Archive | April 2018

Sailing in luxury

My fast becoming favourite museum, the V&A, is currently running an exhibition entitled Ocean Liners: Speed and Style, until 17 June 2018.

The main draw for me to visit this exhibition was the fact that a piece of the Titanic was included, which has not been seen in Europe since the ship was built. I must confess to having somewhat of an obsession with the fated Titanic’s maiden voyage – not least because of the film starring Leonardo DiCaprio which was released in 1998. As an impressionable, young 14-year-old – I idolised Leonardo and wanted to be as elegant as Kate Winslet. I cried bucket loads when I saw the film at the cinema. Anyone who has seen the film, cannot forget the moment that Rose, laying on a part of the ship and floating in the atlantic, has to let go of Jack. This is what sprung to mind when I saw the wooden panel fragment from the first class lounge of Titanic, the largest remaining fragment from the ship, which was found floating in the Atlantic and is on loan from a museum in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is in fact what the film’s set designers modelled the floating refuge on.

I was pleasantly surprised that the rest of the exhibition enthralled me just as much. The exhibition is very much a show of the luxury that could be found on these ships all those years ago. People were supposed to forget they were even at sea, as the great ships aimed to replicate first class hotels.

With the introduction of passenger flights in the 1960’s, Ocean liner trade declined significantly until it ceased in 1986 except for transatlantic crossings by the Cunard line shipping company. The cruise trade has boomed however.

The lines are blurred between descriptions of cruise ships and liners, and often the terms are used interchangeably. Liners had higher fuel consumption and fewer windows as their use was to transfer passengers from one point to another whereas cruise ships follow circular routes, sometimes with no stops.

Cruises nowadays are of course more of a relaxed affair – no longer are you expected to dress for dinner every night for example. While this is good as it opens up the demographic, I can’t help but mourn an era where luxury ruled supreme; especially given that I have always had champagne taste and beer money!

The first room of the exhibition concentrates mainly on poster advertising for the liners. You then move into a room where various interiors from different ships are mocked up – giving you a feel of the attention to detail, when they were designed with elaborate wooden carvings. The next room was my favourite as it was very much focused on the fashion and the glamour.

Mum, posing against a moving backdrop to give the illusion of being at sea

Deckchairs

Christian Dior day suit worn by Marlene Dietrich arriving in New York on board the Queen Elizabeth in 1960 and luggage previously belonging to the Duke of Windsor, 1940s

Bathing suits circa 1925-1937

Silk georgette and glass beaded ‘salambo’ dress 1925

Art deco at its best

The Ballroom

Children’s chair from first class playroom on the Normandie c.1934

Having enjoyed the exhibition, my Mum and I decided to sample a piece of the luxury, offered by London today. We went for afternoon tea at Number Sixteen – a high-end hotel in South Kensington. We enjoyed prosecco, sandwiches, scones and some delightful cakes in the orangery of the mid-Victorian white terrace, looking out on the beautiful private garden.

No girls day out would be complete without a visit to the shops, so we hopped onto the tube to Knightsbridge and visited the home of luxury, Harrods and browsed all the many delights I would love to be able to afford.

Beauty and the bubbles

Apr15

Early March means only one thing – time for the annual Glamour Beauty Festival, held at Saatchi Gallery, London! What could be better than spending the day with a girlfriend, getting pampered and drinking fizz?!

I like to get glammed up for the festival and the day prior, I had eyelash extensions applied for the first time. I was really pleased with the result but sadly they didn’t last long. I did my hair in a sixties style pony tail with the help of an accessory bought from Pretty Kitty Fashion. I wore a Biba sweatshirt with a black mini skirt from H&M and a red trench coat from M&S. The classic trench is seeing a revival this season, freshened up with pops of colour and statement details. I accessorised with a black cross body bag from Oasis and black patent shoes from Faith at Debenhams. Those of you who are around my age will remember Faith stores, everyone had their shoes from there at one stage and the obligatory orange drawstring carrier bag with Rin,Tin,Tin on it. I always had heels that were more than twice that permitted by the school rules!

This year’s festival was sponsored by Philips. Unfortunately I felt it wasn’t quite as good as last year due to the amount of people it now attracts. Most queues for treatments were quite lengthy which meant that with a morning only ticket, what you could do was limited. I might have to consider an all day ticket next year.

