Flowers, frills, feathers and fans

 

The Queen was dressed simply, in powder blue, for the first day of Royal Ascot. My own curiously cobbled together outfit comprised of faded pastel shades – I customized an old pair of Top Shop shoes with ‘found’ floral embellishment, which I’d purloined from a vintage hat the night before. Thankfullly, I found a pair of 'nude' tights before I left too...

I wore one of the 'mad hatter' creations from my extensive millinery collection, along with a Missoni (thrift shop) dress, a vintage couture jacket and a 1950s beaded bag,which was borrowed from ShopCurious. Amazingly, I didn’t spot anyone wearing anything similar…

Along with the inevitable red, white and blue, hat and dress trends on Tuesday seemed to fall into several categories: Floral hats – ranging from modern, nature inspired to old fashioned bathing cap style.

Frills (and later in the day spills) were spotted on hats and dresses alike.

      
































Feathers were everywhere – occasionally getting in the way.

One lady couldn’t get enough of them and took a spare hat along, just in case her companion didn't turn up for afternoon tea.

Flying saucer hats were also in evidence, like the ones worn by retro girl-band, The Tootsie Rollers (below right). 

And there were Far Eastern style fan-pleated numbers too.












As well as fitted trouser suits. One woman sitting under an escalator reminded me of Diane Keaton. Whilst another seemed to be wearing her pyjamas.

Then there were the fashion mavericks – like Tracy Rose, who never conforms to any style but her own. 

I also noticed a couple of girls with crazy tattoos. And, from afar, saw a fabulous pair of striped-heeled sandals.

    

After a fun day of fashion spotting, I pirouetted back to the car park. Next time I might even watch the races..

Will you?

PS check out men’s racy Ascot fashions in today’s post at The Dabbler.

Racing towards Royal Ascot...

With Father’s Day almost upon us, there’s still time to order a unique vintage gift from ShopCurious. Seeing as it’s almost Royal Ascot Week too, these1950s mother of pearl and gold horse-head cufflinks would be perfect if your dad’s off to the races.











Alternatively, for a more classic look, choose from our selection of stylish and sophisticated links.

And you don’t have to be a man to wear cufflinks – or to dress up for the races in curious style… Why not take inspiration from Marlene Dietrich?

 
 Will you?  

Jubilee jubilations!

 



So, the Diamond Jubilee weekend is upon us. My curious triffid-like plant has suddenly sprouted a flower, which is standing to attention to honour the occasion.

Nothing new for us Brits, but (as noted in today's post at the Dabbler) everyone is talking about the weather. It’s set to turn rather nasty on Sunday, just in time for the River Pageant on the Thames. Such a shame as I’m having a bit of a party. In fact I spent all day yesterday putting up bunting and shopping for my 1950s themed lunch/tea.










Rather than spend ages preparing the sauce for my Coronation chicken, I discovered a ready-made version by Sussex Valley, which I shall embellish to 'make it my own'…This will leave more time to get ready. I’m looking forward to wearing my specially designed Diamond Jubilee dress (of which more later).











I was also thinking that this curiously kitsch and collectable Swarovski crystal studded British bulldog bag from ShopCurious might be rather cool for the occasion too. What do you think?

Do you?

A vintage London Fashion Week

There's a fresh new feel at London Fashion Week, with a pared down, more grown up exhibition. The A/W 2012 offering includes more structured tailoring, together with some beautiful, high-quality fabrics, garment and accessory finishes. As predicted, there is also something of a vintage vibe going on – though I'd describe it as more Ye Olde England meets a 1950s nature-inspired mash-up at the 2012 Olympics. What completely bowled me over is the range of decades and cultures represented by the designers and their work. It only goes to prove that London is a veritable melting pot of cosmopolitan retro futurism.








Curious highlights include wearable art by Japanese designer, Ryohei Kawasnishi (pictured on the right in this group photo), which is inspired by the aftermath of last year’s earthquake: A dirt and dust-caked, matted tangle of recycled fabrics form jackets and ponchos, which are hung like pieces of decaying meat from gantries, bathed in eerily luminous, post-apocalyptic light.










































They couldn’t be further removed from Orla Kiely’s tea dance classics... Super-prim prom dresses worn with bobby socks that shimmer under flashes of light from a dance hall glitterball. Check out ShopCurious’s video here:

If there were more hours in the day, I’d love to share more of my Fashion Week finds. But I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until next time…

Will you?

Glitterati, glamour and mystique

I wandered around the National Portrait Gallery’s Glamour of the Gods exhibition behind two elderly ladies, curiously amused by their oohing and aahing. Like teenage girls unable to keep a secret, they simply had to know the name of ‘that gorgeous chap on a motorbike’. I told them he was Steve McQueen, but was a little befuddled, as his photograph didn’t appear to be on display… They were reduced to a state that can only be described as ‘gaga’ by photographs of the male filmstars and celebrities of yesteryear – Elvis Presley had them in raptures...

