oh so prada

Hello world!

What a lovely day it looks to be outside my window! Soon as I post this I'm walking to Hyde Park to meet my friend Hedvig. It might seem strange to post such wintry clothes when I'm in such a summer head (as those of you north of the equator are, no doubt, as well) but I'm really in the mood right now for that Dior 'New Look' silhouette, which Prada has done so beautifully this spring. In fact I could swear I've shot windows of their dresses but can't find the shots. You know the ones I mean: there are also some great high street versions.



In fact, I've got an old skirt from Zara, which I'll start wearing again: blue/green print, mostly white background, small waist, wide skirt. Somehow I can JUST get away with it. I wore it in Rome in 100 degree heat and felt oh so Dolce Vita (while around me, the Italians were just dressed normally).

But I've also got two perfect dresses from H&M that seemed a good idea at the time - tiny spaghetti straps, practically strapless, small waist, wide skirts - and I look ridiculous in them. I'm like a giant marshmallow, with spindley table legs sticking out. They are wrong wrong wrong for my shape. Anyone want them? Seriously: they're just taking up space. One is lemon yellow, the other brown with light blue polka dots.



These are from the recent Earl's Court Gala Show at Graduate Fashion Week. Big shout out to Adorngirl: thank you for sourcing, the designer is ALEX NEWTON of Northampton.



Speaking of gratitude, thank you so much for taking the time to find me the links! (see sidebar: indecision). It's so interesting for me to see which are your favourites and since I know some of you, or virtually, it's great to see your choices. I've got til the 31st, but it can't hurt to enter. We can't win if we don't play, right?

So. Where do you stand on this silhouette?

hearts & minds

You might recognise this girl: it's Hedvig, my beautiful friend. I didn't take this shot: wasn't there. It was at Norwegian Constitution Day, 17th May, and her equally gorgeous sister, had flown into London. They invited me to a celebration south of the Thames. I wish I could have gone.

Today is a Bank Holiday Monday in Britain, and I don't have a clue what today is for. Does anyone? Can't figure it out. No one seems to want to say: perhaps it's a secret. If you'd like a hilariously confusing explanation, try this.

Back home, in the States, today is Memorial Day, which feels always quite sacred. Warm childhood memories: BBQs, the pools opening.. summer officially begins today. Some of my family at my parents' beach home now, and they've visited my father's grave, at a beautiful, vast Veteran's Memorial Cemetery nearby.

Today is the day we honour the brave men and women who protected our home land, so we could be free.



Hedvig is wearing my Ray Bans, and - I know this because she showed me the dress when she bought it - dress by H&M. They have won my recent sidebar poll by a landslide (43% to Topshop's 29% and Zara's 27%). I was surprised, as when I started street shooting last spring, it seemed everything everyone wore was Topshop. Lately, it's H&M. (Speaking of Zara, what do we think about the whole Le Blog de Betty Zaragate Scandal?)

I have my theories for the shift, but I'm curious: have you noticed that, too? Is H&M the high street brand that's captured your imagination lately? If so, why? Anyone know what H&M stands for? Perhaps it's hearts and minds. What's that saying? 'If you get their hearts, their minds will follow?' Or is it the other way round?

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p.s. Thank you these comments are so helpful! Please check if you have a moment, someone kindly explained the story behind H&M.. it is such a treat to come home and see this.

Oh, Jackie, it's funny, Hedvig mentioned it, too:

"y cardigan is last year from H&M, I think I used it almost every day last summer, it's silk and fantastic quality, bag from Chanel, my best investment ever I think?
The shoes are from Chloe, only used twice, I digged them out of my wardrobe, bought them like 3-4 years ago but they felt so quickly out of date with that chunky heel. You know the day we all went to Yautcha, Jackie was wearing similar heels from Chloe and I was inspired to dig out my own, had forgotten I had them and now I'm thrilled, it's just like as if I just got a new pair of Chloe heels, haha."

cavorting in a field of blue bells on an english spring day, being chased by big black dogs (a true story)

We first found the field of blue bells in the rain and the twilight, last Saturday, after having a wonderful May Day in Oxford with Mr. & Mrs. Crusader, then a visit with friends in the countryside. On the way home, we made a wrong turn, and passed something that took our breath away. Blue bells, glowing luminescent lilac blue in the twilight, as far back as our eyes could see. Just a flash, as we passed.



