Rainy days...and Mondays

As I woke up to water leaking through my bedroom ceiling, I was reminded of my mother. She had an old cassette of The Carpenters that she insisted on playing in her clapped out old car - and Rainy Days and Mondays was her favourite track. I used to find this an intolerably unhappy song, but not any more.

My mother inherited a small selection of 8-track cassette tapes with her long defunct and impossibly un-stylish Vauxhall Viva car. On wet and miserable evenings, after working all day, she would pick me up at the railway station to give me driving lessons. I cringed in embarrassment at being seen in 'The Yellow Peril', as we listened together to The Carpenters.





As soon as the Rainy Days song started, I would whinge and moan about it being sad and depressing…However, due to some quirky fault of the car's electrical wiring, the play-speed of the cassette tape was unaccountably connected to the acceleration of the car. As the car went faster, so did the music, and Karen Carpenter sounded like she was on helium – and when we slowed down, her voice went into bass pitched slow motion. As the speed of the song changed, I became helpless with laughter - it was the most hilariously funny thing ever. My mother and I spent the dreaded driving sessions in fits of giggles, though it took me three further driving instructors and four attempts to finally pass my test (no women driver or blonde jokes please).





I grew to love the Carpenters' songs, even though they remind me of my mother. I know it’s horribly cheesy and sentimental but ‘We’ve only just begun’ reminds me of our journey through life together – and the fact that we both still have so much to learn. I think it’s a blessing that those of us who go through life being ‘strangers in many ways’ can find that our love grows through our mutual enjoyment of music – and its transcendence over the monotonous drudgery of everyday life.



They say that when a parent dies, you become more like them. Whilst I appreciate there may be some basis of evidence for this morbid prospect, my mother is thankfully still alive. Before she goes, I’d like her to know that, if I were to choose some funeral music for her, there’d be nothing more fitting than something by the Carpenters. I know she has a curious affection for the MacArthur Park song, ‘Someone Left the Cake out in the Rain’ – and I have fond recollections of making fairy and butterfly cakes with her (most probably on rainy days)...



But, as I get older, there does seem to be some sort of mother-daughter role reversal taking place and I find the words ‘From the day that you were born the angels got together and decided to create a dream come true, so they sprinkled moon dust in your hair and golden stardust in your eyes of blue' curiously appropriate.

Apologies for being overcome by nostaliga, when what I meant to do was to mention this Carpenters' era vintage 1970s Lucite disco bag from ShopCurious, which looks as though it’s been sprinkled with glittering golden dust.

Life is a curious thing and sparkly accessories are just the thing to cheer us up on rainy days... And, how about introducing musical Mondays, where we all share our favourite recordings – we’ve got ‘so much to say’ and our ‘love may grow, for all we know.’

Will you?

Maps re-fashioned

The fashion for maps has changed somewhat over the years, to say the least. I remember learning all the symbols on Ordnance Survey maps in my geography lessons at school – a far cry from the earliest cartographical representations of the ‘flat world’ – and now, of course, we have have satellite GPS and digital services, such as Google Maps.







Some might question the need for a physical map in this day and age, but most ‘sat nav’ systems seem to be far from perfect. The version in my car is pretty useless, so I still resort to the good old A-Z of London (though most of the text is miniscule and, these days, my arms aren’t sufficiently long to hold the book far enough away to read the damned street names).



If you’re a tourist coming to London, perhaps for London Fashion Week, I have a novel suggestion for finding your way around town. How about one of these curiously cool papier mache mini bags from ShopCurious to help with your directions. Each of the handmade bags is totally unique and made from original recycled maps.





The map of London bag seems to cover most of the centre of town, including key landmarks like Buckingham Palace and The Houses of Parliament. All the bags have a usefully long carrying strap, so they can be slung across your torso, keeping your valuables safe from petty thieves.








There’s also one featuring an antique map of the world, though I’m not proposing you try to use this when planning out your trip.





It’s been a bit of a circuitous route, but I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce our new theme: For the next month or so, I’ll be focusing on the topic of ‘memories’. Trying to be a bit clever, I looked up ‘memory map’ on the internet – apparently there’s a course on ‘memory mapping’ as part of the MA in Creative Writing at the University of Essex.






However, memories of place (where you were born, where you have lived and travelled to) are very personal. What I like about maps is that they are pretty universal and can be understood and appreciated all over the world, regardless of language or culture. Over the centuries, maps have been re-fashioned to bring people closer and closer together. I just hope new trends in the mapping of our actual location don’t impinge too much upon our individual sense of place and time…

Do you?

Zandra Rhodes and the art of colour

I’ve been doing some research on Zandra Rhodes to try and find out more about a rather remarkable vintage bag that’s available at ShopCurious. The shoulder bag in question features what, in my opinion, is the most extraordinarily beautiful design of a woman’s face, (shown right) – surely this is one of those iconic images in fashion?







The colour that most people would associate with Ms Rhodes is probably the shocking pink shade of her hair. However, her incredibly arty textiles often display a riot of garish colours in surprisingly unexpected combinations. Zandra Rhodes isn’t just a fashion designer, she’s an artist, using cloth as her canvas - and every piece she creates is a unique and timeless work of art.









I found these photos of garments featuring Zandra’s famous ‘Chevron Shawl’ print in a highly recommended book – Zandra Rhodes: a lifelong love affair with textiles. Click on the pics to enlarge.













I’m sure this must be the same print that appears on the ‘painted lady bag’, suggesting that it was designed around 1970 and that it’s highly collectable.










By the way, I think Zandra Rhodes is a creative genius and a living legend.

Do you?