We started with hair. My friend queued up at the OGX braid bar but was less than impressed with the finished halo or crown braid which she thought made her resemble Friar Tuck! I enjoyed watching how to do a dutch braid while I waited, which is when it looks as though the plait sits on the top and is achieved by doing a similar method to the french plait, except that when you take a piece of hair you add it under, rather than over. Other treatments included having your hair straightened with GHDs as straight hair is back in this season or having a temporary colour put in with Schwarzkopf Live colour spray.

Next we moved on to the nail zone where we enjoyed a manicure with Orly. This is not a brand I had previously heard of but one I now highly recommend. Nail varnish rarely lasts five minutes on me before it chips but this lasted almost a week! There are 36 shades to choose from and I went with rose gold.

Also on this level there was an option to have a collagen density test. While this appealed, the queue was too long and I realised I might not get the answer I wanted. Who wants to know that their skin is ageing faster than they should be? That was bound to be the result, given they were demonstrating Pure Gold Collagen, a 30 day programme of drinks to plump your skin and improve hydration. I didn’t fancy a taster of the drink but my friend’s face when she tried it said it all!

All that queuing had caused us to work up a thirst, so we headed to the champagne bar. This was surprisingly reasonably priced and they would hold on to the bottle to save you carrying it and you could just go back for top ups.

Something a bit different this year was an Alcatel instagram zone where you could perfect your instagram photography skills with various products and props.

I was desperate to have my eyeliner done by Kat von D; either graphic liner or a feline flick but having queued for an hour and being about five from the from the front, I had to abandon it as it was time for our booked talk in the Glamour theatre with Wendy Rowe. Other more well known speakers were Katie Piper, Trinny Woodall and Pixie Lott, however they were either in the afternoon session or fully booked.

Wendy Rowe is a renowned make up artist who has worked with the likes of Cara Delevigne. She has worked with Burberry on their runway shows for over 15 years and is artistic consultant for their cosmetic range.

The best part of the day in my opinion and what makes the tickets great value for money is the goodie bag, containing products worth over £180. This year’s bag was a trendy rose gold and some of the best freebies inside included a Fresh rose face mask, Kat von D tattoo liner and of course the Glamour Beauty Book SS18! Since Glamour went online only this year, twice a year a beauty book is released in print to coincide with the two fashion seasons. I keep being told in my professional life that digital is the future but I take issue with this. I still don’t think you can beat the joy of leafing through a glossy mag, particularly when you might not have internet access, on a plane for example.

The festival is a fantastic way of trialling new products as well as a fab girls day out – I highly recommend it. See you next year!

The romance of film noir

Apr8

Looking for a night out with a twist? Look no further than the Evans & Peel detective agency in Earls Court, London.

My friend, who has fabulous vintage style and can always be relied upon for a good night out, announced that the theme of her birthday celebrations this year would be film noir. Apart from the obvious translation to ‘a black film’, I’m ashamed to say that I knew little else about this, but Google is always on hand to help.

Film noir is a genre, retrospectively assigned by film critics, to Hollywood crime dramas from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. The Big Sleep, This Gun for Hire, The Maltese Falcon and Double Indemnity are a few of examples of classic film noir. The films tended to be quite pessimistic as was the general mood in post war America. They are usually saturated with cynicism as well as using stark light/dark contrasts and dramatic shadowing, as a visual style.

For the occasion, I wore a black pencil dress from Pretty Kitty Fashion with wartime seamed tights and a cream faux fur jacket from New Look. I set the outfit off with red Sarah Jessica Parker shoes in a classic t-bar style and a black vintage frame, clip top bag which incidentally, was bought for me years back by the birthday girl. I styled my hair using a Heidi roll tool also from Pretty Kitty Fashion and topped it off with a burgundy pill box hat from Kiss Kiss Heart.

On arrival at the venue, you would never guess in a million years that it was a bar. You are greeted by a simple door with Evans and Peel detective agency written on it and a buzzer. After pressing said buzzer, you follow the stairs down to a dark office, where you are asked to state your case. One of our group stated that their wedding ring had been stolen and they believed the culprit to be someone in our group. The agency agreed to take the case on, at which point, a bookcase opens to reveal the bar. Menus in brown case file envelopes are given out which list aptly named prohibition radiator moonshine beer amongst a selection of cocktails and it’s there I’m afraid, that the theme sadly ends.

Not for us however, as our case had been thought up, based on prior knowledge of the evening’s events that were still to come. Suddenly a member of our group pointed at my friend’s boyfriend and said “it was you who stole the ring!” To this, the smartly dressed ‘doctor’ dropped to one knee and proposed to my friend who was dressed as the classic Coco Chanel. Her expression was priceless, she was completely shocked and clearly not expecting it, but very quickly that turned to pure joy as she accepted.

