So many lovely comments from everyone on 'I Capture the Castle' that I re-read it, in between couture shows in Paris. The clothes on the catwalk were amazing -- clouds of frothy pastels and cream tulle at Chanel, like spring blossoms -- and then Dodie Smith reminded me of why clothes matter; of the desire and frustration that they elicit; of what they reveal of us, as well as what they cover up.
There were no green arms in Paris, but plenty of fur coats in the freezing wind. A chic Parisian friend of mine said, 'why is it that Englishwomen only ever wear vintage fur?' I said, because we feel guilty. She said, oh, so typical of the British.
My top style-tip from the front row: woolly grey tights that could have come from the John Lewis schools department. Truly. You read it here first...
9 comments:
I love that image of spring blossoms on the catwalk. It reminds me, again and again, that Chanel has two faces: the streamlined suits and jerseys for day, and the lighter-than-air laces and tulles for evening.
(I remember an article in American Vogue, years ago, when Lagerfeld said he was inspired by "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" - from films he only liked images, and from books only titles).
Today was suddenly chilly, and I was glad of my lightly padded coat, as soft as a sleeping bag, on the walk to work. No thick grey tights; this winter I have been wearing skinny jeans tucked into slightly battered knee-high leather boots, for warmth.
This post has made me laugh very loudly. I am a Dodie Smith loving vintage fur coat owning Englishwoman living in Paris.... I have also just suggested Rebecca which is one of my favourite books as my English contribution to my international book group... so now I am going to have to read "Daphne" as well. Enjoyed your blog, looking forward to reading more!
Ah, grey tights...the 2000s have left me with an abiding love of hosiery, and with good reason.
And those shimmer tights on the Chanel runway look a lot like the ones I've been seeing on girls in FRUiTS magazine for the last year or so.
So true!
I went to Portobello last weekend, the cold wind was trying to find it's way through my layers. The 'vintage' fur stalls were doing a very brisk trade.
Imagine - I was fashionable for all of my schooldays, and I never knew it!
Perhaps I should be raiding my 13yr olds school uniform drawer then. Grey wooly tights (M & S) with what though?
My husband and I were racing through the Boston, MA airport several years ago carrying boxes of ancestral china trying to find the flight home to Maine, when I saw a group of people wearing plaid flannel and down jackets and knew that was our gate. So we might live in the most unfashionable state in the US.
But probably because of this blog I bought a pair of red shoes which make me happy everyday.
Red shoes would be good with grey wooly tights. Skinny jeans and battered knee high boots v. good too -- it's what I've been wearing today, with my mother's hand-me-down grey cashmere cardigan.
I raise a cup of Horlicks to all of us who gather here this evening...
I wore red shoes - my Ferragamo Audrey Hepburn flats - to a dinner a few nights ago, and posted a picture of my feet next to the hindquarters of a friendly Dalmatian (looping back to Dodie Smith and 101 Dalmatians) who had her backside snuggled up to mine (as my friend said, I always wind up on the floor with his dogs). Immediately a friend commented on my photograph - "are those the shoes you wore the night we met?" People always remember red shoes. Perhaps I will track down some grey wooly tights to wear with them...that night I wore them with grey cord trousers.
Post a Comment