. And her 'sourcing' never actually involves anything you can find online. In fact, her descriptions of her outfits on her blog are probably the most wonderfully whimsical prose I've come across, so that's what I'm giving you, my gift from Roz, today. Her image, and her words:

'The dusky pink 'dress' is actually a pleated skirt from a charity shop that I just pulled up and pinned. Tied around it is a sash my grandma gave me. The trench coat was also from a charity shop - I'd like to say it's Burberry, but unfortunately it's not. Oh well, I live in hope! The top underneath is from Next and the necklace was also given to me by my grandma. I'm wearing my old favourite loafers (charity shopped!) and I 'appropriated' the leather bag from my mum.'



There was something about Primrose HIll on a Sunday morning, the air still cool, fresh, spring like, people arriving, dogs, children, the city below.. from that lofty place.. it feels like in Athens, at the Acropolis: you could almost believe you're dancing among the Gods. That anything is possible.

brand identity

Yesterday, when I was wearing faded denim shorts with tights & slight heels, inspired by Hedvig, I found myself in Knightsbridge, having just met some great friends and en route to meet my dear friend Natayla for lunch.



I happened to have gone slightly out of my way to check out the location of the new Topshop, opening in Knightsbridge on Thursday, so I could tell friends where to meet tomorrow for an early preview breakfast.



That's when I saw Rachel. I so often see someone with a great look that I just clock but don't shoot, but this time, I saw this girl waaaay across the road. In order to reach her I had to wait for two sets of lights to change, but luckily I could see she was stopped outside an estate agent, which gained me some time.

Still, she was power walking at quite a fast clip, carrying two large Starbucks lattes, AND an orange phone. (Not necessarily an Orange phone, mind you). I was noting the bead work and woven details on her fabulous Phillip Lim jacket, nicely tanned quite perfect BARE LEGS (it was freakin' freezing yesterday!) but as fast as she moved, I moved faster.





Finally caught with her. She's Rachel, she's American, from Michigan originally moved here with her boyfriend via Miami, where she trained in Miami as yoga teacher. Her boyfriend started a school here called Power Yoga London.

We couldn't help laugh at the cliche of it all: American girls, she's carrying these Starbucks coffees.. she's delightful. And now we're facebook friends. And that, my friends, is the end of the story!



Rachel's fabulous little griege suede boots are by a French brand called Maje. Her jacket is Phillip Lim. Her shirt is GAP, shorts Ralph Lauren, bag and sunglasses Chanel. Necklace 3, Forever 21 bracelets. Coffee, Starbucks. Phone, not a clue.

style icon: sam cam, in my jacket

Ah, that Sam Cam: Britain's First Lady of Style. This photo ran in the Evening Standard their first day in Number Ten, and I realised: crikey, that's MY Topshop Sequin Motorcylce Jacket!

I first noticed That Jacket last spring, and posted about it in June. I know the first rule of being a Style Icon is 'Stick to your own style' and this was so not mine, but maybe that was the draw. Besides, I was new to the blogging world and getting sucked into the vortex of want. (That's when Mr. Dot first started telling me rule number one, which applies to drug dealers as well as bloggers: DON'T DO YOUR OWN DRUGS.)



Still... that want couldn't go away. The jacket was out of stock, it came back in, I became obsessed about it ('it's back!').. it culminated with a public scene in the High Street Kensington Topshop branch, tears and tantrums, something about mutton dressed as lamb, Mr. Dot storming out, someone's boyfriend, overhearing, kindly commenting that it was none of his business, but he thought it looked rather good on me.

(There's a story behind these tights, of course: it's all here: 'don't shoot me, I'm only the photographer.')



There was a happy ending: Mr. Dot & I made up, and The Jacket is mine. I still don't feel it's his favourite look for me, and to be honest, it's not really my style, but I love it all the same. Like a beloved child that is not one's own, but you've gone thru a great ordeal to adopt, it has become part of the family.

Now, seeing Dave & Sam Cam so smiley in this photo, I'm wondering.. was there ever a slight raised eyebrow? A sentence that began with 'you're not going out in..'? I wonder: do style icons ever get into argy bargies with their men over their attire?



With the current V&A show on Grace Kelly, and constant speculation on who is the new 'style icon', I'm curious:

What you feel constitutes a style icon? Is it a question of constant reinvention, like Madonna? Or staying true to one style? Is it about wearing only designer clothes? Or, like Michelle Obama, is it the courage to wear J. Crew catalogue with the same grace (and pride) as Jason Wu?

