The future, written in stone?

Yesterday, I happened to be attending a lunch at The National Liberal Club, where I noticed this magnificent marble bust of 19th century Prime Minister, Gladstone, at the entrance. Innocent looking enough as a decorative work of art…












Busts are a great way of being immortalized for posterity, as well as adding a touch of gravitas to any interior. We’ve got some curiously colourful, contemporary examples, based on classical sculptures by Hacene Sadoune at ShopCurious. (If you’d like a bust made in your image, or that of a loved one, this can also be arranged).









Anyway, when my eyes wandered down to the text inscribed on the plinth below the bust, I was genuinely surprised to read Gladstone’s words from a speech at Chester:

“The principle of Toryism is mistrust of the people, qualified by fear: the principle of Liberalism is trust in the people qualified by prudence.”




How curious that the Liberals now share power with the Tories, holding office for the first time in over half a century. And extraordinary that partial control of the Government is in the hands of this minority party, which actually lost seats in the recent election. Does this indicate how far the parties have progressed to overcome their differences – or should these words act as a warning for the future of this historic coalition?

What do you think?

Do you?

Beyond love

What lies Beyond Love?
For Love never dies.
Love lasts forever.
Love transforms.
Love multiplies.
In the Lover’s eye,
ascending,
transcending mortality.
In the dance of the butterflies,
an ethereal coronation,
the perfect union.





Described by L’Officiel magazine as “one of the most original jewellery designers of her generation”, London based Brazilian, Marcelle Lawson-Smith is also something of a poet. Her verse, as well as her latest collection of digitally printed leather cuffs, are inspired by love’s power to transcend mortality.









Marcelle’s wedding to her English husband, twelve years ago, was an “unusual and elaborate celebration, with pairs of butterflies as its central theme – to represent eternal love.” One wall was covered by two thousand butterflies and Marcelle’s dress, the invitation and the wedding cake were all covered with pairs of butterflies.





Marcelle was also influenced by the symbolism of Victorian mourning jewellery when creating the vibrantly coloured pieces in her new range, which are available online, exclusively at ShopCurious.

In Victorian times, secret messages were sometimes hidden in small accessories. Butterflies, symbolizing resurrection (as in the metamorphosis from a chrysalis), were often depicted in sculptures and on cemetery headstones in Victorian graveyards.






Lover’s eyes were also popular as pieces of mourning jewellery, but some debate surrounds the details of their initial introduction to the UK. It is thought that they were originally used by secret lovers in the late 18th century – the Prince of Wales and Mrs Fitzherbert being widely cited. A unique collection of antique Regency curios, including lover’s eyes can be viewed on the romantic novelist, Candice Hern’s website.

Marcelle Lawson-Smith’s lover’s eyes are also based on William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 55:


“Not marble, nor the gilded monuments
Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme;
But you shall shine more bright in these contents
Than unswept stone, besmear'd with sluttish time.
When wasteful war shall statues overturn,
And broils root out the work of masonry,
Nor Mars his sword, nor war's quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.
'Gainst death, and all oblivious enmity
Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room
Even in the eyes of all posterity
That wear this world out to the ending doom.
So, till the judgment that yourself arise,
You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes.”


Will you?

Time capsule trends

‘Too fast to live, too young to die’ - the curiously appropriate final declaration of Malcolm McLaren’s life, daubed punk-style, along the side of his coffin... Seems like death has become the ultimate style statement.

Curious trends aside, we asked members of our group at Are you ShopCurious? on Polyore to create a digital time capsule to commemorate their life, reflecting their individual style, personal achievements, wishes and dreams. We were totally stunned at the response to our contest and the amazing standard of entries. The time capsules include favourite people, places, fashion, art, design objects, films, books, music, curiosities, feelings and the things most special to each creator.

Our mortality may seem a rather unusual thing to dwell upon, but none of us is immortal. So what’s the message you’d like to leave behind? Is the unique brand you've created on your website, blog, Facebook page, or through your tweets, how you would like to be remembered for posterity? Or perhaps you already have your own time capsule…

Do you?