There's something iconic, magic, mythical about wild blue bell fields in England. I can't explain. People go mental for it. We found this one, and were determined to go back Monday, and (this was Mr. Dot's idea!) do a photo shoot. With him taking the photos. Of me. In some of my borrowed American Apparel clothing.

So we did, on Monday. When we got to the spot where you can park, other cars were there. It was like a Close Encounters of the Third Kind moment: all these people, drawn to this spot... we saw a father shooting his young daughter in what had to be her favourite hot pink dress, being a model.. it was wonderful.



I had just climbed over the barbed wire fence, having traversed the mud terrine (covering my favourite black suede Topshop harlequin pom pom ballet pumps), when the people dispersed. A woman with a big black dog or two appeared (in my memory, she also had a shot gun, but this being England, it's unlikely) and a few of her friends. It's an institute of some sort, and she said it was private property, and we were trespassing.


So we left, being chased by big black barking dogs. And, despondent, metaphorical tail between our legs, regrouped to Marlow, to the safety of a cafe.

Mr. Dot is an Englishman, descended from country stock, with the spirit of Dunkirk and Colditz and the whole British Empire coursing in his veins. He was not going to let that woman stop us from our fashion shoot. So, fortified with bagels and excellent coffee, back we went. And did our shoot: even got a few changes of clothing in.



It's taken me this long to post cause I couldn't choose my favourite shots. This will be a series, I promise, but the blue bells season doesn't last long: two weeks, at best. So, for those of you with a car, in the greater London area:

It's about a half hour from London, on the A 4155, the 'Marlow Road' - between Marlow, and Henley on Thames. Coming from Henley to Marlow, you'll pass the TOAD HALL on your right, and it's on your left. There's a small spot to park. Oh and Mr. Dot asked me to tell you, don't worry about the dogs. He's grown up with dogs and said these are 'just Black Labs, and they're harmless.'

Looking forward to seeing your shots, Cupcakes. Have a lovely Saturday! xoxo

Oh btw: Lemony cream raincoat by Zara (several seasons back), same with the Topshop black suede mud covered harlequin pom pom ballet flats. Riding pants, this season, borrowed from American Apparel. Camel wool jumper, vintage Prada. Wood bangle, TU Sainsbury's. Nude and lavender grey scarf as belt, also vintage. Blue bells: mother nature. Cost: priceless.

everything is connected: easing our way into spring

It started last night, when I saw this post by Erika, of the Fashion Chalet, and decided it's my favourite look of the moment. Of course, she lives in the American South, and on a sunny day can pull this off: I don't know if the London light will ever be quite right. I love the way she channels D&G (her white eyelet dress) with Chanel (the hay).. well just read the post, you'll see what I mean. (E's rings, dress and suede fringe bag by Forever 21, H&M bow hair-clip, suede fringe Minnetonka Knee-Hi boots.)




Anyway, it got me thinking about how if I had to point to one universal 'trend' - it's more than a trend, it's a meme, a movement - to mix it up (feminine/masculine, casual/chic) and decided to pull out one photo that epitomised that trend. I couldn't do just one, of course: but I think black biker jackets - leather and lace, basically - are the best example.



Note her fringe bag channels Erika's boots, and Jen: see her demure patent loafers? Aren't they exactly the ones you wanted in Kate Kanzier but they didn't have in your size?



That led me to thinking about last Friday, and how Jen couldn't decide what to wear, ('easing my way into spring') and I realised how similar her scarf/jacket looks. And how it really is all about that: easing our way into spring, with our own unique but often uncannily similar style.



