I’m on the hunt for a sun hat. Even in the mort of winter, a few of my favourite Toronto shops still carry sunhats and muslin caftans. Maybe that’s why they’re my favourite shops. I love walking into a store when it’s snowing outside and seeing pretty cozies and dresses destined for the beach. It gives me hope. Soon enough, the snow will melt away, and our city will be green and hot and bursting with life again.
“If you’ve got nothing nice to say about a person’s outfit, zip it,” was my grandmother’s motto (that she rarely stuck to). The show of dresses at the Oscar’s on Sunday was dreadful. Heidi Klum looked like she was wearing Dame Edna’s hair. Kate’s Bin liner? Rachel McAdams’ ill fitting creased silk drapery? Of the hundreds of frocks on the red carpet, it was the fabric on Mara Rooney’s Givenchy that made my heart swoon. And the delicately pleated open back of Olivia Wilde’s Valentino. The butter yellow of Alicia Vikander’s Vuitton was delightful, too, and I really did love all that fabulous applique on Cate Blanchett’s Armani. But come on, Hollywood. With all the choices available to you, you choose this?
Last week, a lady in my pottery class brought in some vintage cream lace to compress into clay. I made a plate and covered it in large anemones from one of her crocheted pieces and then dipped it in a turquoise glaze. Now I am wishing I had painted it white. There’s something so demure, feminine and romantic about white lace. A long lace dress, light and ethereal, is on my wish list for summer.
Have you ever ridden an ostrich? Ostriches can reach speeds of over 43- mph and their long legs can cover up to 16-feet in a single stride. I adore this picture of Wenda Rogerson –– Norman Parkinson’s wife of thirty-years –– but I love the story that’s attached to it even more. It was taken by Parkinson on a shoot in Africa just before the ostrich bolted with the actress/model on its back. As the ostrich charged past him, he bellowed out, “more profile Wenda, darling! More profile.”
I discovered Karen Mabon through the National Portrait Gallery’s instagram page –– the gallery carries Mabon’s silk scarves in its shop. The Scottish illustrator’s fanciful world of pink poodles, flying trapeze artists, penguins, dalmations and bonbons is a sheer delight. Look out for me this Spring –– I’ll be the lady with fried eggs on my head.
I bought two new swimming caps today –– one’s a pink turban and the other is a 50s inspired coral cap with a neck strap. Between these and my frilly caps in turquoise, yellow and every-colour-of-the-rainbow, I’ve got quite the collection. Occasionally, I’ll catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I move swiftly from changing room to pool, and I’ll chuckle at how very weird and wonderful I look. Iole’s goggles, the blue ones with rhinestones, add that extra splash of weird. I’d retired the whole lot for a while, but it’s winter now, and I hate to get my hair wet. Plus, one needs a sense of humour to survive the grey.
Women modeling bathing caps with faces on them.
As Grace Coddington, the 74-year-old creative director of American Vogue steps down to pursue other opportunities, I am reminded of this wonderfully bizarre interpretation of the Met’s 2009 production of Hansel and Gretel. “For me, one of the most important aspects of my work is to give people something to dream about, just as I used to dream all those years ago as a child looking at beautiful photographs. I still weave dreams, finding inspiration wherever I can and looking for romance in the real, not the digital, world.”
I came across some antique moccasins today, intricately decorated with beadwork in geometric patterns and floral clusters. They were in a book on the Arts and Crafts of the Native American Tribes alongside a pair of heavily beaded moosehide powwow moccasin boots. It’s amazing to see such exquisite craftsmanship, such artistry displayed on something as functional as a shoe. Walking works of art is what they are.
My love of colour tends toward the jewel tones versus the sugary, candy ones. Think lapis lazuli and rubies over rainbow drops. But I am drawn to the colour-rich world of Emily Green, even if her online shop does feel a bit like a candy store. Her jewellery –– clay beads in tones of fondant pink, duck egg and buttercup yellow on leather cords –– reminds me of the candy necklaces we wore home from parties when we were little. And I can imagine her colourful ‘clouds’ print looking so pretty above a child’s bed or crib. Her lights are pretty cool, too. Funnily enough, here I’m drawn to black.
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Good quality sweaters –– beautiful Scottish cashmere, and wonderful knits from the likes of Barrie are worth investing in. If you take care of your woolies, they’ll take care of you. I think it’s worth investing in one spendy sweater every year, with a view of amassing a lovely collection as you go on. Black or navy is a must, as is heather or cream. From then on in, the colour wheel is yours. I would love to find a chunky cable knit in mustard yellow or dusty rose, and I can never say no to a Fair Isle. And if I ever get to the Aran Islands, I’ll go straight to the Sweater Market on Kilronan harbour and snap up as many jumpers as I can stuff into my duffel bag.
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