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?
As well as the boats in the Diamond Jubilee River Pageant, I was also lucky enough to get a grandstand view of the Red Arrows fly past – and a few photographs, though the weather conditions weren’t ideal.
After the planes had flown down The Mall and over Buckingham Palace, they suddenly turned around, travelling in a southerly direction across the river…
They got closer and closer…
And then they whooshed directly overhead.
It was quite a surprise to see the planes coming over so low – a tad
scary even. As is the fact that I’ve just realized Father’s Day is little more than a week away…
If, like me, you haven’t even thought about it until now, you may be
interested in the selection of vintage 1950s cufflinks at ShopCurious.
And, if your dad’s an aviation fanatic, I think these curiously aeronautical cufflinks would make the perfect Father’s Day gift.
Happy Father’s Day! How about a spot of auto porn to spice up Dad’s special day… ShopCurious has put together a selection of car photos taken in and around London, where everything to do with cars is suddenly in fashion.
First, as part of Westminster’s Festival of Sculpture, Lorenzo Quinn’s Vroom Vroom appeared in Park Lane. The unique sculpture features a giant hand, holding a full size Fiat 500.
Then, at Clerkenwell Design Week, sponsored by Jaguar, a number of top of the range cars were on display – including the beautifully designed C-X75 concept car (below).
I had my eye on something a little more eco-friendly. When Office Electrics pedal car came by, I simply had to try it out. It’s powered purely by leg-work, but there are solar panels to provide green energy for extras, like music.
I wasn’t exactly dressed for cycling, but it looked such fun aboard the pedal car that I threw caution to the wind. This video clip gives an idea of what it was like riding up the Clerkenwell Road on the curiously communal car:
Vintage cars often pop up at summer society events. A retro Morris Minor was on show at Chelsea Flower Show.
And this fabulously old fashioned Roller (below left) added a touch of character to the car park at Royal Ascot, reminding me of racing picnics from a bygone era.
By the way, a seriously cool car comes up for sale at Chiswick Auction rooms on 28th June – I simply love this replica of John Lennon’s hand painted hippie style Royce. Forget about Dad, I rather fancy a car like this myself...
I was sorry to hear about the flood of sewage, caused by heavy rain last weekend, reportedly killing around 20.000 fish between Kew and the Albert Bridge. When the tide’s out, I’ve occasionally seen the odd angler bravely wading out into the River Thames – a tradition that must stretch back to time immemorial. According to a local fishing club, The Wandle Piscators, even Nelson fished the Wandle (a tributary of the Thames), with his good arm, until his death at Trafalgar.
I can see the appeal of fishing in the event of being marooned on a desert island - but why do people, especially men, become so obsessed with this curiously uneventful pastime? I decided to have a go myself – in an attempt to discover the allure of the strange sport… though being a fair-weather sort, I opted for a deep sea fishing trip in the sunny Caribbean. Not such a great idea if it’s not sunny, but STORMY.
Bravely overcoming my strong desire to bug out, I spent several hours inhaling stomach churning diesel fumes and foul fishy aromas, as the boat pitched at crazy angles. The vessel was equipped with all manner of curious fishing paraphernalia, which the captain and his mate put to use with professional nonchalance, even when the boat was at 45 degrees in a squall.
Despite feeling a little queasy, I was determined to maintain my sartorial elegance throughout - but, boy was I glad when I saw the beach rapidly zooming towards us, as the boat accelerated back to shore at breakneck speed. And we actually brought in a reasonably decent catch - including a 25 pound Wahoo - a very tasty trophy.
By the way, if your Dad’s a keen fisherman, then look no further than these fabulous vintage fly fishing cufflinks from ShopCurious, which would make the perfect Father’s Day present.
Anyway, there was I thinking that a more sedate form of fishy activity, like a trip to see Selfridges Project Ocean, might be a little less dangerous than deep sea fishing – but my curiosity to capture these strange chaps on film caused me to fall off the end of the escalator:
There’s so much going on in London - I sometimes worry about venturing outside our culture-crazed capital, for fear of missing something… Nevertheless, next week I’ll be travelling a few miles up the road to attend Royal Ascot. I’ve yet to decide which hats to wear. I’ll probably find myself doing a bit of DIY decoration at the very last minute.
As florals are in fashion, I might take my inspiration from the finalists in the Florist of the Year award at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, whose theme was 'a day at the races'. They created these magnificent jockey vests from freshly cut flowers, all displayed around Tom Hare’s stunning 2-D willow sketch of a race horse (see right and below).
For men, one of the advantages of Royal Ascot is that they get to dress up too. If you’re going along, ShopCurious has some curiously appropriate accessories, like these vintage ‘steeplechase’ cufflinks, which will certainly set you apart from the crowd. They’d also make a great gift for Father’s Day, which is useful, since that falls just after Royal Ascot – so if you’re curiously clever, you can save a few bob by using them for both…
Click on this link to listen to James Delingpole and Owen Jones discussing Julian Fellowes’ assertion that posh people should be protected from unfair discrimination.
What do you think?
If you find the class debate curiously fascinating, you might like to tune into a forthcoming radio play: Money, written by top-class toff, Edward Bulwer-Lytton (inventor of the phrase 'the great unwashed').
The production is Samuel West’s debut as a radio director, and stars Roger Allam, Celia Imrie and Ian McDiarmid. Described as a cross between a Victorian morality play and a Dickensenian comedy, issues raised include social climbing, political corruption and abject poverty…but there’s a touch of romance too. And the discerning dramatization is enriched by music from the Endellion String Quartet, specially recorded for the play.
Money will be broadcast on Sunday 19th June at 8 pm as part of the Radio 3 Money Season. You can also hear it for a week afterwards via the BBC iPlayer, which is just as well since the 19th is Father’s Day.
And, if you’re looking an appropriately posh gift for Papa, may I suggest this retro-style Toffs 21/17 t-shirt by Fake London from ShopCurious…
Will you be watching Stephen Fry debating against Radio 1 DJ Kissy Sell Out in the first ever live-streamed debate from the Cambridge Union Society tonight? The motion is ‘This House believes that classical music is irrelevant to today’s youth.’
I’ll be tuning in at 7.0 pm, and will let you know my verdict after the event…
Curiously, I’ve noticed that classical music is creeping into fashion - in particular, alongside romantic Regency and Rococo style influences in clothing and accessories.
This is good news for men, giving them the opportunity to be a little more flamboyant in their dress... And we’ve the perfect musically inspired accessory at ShopCurious – a vintage silk and wool opera scarf, featuring an operatic music manuscript print. Useful, since Father’s Day falls bang in the middle of the summer opera season.
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