Sharing their excitement was rather fun, though the seventy or so stunning vintage prints from John Kobal’s archive are probably enough to get anyone going. Dating from around 1920 to the 1950s, the images are of movers and shakers in the creative and performing arts, along with key members of the Hollywood glitterati.





And they are beautiful. With a beautifully illustrated catalogue to match. Though we’ve also a finely illustrated photography book at ShopCurious: Filmstar Portraits of the Fifties (published in 1980), has no fewer than 163 glamorous photographs of the stars – introduced and edited by none other than John Kobal himself.










It’s strange, but today’s stars do absolutely nothing for me. Yesterday, Nespresso sent an email to ‘follow George Clooney in Costa Rica.’ I can think of nothing more dull – especially as I rarely ever drink coffee. Yet I could look at the glamorous photographs in this exhibition all day. Perhaps it’s about more than just glamour… I suspect being ‘godlike’ has quite a lot to do with the curiosity factor.

Do you?

Recycled retro style rocks

A staple of the jukebox, Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock probably kept quite a few teenagers out of jail in the late 1950s. Instead of making mischief, they were jiving away the hours at their local diner – or more likely at a youth club in the UK.

“The American diner has had a lasting impact on popular culture – influencing fashion, design and music – as well as our habits of eating and dining out. Diners also seem to be perennially popular with young children and teenagers…” Find out why the diner is still commanding respect from today’s youth in my latest post at The Dabbler.






Retro style is currently very popular and musical accessories are an emerging trend for the coming season.

At ShopCurious, we’ve found a curiously cool piece of jewellery that combines both trends in a fun, recycled charm necklace. Lovingly handmade by Jo Knowles-Lee, each necklace consists of a vintage domino, together with an enamelled guitar charm on a plain black chain.

If you’re curious to know what to wear to your local diner, I think this simple but stylish accessory would look perfect for a casual night out with friends.

Do you?

Woodland wonders

It no longer matters if your home furnishings are a little bit rough around the edges. Unfinished interiors are all the rage. We feature some of these in our Curious Trends blog today in an article that also focuses upon sylvan style.








Woodland colours, wooden objects and leaves are going to be very much in evidence in decorative art, interior design and fashion accessories over the coming year or so.






This fabulous pair of vintage 1950s jewelled clip-on earrings from ShopCurious epitomize the leafy green look, and would make a perfect gift for Mothers’ Day.

And, talking of woods, did your mother always ask you to try not to get dirty when you played outdoors? Unfortunately, dirt is an occupational hazard of being human – and it’s the subject of my column today at The Dabbler, where you can read about all manner of filthy things. I bet that’s got you curious…

Are you?

Accessories for the afterlife?

Are you planning to visit the forthcoming exhibition at the British Museum? From 4th November, Journey through the afterlife: ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead will present and explore the ancient Egyptian beliefs about life after death, via an amazing collection of artefacts and papyri.

I recently read that an ancient papyrus in the Brooklyn Museum served as a manual for a doctor treating a snake bite, though he probably omitted the magical incantation that would have been spoken whilst the remedy was being applied. Despite their obvious dangers, snakes were sometimes worshipped as deities in ancient Egypt, and mummified cobras have been found amongst the millions of other animals in great animal catacombs.





If you’d like your own snake charm, we’ve some curiously Egyptian style accessories at ShopCurious, from vintage snake jewellery to Thea Cadabra’s individually hand crafted, colourful leather snake belts and hand embroidered snake ties from Or Wot.









We’ve also recently acquired some uniquely stylish antique pendants featuring pharaohs and scarab beetles. These are original Czech glass pieces from the ‘Egyptian revival’ period of the mid 1920s, which are highly collectable. Also new in is a vintage 1950s retro mirror compact, featuring a pharaoh’s head.







I’m not sure if any of these will help you in the afterlife, but you never know...

Do you?

Summer gloving

Just back from Cornwall, where the weather was… well, changeable - to put it mildly. Sometimes Summer nights in the UK get so nippy that a pair of gloves wouldn’t go amiss.

In fact, I rather wish I’d taken along some of the curiously cute fingerless feather gloves from ShopCurious. Beautifully handmade in France, there are four styles to choose from – long or short, warmer jersey or lighter net. But the really unique thing about these handy accessories is the fabulous feather trim, which makes them perfect for day or night.







Back in the 1950s, young girls always wore gloves for special occasions – like going to church, or the theatre, or meeting the boyfriend’s parents. Nowadays, we only tend to see gloves at weddings, or when worn of necessity – on bitterly cold days, or by motorcyclists and mountaineers.











I’m curious to know why more people don’t wear gloves… and I’m all for a little more retro style French Summer gloving.

Are you?