Preserving fashion forever

On the eve of the Grace Kelly exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, I thought it might be nice to take a look behind the scenes. It’s amazing that so many of the style icon’s clothes and accessories are still in such fabulous condition. A few, including the 1955 Oleg Cassini designed dress shown on the exhibition poster and book cover (see right), are no longer in existence. However, Jenny Lister, the exhibition’s curator, was given a choice from around 300 stunning dresses, largely because Princess Grace’s clothes were so well cared for and looked after at the Palace of Monaco.








In the interests of gleaning some hot tips on how to keep the ShopCurious stock in pristine condition, I was especially curious to know where and how the V and A’s highly prized antique costumes and vintage clothing are preserved for posterity. Rather like a big hotel, department store or hospital, a large part of any museum will never be seen by the general public. If you ever get the opportunity, it’s fascinating to explore the enormous back rooms, where so many of a museum's treasures are housed and maintained.



Getting into the costume stores at the V and A is rather like entering Fort Knox. Apart from the security procedures, there are also strict rules about how one should dress and what can be taken inside the temperature controlled rooms. Opportunities to handle the garments are restricted to key personnel, who must wear latex gloves at all times.






In the past, fashion has been kept at the museum mainly as a record of dress style through the ages. Historically, collecting art and antiques has been a predominantly male pastime - anything to do with vintage clothing was considered somewhat lightweight in comparison. In the 1950s and ‘60s, movie costumes weren’t thought to be that valuable and were often recycled, or purchased by stars, such as Grace Kelly, after filming was over. It’s only in recent decades that items of vintage clothing have become valuable collectors’ items in their own right – and film studios are scrambling to buy back the costumes they created decades ago.






For fashion pieces to be collectable, it’s essential they’re in the best possible, ideally mint, condition. The problem is that most fabrics are perishable and affected by wear and tear over the years – as well as being prone to attack by moths and beetles. For these reasons, all of the V and A fashion department’s items are kept in purpose built fridges, each numbered and marked up with details of their precious contents.


However, some garments, like this 1960s Mondrian inspired PVC dress by Stephen Willats, are probably less appealing to pests than others.

All potential exhibits are catalogued, (some more scientifically than others), for quick and easy retrieval, when necessary. Here you will find everything from Vionnet to Vivienne Westwood:

There are rare Fortuny dresses, beautifully made and embellished clothing and accessories from the likes of Schiaparelli, Dior and Balenciaga, curious retro creations by designers such as Mary Quant and Mr Fish - and extravagant celebrity gowns, like the Elizabethan sleeved, Liberty print Bill Gibb dress worn by Sandie Shaw (see below).


































Upon death, most people’s old clothes are taken to charity shops, sold at auction or distributed amongst family members to be worn, or kept as heirlooms for future generations.





It’s great if clothing can be recycled and given new life in this way, but if you want your cherished vintage collection to be well looked after when you die, you might consider leaving it to the Victoria and Albert Museum.










I can’t guarantee you’ll be immortalized like Grace Kelly, but at least you’ll know your clothes will far outlive you.

Will you?

The immortal style of Hardy Amies

Sir Hardy Amies, who passed away in 2003 at the age of 93, is said to be the longest living fashion designer, even outliving Coco Chanel, who died aged 88. Amies’ style is synonymous with timeless elegance, and is immortalized in the classically decorated, chandelier and mirror filled interior of his Savile Row premises – now a museum and archive in tribute to his memory. I was recently fortunate to catch the end of an exhibition held at the magnificent house, celebrating 100 years of Hardy Amies.



As well as vintage designs by Amies, the show featured personal memorabilia, including photographs of family and clients, sketches, fabric swatches, mementos of events and original ephemera from his years living and working in the rarified world of haute couture.





Best known for being designer to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Sir Hardy was patronized by an international clientele that included royalty, film stars and the aristocracy.









Located in a street world renowned for men’s tailoring, his business served both men and women, and was very much the English equivalent of a traditional French couture house.








However, Amies was also involved with the production of rather less glamorous ‘utility clothing’ during World War II, eventually becoming Chairman of the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers. He was commissioned to create quite a number of uniforms as well, including this one for the airline BOAC.








Incidentally, the books you can see behind this mannequin are a complete set of original copies of Vogue Magazine, dating back to 1945. Apparently, the only other collection of this type is to be found at Vogue’s offices, but that is kept under lock and key.



