I really love the industrial touch and feel of this clutch bag by Escama. It's made of recycled pull tabs ably crocheted together.
Wednesday 23 December 2009
Late Shopping Ideas :: Le Beret
Order and customise your beret at Gina Foster Milliner. My favourite: the oversized beret with flower on the second row.
Late Shopping Ideas: the ubiquitous head band
I really thought head bands were one of my momentary fixations but they still excite me big time, being it glamorous and sophisticated like Jennifer Behr's or whimsical and sassy as ban.do's.
Ban.do Heart Collection, Sequin Starfish $35, Giant Sequin Heart $35, Giant Bow $50
This model exudes an instant feel-good factor. I saw her in a post by La Chica del Solitario and couldn't stop staring at her. She played a kind of spell on me.
Late Shopping Ideas :: Trunki for Globetrotting Toddlers
I presented my friend's baby with one of these Trunkies. I see them in airports all the time and thought it would be perfect for baby Adriano, an almost one year old baby born in the UK from Italian and Brazilian parents. He is bound to be a travelling trotter, and I really hope he and his mother will make good use of this multi-use trolley which also serves as a tricycle and chair.
Tuesday 22 December 2009
Last Minute Shopping Ideas :: Scotch and Soda Pull
Hitchcock and his Heroines
Rebecca
I have recently discovered myself a huge fan of Hitchcock films, and their cunning heroines. I am working my way through the whole series {67 odd films} and, so far, I have loved each and every of them.
Suspense is the intrepid anticipation that something potentially dreadful is about to happen. Past, on the other hand, also plays a key role: it’s the source of mystery, psychological issues, madness. In H. films, this anticipation is created by a slow and self-indulgent pace that doesn't spoil the enjoyment of the moment. When the viewpoint is shifted to the murderer {as it often happens in his films}, the viewer experiences an uncomfortable feeling of anxiety as he/she starts emphasising with the villain. This anxiety is the achieved effect of suspense.
His settings are simultaneously eye-catching and preposterous for the contemporary eye. External scenes can be vibrant and exotic as in The Man who Knew too Much, glamorous and mundane as in To Catch a Thief, vivid and compelling as in Vertigo, realistic and picturesque as in The Man who Knew too Much, oppressing and implausible as in Marnie - visibly shot in a film set where backgrounds and natural sceneries are gawky eye-illusions. But no matter how clumsy or dated some cinematic devices appear, his films so well reflect their era and retain a timeless quality.
Top: Joan Fontaine, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly
Middle: Doris Day, Vera Miles, Kim Novak
Bottom: Eva Marie Saint, Janet Leigh, Tippi Hedren
Middle: Doris Day, Vera Miles, Kim Novak
Bottom: Eva Marie Saint, Janet Leigh, Tippi Hedren
Jane Wyman
Steve believes that H. betrays a misogynist view, but I tend to disagree with him. Even when his heroines are scrupulousness and merciless, they retain humour, grace, warmth, sophistication, passion and, of course, an outwardly beauty. Aside the most iconic H. femmes fatales, I was charmed by the co-protagonist of Stage Fright: Jane Wyman aka Eve Gill aka Doris Tinsdale. Her beauty might not be as striking as Grace Kelly's or Marlene Dietrich's {who in Stage Fright tries to no avail to outcast her}, but I found Jane a bundle of sweetness, quirkiness, cuteness and fun, exactly as we like it! Their timeless style has inspired tons of designers. Net-a-Porter online magazine recently posted an article on retro style and its futurist development.
Let's dream for a moment. If I were one of Hitchcock's divas, for this Xmas I would wear a Reiss outfit {high waisted tailored trousers and silk blouse} for the day and a Reiss fur gilet coupled up with the most adorable butterfly dress {by Temperley} for the night.
Reiss collection is particularly sumptuous this year. I visited their shop yesterday and loved almost every item. I set my eyes on this cardi, which, luckily, is not yet available.
