Saturday 31 October 2009

The Sense of Scent

Perfume is a franchise now. It seems as if a waning B-list career can be slightly prolonged by the production of a generic, gaudy-colored perfume bottle filled with sickly sweet vanilla stench.

However, smell, as a sense, is underrated. In many ways, our smell is the most attractive thing about us - our pheromones betray our sexual availability before we've even made eye contact with the cute guy at the bar (or so The Scientists say). I mean, just look at Edward Cullen! One whiff of Bella and he's practically chomping on her neck!

image from fashiongonerogue


The scent we choose to wear say something about us. Perfume can leave a subconscious impression better than any fluttering of the eyelashes. We all associate certain smells with people or events, some have the power to revolt and some the power to induce intense nostalgia.

As well as being part of our sexuality, smell is also an intricate part of our fashion. We're drawn to different smells, some musky, some sweet, some floral, some fruity... It says something about each one of us.

I've been wearing Hermes Eau D'Orange Verte for a couple of years... Perhaps that tells you something about me!

No elegance is possible without perfume. It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory of fashion that heralds your arrival and prolongs your departure

Coco Chanel

Not for the Weak of Stomach, but for the Strong of Heart


A blog of kissing, hugging, confessing, obsessing, caressing, petting, nuzzling, spooning, gushing and expressing.

For those feeling 'bah, humbug' about love, just remember it comes in many forms... And that this link isn't for you.

Friday 30 October 2009

Weekend Playlist... No.2

Destroy Everything You Touch - Ladytron

Everything I Can't Have - Robin Thicke

Vegas - Sara Bareilles

Battlefield - Jordin Sparks

Bright Side of the Road - Van Morrison

No More Running Away - Air Traffic

Hidden Art

I spent some time interning at Sotheby's, and I was therefore in a position to see art which passes between seller and buyer, going from private collection to private collection.

This was the principle piece of the Scandinavian sale in May 2008, it's is one of the most charming painting and I felt lucky to have crossed paths with it. So, I'm sharing it with you.

Dancing Shoes, Helene Schjerfbeck

Picture from Sotheby's

Style Icon: Miroslava Duma

In a recent post there was a photograph of Miroslava Duma, who, until I saw that photo, I had never heard of.

After hours of stalking her on TPF, I am completely and utterly in fashion love with her.

Her smile, her attitude, her hair, her wardrobe, her accessories, herSELF. I am just obsessed. My boyfriend is both concerned and jealous...

I now get dressed in the morning with her in mind - play with proportion, play with the ideas of the smart with the casual, and most of all, BIG SHOES! I'm no expert at heels during the day, but the only way to learn is to practice practice practice!





Photos from TPF & The Sartorialist

Wednesday 28 October 2009

3 Fashion Blogs to Waste Your Time...

The Sartorialist

If you haven't heard of this yet, you've been living under a rock. Scott Schuman may well be the most influential person in fashion these days, certainly in terms of everyday street style.

Fashion Gone Rogue

A round up of editorials, covers and ad campaigns. The best thing in the world for the fashion-starved, budget-restricted student.

The Cherry Blossom Girl

Alix does accessible Parisian-chic with a little lifestyle thrown in for good measure.

Ways to Improve Your Life... No.2 - Write a Letter!

My best friend is drowning in work at Oxford, and thus over the summer we decided to be pen-pals. There are so many appealing things about letters as a form of communication, like the delicious surprise of finding an envelope with that all-too-familiar scrawl addressing you under a pile of bills.

They're never great works of literary merit. Usually we write useless facts about Ghandi, and stick furry animal stickers in the margins.

Nonetheless, the charm of a letter has never yet been equalled. So, share it with someone. Keep a stack of stamps in your desk and scribble random thoughts to old friends as the mood takes you...

The Little Things...

I love stuff. I have stuff everywhere. I hoard things. I've started to realise that my stuff tells a story...It's the stuff we collect that make up the collage of our lives.

The Burning Bush

The tree beneath my kitchen window has absolutely exploded with colour in the last few days. The trees are burning gold! It seems to me a sign that we should be ablaze, too! It's natures glorious costume change before minimalist winter.

And That's How It's Done...

Living in Scotland, coupling style and warmth is imperative. During my first year of university here, I fell into the rut of wearing layers and layers of sweaters, which, anyone will tell you, the easiest way of feeling hideous.

I just saw this image on style.com and, boy! I've never seen a cliché worn so well!

Is it the aviators? Is it the gilet? Perhaps it's the attitude.

This is Miroslava Duma. Allegedly, she is an editor at Russia's Harper's Bazaar, which, aged 24, is fairly spectacular!

What makes this picture even better is that the fabulous Grace Coddington, my absolute hero, is her usual fiery self in the background!

