Musing.

Arizona Muse by Paolo Roversi for Vogue China, April 2011.


This has to be my favourite editorial in a very long time, I love absolutely everything about it.

The styling is incredible. My personal favourite is the lingerie from the collaboration between Gaultier and La Perla. The whole thing is so soft and airy, and with such an unbroken colour palette it takes serious creative talent to keep it engaging. This talent goes by the name of Nicoletta Santoro, who has worked with the longest list of awe-inspiring photographers, and whose work is always so beautifully elegant but still edgy. I especially like she has used flats for every look, which is something of an anomaly in pretty much the whole of the fashion industry.
A lot of the magic in this shoot is provided by Arizona. The brilliant name, the innocent face, the magnificent eyebrows - she's captivating. And here, her hair looks like she's just climbed out of lake, which I think only adds to her charm.
Of course it would be hard to be negative about an editorial shot by Paolo Roversi, but I think his style really stands out here, especially in the eighth shot. The way he captures her eyes looking so piercing quite strikingly reminds me of that photograph of Natalia Vodianova looking back over her shoulder from 2003.

What youth deemed crystal, age finds out was dew.

Earrings and Necklace, made by me. 

I managed to get some things done yesterday, which is hugely unusual for me on a Sunday.

I actually got a bit of my never ending pile of art homework done, although that did mean I spent the entire day in my pyjamas eating cereal. In the middle of this weird, motivated spell I was rummaging for oil pastels and I found a little bag of crystals that I had been generously allowed to keep after being forced to sift through mud on a school trip to Derbyshire when I was thirteen. By this time, my concentration on my art homework was waning and I thought it might be fun to put them to good use and I made these really simple earrings and necklace.

I know they're so very hipster, but I rather like them.

Sweet lilac air.

Silk tie top, Gap;  Tie-dye jumper, Gap;  Bag, Market Stall in Venice.

A real clothes post! A rarity, I know, I'm sorry. 

The last week or so has been largely bright and sunny, and everything looks so pretty in the light. I've kind of found myself drawn to pale, icecream-y colours, specifically lilac. And, of course, my absolute inability to control myself has led to a sudden swell in reckless, mauve-centric shopping. Give me a few weeks and I'm sure I'll get sick of lavender, but I do think my love for this bag will be pretty enduring. 

I LOVE YOU LEIGH LEZARK.

Because...

You do soft-core gothic really, really well. 

You make being involved in both the fashion and music industries work.

I have a soft spot for people with really dark hair. And I want yours.

You own those Chanel gun heel shoes that I've been in love with forever.

You are beautiful. 

Source; general googling. 

Inspiration Friday: Those who tell the stories, rule the people (Navajo proverb)

Sources; google.com, beemanjewelrydesign.com, flickr.com, medicinemangallery.com


My inspiration this week are the Navajo people, the second largest Native American tribe of North America. As well their rich and interesting culture and history, the area I find most fascinating are their two main forms of art - silverwork and weaving.

The Navajo people have been creating silver jewellery since the 1800s. I love the chunky designs which often incorporate turquoise, and I think the pieces show such incredible craftsmanship and talent. Navajo weaving traditions go even further back, to the eighteenth century. They weave on upright looms and the blankets and fabrics show brightly coloured triangular designs. I'm very rarely one for bold colours, but I think they're stunning. I also love the thinking behind them - that the common four-fold symmetry represents traditional ideas of harmony.

And despite supposedly giving up shopping for a while, I'm very much tempted by this backpack.

Sometimes in our confusion, we see not the world as it is, but the world though eyes blurred by the mind.

Hyoni Kang and Ming Xi photographed by Will Davidson for Dazed & Confused, February 2011

I love this story, it's so pretty and mysterious. The black and white shots are my favourites, such interesting shapes. 

Inspiration Friday (Well, Monday): A realist, in Venice, would become a romantic by mere faithfulness to what he saw before him

Arthur Symons puts it perfectly - although I am far from a realist, Venice certainly captivated me.

Although I do feel that it is cheating a little to call this an Inspiration Friday, not only because it is in fact a Monday (sorry about that), but because this is more me telling you about my trip. However I couldn't call it anything else because I WAS inspired.

Most of the pictures speak for themselves, but a couple need a little explanation. Firstly, it was leading up to the beginning of the carnival whilst we were there and so I thought it was only appropriate, if a little bit tourist-y, to buy a Venetian mask. There are hundreds and hundreds of shops selling these around Venice and I could honestly stare at them forever. This is of course a simple version, but the most fascinating are the giant golden creations with stars and moons and butterflies. The design and craftsmanship that must be involved is stunning.

The last five shots are of what my mum initially assumed to be a gay porn shop, but was actually a little gallery/shop entitled Fiorella Gallery and run by an eccentric designer named Fiorella Mancini. It sold contemporary art and dazzling, crushed velvet smoking jackets covered in parrot prints, beaded crucifixes or Fiorella's trademark - rats. The shop is like being on the inside of a crazy dressing up box, and although the clothes are priced at hundreds of euros, I was hospitably accosted with jackets and skull-shaped goblets to "take pictures". It was amazing fun and I would have bought everything in there if I could.

Other highlights include...

-Walking through the city at night eating chestnut ice cream in the rain.

- Riding the water bus and considering about the logistics of running a city like Venice, the absolute strangeness of having no roads or cars. All food deliveries are done by boats. Hearses are boats. We even saw some cement mixers on a boat. Incredible.

- Visiting the palace which was so beautifully constructed, with such interesting history.

- The bizarre sight of the most opulent designer shops squeezed into the tiny, narrow streets.

But my favourite part of all was just walking. Venice isn't a big city, but I could just walk and walk and walk. Without the interruption of roads and fast food chains, only tiny bridges and cobbled streets, it is delightful to just explore and discover details you didn't see the first time. It was charming in every sense of the word and I hope it stays unspoiled for as long as possible.

P.s. I really encourage you to check out the Fiorella Gallery website, Mancini's story is beyond cool.

P.p.s Also, all of these photos are digital and I took a ton with my film camera, so expect a second update at some point in the distant future when they are developed.