renaissance man

It was my husband, Mr. Dot, who spotted Paul first. In the fabulous new Medieval and Renaissance wing at the Victoria & Albert Museum. 'Get that guy, Jill!' I was looking at his friend, who was also quite stylish (you get to see his photo soon, girls, I promise). 'The one in the dress.'

'What dress?' 'There! That guy. In the dress.' (Meanwhile, we're like three feet away from them, pointing and gesticulating and arguing, loudly. I got shy (well, mortified, actually) so Mr. Dot marched over and asked if his wife could shoot them. Then the light was too dark & I dragged them to the stairwell.

Paul went first. He had to stay very still as I did shot after shot, each one identical to the previous one. It was like posing for a daguerreotype. He was appearing more ghost like and ethereal with each shot. Actually, I think he might have been on the verge of fainting. It was kind of warm in the V&A.

Both guys work as apprentices to the American artist Christian Marclay, on a three year project for White Cube. I mean, how much cooler can you get. And Paul's 'dress' is by Rick Owens. Afterwards, Mr. Dot kept remarking how gracious and polite they were. I agree. When I asked Paul how to describe him, he thought for a moment and said 'Artist. And musician.'

Basically, a Renaissance Man.

fashion forward

Got my London Fashion Week registration sorted while in Miami, and now I'm musing: what will the big trends be?

Looking back while looking forward.. I just can't imagine that anything could live up to my first Fashion Week last September. For starts, it was so hot & sunny, and fashionistas were melting in their furs & boots, so we had to get creative & mix little frocks and bear legs with great shoes (not me: I was running around in ballet flats: it's the only way I can shoot). I had such a fabulous time. I just hope the weather is good, as I'm shooting people in the outdoor courtyard. Fingers crossed.



I wonder if we'll see much of the underwear as outerwear trend off the catwalk.

Speaking of.. it's funny, I'm still finding that phrase everywhere in the UK. Magazines, newspapers.. I know I said it before and someone chastised me that I couldn't have possibly invented the trend - which I SO did not - but I'm pretty sure I coined the phrase. @ least, I thought I did! I might have subconsciously picked it up, but I can't find any evidence of the phrase before I posted it last spring. Alas, if only one received royalties for phrases.



After flying in from Miami, I was hanging out @ home in my new purchase: cream coloured men's thermal underwear (top & bottom) from Target. I was going to go out in it - accessorising with boots & bracelets, of course - when my husband, Mr. Dot, said I can't because I'd get 'arrested'. Apparently they're arresting women for wearing pyjamas to Tesco. What next? Will they start incarcerating girls sporting satin bustiers at PR events? Or silky slips @ art launches?



What do you think will be big this spring? Do you think the peep toe bootie/big wedge silhouette will still reign supreme?

Shown here from top to bottom: KTZ catwalk, All Saints window in Spitalfields, boots @ Somerset House, September.

emma (the eyes have it), revisited

Emma*, in front of the Museum of Natural History.



I was on my way from A to B - having just stopped into the V&A to get warm, soak up some Renaissance & Medieval sculpture, and buy thank you gifts for the lovely girls @ the vet who fed our cat his tuna addiction while we were away - and I passed Emma, a mere slip of a girl, eating a green apple.



It was one of this funny moments when she couldn't answer cause she was chewing. I love everything about Emma's style: from the chocolate brown faux fur vintage jacket (so similar to my own), and that great huge Louis Vuitton-esque bag from Beyond Retro - the skinny black jeans - it's all so simple & somehow.. modern British. Classic London Casual circa 2010. And her eyes are gorgeous: cat-like and luminescent. I hope she finds this post. She's an absolutely charming girl and it was just one of those moments, cold and crisp as a green apple, that you're just happy to be alive. And I got the sense that Emma was having a similar kind of day.

How was your Monday?

*(Okay: I'm spooked. I meant this title to simply be called 'Emma', but somehow, blogger decided to add that phrase. I must have called it that before. But where? And who else had such amazing eyes?)