Thursday 24 January 2013

Winter Tale: At The Snow Queen's Table

 








 
 




 
 
The snow-flakes grew larger and larger, till at last they looked just like great white fowls. Suddenly they flew on one side; the large sledge stopped, and the person who drove rose up. It was a lady; her cloak and cap were of snow. She was tall and of slender figure, and of a dazzling whiteness. It was the Snow Queen.
"We have travelled fast," said she; "but it is freezingly cold. Come under my bearskin." And she put him in the sledge beside her, wrapped the fur round him, and he felt as though he were sinking in a snow-wreath.
"Are you still cold?" asked she; and then she kissed his forehead. Ah! it was colder than ice; it penetrated to his very heart, which was already almost a frozen lump; it seemed to him as if he were about to die--but a moment more and it was quite congenial to him, and he did not remark the cold that was around him.
 
Extract from The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson
via 1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 






 





The Outfit:

White corset: bought in the 90s when I was about 16 from M&S

White long sleeved top: very old from La Redoute

Vintage white lace skirt: by my granny from Kiki Couture

Vintage white fur scarf: from granny Kiki

Vintage white kid leather elbow length gloves: from granny Kiki, passed down from her mother or grandmother

White flower fascinator hat: bought years ago from the high street
 
White woollen scarf tied as a belt: a gift from a friend
 
White mohair scarf wrapped around hair: from H&M years ago

Faux pearl necklace: a gift from a friend
 
Faux pearl bracelets: Accessorize
 
Ponytail hair piece, attached to my hair to make it very long: from H&M years ago

Wellies underneath: Hunter, via ebay

 
 
The Soundtrack

The Caretaker: Patience (After Sebald) 



Photographs taken by my mother and by me, using the self timer on my cheap digital camera.



I'm delighted to be a part of Visible Monday, hosted by the lovely Patti from www.notdeadyetstyle.blogspot.co.uk, click on the website link to see her outfit and those of many others.


Friday 18 January 2013

Time Stood Still

 
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
One must have a mind of winter

To regard the frost and the boughs

Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

And have been cold a long time

To behold the junipers shagged with ice,

The spruces rough in the distant glitter

Of the January sun; and not to think

Of any misery in the sound of the wind,

In the sound of a few leaves,

Which is the sound of the land

Full of the same wind

That is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow,

And, nothing himself, beholds

Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
 
 
The Snow Man by Wallace Stevens
via 1
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Outfit:
Handmade vintage tapestry 30s coat: by my granny, Kiki Couture
Red 70s maxi dress: from ebay
Black polo neck: high street
Vintage fur hat: from granny Kiki
Vintage costume jewellery brooch: a gift from Mr Eve
Vintage mink muff: from granny Kiki
Painted wooden bead necklace: a gift from a friend
Red faux leather gloves: a gift from a different friend
Wellies underneath: Hunter, via ebay
 
 
 
The Soundtrack
Colleen: The Golden Morning Breaks 
 
 
 
Photographs taken by Mr Eve and by me, using the self timer on my cheap digital camera.
 
 
 
I'm delighted to be a part of Visible Monday, hosted by the lovely Patti from www.notdeadyetstyle.blogspot.co.uk, click on the website link to see her outfit and those of many others.
 
 
 

Saturday 12 January 2013

My Wardrobe of Wonderful Women: the Liebster Award

 
 
 
 

"The Liebster Award is for bloggers with under 300 followers and the rules of the award is that the nominee must link back to whoever awarded them, write 11 random facts about themselves, answer the 11 questions from the award giver, and then nominate another 11 bloggers and make up 11 questions for them to answer. It's a great way for new and undiscovered bloggers to meet new people, get more followers and find some blogs that they want to follow."
 

I'm honoured to have been given a Liebster Award by Mici at her lovely blog Muddy Boots.

In keeping with the rules, here are 11 'random' facts. However they're not all about me; some are about Kiki, Penny and my mother, the women who have inspired me in my life and my blog:


1. Although I loved living in cities when I was younger, nothing beats time in the garden or biking up and down the steep country lanes nowadays. 

.




2. I'm mad about meat pies, and make them for supper as a special treat whenever I can find an excuse. Steak pie is the pinnacle of pies, with chicken and leek coming a close second. I do a lot of baking, hence my baking blog Idle Bakes.





3. Granny Kiki patiently tried to teach me many of her seamstress skills when I was growing up. Sadly I'm a terrible physical klutz and never managed to learn more than how to sew a button.



Coat one of Kiki's designs for Kiki Couture.