Tuesday 27 October 2009

Bottle the Beauty

I wish I could bottle the smell of this night. It is Lapsang Souchong, bonfires and Advent. The smells of autumn.

Sunday 25 October 2009

Ode to Autumn


I love autumn. It might be my favourite season. Weather here tends to be bright blue skies and the leaves are all turning to burned gold and copper. Plus the cold starts to creep in, which appeals to my inner-dormouse, making it acceptable to hibernate under piles of blankets, and cozying up to share warmth! There's something romantic about autumn, that the other seasons lack. Something about mittens and pink noses and Ella Fitzgerald which warm the soul, despite the crisp, cold winds.

Keats likes it, too!

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?

Think not of them, thou hast thy music too, -

While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying dayAnd touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;

Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn

Among the river sallows, borne aloft

Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;

And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;

Hedge-crickets sing, and now with treble soft

The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft;

And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

~ John Keats, 'Ode to Autumn

My penchant for this particular time of year might also be why 'Autumn Effects at Argenteuil' is one of my favourite paintings...

'Autumn Effects at Argenteuil', Claude Monet. Courtauld, London.

Body Beautiful

A couple of images to capture the beauty and elegance of what God (or whoever!) gave every woman...

Sketch by Kyle T. Webster The Daily Figure

Ode to Tea: The Elixir of Life

There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea.

~Bernard-Paul Heroux

If man has no tea in him, he is incapable of understanding truth and beauty.

~Japanese Proverb

Friday 23 October 2009

Bibliophile

People are motivated by all kinds of things; money, fame, power... My personal goal is to one day own a house with a library. I found this picture on one of the many interior design blogs I'm currently addicted to and just love it's bright, cosy atmosphere. No oppressive mahogany panelling here! A bookworm could quite happily crawl in and never emerge...

Weekend Playlist... No.1

Haven't Met You Yet - Michael Buble

You're So Damn Hot - Ok Go

Embraceable You - Ella Fitzgerald

Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons

Beg Your Pardon - Josh Pyke

Pocket Full of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield

A Bit Rich Coming from You...

Whatever your feelings towards The X Factor as a piece of broadcasting, there can be no two ways of viewing Cheryl Cole's massive hypocrisy.

To sit on a panel, week after week, judging the singing talents of others suggests that one's talent and experiences are superior to the contestants, and allow one a position of wisdom and worth to impart to wannabe singers.

Cheryl Cole, proof that money can turn anyone into a pin-up, recently released a single which effectively proves that, if she entered The X Factor as a contestant, she would be in the gag reel of the audition show. Does it bother anyone else that Cheryl sits in judgement on some truly talented (and some truly talentless) singers, and has the power to effect their careers?

If Girls Aloud is the standard of musical excellence in Britain today, then we really ought to be ashamed of ourselves.

Conversely, Simon and Louis are extremely successful in their fields. They're businessmen, they see market potential rather. Hence, Simon's pupils flash with dollar signs whenever anyone remotely talented performs. Simon and Louis, therefore have earned their thrones of critique. Cheryl on the other hand, provides two things as a judge on the panel: boobs and tear-ducts.

3 Sites to Waste Your Time...

My Life is Average

If you haven't already been on this site, prepare for your life to be changed and your faith in humanity to be restored.

StumbleUpon

This site will ruin your education. With each click, you 'Stumble' onto another site which, with your tailored preferences, you're pretty much guaranteed to love.

PostSecret

A collection of anonymous secrets. The whole spectrum of human emotion is liberated here...

Ways to Improve Your Life... No.1 - Build a Fort!


No matter your age, there's nothing quite as rejuvenating as building a pillow fort! All you need are blankets, chairs and a friend. Best enjoyed with a Disney movie and gummy bears!

'Everyone suddenly burst out singing'

Flashmob must be the ultimate zeitgeist of the late noughties. It is the ultimate smile-inducing show of optimism in a cynical word. The people who take part would terrorize terrorists with their unbridled playfulness.

Random pillow-fights, silent discos and posing as statues - a nod to the juvenile simplicity adulthood forces into the past.

Flashmobs are not just amusing to the participants, but also to passers-by. I recently walked past a man in the street who was howling out U2's 'With or Without You'. It was the most beautiful autumn day and in a moment which (very) vaguely resembled Sassoon's 'Everyone Sang', I felt uplifted.

In reality, the Bono-impersonator was probably drunk, high, deranged, or all three, but for a moment, there was song in the quiet, auburn world.

These spontaneous actions of playfulness are really a symptom of a world wherein sun must be made, rather than found. However, it is when people stop dancing, singing and hurling their bedding in public that we really should worry. Without sudden outpourings of silliness and joy, the darkness has won.