(On Jen: Mulberry Scarf, Madewell Jacket, Zara T-shirt, Urban Outfitters Leggings, Kate Kanzier Green Luella Brogues)



THEN, I went to E's blog to steal her shots (with her permission, of course) and lo and behold! A new post by her ('forward march'): which, in the most serendipitous, unplanned way, kind of brings it all full circle.

Thank you Alex, for your gorgeous photos of Erika. Thank you Erika for agreeing to 'guest blog', thank you Jen for posing.. thank you blond girl whose name I forgot... thank you each of you, for reading this and maybe even commenting, because otherwise, I'm just shouting in the dark! Have a lovely Tuesday night, wherever on the planet you are, and hope you're easing your way into spring nicely (unless of course you're in the Southern Hemisphere, in which case, you're easing your way into fall).

p.s. While I was posting this, Mr. Dot found this on youtube.. you should have seen us both, mock surfin' & singing along. Something to help ease you into spring, and oldie but goodie:

musing on snoods, scarfs, muffs, and coincidence

Minutes before meeting Tamzin (below) and minutes after leaving Topshop for the Dress Me Up event (below that), I saw this girl walking down Conduit Street. She told me her name, it was beautiful & unusual, and now it escapes me. I almost thought she was a stylish boy at first, and it's funny because in today's Telegraph magazine, under my favourite section called 'wild life', the theme was on tomboys.



The area around New Bond Street that day - as is often the case - was a sea of crisp black. And yet, within minutes, I saw two very different girls in cool grey with blue. As different as their looks are, each works so beautifully against those cool neutral colours. Tamzin's warm, red hair, and this girl's cool, slightly blue toned mahogany skin are both perfect foils for these tones.

I hope she'll get in touch, but she was quite shy actually, and I'm just grateful she posed. There's something about this shape jacket that can make one look a bit pregnant, which I'm assuming she's not: it's just the way the pockets work. It's kind of an internal old fashioned 'muff' effect.

I wonder: do you think muffs will ever come back? Not ear muffs: they're already seen on London streets. I mean those round tube things you put your hands in. Or what one would, in a Jane Austin novel. I'm just thinking out loud here... I mean, according to Burberry, snood sales have gone thru the roof! Such a funny word... snood. Not to mention, 'muff'. Scarf sounds pretty funny too if you say it a few times, but let's face we've all got tons of scarfs so the word doesn't sound weird. Yet how many of you actually own a snood? Or, for that matter, a muff? My sister & I, as young girls, had matching muffs, in white rabbit's fur with little dolls' heads sticking up. Or were they bunnies... must ask her. Okay, I'll stop now!

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p.s. Thank you to Lydia of roses, tea cups & lemonade for sourcing this jacket: it's Zara, and she's got one, too.

what's black and white and red all over

Just when I was thinking that my world had turned into a black and white film, because all I've seen anywhere is black, black, black (the most risque look being a bit of brown or beige, or, heaven forbid, a leopard print scarf), I passed this girl, on the phone, on Picadilly. I didn't want to bother her, just took one quick shot. You might have realised by now I'm not personally partial to red, but this flash of tomato on her skirt, under that luxurious looking handkerchief hem black coat.. it just looked so refreshing in a sea of black and beige.



That said.. I recently met Natasha on the street (she lives nearby) with her sweet daughter who I'd have loved to shoot, but I've got a 'no kids' policy. Altho she was in black and white, the wild zig zag pattern caught my eye. She said 'it's only Zara' but of course, we LOVE Zara, and she started chatting about all the things I've been posting about recently, about why is it okay to wear leather but not fur, and how she's half Danish and they're wearing more fur there.. and then she invited me to a private 'bling' event at her home Tuesday night, to showcase her jewelry designs. It's a funny old life.

a hard day's night

I've seen a few films recently that have had a strong impression on me: Coco before Chanel is one of them, and there have been some great BBC documentaries lately on the Beatles. There was even one show about how the Beatles have been responsible for bringing down the Kremlin (I'm not making this up!).



