From the quintessential summer table cloth, to Dorothy’s pinafore, to Bardot’s wedding frock and the classic oxford, what’s not to love about gingham? It’s preppy and playful (like the hotel room at Finca Cortesin, below). This gingham check top is right up my alley, as is this scoop neck bikini. Just thinking about gingham sends me into holiday mode.
As a teenager, I spent hours staring at slides of Elizabethan nobles bedecked in pearls, ruffled collars and elaborate corsetry. Many such portraits were in the form of miniatures, as was the custom of the time. Beyond a penchant for billowy sleeves, this portion of my education has had little influence on my style. I was whisked back though when I came across Lizzie Riches‘ exquisite Elizabethan inspired portraits today. I especially like the ones where people are portrayed in Elizabethan and Jacobean clothes with a contemporary feel. This one in particular is a favourite. The floral fabric is beautiful, and minus the collar, a dress I’d gladly wear to my next lawn party.
A hot dog stand in Little Italy, New, York photographed by EVELYN HOFER in 1963.
Bring the garden to the bathroom.
LEA MORICHON’S colourful and highly graphic illustrations.
Scalloped curtains by COLEFAX & FOWLER.
KATIE ROSE JOHNSTON’s shelf of curiosities.
Women at work by Greek photographer, TAKIS TLOUPAS.
The Avenue of the Baobabs in Madagascar, photographed by PIERROT MEN.
There’s something about polka dots that we all love, that makes us happy. The more dots the better. “Circles and spheres are the most approachable shapes, with no sharp edges to risk injury. Our emotional brain understands this intuitively and unconsciously prefers round forms over angular ones,” writes Ingrid Fetell Lee in Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness. I recently added polka dots to my ceramic patterns because I know that we all have a magnetic draw to the motif. I think everyone should own at least one item of polka dot clothing. “Research has shown that people implicitly associate curved forms with safety and positivity,” adds Fetelle Lee. Here, Jean Shrimpton sports polka dots with a ruffled hem. It’s a dream dress, as relevant today as it was back then.
A new cozzie is always a good idea, even if we only get to wear it in the tub. The simple cuts and cheerful colours at Left On Friday are right up my lane. I’d like a Peak Suit, and a Party Wave top and matching bottoms to splash about in. Goggles, optional.
Sun loungers at Chateau Marmont.
Floral styling and set design by MARY LENNOX.
Illustrator, CECILIA CARLSTEDT’S poppy.
CHIHARU OGURO’S charming ceramic vessels.
CHARLES HOLLIS JONES‘ smoked lucite “arch” dining chair.
DOROTHEA PRUEHL’S wood, steel and precious metal necklaces.
Fabulous fabrics over at OSEI DURO.
PICASSO’s 90th birthday celebration in Vallauris, 1971.
STUART CAIRNS mixes precious metals with found objects like twigs and shells.
TAKESADA MATSUTANI’S gestural works in graphite.
PATRICIA RIBET’S Japanese inspired vessels.
The wonderfully creative world of designer, RACHEL THOMAS.
Women painting a mud house, Kassena Compound, Ghana.
Wicker luggage from New York antique dealer, LAYTON MULL.
If you’re trying to figure out what to wear this weekend, you know, to that garden party of five, consider a cinched waist and a boater à la Kim Novak in Paris. I have a collared agnès b shirt that I haven’t worn in years that would work well with a full skirt. The boater may be harder to locate, but anything with a brim will do. And I’m wearing flats. Maybe it’s the change in weather, but all of a sudden, I’m ready to get dressed again.
Facade decoration of a house in Kano, Northern Nigeria from PAUL OLIVER‘s book Dwellings: the house across the world.
Hats at the Kentucky Derby, 1945.
Ornamental bells by ceramic artist, AYAME BULLOCK.
The colour rich zig zags of LARRY ZOX.
Designer INDIA MAHDAVI‘s jelly pea sofa.
A whitewashed home by Egyptian architect, HASSAN FATHY.
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