I was so jubilant when I read that Rope, one of the best H.'s movies (if there is a best), was staged at the Almeida Theatre in London. The Almeida is a contemporary little gem in east London. Possibly, one of the best modern theatres in town. I shall make sure not to miss it!Monday 21 December 2009
Saturday 19 December 2009
Animal Beanie
I was looking for a cat ear beanie when I bumped into deLux animal beanies and I couldn't help to post my picks. Apart from the panda hat {my favourite ever}, I love the raccoon with tail.
Which one would you buy/wear?
Friday 18 December 2009
Last Minute Gift Idea :: Panda Beanie
Last minute gift ideas :: LOMOs {from £35}
The countdown to Xmas is on: -7. Yesterday it was my niece's 6th birthday, and today my younger cousin turned 19. Two Christmas angels!
Because I am pretty sure that my older niece {who is only 7} won't be browsing my blog, I feel free to post the present we bought her: a Lomo camera. I would be so excited to be getting one and I hope she will equally appreciate this gift, aimed at stimulating her creativity, sense of space, visual sense. I have explained in another post how Lomos are all about framing the subject creatively and let the camera surprise you. The real surprise for her will indeed be the unexpected end-result:
Casual Chic Look for a funky New Year's Eve
Forget pretty dresses and go for a casual-chic look which mixes denim, sequined sweat pants and killer heels.
Photo by jennasauers + Trousers by Haute Hippie
Thursday 17 December 2009
Ice Skating at Xmas Time
The other day I went ice skating in Somerset House. It is such a great setting with such a great company {my colleagues and friends} that I can forgive the over-price, over-crowd and rigid time slot. I will have one more opportunity to polish my skating skills in January when we will go skating again for Amanda's birthday/Befana Day {Epiphany}. This time in Canary Wharf, amongst the skyscrapers.
Sylvia Plath Series
Totally in awe for Justin Fitzpatrick's series on Sylvia Plath! The sense of anguish and the mythological references permeating Sylvia's poems are visually conveyed in these portaits. The geometrical enclosures and oniric atmospheres are reminiscent of De Chirico's works. I am sure Justin was familiar with Sylvia’s admiration for De Chirico: her art-poems are directly influenced by the Greek/Italian artist. This reminded me to go back to The Estorik Collection, a gallery preserving Italian modern art, in the New Decade.
The Disquieting Muses
De Chirico
Mother, mother, what illbred aunt
Or what disfigured and unsightly
Cousin did you so unwisely keep
Unasked to my christening, that she
Sent these ladies in her stead
With heads like darning-eggs to nod
And nod and nod at foot and head
And at the left side of my crib?
Mother, who made to order stories
Of Mixie Blackshort the heroic bear,
Mother, whose witches always, always,
Got baked into gingerbread, I wonder
Whether you saw them, whether you said
Words to rid me of those three ladies
Nodding by night around my bed,
Mouthless, eyeless, with stitched bald head.
In the hurricane, when father's twelve
Study windows bellied in
Like bubbles about to break, you fed
My brother and me cookies and Ovaltine
And helped the two of us to choir:
"Thor is angry: boom boom boom!
Thor is angry: we don't care!"
But those ladies broke the panes.
When on tiptoe the schoolgirls danced,
Blinking flashlights like fireflies
And singing the glowworm song, I could
Not lift a foot in the twinkle-dress
But, heavy-footed, stood aside
In the shadow cast by my dismal-headed
Godmothers, and you cried and cried:
And the shadow stretched, the lights went out.
Mother, you sent me to piano lessons
And praised my arabesques and trills
Although each teacher found my touch
Oddly wooden in spite of scales
And the hours of practicing, my ear
Tone-deaf and yes, unteachable.
I learned, I learned, I learned elsewhere,
From muses unhired by you, dear mother,
I woke one day to see you, mother,
Floating above me in bluest air
On a green balloon bright with a million
Flowers and bluebirds that never were
Never, never, found anywhere.
But the little planet bobbed away
Like a soap-bubble as you called: Come here!
And I faced my traveling companions.
Day now, night now, at head, side, feet,
They stand their vigil in gowns of stone,
Faces blank as the day I was born,
Their shadows long in the setting sun
That never brightens or goes down.
And this is the kingdom you bore me to,
Mother, mother. But no frown of mine
Will betray the company I keep.