So you can imagine that first thing Monday morning, when I ran into Julia, from St. Petersburg, channelling Chanel, in BLACK AND WHITE, it was all a bit surreal. Especially since we had both barely woken up, and Julia's jacket, which isn't Chanel after all, but rather, Zara, is also a bit like the Beatles' collarless jackets. All I know is, she's a really nice girl, and it was lovely to meet her (a lot of my family is originally from Russia). And I love those little Chanel-esque nude sequin ballet pumps, and her electric blue woven leather bag.




I know that you guys never click on any of my youtube links (or if you do, no one's telling me) but I promise, if you click here, you'll be in for a real treat, Beatles fan, or not. Actually: does anyone NOT like the Beatles? I have yet to meet anyone who isn't a Beatles fan, except perhaps my husband, Mr. Dot, who always said the Stones were cooler. But he would say that, wouldn't he? Men! ; )

And while we're at it: what the heck, I couldn't resist it: click here, and you'll be humming this all day. And now that I think of it, how could I finish this post without adding this.

yankee spirit

We were in Hyde Park on Sunday - it was glorious & warm & I swam in the Serpentine - and everyone was so stylish, so clearly glad to be alive, I shot so much I could post just on that day from now til December and still not have shown you everything. We passed this couple, George and Robin, and my husband, Mr. Dot, remarked that I should shoot her cause she's 'all in Chanel'.

Actually, her quilted black bag is classic Chanel, but the fabulous white jacket with sienna piping is 100% Zara. And I shot her because I love her style and her smile and her spirit, and I think they're a cool couple. George is American and I'm guessing Robin is, too (if she was English and her name was Robin, she'd be a guy). Also, note they're drinking Starbucks, an American brand.



I liked the way George asked, totally deadpan, if I was planning to make fun of them in my blog. I truly don't get why the Brits think we Americans don't get irony. We do. We just try to keep a low profile on the irony front, talk in ironic code amongst ourselves, and basically let it be your British thing. After all, you did lose us as a colony, it's the least we can do. We get Rhode Island, hot dogs, and Coney Island, and you get bangers and mash, and Irony.

Still loving white, by the way, especially with blue jeans. I am determined to break the rule of 'no white after Labor Day' which is easier to pull off here in London, as they don't celebrate Labor Day. How about you? Where do you stand on the No White After Labor Day rule? Do other countries have something equally ridiculous?

what's in your bag

Blackberry, Jo Malone Honeysuckle & Jasmine, fake fur scarf from Zara for warmth (in JUNE!!), vintage (i.e. I've worn them to bits) suede heels for once I get there (I wear flats for speed), Maybelline waterproof mascara, pink leather diary with gold pencil for jotting down who I'm shooting, film (& camera, but I was using that to shoot this shot, DUH), 'you've been dotted' card, two glitter bead/sequin purses from Accessorize: one with all the real stuff, the other is actually empty - I just like it - also it's a red herring for pick pocketers.
Sunglasses 'vintage' Ray Bans as in I've had them forever (see shoes), silver watch my husband bought me long ago & cost a fortune but I love it (and him), notebook & pen to jot down notes & write my current screenplay. Oh and 'keychain' is my special good luck laundry pin from a fish & tackle shop in Maine.
What's in YOUR bag?

game on

In light of the inspiring speech our President Obama just gave in Cairo urging us all towards world peace, and of a recent local conflict reported by Susie Bubble in her Hogg Roasted post, I'd like to take a stand against bullies of any kind, and that includes PR girls armed only with blackberries.
If there's gonna be a crackdown on photos taken on phones or cheap digital cameras in dressing rooms and then posted on one's own blogs, I am going to submit here, for anyone to see, a rather unflattering self portrait I took in Barcelona last year on a great weekend jaunt with a childhood friend, whilst in the dressing room at Zara. There's something about the angle against the mirror that makes me look like I'm a stripey lollipop in my third trimester, but that's not the point. Or maybe it is. This is just an experiment to see if one of my favourite all time global chains ever, Zara, will get on my case and shut me down. Or if anonymous strangers will tell me I look like crap. Either way, bring it on!

