Metamorphosis.

cobrasnake

Spring has sprung, in all its happy guises. Spring is always associated with new beginnings, with things starting as well as coming to fruition. Flowers bloom, people grow, everything seems to be suffused with such an incredible, overwhelming sense of life. 

While i will miss the coats and scarves, the hats and gloves, the thick tights and woolly sensibility of winter it is lovely indeed to simply throw on a loose tee shirt, skirt and sandals and head out the door accessorising with nothing more than a smile and needing nothing more than a sunny temperament. Spring makes me think of wildflowers and fresh strawberries and tumbling hair. It makes me want to play 'Ceremony' and 'Age of Consent' and 'Shell Shock' by New Order all day long. It makes me wish for mango season so I can paint my nails every colour of the rainbow and drip sticky juice all over terracotta tiles. 

X

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field of dreams

Today I finally saw the September Issue with friends, and it was every bit as fun and frivolous as i hoped it would be! It's no Devil Wears Prada, even though the editors and writers of the script have clearly revelled in the drama and tension created by Anna Wintour/Miranda Priestly comparisons, but the Vogue offices are certainly no playground either. In fact, it's a little bit scary the awe and horror that Wintour manages to cause in her fellow colleagues on a daily basis. Watching these grown women and men cower before her was fascinating, if a little uncomfortable to watch. 

What was the most interesting, though, was to see Wintour in a different light. She's witty, very witty, with a sharp sense of humour that is incredibly British. Her interaction with Bee Schaffer provide some of the most touching moments of the film, there is unbridled mother devotion and adoration in her gaze, and her unrelenting desire to get Bee to enter into the world of fashion. I loved how Bee is resolutely against it, I have always dismissed her as a vacuous socialite and freeloading off her mother's success. But it is clear that she is both aware of this stereotype and willing to work hard against it. People automatically assume because she's young, pretty and thin she must want to follow in her mother's footsteps, but she's dedicated to the law (or she was in 2007, feel free to correct me if she's changed career paths since then, i know very little about her). She emerges as a real interesting character. 

And finally, most importantly, most incredibly, is Grace Coddington. A tour de force in the fashion industry, universally esteemed and respected, her insights into the world of styling, her thoughts about fashion and beauty and clothes and history are so eloquent and touching that it really did bring a tear to the eye. She is the real star of the film, so immensely talented and so incredibly passionate about her work, willing to stand up for what she believes in and fight for her shoots, despite opposition from all sides. And as the film develops you come to learn more about her relationship with Anna as well, the climax of the film revealing it to be a strong one indeed, despite everything. 

In celebration of Grace and her vision for fashion I've decided to show a few of her editorials over the next couple of weeks. Starting with this one, not a classic or deemed one of her most profound (i'm saving those for a little later) but nonetheless powerfully evocative of the magical dreamlike quality of fashion that she, and I, so adore. She is a romantic at heart, she says in the film, and so am I. Like I always say, i just want to be inspired. I just want to see beauty. When i write, i want to write about heart-beating life and all of its loveliness. I think we are very similar in that way. 

Field of Dreams

Photographer: Mario Testino

Model: Natalia Vodianova and Family (too cute!)

Stylist: Grace Coddington

tfs

don't you think that there is something both dream like and real, both magical and earthly, both fantasy and reality about this shoot? Like the fact that they're wearing pirate hats and converse shoes? It's just perfect, i think. 

X

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you've got mail!

Ever since my hot mailman bought a package from topshop, and let's not lie, his good looks are half the reason why i buy stuff online anyway, i haven't been able to take off my new clothes. I've had so so luck with buying on the internet before, not so much with topshop (i know i'll always be satisfied with their stuff mmmm) but with ebay and other stores. It's just not the same as having it in front of you, with different lighting, trying it on, seeing what the fabric is like up close. I've bought stuff from ebay that i thought were skirts that were actually dresses. Looonnnng dresses. Not that that's an issue with me, the more the merrier, but they kind of don't serve the purpose they were intended for, ya know? 

