“What size am I?”

This could be incredibly useful for online shopping if you conform to standard sizes: a tool for working out your dress size in various shops from your measurements.

S

Out of the blue

I have been watching a very enjoyable new show called Revenge, which features a millionaire girl who comes back to the Hamptons to gain satisfaction for her terrible past by socially torturing the people who ETC ETC and it features a character called Ashley. When I saw her, I did that slightly awkward thing where you think, “that girl is so familiar, did I go to school with her?” Particularly awkward when you greet the person in the street and they turn out to be someone from Hollyoaks.

I quickly twigged that I recognised her from her blog, Ring My Bell (her real name is Ashley Madekwe – it intrigues me when actors have the same name as the character they play). I didn’t realise she was famous. It goes to show that these days sometimes recognition comes from the internet before the mainstream. I like her blog even more now that she has popped up next to the backwards-ageing Madeleine Stowe, the beautiful and malevolent queen bee matriarch of the Hamptons. I live for that sort of televisual gold.

Ring My Bell

Come on 2012, I know you can be great…

I have hopes that 2012 will look like this:

But it will probably be more like this:

Happy New Year everyone.

xxx S

At laaaaaaast…

Winter ‘Scape

Angora Lurex Jumper

Twisted rope necklace

Leather chelsea boots

Reverse Geometric Scarf

A grey winter fashion ‘scape with a splash of neon to distract you – all from the current Cos collection.

A

Dots and scribbles

Agyness Deyn in Vogue, May 2011.

Automatic drawings by William Anastasi.

Rococo

This lovely Teen Vogue cover with Alexa Chung gives me an excuse to post lots of pictures of rococo and rococo-inspired stuff, some of it in my favourite colour-combos of pastel and neon. Strangely, I haven’t seen Marie Antoinette, but its visuals increasingly seem to be influencing fashion in ever-widening circles.

This final image is one of my favourite paintings, the legendarily uncool “The Swing” by Fragonard, which you can see in all its silly glory at The Wallace Collection. This painting was commissioned by some skeezy dude who wanted a picture of “a priest pushing a girl on a swing while her lover watches”. Very well, each to their own. The original artist, Doyen, was so shocked by the request he refused, but Fragonard was willing to comply. You can see her GARTER.

S

The lilac time

/\ This was taken on my walk home yesterday and the lovely colours of the sky reminded me of one of my favourite editorials ever, this one from Vogue February 2007, featuring Finnish model Suvi Koponen. \/

And furthermore-

/\ From my long-time favourite The Cherry-Blossom Girl blog.

/\ And photographs from new favourite Andrew B Meyers. His eye for colour instantly attracted me but his still-lifes are also very funny. I’d love to be photographed by him – I feel that if I am ever immortalised in art it should be in a manner at least part comedy, even though, as Edith Wharton said, “humour is the quality which soonest loses its savour.” Therefore I must put on an exceptionally good lolface if/when I am portrayed by an artistic genius, so that I will not ruin the art for future generations.

S

Cos/Ellsworth Kelly/Cos

S

Marimekko forever

The curators of Disconap have lives literally filled with Marimekko paraphernalia. Synonymous with Finland in the way the Moomins are (which comprises the other 50% of everything we communally own), the company is now celebrating sixty years of trading in a very lowkey way. To confirm my devotion and honour the ’Mekko I have done a dodgy Blackberry camera diary of all the stuff of theirs I have used in the past week. As I own practically everything they sell at Heals this could get epic.

Bag comes to work with me. Yuppie work Mac and bag in “design classic face-off”.

The ultra-yuppiesh contents of my bag: Grazia, Kindle, Eight Hour Cream, tupperware of berries, ‘Mekko umbrella.

Stripey socks. Sorry about the rain-damaged boots but check out the crystals on them!

Pears.

I took this jolly green bag to the farmer’s market where A kindly bought me this coconut macaroon. I ate it while reading these edifying tomes.

My make-up bag. I decided not to bombard you with pictures of towels and trays and kitchen knick-knacks, but believe me, you would think my collection was complete, you would think I’m the girl the girl who has everything.

A will sigh at my terrible photo-ing abilities but this picture is ace because this is what I look like almost every day of my life: stripey Marimekko top/skinny jeans/backdrop of Grazias, empty milk glasses and multiple gadgets.

I will cease and desist but this is only about half of my Marimekko bag collection, if that. I’m a connoisseur!

The sixtieth anniversary is bringing one aspect I am a bit concerned about: expansion. For me Marimekko is about quality and slightly weird Finnishness, not interiors trends or seasonal collections. I want it to be successful but with news that they are expanding to hundreds of locations in America I’m just really anxious that the brand doesn’t get diluted or become too familiar. I still get a thrill when I see a lady with a Marimekko bag, even though it no longer means we probably bought it at the same shop in Helsinki. Basically, no one shopping in a desultory fashion in LA could possibly love their Marimekko bag as much as I love mine.

S