4. I was once chatted up by the comedian David Walliams, in the years before he met Lara Stone of course, whilst wearing the furry outfit I blogged in my post Dreaming of a White Christmas. I was already with Mr Eve so nowt could come of it, and let me tell you, Mr Walliams isn't a patch on Mr Eve.





5. I am drawn to the darkness, romance and comedy of ancient folklore and fairytales, those narrated by the Brothers Grimm especially.



18th century Provencal cloak, family heirloom.




6. I didn't learn to apply foundation to my face until I was in my thirties, and still rarely wear it as it irritates my skin. I've not had my hair cut for over five years. It appears to be self regulating and stops growing at a certain length which saves me money at the hairdressers.



In my twenties, wearing a vintage lace dress.



7. As a child, my late granny Kiki was the inspiration for Cicely Mary Barker's Bluebell Fairy, and she is immortalised in the flower fairy illustration. Although in Barker's prose accompanying the illustration the Bluebell fairy is depicted as masculine, which I hope didn't offend the ten-or-so year old Kiki too much. Barker would visit Kiki's primary school to find all the faces she needed to populate her now famous flower fairy series.


Kiki the Bluebell Fairy





Kiki with my grandfather in their twenties, around the time she started her couture label Kiki Couture.



8. My late granny Penny spent some of the years of her childhood in an orphanage, which was a very tough experience. Despite her petite stature, she went on to become a lieutenant in the army during the 2nd World War. 




Penny in her twenties.



9. My dear mother used to be a picture restorer until she had her children. She fell for my father at a party: their eyes met over a plate of chicken. Greed and skinny genes run in the family.



My parents in their early twenties.



10. I used to work as an artist's model in my early twenties. It encouraged me to feel confident and comfortable in my body.



Ballgown one of Kiki's designs for Kiki Couture



11. I feel strongly that kindness and playfulness are underrated adult qualities in our society. So much time is spent wanting and regretting that it's easy to forget to feel whatever we feel in the here and now.



 Wearing another dress by Kiki Couture for a Mad Tea Party at Idle Bakes



My answers to the questions from Mici at Muddy Boots:

1. Listening to the radio or watching TV? Listening to the radio and watching dvds.

2. Swimming in the sea or in the pool? In the sea.

3. Even numbers or odd? Even.

4. Travel back in time or into the future? Both would be fun, but enjoying the present is best of all.

5. Are you a night owl or an early bird? Night owl.

6. Which skill would you like to learn? To learn the tango.

7. Moths or Butterflies? Butterflies.

8. Telepathy or Telekenesis?  Neither, Mindfulness is preferable.

9. What is your dream destination to visit one day? Taking the slow train to Florence, Italy would be wonderful.

10. Rather design a rollercoaster or a bridge? A bridge.

11. What is your favourite way to spend a Sunday morning? Having a lazy lie-in with my man and our cat.






Here are 11 blogs which I enjoy reading, all of which have a readership of less than 300:

Dylan's Dress
Little Low Heavens
Pastries & Sweets
Ruby Armoire
Custard Heart Vintage
So Past Caring
Advantage In Vintage
Ladylike Delicacy
Art, Clothes & Contemplations
The Taxonomy Of My Wardrobe
Hippy At Heart

But they're just the tip of the iceberg, for a comprehensive list of all the great blogs I read, see the list to the left of this post.






11 questions I'd like to ask the above bloggers:

1. As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

2. What's your favourite novel?

3. Which person from your past (relative or another kind figure) has had the most positive impact on your life?

4. What are your character strengths?

5. And your character flaws?

6. What would be your dream meal?

7. How do you show people that you love them?

8. What's your way of coping when times are hard?

9. What talents do you have that you wish to encourage in yourself?

10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years time?

11. What was the last thing that made you smile?



 
 
 
The Soundtrack
 
Cinematic Orchestra: To Build A Home
 
 

I'm delighted to be a part of Visible Monday, hosted by the lovely Patti from www.notdeadyetstyle.blogspot.co.uk, click on the website link to see her outfit and those of many others.
 

Friday 4 January 2013

The Wilding



 
 
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
Mary Oliver, via 1







 



 
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting –
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
 
 
Mary Oliver, via 2















 
 
 

 




The Outfit


 Mohair Hooded Wolf Dress: from Topshop Unique, in the years I shopped there


Black Slip Dress: at least 20 years old from M&S,
I've been wearing this since I was in my mid teens ( I used to wear it to clubs as a see-through dress with lingerie, necklaces and DMs during my adolescent Courtney Love grunge phase)
 
 
Black Double Belt: from a high street shop, can't remember which


Hunter Wellies: from Ebay




The Soundtrack


P J Harvey: Let England Shake
 
 
 
All photographs taken by me using the self timer on my cheap old digital camera
 
 
 


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