Ordinary icons? Stories of modern design

What started as a Boiler House Project in the basement of the V and A, organized by Design Museum founders Stephen Bayley and Terence Conran in the mid 1980s, was originally conceived as a pioneering ‘pop up’ museum.  But London’s Design Museum has ended up storing several thousand items, which will become a permanent display when the Design Museum’s new Kensington premises open in 2015. The entire top floor will be dedicated to icons of 20^th century design in a free-entry exhibition.  Meantime, from tomorrow, a snapshot of the permanent collection that will be on show can be seen at the current Shad Thames location. 150 items from the Design Museum’s collection feature in the exhibition: Extraordinary Stories About Ordinary Things.

We mentioned the trend towards ‘immortalization through fashion’ in a previous Curious Trends post - and, for lovers of fashion, this show includes a sample of some of the 400 pieces donated by Design Museum trustee, Jill Ritblat. Her generous gift contains items by many of the world’s leading designers, including Karl Lagerfeld, Issey Miyake, Ungaro, Belville Sassoon and Vivienne Westwood, spanning a period from the 1970s to the end of the 1990s.

The exhibiton showcases an eclectic mix of artefacts, but the fashion pieces on loan for this show - including a Victor Edelstein satin brocade dress and a Jet Set of St Moritz ski suit - are fairly middle of the road in terms of style.

These aren’t necessarily the sort of designs that would have inspired or transformed the habits of a generation, unlike the original iMac, the red telephone box and the Bic biro, which are also featured.

At a press briefing, Design Museum Director, Deyan Sudjic, was at pains to point out that fashion isn’t just frivolous – it’s functional, and a contributing part of the economy too.  “Design is not the same as art,” he also said. So where does art stop and design begin… or vice versa. And what exactly is ‘design art’? I’m curious to know.

Are you?

PS  Why not add to your own fashion collection with this curiously classic designer vintage Belville Sassoon dress from ShopCurious...

Bird brains and bird bands

No, this isn’t a post about Girls Aloud, though some may find their music preferable to opera. I overheard an interview recently on Radio 4, in which someone claimed that many opera goers don’t even like opera – they attend operatic events simply to mingle amongst high brow types and be able to say that they’ve been. Apparently, even so called opera buffs agree that the plots are often ridiculous and unbelievable. This sounds to me much the same attitude as many who attend fashion shows – I reckon most of the audience just want to be seen to be ‘in’ with the fashionable crowd at xyz’s show and be able to boast about it. And, in any case, the designs are often too ‘creative’ to be wearable.

Anyway, I confess, I was at the first night of Garsington Opera yesterday, courtesy of some wonderful and very generous friends. I’ll also openly admit that I’m not the world’s greatest fan of opera, though the magical productions at Garsington might help to change my mind - and Le Nozzi di Figaro was spellbinding. Okay, the plot is seriously bird brained and, on occasion, even Mozart’s music, combined with the voices of some of the world’s finest opera singers haven’t prevented me from nodding off during this opera.


But Garsington’s productions are different – cleverly staged and directed; fun, relaxed and down to earth – and all done in the most highly professional way. I was totally entranced all evening - and not just by the Count, played by rather dishy Grant Doyle (was that a chest wig, or is he really that hairy?) The voices were also divine, especially Sri Lankan soprano, Kishani Jayasinghe, as the Countess.




Added to this was a perfect Summer evening, which was lovely – except that every light aircraft enthusiast in the area decided to take out their private plane for a spin, creating a curious background accompaniment. However, as the sun went down, the birds started to sing. At one point there were pigeons cooing, I wondered if they lived in the dovecot in the gardens. Then, as the sun finally set, there was the most beauiful bird song from all around… it was almost as if the birds were competing with the singers for attention.









By the way, talking of bird bands, we’ve got some rather lovely new hair accessories at ShopCurious. Each of these unique, handmade feather hairbands is adorned with a curiously cute feather bird and embellished with original vintage jewels. Plus, these dramatically different fascinators are simply perfect for outdoor Summer events, like the opera, as well as wedding parties, of course.








It’s rather sad that this is the last year that Garsignton Opera will actually be held in Garsington, as next year it’s moving to an estate called Wormsley. I’m sure it'll be even better, but I guess the ambience won’t be quite the same... unless the birds go along too.


Will you?




PS Mentioning Wormsley made me remember to tell you, worm, that you’re the winner of our previous giveaway. A curiously conventional Reebok gym bag will be winging its way to you shortly. Hope you find a suitably appropriate use for it.

Hot colour hits Henley

Finally got around to sorting out all the photos from the many events I’ve been to in the past couple of weeks. One of the most colourful has to be Henley Royal Regatta. Last year I photographed lots of brightly coloured men’s blazers, so I thought that this time I’d give the girls a look in. Curiously, they didn’t seem to be nearly as colourful as the men (pics to follow later), though I did see a few arty outfits:

I loved Sue’s green and pink ensemble (left), which she said was purchased at a small boutique in central France. She’s obviously creative, since she decorated the hat to match, using a scarf that came with the outfit. Looks really quirky and unique, but rather stylish too, don’t you think? Elsewhere, eco-friendly green was also in evidence, as in this simple, but casually elegant outfit worn by Kirsty (right).










