lost in translation

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.

mimosaphobia

A comment, in passing, from Sabine (Psynopsis) about a recent purchase of a pair of yellow trousers, despite her admitted 'fear of yellow' - that, and all the big fuss everywhere I turn about Chanel's sold out limited edition nail varnish in Mimosa (100% pure, hardcore yellow) has got me thinking:

Am I, too, afraid of the colour yellow?



Well, Holly Fulton says, 'RELAX.' As shown my shots of her show from last September's S/S 2011 collection, there's really nothing to be afraid of. (Incidentally, there really is no such thing as Mimosaphobia - I just made that up, HOWEVER, there really is a medical, psychiatric term for the fear of yellow. It's called Xanthobia, but don't just take my word for it, Google it.).

In fact I've started to remember - as if freed from a suppressed, subconscious state - all the yellow items of clothing that I've loved over the years. A favourite Liza Bruce swimsuit that I purchased long ago, in either St. Barths or St Maartens in a little boutique with my future husband, the current Mr. Dot (I'll do a post on it next). Or a long floral maxi, very floaty, that I also got years ago.. and there's a really lurid, intense yellow pair of bell bottoms that my artist friend Pia Rigby made me buy (she bought a pair, too) from a street stall in Williamsburg Brooklyn, where she lived.

The whole problem for me, with yellow, is pairing it with black if it's bright yellow: that dreaded 'bumblebee effect' which really does frighten me. I feel that Holly is quite brave for doing this line not just with black, but also with Louboutin court heels in black: the addition of red for me is just so wrong and yet, these designs are so brilliant (in both senses of the word) that I like it, despite my fears.




But ultimately, the way I like yellow best is either solid, with nothing else but a tan, or in combination with bright colours like pale greens, turquoise, maybe even a little purple or hot pink. Or orange. If I can ever find those yellow trousers from Williamsburg, I'm going to do a style style shot with them. If I can summon the nerve.

no smoking in the museum

Dotted outside the British Museum: finally, a playsuit! In this season's big colour, yellow. (Not so wild about the yellow & black thing, it's a bit bumblebee to me, what do you think?) Expected to see more of them this spring but it's been too friggin' cold & wet.