Or what disfigured and unsightly
Cousin did you so unwisely keep
Unasked to my christening, that she
Sent these ladies in her stead
With heads like darning-eggs to nod
And nod and nod at foot and head
And at the left side of my crib?
Mother, who made to order stories
Of Mixie Blackshort the heroic bear,
Mother, whose witches always, always,
Got baked into gingerbread, I wonder
Whether you saw them, whether you said
Words to rid me of those three ladies
Nodding by night around my bed,
Mouthless, eyeless, with stitched bald head.
In the hurricane, when father's twelve
Study windows bellied in
Like bubbles about to break, you fed
My brother and me cookies and Ovaltine
And helped the two of us to choir:
"Thor is angry: boom boom boom!
Thor is angry: we don't care!"
But those ladies broke the panes.
When on tiptoe the schoolgirls danced,
Blinking flashlights like fireflies
And singing the glowworm song, I could
Not lift a foot in the twinkle-dress
But, heavy-footed, stood aside
In the shadow cast by my dismal-headed
Godmothers, and you cried and cried:
And the shadow stretched, the lights went out.
Mother, you sent me to piano lessons
And praised my arabesques and trills
Although each teacher found my touch
Oddly wooden in spite of scales
And the hours of practicing, my ear
Tone-deaf and yes, unteachable.
I learned, I learned, I learned elsewhere,
From muses unhired by you, dear mother,
I woke one day to see you, mother,
Floating above me in bluest air
On a green balloon bright with a million
Flowers and bluebirds that never were
Never, never, found anywhere.
But the little planet bobbed away
Like a soap-bubble as you called: Come here!
And I faced my traveling companions.
Day now, night now, at head, side, feet,
They stand their vigil in gowns of stone,
Faces blank as the day I was born,
Their shadows long in the setting sun
That never brightens or goes down.
And this is the kingdom you bore me to,
Mother, mother. But no frown of mine
Will betray the company I keep.
Sylvia Plath
From the top left: Sylvia Plath and the Worry Bird; Morning Song; Portrait of the Sylvia Plath as Phoenix; Sylvia Plath and the Resurrection Blues; Sylvia Plath and the Burning Chair; The Arrival of the Bee Box.
Wednesday 16 December 2009
See-through Jumpers
Tuesday 15 December 2009
ickle and Lardee's Shower Gel
Not sure why I was inspired to write a post about toothpastes when I have to study a whole book on yoga philosophy. I suppose this is my way of digressing and deferring duties. Or I just wanted to share with my fellow bloggers my empirical expertise on the subject. I hope to be of help to ickle and Lardee to chose the right shower gel!
Jokes aside, oral care is for me of paramount importance. Last year I even tried the laser whitening with impressive results, and I am tempted to repeat the ordeal next year - the effects were excellent but the procedure merciless. Brushing teeth is an action we repeat multiple times a day, so why not make it an enjoyable activity? With electric toothbrushes has never been easier and quicker. If there is something I wouldn't want to travel without is my pillow and a travel electric toothbrush. Similarly, once you get used to a particular toothpaste is hard to look behind.
I first started using Neo Emorfom under a friend's recommendation. Neo Emoform is a salty pink paste but mild in taste and gentle to the palate. It was a world away from the nauseatingly sweet mint pastes.
In London I discovered Euthymol. It was an epydemy. All my family and friends couldn't use anything else and I had to periodically source it for everybody as it is only stocked in the UK. Euthymol has got a surgical taste due to a strong antiseptic: thymol. I stopped using it because I found it, in the long run, quite aggressive, but I would reuse it occasionally.
One day Steve took home Corsodyl, a new brand extension from Corsodyl mounthwash. It takes a while to get used to the slightly bitter herbal taste. Steve never passed the test. I, on the contrary, liked it straightaway, and it has been a must-have on my shelves since.
Yesterday I was given an Indian toothpaste to pass on to my friend. I can't taste it as it's not mine {I am only a messenger}, but my friend swore it's the best she has ever tried. I can smell a spicy scent coming through the tube and the box: it's pure extract of miswak herbs. Divine smell of orient...
I would be very curious to know which toothpaste you use aside from, say, Colgate!
Monday 14 December 2009
Sunday 13 December 2009
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