Chain store chic was also present in the form of a Karen Millen dress (and shoes) worn by Emma, right. Vivid colours can work well on a hot summer’s day - and when the sun did eventually come out, it was absolutely sweltering. Another girl I snapped (left) must have been anticipating the good weather – in fact she looked like she’d have been more at home at a Hawaiian beach party than a right royal rowing event on the river.














This year I also spotted quite a few art inspired multi-coloured numbers amongst the dresses – like Ann’s colourful Pleats Please creation by Issey Miyake, right. Katherine (left), whose father rowed for Great Britain, was wearing a geometric print maxi-dress.














Bright colours were certainly in abundance with plenty of reds, mauves, greens and blues. Julie and her mother, Audrey (right), definitely added a vibrant splash of colour to my day and I admired this polka dot red retro dress worn by Joan, who’d travelled all the way from New York to attend the regatta.













Although some dresses were duplicated, there were plenty of unique accessories - along with some very curious colour combos.











Jill’s dress and bag matched her green Henley badge (left) – as, inadvertently, did my grey-green floaty floral silk number, which I teamed up with Prada shoes, designer vintage YSL sunglasses from ShopCurious and some curiously clashing nail varnish to complete the look (see below).











Margot cleverly colour co-ordinated her art nouveau abstract patterned dress with matching accessories (above right).









This year I actually managed to see some of the races too - and that’s when a young lady’s foot caught my attention ... perhaps she was inspired by the ancient Greeks, or maybe she’s planning to row in the 2012 Olympics? I’m not really a big fan of tattoos, but this one seems appropriately cool for the occasion.

Are you?

Vintage girly gifts

To celebrate Barbie’s imminent 50th birthday, a group of French fashion designers created designs for new dolls, some of them incorporating tattoos and skull adorned head-dresses, worn alongside traditionally feminine and sophisticated clothing and hairstyles. Perhaps tattooed Barbie took her inspiration from Angelina Jolie, or Posh Spice … the one with the skull in her hair bore a curious likeness to Daphne Guinness (see below). I’m sure that no representation was intended, but it’s interesting how those in the public eye become role models whose styles filter through to everyday fashions. At least there wasn’t a version of Barbie that looked like Amy Winehouse – a drug-taking, self-harming Barbie may not be so cool.




Last week there was lots of talk in the media about feminism and the changing role of women in society. When I looked up the word ‘feminine’, the alternatives offered by an online Thesaurus included ladylike, womanly, delicate, soft, gentle, girlish and pretty – not the sort of terms we usually associate with the 21st century female. I rather like a bit of good old-fashioned femininity myself, so I thought I’d pick out a few original vintage girly gifts that are currently available at ShopCurious. If nothing else, they might give you a few gift ideas for Valentine’s Day.




Vintage powder compacts make a great unusual gift. We’ve got a selection, including a darling romantic enamelled 1950s original with a handpainted picture of the Eiffel Tower. Even if you don’t use face powder, these unique accessories look so pretty when you take them out of your designer vintage handbag – and they’re useful for the mirror alone. What’s more, they're very reasonably priced and well made compared to the nasty-plastic-cased modern day equivalents.



If you’re looking for something girly to wear, or perhaps as a Valentine gift for yourself, how about this luxurious Chinese silk and Mongolian lamb jacket? Perfect for chilly winter evenings out. Or what about a totally individual hot pink and orange embroidered vintage Voyage skirt – go on, be bold.






By the way, how would you define femininity? I bumped into the very girly looking neon-clad Pudding (click on the pic to enlarge) as she was about to board a train for London … she looks curiously cute, but are those clompy platform shoes, nose and multiple chin studs really feminine?

I'd love to hear your opinion, so do leave your comments.

Will you?

The height of fashion

Current fashion trends are all about contrast. The most slavishly style savvy mix cheap and chic chain store bargains with luxury designer brands to maximum effect. Those who are even more curiously clever somehow manage to locate truly individual or limited edition pieces that are not only original, but have a timeless style ... something that can be worn in ten years time and will still look good.

The trick to finding the best things for that eclectic look is to be ShopCurious, for instance you might:
1) spot something special and in limited supply before anyone else does and keep it in your wardrobe to bring out as and when desired, or
2) become the curator of your own vintage collection - finding top quality stylish vintage clothing and accessories in rather offbeat and unique places, like our website.


Talking of contrasts, the coming season might pose a bit of a dilemma on the shoe front - with both flats and stilettos as the trend du jour, which do we choose to wear and when? Well, you can always go for comfort, but unless you have fabulously long legs (think Carla Bruni or Elle Macpherson), you'd better make sure your choice of footwear is as aesthetically pleasing as possible, since the low heel option rarely stacks up in the glamour stakes.









If you opt for style over comfort, we have some very elegant vintage stilettos, evening shoes and strappy sandals that are beautifully designed, utterly feminine and surprisingly easy to walk in.

Not just real cute, but curiously collectable too, are several pairs of early Tom Ford spike stiletto heeled Gucci shoes from around 1996-7. These much fought over shoes were in very limited supply and subject to a hugely long waiting list - but they're every bit as hot today as they were all those years ago.

Look out for more sexy high heels arriving at ShopCurious very soon.
Will you?