But, having said that, I am always happy with topshop. I think they just light their clothes really well online so that there's no colour discrepancies and their descriptions are quite comprehensive. The only thing that's happened with one of my topshop online purchases is that it has started to pill really badly after just one wash, and i'm not quite sure what's going on there. But because i love it like a mad woman loves her cats I'm not going to give it up. 

And with the good news that Topshop is coming to Australia, Incu stores in Sydney (and probably melbourne after that) are going to stock topshop, one presumes starting with the Christopher Kane for Topshop collection, that would be the reasonable place to start, wouldn't it? And since Brigadeiro recently made her first topshop online purchase - she taught me to love dries van noten, i hope i have instilled in her a love for topshop.com (it will CHANGE your life! good quality, fun, no-fuss trend driven clothes are nice to have), I feel a little topshop celebration is in order.

And who else but Fabulous Future Me to pop the champagne? 

Monday

topshop waterfall oversized collar blazer, topshop oversized crop top, alexander wang bag, tom ford sunglasses, topshop necklace, forever 21 maxi dress, elizabeth and james gladiator sandals, Ice unisex watch. 

Hmmph. It's Monday morning and once again you are standing in front of your closet, surveying it bleakly with a view to putting something, anything, on that won't turn your raging head ache into an aneurysm. What is it about monday mornings that get you so down? You wake up, you have a cup of tea, and suddenly it dawns on you the enormity of the task ahead. You used to breeze around in maxi skirts and sandals through your uni days, moaning about your 12 contact hours and how hard life was for you... oh ho! How wrong you were! try working 9 to 5, you feel like chastising your 19 year old former self. As you are reminiscing of lazy days spent lying in the library stacks gossiping about cute tutors you are suddenly hit with the desire to relive it all. A jersey maxi dress is just the thing, with a crop top thrown over it (it was 80s redux at the time) and a blazer that fits like a glove and swings like a golfing pro. Some geometric jewelry and heavenly flat sandals complete the look. You feel, even if you don't look, 19 again. Now, off to the stacks! 

ps. this outfit is pretty much what i've been wearing for the past 3 days. LOVE it.

Tuesday

stella mccartney silk blend blazer, topshop armour shift dress, topshop sunglasses, see by chloe satchel bag, sophia and chloe courage bangle, cocobelle leather sandals.

Tuesdays nights are nice. Movie tickets are cheap and so you and the Boy always go to see one, revelling in spending an hour or so completely immersed in a wonderland, whether it be fantasy, action, romantic comedy or drama. Tonight you've managed to convince him that it is necessary viewing to see a documentary out about the making of a magazine, telling him that its all about the business side when really you know its fashion fashion fashion. What you don't know is that he knows this too, but he's humouring you because he loves you. Cue awwww. You go straight from work in this incredible topshop dress, referencing prada but not copying them, all heavy hardware and embellishment in the must luxurious of chocolate browns. With an easy silk blend blazer thrown over and lace up sandals you look the part of a carefree girlfriend. Perfect! Let the show begin. 

Wednesday

Rick Owens shearling collar leather coat, topshop crop vest, tom binns necklace, acne boyfriend jeans, emanuel ungaro studded clutch, topshop Ashish wedges. 

WHAT are you wearing? That's pretty much been the standard response to this outfit all day. You're a little peeved about it, it's not like this is such a huge departure from your style, You wear leather, distressed denim, crop tops and huge statement necklaces all the time, what's so different? Oh. You realise. It's the shoes. These huge massive hulking things, wedges, ankle length, peep toe AND suede, committing the cardinal sin of having too much going on at one time, and yet working all the same. You don't really know how topshop does it, but these shoes are both heavenly to walk in (comfortable as a big bed!) and tough as nails. Suddenly an outfit you would wear all the time and people would think was 'nice' becomes a point of contention, girls in the office are either oooohing or aaahhing about the shoes, and you can't quite work out which one is good and which is bad. And for someone whose idea of 'breaking' out of the fashion mould was to start wearing more colour, these shoes are a welcome departure. You've hit your fashion stride!  

Thursday

Chloe coat, topshop smock dress, lanvin necklace, thierry lasry glasses, proenza schouler heels, topshop ring, yves saint laurent muse 2 bag. 

