Halloween fashion and fitness fun

My efforts to avoid Halloween related activities over the weekend were thwarted. What I love about sporty people is that they’re always ready to make an occasion out of any opportunity, especially if it involves dressing up and having fun.

Even after two hours of Zumba partying, the fabulous folk at Maloca in Putney were happy to pose for a photograph in their strangely sweaty Halloween outfits.






















And at my local gym, curiously creative Terry (formerly a fashion designer) from the front desk had produced a work of art from a pumpkin, as well as re-styling the fixtures and fittings, with the addition of spiders, zombies and other corpse-like curiosities.






















Our lovely instructor, Kien, also got into the spirit of things by handing out horribly unhealthy sweets at the end of a Body Attack class. How thoughtful…

Anyway, now I'm going to try and hide myself away from trick or treaters for the rest of the day. If I wear a designer morphsuit no one will see me, will they?

Have a happy Halloween!

Will you?

PS Check out ShopCurious's latest Curious Trends post for more quirky, cover-up clothing…

Silly season curiosities - the Smiley ring

I was first introduced to Smileys in the 1970s when they came over to the UK as a novel curiosity from America. They soon became a universal symbol for friendship, happiness and peace – bringing with them the rather irritating strapline, Have a Nice Day!

In the ‘70s there were two main types of Smiley face fashion ring available. One was yellow with black markings for the eyes and smile. Some of these were ‘mood’ rings that changed colour according to how you were feeling. Hmmm...



The other was silver coloured and sometimes made from recycled cutlery. The original retro Smiley ring from ShopCurious (in these photos) may well have been created from a stainless steel spoon. It’s usefully adjustable, so should fit most fingers - or toes, if you're that way inclined.

At the height of the fad in 1972, apparently around 50 million Smiley buttons were produced. However, the genuine rings are now rather rare, so look no further if you’re after some inexpensive heirloom jewellery.



Anyway, the most comprehensive information I could find on the history of the Smiley appears in an early 2009 article about the film Watchmen, written by Jon Savage in The Guardian – and is recommended reading for the uninitiated.

Over the decades, the Smiley has had many incarnations from advertising campaigns to Acid House associations - and is now digitalized as the emoticon.

So, what d’you think of these perennially sunny smiling faces – quite cool, a bit of silly fun, or curiously sinister? Do let me know.

Will you?

The (curiously hot) dance of love

I’m saddened by the media’s absurd obsession with weight. I know there’s a growing problem of obesity in the 'developed' world, but there also seem to be a lot more people with eating disorders, or just plain unhappy with their size and shape. Having been through the whole dieting thing - transforming myself, within the space of a few years, from a painfully plump teenager to a bag of bones, I can confirm that being unnaturally thin didn’t make me any happier... In fact, controlling my eating habits made for an anti-social, miserable way of life.

I subsequently discovered a much more enjoyable way of maintaining a realistic and healthy weight: exercise. Always one to try something new, I’ve experimented with all manner of work-out classes – from Jane Fonda style high impact aerobics, to gymnastique aquatique, Bikram yoga and pole dancing (after which my legs were black and blue with bruises).






In the course of my love affair with energetic pursuits, I’ve shadow-boxed with WBA World Heavyweight Champion, David Haye, and qualified as a Body Attack aerobics instructor. A few years ago, I even joined The London School of Samba, dancing maniacally for seven hours non-stop at the Notting Hill Carnival, dressed as a giant butterfly.






The best thing about dancing is that it’s a really fun way to burn calories. The other day, my curiosity aroused by some of the strangest promotional material I’ve ever seen, (see left and below), I simply had to try out the latest craze at my local gym. The new Zumba class is a mixture of various types of dance - including salsa, samba, meringue, calypso and jive.







I’m used to jumping around, but this proved to be a much hotter form of exercise than I’d anticipated, though a lot more entertaining too – in fact, most participants found themselves grinning from ear to ear throughout the class. It’s great exercise for the waist (a tricky area to shapen up, that often gets overlooked in the gym), and is totally exhausting. I can guarantee you’ll ache all over the following day.






By the way, if your partner loves to dance, how about these curiously kitsch retro pictures of exotic dancers in harem pants from ShopCurious, as an unusual gift for Valentine’s Day? They remind me a little of the Ballets Russes costumes – like the ones designed by Leon Bakst for Michel Fokine's Schéhérazade.








This illustration, by Georges Barbier in1913 (from the V&A London), shows a member of a harem being caressed by a black slave. In the early 19th century, fashion was still heavily influenced by lavish theatrical productions, often based on Russian folklore/Oriental themes. These occasions were an opportunity to see scantily dressed women on stage, at a time when the difference between chorus girls and ballet dancers wasn’t very well defined.

Which reminds me of another enjoyably heated activity I’ve tactfully avoided mentioning …

I’m curious to know what you’re thinking of.

Are you?

A curious New Year in London

Once in a blue moon you might get the feeling that it’s going to be a really curious New Year. Then again, every new day in London is pretty curious. Here are a few images, compiled over the past year, showing just how curiously varied and original life can be in our great cosmopolitan metropolis.

This shot, taken by Goldfinger, shows the beautiful blue moon in all its magnificent natural glory, illuminating the London sky last night.








In early February 2009, it snowed so much that the city was brought to a standstill. I even spotted an icy cool igloo in Wandsworth Park. Yes, there were actually people inside (or do you see Eskimos?)








At ShopCurious, we're very much in favour of all things slow, so when I saw this group practising the martial art of Tai Chi outside St Martin in the Fields Church in Trafalgar Square, I had to stop and take a picture. Funny, I’d never noticed the quirky window to the rear of the church building before… very arty and unusual.