My visit to the exhibition was by way of a reception, hosted by Fashion Group International (FGI), which has recently re-launched in the UK and is currently recruiting new members. Here are some photos from the event – including one of photographer, Mario Rebelo, alongside the Evening Standard’s outrageously dapper Maurice Mullen.


And here am I wearing a suitably eclectic mix of lovely tights by Bebaroque, plus vintage beaded bag, asymmetric quilted dress by Emma Cook and necklace from Biba (along with my cheap-but-chic chain store shoes). The fabulous hair accessory is made using recycled vintage jewellery, from a collection that will be available at ShopCurious later this month.

For more information about future events, plus some charming personal insights into the house of Amies, watch this short video of the speech given by FGI’s Janine Roxborough Bunce:

By the way, the forthcoming exhibition at 14 Savile Row is going to be all about Hardy Amies and The Windsors. I can’t wait…











And, if you’re a fan of stylish, beautifully made, classic clothing, look out for our Hardy Amies giveaway – coming up very soon.

Will you?

The ever curious child in everyone?

Isn’t it amazing how nursery rhymes are immortalized as they’re passed down from generation to generation? Such is the power of children's abiding fascination for nonsensical verse, combined with a pretty melody. It’s so funny how babies like to hear the same words, or tunes, over and over again.









These curiously cute retro baby prints by artist Lilian Rowles, available at ShopCurious, remind me of the lullabies my mother used to sing to me. My favourite was ‘Go To Sleep My Baby’. I’ve looked this up on the net and it seems there are many variations of the lullaby. The words I know (using my name by way of example) are:







Go to sleep my baby -
Close your big blue eyes
Angels up above you,
Watching little Susan from the skies;

Great big moon is shining,
Stars begin to peep,
It’s time for little baby Susan
To go to sleep.










If there’s enough demand, I’ll ask my mother to sing it for you too. By the way, she soon progressed on to rather more curious rhymes, for instance:

If all the world were paper,
And all the sea were ink,
And all the trees were bread and cheese,
What would we have to drink?









And curiouser still…

My Aunt’s name is Aloysia (pronounced Al-oo-ish-a) Waterbutt,
She lives down at Burton on Trent,
Every time she goes out on her bicycle,
She always gets her handle bars bent...

That one always had me in fits of giggles.





I’m not sure if this is just a sad weakness for nostalgia, but my theory is that childlike curiosity sometimes doesn’t go away - and can develop into a lifelong taste for unusual things.

Anyway, I was wondering if you might want to share your childhood favourites too – or perhaps even some of the lullabies you’ve sung to your children…

Do you?

A very curious egg

With Easter almost upon us, I thought it appropriate to mention a very curious egg by way of introduction to our new theme of ‘immortality’. For those who aren’t religious, there’s always the chance of an afterlife, simply by becoming the stuff of legend. Legendary figures such as dragons certainly seem to live forever.

Our latest curiosity is a genuine - okay, original vintage ceramic, dragon’s egg. This characterful little fellow comes courtesy of Chessell Pottery: a small concern, started in 1978, in a converted barn in the Isle of Wight, by John and Sheila Francis. Formerly lecturers in ceramics at the Commonwealth Universities of East and West Africa, the duo's designs are largely based on observations from nature. The hatching dragon was especially introduced for the 2000 Millennium year. (Incidentally, the next Year of the Dragon will be in 2012).




This quirky ornamental piece is guaranteed a very long shelf life. From dragons mentioned in Babylonian and Assyrian texts dating as far back as the 2nd Millennium BC, to the legend of St George and the Dragon – and even modern day computer games, let alone The Dragons’ Den - the legend of the dragon most definitely lives on, and on, and on...

Dragons have been treated in literature and popular culture with a mixture of fear and amusement. Written by Lewis Carroll in the late 19th century, Jabberwocky (below) from 'Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There', describes one of the most curious dragons of all time. As Alice says of the poem, “Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas - only I don't exactly know what they are!”

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.


"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.


'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Take a peek at this curiously camp, though somewhat scary, clip from Alice in Wonderland c.1983. I’d like to know what's lurking inside that carefully gift-wrapped box. I suspect it may be a very unusual little egg from ShopCurious, that's just about to hatch...

Do you?