You've had enough tough for this week, and so on thursday you pass over the ashish wedges and settle instead on romantic, sensible, dramatic chloe. oh how gorgeous the linen is with that satin sash in resplendent peacock. To go with the coat you pick the perfect french dress from the perfect english store, a topshop smock that makes you feel like a little girl again. You vowed to yourself that at a certain age you would stop wearing smock dresses, but hey, you love them. And their preeetty. Suddenly your wardrobe seems to be shooting peacock green coloured items at you, the proenza schouler heels sit at the very front of your closet, as yet unworn as the green is so hard to pair with things, and suddenly they are slipped onto your feet. And then the yves saint laurent bag with its opulent matching of charcoal grey and murky blue is upon your arm. Snatching your glasses and your ring on the way out you are off to a day of appointments and getting lots of work done. And a long languid lunch in the middle with 2 glasses of wine, all in the name of maintaining this french aesthetic, of course! 

Friday

Rogan cardigan, kain tee, tophop necklace, ice watch, topshop hareem pants, mawi ring, stella mccartney espadrilles, topshop satchel. 

Nothing sings in the weekend like a comfortable outfit. And nothing gets much more comfortable than silk blend tee shirts, oversized wrap cardigans and harem pants. Oh yes. You caved into the trend, you became on of those trendy people wearing the 'drop crotch' pant and you're not afraid to deny it. That's because you're not wearing it in a trendy way complete with mega dominatrix heels and rick owens leather. You're wearing them because they are oh so comfy, and you're dressing accordingly. Sometimes you can't wear mega stiletto heels all the time, sometimes you just have to relax in drapey jersey and swingy wool. And Friday is always one of those days. As you watch the clock and busily finish off your copy you're thinking of everything you want to do on the weekend - picnics in the park with friends, brunch on sunday morning that lasts for hours, book shopping, playing with your little niece... TGIF! 

Hope your weekend plans are just as lovely as Fabulous Future Me's!

X

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you look lovely today... just today?

This week has been rather fun, actually. On wednesday my delicious mail man dropped off a package from topshop filled with my obscene topshop binge following pay day, and I can attest that every one of them is just as good on as online, even the harem pants. Yes, I've taken the harem pants plunge, only time will tell if i deeply regret this or not. News this week, Lily Allen is covering Elle UK's October issue. I have high hopes for this following the September Issue that was an incredible read, the Lindsay Lohan article was extremely well written and the most insightful thing I've read about Lindsay who didn't even consent to an interview. The modelling piece with it was fabulous though (the camera loves LiLo), and I expect photographer Rankin will do the same for Lily Allen, by all accounts an incredibly photogenic girl. Also, photos of the Christopher Kane for topshop collection were released, a visual feast of the Kane aesthetic diluted down for the topshop masses with the studs, eyelets, mirror details, cut outs, sexy silhouettes and the animalistic elements undercutting the feminine tailoring (crocodile print on a flirty mini dress, think gorilla dress for a fraction of the cost) are all present. Collection drops in September, can't wait!
Also, happy birthday to my dearest friend R who turns 19 (or 18 part 2) today!

Alexa Chung

celebutopia

For every girl there is a colour. Mine is Red, a deep rich crimson red that makes me look oriental and exotic when really I'm just a haphazard mix of cultures. I feel like Alexa Chung's colour is red too, although hers is a brighter, bloodier red than mine. This mini dress is everything a party girl would want, short, tight, clever and cool. Though I might go so far as to say the shoe choice is a little off, Alexa seems to think that the only way she can be 'true' to her aesthetic is to muddy up the waters of her outfits with incomprehensibly ugly or incompatible shoe choices... there is nothing wrong with matching and glamour, Alexa, put some strappy stilettos on please! I love the layered necklaces and the oversized clutch, i love her messily put up hair. Looks like she's ready to paint the town red (har har har)!

