Inspirations
Category
Margaret Kilgallen and Her Bobby Pin
I had planned a style post for today and we were going to have a little photo shoot by the sea in the morning, on the stony beach of Toila. But J had twisted his ankle quite badly, so instead of posing in the sun, I spent the first half of the day in the ER ..
Alexander McQueen and His Savage Beauty
When Alexander McQueen committed suicide in 2010, I felt selfishly angry and disappointed: no, you cannot die! Not now, when I cannot yet afford your clothes! This was quickly followed by embarrassment and a genuine sadness, but a bit of that horrible initia..
Dior Couture Look No 33
It’s probably not going to come as a huge surprise to anyone that I like haute couture. It’s always been the case and now I think it’s officially my favourite show time in the fashion calendar: I used to prefer autumn/winter collections that tend to have the..
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
One of my first memories of myself is me reading on the veranda at my grandparents’ place – I must have been four, possibly five. As long as I can remember, I have been one of the Reading Girls. You know the type: precocious, slightly awkward, unseen by boys..
Alexandra David-Néel
Let it never be said that nothing good has ever come from drinking very expensive tea. If I had not been exploring the shelves of Mariage Freres the other day, I would probably never have learned about Alexandra David-Néel, a fascinating woman after whom Mar..
Amanda Fucking Palmer and The Art of Asking
Amanda Palmer makes me uncomfortable. I’m probably not unique in that, but the reason this reaction is somewhat interesting – at least to me – is that I simultaneously like her a lot. I have a general policy of liking intense, interesting, creative, kick-ass..
The Garden of the King
I am not a gardener. Possibly because I spent my childhood summers in my grandmother’s garden, weeding and watering, and didn’t want to see a growing thing in close-up for decades after that. It’s more likely, though, that I simply lack the inclination and p..
I Have Nothing to Cook
When people say they have nothing to wear, it usually doesn’t mean they have nothing to wear. It means they have nothing to wear that they feel like wearing at that moment. I have a similar thing with cooking. When I stare at the produce in the market and ca..
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
People have different ideas about what constitutes an entertaining book. The elements I look for include, but are not limited to: secret organizations, libraries, kick-ass women and spies. As soon as I read the blurb of Genevieve Cogman’s The Invisible Libra..
Pretty Honest by Sali Hughes
Either it’s almost impossible to find a good beauty book or I’m extraordinarily hard to please. Possibly both. But if you have ever seen a book in that genre, I’m sure you understand: they date fast, are often vaguely (or blatantly) marketing-y and the writi..