Inspirations
Category
Modern Dandies
For a person who blogs about style, I constantly underestimate my visual side. I don’t mean my abilities (these are moderate), but my enthusiasm for it and my need for visual inspiration. It’s mostly because I always think of myself as a words person first –..
On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder
This post could equally well have appeared under the “solutions” section: so many people I’ve spoken to in recent months – even years – feel frustrated with the current political situation, but powerless to do anything about it or just confused. This book by..
The Obama Book Club
When I woke up in the morning of 24 June last year, in shock, I thought things couldn’t get any worse, that this was the political nadir of my life. Silly me. Things can always get worse and they just have. I spent yesterday in a daze of horror and disbelief..
India Mahdavi’s Pastel Power
I had no idea that I’d been in love with India Mahdavi’s work since 2014. As soon as Gallery at Sketch London reopened after renovation that year, I knew this was a place I wanted to visit: full of rose pink velvet and chairs that looked like they were made ..
Profound Thoughts Inspired by the Modern Art Museum in Lille*
This is a completely unscheduled post that I wrote earlier today on the train, returning from Lille. It was our first proper visit to the city – Eurostar stops don’t count – and it was ridiculously convenient, taking about half an hour from Brussels. Lille i..
Lauren Elkin’s Flâneuse and Book Regrets
A good colleague asked me recently how often I regret reading a book. We had a long conversation about it, but the short answer is: almost never. As a quick glance at my Goodreads profile will tell you, this is not because I only read masterpieces. In fact, ..
Japan: Pretending To Be A Geisha-In-Training
If it had not been for my sister, I would never have come to wear that kimono. Nor have red eyes. There are many studios in Kyoto – and surely in other places – where you are made up and dressed as maiko (a geisha apprentice) or geiko (a Kyoto geisha), but i..
Pretty Iconic by Sali Hughes
Writing a good beauty book is difficult. I’m very much in favour of talking about skincare, makeup, perfume and style in every possible medium, on every level of seriousness/lack of it. But I often feel it works better in magazines and on social media than i..
3 Youtubers Whose Skincare Advice I Trust
Every evening (and by “evening” I mean 2am, when I’ve finally finished reading) I go to the bathroom and do my cleanse-second cleanse-acid toner-essence-eye cream-serum-oil-nightcream thing. During that time, I like to watch/listen to beauty Youtubers, the t..
A Dinner Menu Inspired by The Great Game
Every time I’m hosting a dinner (or a lunch, brunch, breakfast, cocktails, afternoon tea, you name it), my family becomes a little tense. It’s not because they think I’m going to screw up, but because I’m never able to simply host a dinner – or any of those ..