Lauren 'Lo' Bosworth

celebutopia

I don't actually know who this person is, since she's filming the hills in this set and she's that kind of girl I assume she's some sort of replacement for LC. I suppose not knowing who she is helps though, because I think If i knew who she was/what her role was on the show I wouldn't like this outfit as much. I think we all get a little clouded by prejudices when it comes to starlets, I would never post an outfit worn by Heidi Montag here, for example, even if it was Lou Doillon perfect complete with cut offs and a loose shirt. Nooooooo sirreee. But i do like this, I think there is a sense of polished elegance to it. Ripped jeans halfway between skinny and boyfriend (a happy medium). Comfy looking cardigan in the perfect breton stripe. Man's watch. Glam chandelier earrings. Super high suede peep toe heels. The whole thing is casual and smart with the right amount of scruffy. I really like it, surprisingly.

Sofia Coppola

tfs

mmmmmmm summer. Any of my friends reading this post will have their mouths open with shock right now. I am THE LAST person in the world who you would expect to be dreaming of summer at any point in time, my favourite thing in the world is wet, windy weather where people are forced into all manner of coats, scarves, gloves and boots to traverse the grey horizons. Much more dramatic and romantic, I feel. But looking at this photo I can't help it, I want it to be summer! I want to be irrepressibly cool, so cool all i have to do is throw on a sleeveless shirt dress and do up the buttons with reckless abandon, fling on some strappy sandals and take my daughter to the park. I'm sure come summer time I could manage the first two no problem, but the last one will require around 9 months... kidding! the kid is cute though, isn't she?

Michelle Williams

JustJared

What were we saying about summer? and shirtdresses? and hanging out with friends? i wish it could be warm and we could sit outside at cafes in little checked dresses and cool black sunglasses and chat all day long and drink campari and sodas... What is wrong with me today? Celebrities, please go somewhere cold so that this lapse in judgement on my part doesn't happen again. I want some paps of starlets in the rain or something, that would cure this ache for summer, wouldn't it???

TGIF!

X

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alright australia, your move.

I just read Susie Bubble's post about the Arcadia blogger press meet and greet (?) in London recently. It's organised for bloggers t come and view the recent collections for their various High Street clients like Topshop and Miss Selfridge, with props, professional photographers and nibblies and glasses of wine (mmmm wine). The photos she posted look they were having the best time, just clowning around and chatting about all things fashion and fun. 

And it struck me, you know, where is the similar thing for Australian bloggers? huh? I always hear about overseas blogger meet ups and them all getting together and mucking around in Paris and having fun and then offering tickets to Paris as prizes (grrr Young Shields you torment me with my far away-ness from Paris, see, the jealousy i feel leads me to bad grammar!). What are we doing in Australia, why aren't we all skipping across to New Zealand for a day? Or meeting up and seeing new collections and being silly? Or just meeting up and chatting about life, blogging and the universe?

So, here it is, if you're with me, Australian bloggers, lets meet up! I'd really like to meet you all. Brooke, you'd be up for it right? And Sportsgirl take note... we'd like a press night for us bloggers too please... that is all. 

X

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10 things about my style - #4 high meets low.

It seems that every time you open a magazine showcasing personal style the ubiquitous response is 'a mixture of high street and designer finds with a healthy amount of vintage thrown in'. I think it hasn't become a stereotype, stereotype sort of necessitates a degree of negative connotations, and what could be negative about this kind of wardrobe? I think it's more of a reaction to the climate of fashion at the moment and its favouring of classics over impulse, of taste, refinement and overall elegance over brashness.

That is definitely not to say that eccentricity and wildness of fashion are 'out', in fact it is the opposite, taste and elegance does not simply mean beige slacks, herringbone shirt and a string of pearls. That is a stereotype. Elegance is about being comfortable with your dress, a woman of supreme self confidence will always be compellingly elegant whether she is wearing a little black dress or an embroidered vintage opera cape and sequinned leggings. Sure, it's pretty hard to be elegant when wearing mc hammer pants and a bandana, but it's not impossible. Elegance is about the woman beneath the clothes. 

As Coco Chanel said, 'Dress badly, and they remember the dress, dress well and they remember the woman.' 