The East End of London has become something of a centre for edgy, fashion-conscious types, so I was really surprised to stumble upon an old fashioned tea dance in full swing, as I walked through Spitalfields Market. Next time you’re in the area, why not dress up in some stylish vintage clothing, put on your dancing shoes and join in the fun?

Here’s another one by Goldfinger, showing the spectacular fireworks over the London Eye, as they lit up Big Ben at midnight.

Wherever you are in the world, I hope you have the best and most Curious New Year ever.


Will you?

Turkey days

Trying out timeless recipes to use up leftovers can be fun – just imagine you’re on Masterchef, with a limited time-frame to create something exotic from the few bits of bird left on the bone. My father became expert at this – in around 20 minutes, he could create a really delicious meal from left-over turkey. It was probably the only cooking he ever did at the time – a once a year show-off dish for the one day when he wasn’t too busy working, or out playing sport, (or whatever else he got up to – probably best not to ask).








When queried about this recipe, which I recall was very tomatoey, (a vision of him standing with an upturned tomato ketchup bottle over a pan sticks in my mind) – he claimed that only fresh tomatoes were used for the dish, saying he never added any extra tomato sauce…











Dad's signature dish was adapated from a recipe for 'chicken pilaff' that he got from a rather funny old book called the Good Cook’s Encyclopedia by Pamela Fry. The sepia coloured, food stained pages of my parents’ original 1962 copy tell their own story.





According to my recollection, no doubt swayed by a large dose of nostalgia, Dad's post-Christmas turkey pilaf(f?) tasted utterly divine. It’s the best comfort food ever - and will definitely prevent you from getting scurvy, (especially if topped up with extra tomato paste and/or ketchup).


In the 1970s, pudding afterwards might have consisted of an ample slice of lemon meringue pie, (also packed with Vitamin C and great for keeping Winter colds at bay). I haven’t had lemon curd for years, but if you bought more lemons than were required over the holidays, why not transform them into a delicious lemon preserve? You could even show them off in an arty retro perspex preserve pot, like the one shown below, that’s available from ShopCurious.






Messing about in the kitchen can be curiously creative, and much more fulfilling than snoozing in front of the TV – especially when you get to enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Will you?

Timeless city style...

Our cities are in a constant state of flux. Acting as a hub for residents and commuters alike, major cities are, by definition, ever-evolving through time…Yet, if we consider the history of art, architecture, design and the prevailing culture and tastes of significant cities around the world, we soon discover that their essential character hasn’t changed so much over the years. Each of our great cities is imbued with a timeless style of its own.






In fact, I was just looking up ‘timeless cities’ on the internet and, perhaps appropriately for the times we find ourselves in (and the time of year) the first thing that popped up was something called Timeless Jerusalem (beta), which describes itself as’A 3D virtual city of History, Identity, Learning and Fun’. Built using the Second Life technology platform, the website claims that “Virtual worlds are widely hailed as the future of the Internet.” This one proposes to offer religious and spiritual education and to address the ‘challenges of youth identity development’- whilst, of course, enjoying the benefits of a mercenarily monetized business model.



The second listing by the search engine was a book entitled Timeless Cities: An Architect’s Reflections on Renaissance Italy. Judging by this inclusion in the line up, fantasy hasn’t quite become fact yet, though if we believe everything we read, we’re rapidly headed in that direction - the realities of geography and nature willing! By the way, if you want a sneak preview of our virtual future, I’d recommend you take a look at what the Metaverse Roadmap envisages for us.






Anyway, all this is a rather long-winded introduction to the rather curious, eco-friendly ‘city rings’ that are currently available at ShopCurious. Each of these fantastical creations is made from ‘found objects’ coated in silver and gold, with semi-precious additions to the otherwise quirky array of components - including pencil sharpeners, bottle tops and hair slides. The rings are the uniquely arty interpretation of famous cities, according to innovative young jewellery designer, Alina Jessipovich.




I’ll leave you to work out which cities are represented…and to make your own conclusions as to whether their style is truly timeless.

Will you?

Hot lips

Girls, it doesn't really matter whether you're braving out the depressingly damp weather in the UK for your hols, or searching for sunshine elsewhere, so long as you look glam and have fun. Here's Diana Dors looking curiously chic in Cannes - a rather stylish place to hang out. And Marilyn Monroe, romping amidst the waves, definitely appears to be enjoying herself.



The 1950s was a very glamorous era, when the fashion was for ladies to look like film stars at all times. Hollywood sirens of the day probably knew about the original colour change longstay lipstick called Magic Lips - a secret formula lipstain that changes colour according to your individual pH level. It's been available to the public now for over 20 years, but how it exactly works remains a mystery. If you're curious to discover what hot colour they'll make your lips, I suggest you invest in a set of 8 colour matching lipsticks from ShopCurious, where they're available at a very special price.


Believe me, this rather eclectic mix of colours will turn into hot shades of pink, red, peach or plum when applied to your lips - and will make them curiously kissable too - what fun!



We've got another magic pair of lips as well, in the form of this unusual red lips bag by Timmy Woods of Beverly Hills. At the moment ShopCurious is the exclusive UK stockist of this uniquely pouty party piece, which was carried by Carrie (excuse the cheesy pun) in an episode of Sex and the City.




Talking of movie stars, I think that Sex and the City's Samantha could also do with a red lips bag - when she's on holiday in the film she looks ever glamorous in her vintage style swimsuit, but she could definitely do with a bit of cheering up.

Smile and say cheese...
Will you?