Earlier this year, lovely Veshoevius of the brilliant blog The Taxonomy Of My Wardrobe nominated me for a Versatile Blogger Award. It is now, 7 months later, that I have finally finished my post in response.
As part of receiving this award I have to reveal seven facts about myself. This blog owes just as much to the memory of the women in my family, and the clothes they have passed down to me, as it does to my own style and character, so I think it only right that I include some photos and facts about them too.
1. I'm in my late thirties, and the older I get the more I feel I want to play like a child and read (and write) fables and fairy tales.
2. Kiki lived into her early nineties, and her kindness and grace shone through her, just as her inimitable sense of style continued until the end. I took this portrait of her about a year before she died. In old age, with her couturier years behind her, she had a particular fondness for raw silk Chinese jackets in jewel colours.
3. I'm not interested in marriage, finding the practice archaic and unnecessary, nor am I a religious person, so wearing the exquisite dress Kiki made for her own wedding in my Bluebell Fairy post was a close as I'll ever get to donning a matrimonial white dress in a church.
4. Penny had a great sense of fun, a caring heart, and always looked beautifully groomed into her old age. A fan of the classic cuts of Jean Muir, she continued to turn heads and had many admirers throughout her life. She passed away in her late eighties. Here she is in her late seventies/early eighties, with me in my mid twenties.
5. As my dear Mother is still alive and well, thank goodness, and I want to respect her privacy, I won't show a picture of her nowadays, although I wish I could as she is gorgeous. But she'd kill me! Instead, here's an image of her on holiday in her early twenties, showing off those incredible pins of hers.
6. Like most Brits, I'm of a mixed heritage: being a quarter Irish, quarter Scottish, quarter Jewish and quarter English. I love the sunshine in summer, but can't cope in the heat, so you'll always find me in the shade of the garden hiding under a big hat or parasol and slathering on more factor 35.
7. I'm distantly related to the Pre-Raphaelite painter William and his wife and Rossetti's muse Jane Morris, via Kiki's side of the family. Planning to do a blog post photo shoot in tribute to Jane in the coming months.
Here are my versatile blogger nominations, each and every nominee a unique delight:
1. Mary Lou of Mary Lou Cinnamon
2. Kelly-Marie of A Harem Of Peacocks
3. Harlow Darling of Vintage At Heart
4. Vix of Vintage Vixen
5. Rosalind of Clothes, Cameras & Coffee
6. Jill of Tea With The Vintage Baroness
7. Judith of Style Crone
The Outfits
For outfit details of the images 2, 4, 7, 8 & 9, just click on the image number to go to the relevant blog post.
Outfit in image 1: vintage dress from Oxfam Online.
The Soundtrack
The Jam: English Rose
I am delighted to be a part of the next Visible Monday, hosted by Patti from Not Dead Yet Style, click on the website link to see her outfit and those of many others.
Beautiful and your mum aswell!
ReplyDeleteI'd almost forgotten that I was nominated for that too! Still haven't gotten round to doing a post for it yet...will have to try and do that soon.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous shots of you and your family, loved the seven facts as well.
Excellent choice of music too, "English Rose" is a favourite of mine as my dad used to sing that to me at bedtime when I was little.
Such interesting tid bits about your personal history. Thanks for sharing. You are so lucky to have had such stylish and vivacious ladies in your life. The backdrops in your photos are so pretty too. I'm loving that purple round pillow.
ReplyDeleteSo happy to have seen your 2 grand-mothers, such a delight !
ReplyDeleteWe know now where you get your pins from! and plus you look like your mom
My mom is still alive too, quite young - 71 - I will be 54 in Feb -
I still have lots of fun with her - and she's gorgeous!
My mom never wanted me to put her on my blog, but i won her through - she appeared on my blog several months ago -
Take care Emalina!
Have a good weekend
Arianexo
no wonder you are such an enchanting and beautiful woman with those impressive ladies in your family! and i really can´t wait you do that post in honor of the praeraphelite painter and his muse, i have so much adoration for pre raphelite paintings.
ReplyDeletealso thank you so much for the nomination;)
kiss,mary
I agree with Mary Lou. You really did/do have women in your life that are inspirational, not to mention the genes for your gorgeous gams!
ReplyDeleteSo many beautiful dresses, and the women in your family are gorgeous, each with such a sense of style. Lovely! xxxx
ReplyDeletelove all your dresses, you always look so fab and I love how you take inspiration from the past. a look that really suits you!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post and wonderful to meet those strong and inspirational women in your life. I love that photo of you and Penny. xxx
ReplyDeleteSo many lovely details here, like well-chosen gems or garments. You give a tantalising peek into the personalities of your wonderful, strong (and of course, stylish) family members. And then you drop that delicious bit of information about being distantly related to William and Jane Morris... So intriguing.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you so much for nominating me for the award, along with a host of other great blogs.
Surrounded by lovely ladies! Kiki and Penny looked fab. No wonder they're a nice inspiration for you. Love the pic of you in the snow, it's divine! xx Tani
ReplyDeleteI have just discovered your blog, I love your unique bohemian look, it is just enchanting! :) Hugs
ReplyDeleteBeata
I loved reading more about your and your inspiring grandmother and mother. Your family history is rich and your memories sweet. The gorgeous photos light up the screen, which is what happens every time I visit your site.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the 'versatile blogger' nomination. I am truly honored!
Emalina, you are unfailingly delightful. It is such a pleasure to see the photos of your grandmothers, both beautiful!! I can only imagine how gorgeous your mom is now, looking at her as a young woman and seeing her mother. You come by it all honestly, as they say.
ReplyDeleteI'll be checking out your award nominees. You picked some of my favorites and I can't wait to see the new-to-me ones. XXOO
thanks for sharing some private things ... i love to see some pictures of your dear family.
ReplyDeleteCome join in My First Giveaway!
ReplyDeleteHeidi x
http://heidis-box-of-various.blogspot.fr/2013/10/my-first-giveaway-step-1.html
What a lovely post ... one of my favorites of yours! Interesting to know more about you, charming Emalina, and I'm so happy to see your lovely progenitors! Knockouts all, as are you.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!
Oh my goodness, you can completely see where you get your beauty and style from! I am so happy you started this blog, it is one of my favourites and your family are just so fascinating, I love reading about them and CAN NOT WAIT for your Jane post. That is amazing!
ReplyDeleteIt was so lovely to find out more about you and thank you so much for nominating me, it'll probably take me about Seven months to get arond to doing my Seven facts, but I feel honoured all the same. xxx
Congrats on the award. I already knew you were amazing, but now that I see and read about your amazing lineage, I am even more in awe. Swoon!
ReplyDeleteMany lovely congrats on the nomination! I adored getting to know more about you (and your dear mom), honey. Us canucks are much the same way usually, and I'm fond of describing my own heritage as a "Heinz 57" of different nationalities. :) (It's not 57, but there are a few in there for sure!)
ReplyDelete♥ Jessica
Emalina, what an incredible post! Such beauty, vision, and heart through the generations of your family's women, and thank you for these lovely stories and images.
ReplyDeleteThis reminded me a bit of you, xo: http://flavorwire.com/216829/rare-color-photos-of-circus-showgirls-of-the-40s-and-50s/