But i digress. What i really wanted to talk about is another thing about my style, that is, the happy mixture of high street and designer that currently inhabits my wardrobe. I read an article in the most recent harpers bazaar US that said that your wardrobe should be 80% forever pieces 20% trend pieces, and i think depending on your means and ability this can accurately represent a high/low break down. Of course, if money was no object and funds were unlimited then a percentage limit such as this would be a fruitless exercise! It would be designer all and sundry, I would buy whatever I wanted, when I wanted it. But being a student currently juggling internships and cash in hand work this can't always be the case. Budgeting and careful thought about purchases have to occur. 

I think that the 80% high street/basics and 20% designer is an accurate representation of my wardrobe. Whilst I do have the odd beautiful piece I own a lot of chain store clothing, some from Australian chains like Sportsgirl, Target and Just Jeans (etc) but also a fair few from Topshop, H&M, Zara and COS. And, when i think about it, these pieces do tend to be more basic and classic than my designer pieces. I have a Josh Goot full skirt with his delectable watercolour tye-dye print that goes very well with my plain topshop crop tops and bassike tees. My batwing stella mccartney parka (an incredible find in london Harvey Nichols that used up all my fashion karma for a while) needs something no crazier than a plain slip underneath it, otherwise it all becomes too much. My marni knitted skirt is incredible, so structured it feels like it's got whalebone darts in it, and bubbled out around my without any aid at all. Some of my designer pieces are forever pieces, my yves saint laurent trench dug up in the men's section of my local charity store (top tip: shop with the boys!), my vanessa bruno ruffled skirt that sings of paris with every twirl, my a.p.c striped boatneck top, my christian louboutin suede ballet flats and miu miu roman sandals are undoubtedly classic. 

I am so lucky to have these things. Some of them were found in charity stores and op shops and bought with a satisfied smile on my face, reveling in my fashion karma at finding such steals. Others were purchased in big sales, where they were often tucked in the back of the store in the corner, unwanted and unloved until I came upon them. I can tell you something though, I have never paid full price for a designer item. What that says about me is probably reveals more about my financial ability more than my desire, believe you me I would purchase a chanel 2.55 without second thought if $4000 was made available to me readily, or perhaps that Roksanda Ilincic dream coat I loved from afar in Belinda until some lucky fabulous woman snapped it up, If only I had $3250 for the purchase! 

But then I don't think this breakdown occurs because of what I can afford either, although as outlines above that is a factor in the decision making. This breakdown occurs more because I buy what I like, which is sometimes chain store/high street, sometimes designer. I don't buy a designer piece just because I can, or because it has a label, I buy it because I fell in love with it. Similarly, I don't buy High Street because it's what I can afford, I buy it because the clothing is beautiful and fits into my wardrobe. 

I have never bought into the whole sample sale mentality. Sure I have bought lovely things from sample sales (hello, josh goot!) but the problem I have with them is that they force you to spend money on things you don' really need and often don't really want. Maybe that's just me, but I'm sure i'm not alone in saying that the whole set up, the whole atmosphere of a sample sale is one that encourages heady, unthought out purchases without a second glance. And suddenly you're at home, bank card decimated with bags of things that you only bought because of their fancy logo and false promises. It would be far better, in my opinion, to save that money for one thing that you really love, that you really want, and get that instead. 

We are lucky to be living in an era of fast, affordable, accessibly fashion. Chain store clothing is no longer the bottomless pit it once was where cheap shift dresses were churned out in their thousands ready for conspicuous consumption. Now we have high street stores like COS, American Apparel and Topshop producing high quality (debatable at times, i know) clothes that are fashion-centred and often directional for an affordable price. Gone are the days where dressing well necessitated a designer wallet filled with credit cards. Fashion has become the great equalizer - yes, the fashion editors do feature on the sartorialist, but they're sandwiched between the everyday girl riding her bike in a colourful dress or walking the streets of new york in denim cut offs and a plain tee shirt. 

If what you buy is well made, suits you, and you love with all your heart (we can't by sensible things all the time, can we?) that's fine by me. Those criteria for me fall into a high street designer mix that is perfect for life right now. 

Now, who wants to go to sportsgirl after uni today?

X

mmmmm home-made polyvores:

L-R stella mccartney black jersey top, topshop oversized collar blazer (came in the mail from my hot mailman yesterday!), topshop necklace, josh good tye dye skirt, sportsgirl denim (alex wang rip off) bag, havianas. 