Update: Day two, and no word from Zara. I knew they were a cool brand!

model's own

Here in London, still raining. Good news for the May flowers, but means we can't show off our lovely summer frocks on the street a lot of the time. Instead, we're seeing variations of the belted trench with tights theme, which is why I'm breaking with tradition and showing another version of Frida Gustavsson's rainy day outfit. The colours that April day - and the location, near Harrods..even her hair seemed so London, circa 1946.
As before: Her trenchcoat is from Zara, the sunglasses from H&M, tights from Falke, sneakers from GANT, the small black clutch/envelope-bag is from a really nice swedish brand called WHYRED and the vintage backpack, model's own.

Kara in Zara

We're already seeing quite a bit of bold, often tribal prints on the street in London, and expect to see more. This example, by Zara, on Kara (I know!), in Spitalfields Market, works really well, which is surprising considering her beautifully pale English rose colouring. Of course this will also look brilliant with a tan, or on black or brown skin tones.
Many designers are showing bold, warm ethnic-inspired prints this season: Alexander McQueen is doing absolutely gorgeous stuff - the patterns are stunning in the flesh, and the construction is strong and very feminine, as below. This example, from Net a Porter, is in cooler tones, but he's also doing it in warm orangey browns. Prada of course has been doing this for a while, and Nicole Fahri, but the best looks we're finding, as always, are on the street.

frida (form following function)

It started to pour, I was freezing from a whole day out shooting (under dressed) so I ducked into H&M in Knightsbridge (& of course one can't leave H&M empty handed!). Saw this girl with a calm beauty about her, and didn't realise til we started talking that she's a real model. Frida Gustavsson, with IMG. She's from Sweden, as is H&M, so she's a seasoned shopper. Taking her photo was a surreal experience: she transformed before my eyes from a sweet young girl to something.. otherworldly. Quite grown up, and self possessed. The moment I snapped the shutter, she became a regular girl again. I predict she's going to be a huge star, because she's also really, really nice. Also, she was like the only person I saw all day actually wearing a raincoat. Wise girl. Won't do these days to show up at a photo shoot with a cold. Freak everyone right out.

In Frida's own words:
"Uhm oki the trenchcoat is from Zara, the sunglasses from H&M acctually ;), tights from Falke, sneakers from GANT, the small black clutch/envelope-bag is from a really nice swedish brand called WHYRED and the backpack is vintage, thats all i think : ) "  

being green

Dotted at the Duke of York Plaza, near Sloane Square: Elizabeth & her boyfriend. We love the long green scarf (another colour, besides mustard and hot pink, that we expect to see used creatively this spring), and the great white jumper that matches her brilliant smile. Her denim cut-offs are great over black tights with her long legs & cool burgundy boots. We're seeing a lot of interesting versions of shorts with tights & boots - great way to ease into spring.
Update: Elizabeth has just told me: the Boyfriend's name is Richard, she's Danish & works in conservation - so the green theme is a bit of serendipity. Her jumper is from Camden Town but she can't remember where she got the boots - she fell in love with them when she was out buying Christmas presents. Lucky she's got a tall boyfriend to match.


Also at the Duke of York Plaza: Emma. She's a doctor. A real doctor. Now, for those of you who don't live in a country with a National Health Service, even doctors - ESPECIALLY doctors - have to shop smart these days. 

Emma's fur trimmed green jacket is from Zara, shoes from Topshop, grey cardigan from H&M. We love the NHS: where else in the world would you find such cool, stylish doctors?