I feel another survey coming on (sidebar, top right); if you'd like to add a write-in, long as they're living and their husband is currently in office (or, better yet, they are), please add them to a comment. Does anyone know what high street brands Carla favours?

Just curious: are there any items of clothes that nearly cost you your relationship? Or am I the only one?

i am the decisions i make

This is Emily, my new friend, who was in the post the other day ('lit from within'). She is wearing riding pants and a pink/nude dress worn as a top, both from American Apparel. The cardigan is her own.

With her permission, I"m printing her email to me, below. Please bear in mind she is 19, English is not her first language, and she wrote it without expecting me to publish it:

"Jill,once again,thank you for the post. Your words are beautiful and I can say i'm truly happy to see you take a deeper look at someone's way of being,not just the appareance also their personality,character,mannerism. Of course there are some positive and negative reactions,they'll always be and no I don't mind.This is me,good and bad,mature and silly or childish,i'm true to myself and the people around me and I want to evolve and improve myself once I've learned from my own mistakes, not just because someone else says "but it's not right to do that".I am the decisions i make and won't appologize unless my actions affected someone.I have been tought to treat people nice,be understanding and embrace variety and the fact that they have small 'pleasures' doesn't make them less humans.Should vegetarians hate the people that eat meat?Or the other way round. Should people that live a quiet life hate the ones that like to party and dance? We have free will,it's just a matter of how far we choose to push it.

Also,the pictures of you are soooooo pretty,I'm jealous. Hope to see you soon.xx

Sorry if i've made any spelling mistakes,it's been such a busy long day,it's just a matter of seconds until i fall asleep."

leap of faith

Last night Mr. Dot & I were sitting down to a nice dinner of M&S chicken kiev and his food on the planet, roast potatoes made the way he likes them, nice and crispy.. next thing we know all HELL is breaking loose on the UK news.

I realise this is a global blog and I know that even in America this isn't that unusual (I called my Mom when David & Sam Cam were going in to see the Queen, asked her to turn on one of her half a dozen televisions, then hung up on her) but for us here in London, it was.. EPIC.





Anyone in America old enough to remember OJ in the White Bronco? That's what it was like: national newscasters watching helicopter footage of Gordon Brown & his family in a black Jag, speculating out loud about 'he's turning down Pall Mall, if he turns right on such & such a street he's going to see the Queen RIGHT NOW'. This was totally off the script, everyone was making it up as they went along. We were all texting each other like 'ARE YOU WATCHING THIS?? IT'S SO WEIRD!!"



Oh! The photos. Right. I met Toni, of the brilliant blog Fashion Cloud, last Thursday @ the Sketchbook Talk I did with Jen the Style Crusader, and we just instantly became friends. In fact I shot thesethe moment I met her.

So last night, as this was all unfolding, Toni & I started tweeting, we were so on the same page. I had this image of the Queen and Prince Phillip sitting down to THEIR supper, on trays, in front of the telly, about to watch Coronation Street, when - sod's law - the doorbell rings & there's Gordon. And then, a few minutes later, there's Dave. Not to mention that back @ No. 10, some poor staff member was frantically changing the sheets in the master bedroom.



I know we shouldn't talk about politics, religion, or money, but my money is on this New Conservative government - supported by the LIberal Democrats - being a real shot in the arm for Britain. I'm willing to take that leap of faith.

It might sound contradictory to be pro Obama in America and pro Cameron in the UK, but, hey, they're both Blue parties. I've always been more of a Blue girl than Red, frankly. I found Gordon Brown's departing words moving and dignified, and I wish him and his family well.

But Sam Cam does seems like such a girl's girl. I'd be her friend. She looked like a deer in the headlights in front of all that press, but thank god her hair was washed and shiny, and she was doing pretty well with her blue maternity dress & killer heels. She gets my vote. And so does Toni, who also said she's a 'bad jumper', and yet she took that chance, that leap of faith, and elevated clear off the ground. In killer heels as well.

(speaking of JUMP: just got sent this fabulous link to Inside Out (Topshop) from the fabulous Clare of The Eff Memoirs. Thanks Clare! xo )

Bless you all, each one of you, for your honest and supportive and wonderful comments. So what's new in your part of the world?

Toni is wearing:
T-shirt: Filles à papa • Cardigan: Zara Men (stolen from the bf) • Jeans: H&M • OTK leather boots: Zara • Bag: NEXT • Silver cuff: gifted by Philippe Audibert