It was a beautiful moment between them that I feel very privileged to have been a part of. I am so happy for my friend as she so deserves the happiness she has clearly now found. I await their wedding in June with anticipation – I know it will be another beautifully styled vintage event.

Congratulations guys – who says film noir is dark and pessimistic – it certainly brought you guys great joy and happiness.

‘It’s so much more friendly with two’

Apr2

Like me, I’m sure many of you grew up with the stories of three great bears – Rupert, Paddington and Winnie-the-Pooh.

AA Milne himself could not have predicted the popularity and enduring love of Winnie- the-Pooh when he created him, based on a Harrods bear his son, Christopher Robin was given on his first birthday.

In 1926, Milne published his first collection of stories about Christopher Robin, Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends, who he based on other nursery toys. The stories were brought to life by EH Shepherd’s illustrations. Milne and Shepherd had worked together previously on the magazine, Punch but their collaboration on Winnie-the-Pooh produced some of the nations best-loved children’s books and is what they are most famous for.

Reproductions of Christopher Robin’s toys used as props in the film Goodbye Christopher Robin (NB Owl and Rabbit were purely figments of Milne’s imagination and not actual toys)

Milne who was a Londoner, bought Cotchford Farm on the edge of the Ashdown Forest in Sussex, as a holiday home in 1925 and the area provided the perfect backdrop for the stories, referred to as The Hundred Acre Wood.

Winnie-the-Pooh was always one of my favourite characters and I was often taken to Pooh Corner, a shop in Hartfield, Sussex, mainly of course as it was en route to my fathers favourite place, the Bluebell Railway. This shop, opened in 1978 and is dedicated to all things Pooh.

A short distance from the shop, you can indulge in a game of the famous Pooh sticks yourself at the bridge where Christopher Robin and his father played the simple game. The bridge was built in 1907 and then partly rebuilt in 1979 and later completely restored thanks in part to funding by Disney, who had of course by then acquired the rights to the characters and dropped the hyphens in Pooh’s name.

If you are feeling energetic, why not also visit the Enchanted Place, where there is a plaque is dedicated to Milne and Shepherd.

After all that walking, as Pooh would say, it is time for a little something. Head back to Pooh Corner for a traditional English cream tea.

Last year, the film Goodbye Christopher Robin was released, once again bringing Winnie the Pooh to the fore of popular culture. If the film is to be believed, it is rather ironic that the characters and stories that made so many people’s childhood’s happy, had the opposite effect on Milne’s own son, Christopher Robin. He took none of his father’s royalties.

The V&A museum is currently running an exhibition, Winnie-the-Pooh – exploring a classic, until 8 April. I visited the exhibition with my friend. It is cleverly designed to appeal to young and old, just like the characters themselves. The collection includes original drawings and some of the families photos, along with a trail for children to follow with lift up flaps to discover things, a slide and a table with pencils for them to unleash their own creativity. One of the main things I learnt was where the name Winnie-the-Pooh came from. Winnie was the name given to a bear at London Zoo whom Christopher Robin visited, while Pooh was the name he had given to a swan he fed.

Entering the exhibition

Is Pooh at home?

The stairs Christopher Robin bumped Pooh down

Tea set given to the Queen

Table for children to create their own drawings

Mock up of the famous Pooh sticks bridge

Slide

One of the original drawings

Eeyore’s house

Plate used to print the drawings

Christopher Robin’s bear and EH Shepherd’s son’s bear

My favourite drawing

because the forest will always be there…and anyone who is friendly with bears can find it

At a time when war was a recent memory for many, Winnie the Pooh transported readers into a magical world where the only threat was time. The characters transcend time however, remaining as popular with adults as they are with children. The stories have been translated into many languages and Pooh, for a bear with very little brain, provides some great philosophical quotes.

The exhibition includes a large array of merchandise, including a dress from a collaboration with Cath Kidston in 2016 and a tea set given to, the now Queen, in 1928. The most recent collaboration is with Pandora, as part of their Disney charm collection and my husband kindly bought me one for Valentines Day this year.

I am sure Pooh will continue to enchant lots of children for many years to come and always remember ‘you’re braver than you believe and stronger than you seem and smarter than you think’ and of course when all else fails, ‘it’s so much more friendly with two.’