Bags (and pots) of gold

Not quite done with gold yet – one more post left (did I detect a snore?) Apologies if you're totally fed up after all the gold you’ve seen on the catwalks this season, but I'm going to be so bold as to suggest that you seriously consider gold’s long term investment potential and point you in the direction of this very comprehensive article from the Telegraph website, listing 10 ways to invest in gold…





By the way, I’ve come up with a curiously clever 11th way of investing in gold – how about these vintage gold handbags from ShopCurious? They’re unique, timeless pieces that may turn out to be collectors’ items and could actually appreciate in value too - plus they look great and are accessories that will work with a multitude of other colours.




The bags are also very reasonably priced, though if you want to invest a little more we’ve also got a luxury gold satin evening bag with diamante trim and exquisite kid lining (left), handmade by top designer Anya Hindmarch in her pre-'it bag' days – and it’s on sale!

There’s no doubt in my mind that the fashion for all things gold is only just beginning to gain momentum. I was even tempted to go searching for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow the other day, when I saw this magnificent arc of colour (see below) on the South London horizon – probably somewhere in Wimbledon. The rather ugly tower blocks either side add to the dramatic effect, don’t you think?








Anyway, at least this colourful addition to the skyline leads us nicely into our theme for July. If you’re curious to know more, join me in my next blog, where I’ll reveal all.

Will you?

Handmade accessories with attitude

Are the best things in life really free? Unfortunately, Luther Vandross is no longer around and Janet Jackson probably doesn’t have to concern herself with such issues. However, I’ve a theory that cost is less important than putting a little bit of an effort into making something rather special: You’re much more likely to be pleasantly surprised with the outcome of a piece you've lovingly created yourself than if there’s no effort involved whatsoever.







And so it is with hats. This year at Royal Ascot, I added a few bits and pieces of haberdashery to a plain orange hat to create something totally quirky and original. Take one orange hat (in this case vintage Jacques le Corre), add an aubergine feather headband from ShopCurious, plus a curiously unique vintage stuffed bird’s head – et voila, a masterpiece of modern millinery design is born ... or at least recylced.







It’s really easy to decorate hats to make them stand out from the crowd. Lucy (left and with Emma, right) chose one of our plain black raffia hats and added some mauve and maroon marabou for a flirty, feathery look. Simple and inexpensive, but very effective.



I loved this Greek-inspired handmade design in blue and gold (right) – it’s such a classic, I hope they don’t want to appropriate it for the new Acropolis Museum. Georgina - also pictured here with her wonderfully eccentric, talented photographer husband, Francis - informed me that her milliner had adapted the decoration on her giant fascinator that morning so that it matched the colour of her outfit. Wearing unique accessories is all about getting the details right.


This retro-psychedelic-meets-space age ensemble (left) certainly showed a curious attention to detail. And another lady, (whose name I think was Jennie?) had a fabulous ‘50s vintage bag with real equine appeal. How lovely it is to see something that’s individually handcrafted and beautifully hand painted – so much more stylish and unusual than your common-or-garden designer ‘it’ bag – and probably a lot cheaper too.



I’m not averse to creating an eclectic mix that includes the odd, carefully chosen, designer accessory (like these vintage Chanel sunglasses), but I think that truly original style involves a little more thought, effort and creativity than buying the most expensive and celebrity endorsed items you can afford.

Do you?

PS Jane, thanks so much for reuniting me with my lost ring via the lady with the horsy handbag xx

Olympic comforts

One of the more curious pre-Olympic news items has to be the story about the regulation pillows that have been issued to British athletes by team officials to help them in their quest for medals. Apparently more than 500 "feather-like-down" pillows, made by Christy, Queen Victoria's favourite textile group and supplier of towels to Wimbledon, have been shipped to the athletes' village ahead of the team's arrival.





It's the first time that the British Olympic Association has issued pillows in the official kit bag. Simon Clegg, the team's chef de mission, explained that "Quality of sleep is so important, particularly for high performance athletes. Anyone who travels knows what impact a bad pillow can have in terms of pains and a poor night's sleep...They have had the opportunity to train on their pillows for the past fortnight". Extra long mattresses have also been provided for especially tall athletes - mainly swimmers and rowers.




What about the rest of us watching the Olympics from our sofas at home? May I suggest some stylish cushions from ShopCurious to help maximise your viewing experience. These unusual oriental inspired mini works of art by StyleCurious featured designer, Laura Berens, will ensure that you are sitting comfortably and in style.






If you can prize yourself away from your computer - unlike this computer addict in China - original, but rather sad.

Will you?

The ultimate recession proof lipstick

I read in an article that City economists follow lipstick sales to monitor potential upturns or downturns in the nation's fiscal wellbeing. Curiously, when things get tight, apparently (according to the Mail on Sunday) women spurn expensive designer dresses in favour of more modest retail therapy, which has resulted in increased lipstick sales in US department stores over the past few months - a time when other areas of department store spending have experienced significant falls.

Nicola White, 23 who works at House of Fraser department store in London's Oxford Street explained that although she was watching her finances, she still wanted to indulge herself: "Buying an inexpensive treat like a lipstick gives me instant satisfaction and lifts an outfit without my having to purchase a new pair of shoes or a bag which can be expensive".

We've come up with an even better solution to those cravings for luscious lippy - it's called Colorsport lipstain. It's so damned inexpensive that you can afford to buy a few at a go and still have change to spare to go towards that stylish bag or those smart new shoes. Even better, there's no need for frequent money wasting applications as this lipstick lasts for up to 12 hours.

This strikes me as the original sort of stuff that glamorous Hollywood filmstars have been wearing for years... And I can also personally vouch for this lipstick - the colours are fabulous and it really does work. But best of all it's curiously cheap and chic. Will you?