L-R - sportsgirl bag, yves saint laurent trench, christian louboutin flats, a.p.c breton top, vintage belt, witchery tulip skirt. 

L-R - sportsgirl crop top, calvin klein floor length skirt, h&m scarf, rayban sunglasses, just jeans jacket, h&m oversized 'paint splodge' clutch, bejewelled flats from a hong kong side st mall. 
L-R - sportsgirl rick owens rip off suede jacket, COS drapey tee, vintage belt, marni bag, wittner shoes, marni skirt (seen underneath top). 
favourite nail polish colours of the moment - sea green, lavender, lipstick (much darker IRL, see the sophie dahl cookbook pics), tangerine. 
A long skirt outfit for you all in action, worn on tuesday for work at NW magazine. A typical mix of high and low - sportsgirl jumper tied at waist over zimmerman 'negligee' dress (har har har) and josh goot tye dye skirt underneath, kazui gladiators just seen and diva ring. Actually pictured in the Sportsgirl changing rooms hahahaha i am such an advert for them.. i suppose they're australia's answer to topshop! 
X

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just dahl-ing.

I have always had a thing for Sophie Dahl. True, i was barely shy of 10 years old when she first erupted onto the fashion scene, and true at that tender age i was barely able to appreciate her blissful nakedness in the opium ads nor her space age weirdness on the cover of Vogue Italia and UK, but once i mellowed into a fashion appreciation she was always the model i had an unequivocal, unabashed love for. 

Why is this? Because of her oh-so-womanly body that seemed made for sin. I don't care what anyone said about it, to me, it was practically perfect. She had gorgeous long limbs, a full-fleshed figure, and the bone structure of a Raphael masterpiece. Her big blue eyes stared out at you with incredible intensity and her honey-blonde hair was as thick as straw and so lovely in that country-grown english kind of way. Even though I still to this day have immense amounts of love for that heroin chic doyenne, Kate Moss, she was never going to be my hero. For what teenage girl with healthy amounts of self-consciousness and a body far too round for skinny jeans (although at the time i was unaware of that fact) could worship her as an idol? A more realistic role model was necessary. 

And then, all of a sudden, i became aware of a shift. She was no longer this fabulous figure of female nubility, but rather... well... thin. 

And not in shape, fit or slim, but svelte, bony and wasting away before my eyes. Although those of you who have followed Sophie Dahl's career will note that her current figure is the healthy medium between the over-indulging excess of her modelling heyday and her worryingly bony years after that, at the time this was a shock for me. My body inspiration, my heroine had suddenly conformed. 

Those of you who have lived through the shocking years of teenage body-consciousness will know how troubling that would have been for me. Surrounding yourself with fashion will always run the occupational hazard of causing you to become desensitized to realistic shapes and sizes, but for the most part i've never been phased by that. Fashion is not realism, and never will be. Why would we love it if it was? We have fashion because it is beautiful, just as how we have art and music and literature. 

But still, there was this little voice in side of me that watched Sophie Dahl shrinking before my eyes and wonder if this was what was expected of me, and every other girl that wasn't stick thin and bared the semblance of curves. I remember reading a rather horrible article in a 'health' magazine that said words to the effect of 'curves are not beautiful, they are a euphemism for fat, and therefore must be shed'. Whilst it is true that people will use any means possible to shy away from the reality of their bodies it is also true that curves are a natural part of every woman's body, thin or large. It comes with the territory of breasts, hips and thighs, unfortunately, and has taken a little while for me to come to terms with. 

It seems like it has taken Sophie a little while to come to terms with this, too. In her cookbook, a divine collection of pescatarian recipes (my favourite kind!) photographed to magical perfection and accompanied with her positively mitford-esque writing voice, Sophie writes about her battle with weight and her body. She writes about how the press never understood how her weight ballooned during her modelling years, not because she was a compulsive over-eater or a 'fatty' but because she felt the pressure of a hardened industry where she did not fit in. She ate for comfort, she ate for sadness, she ate because she felt the expectations of everyone telling her 'you are an inspiration for everyone normal and large', she ate because it seemed like she had to be big, otherwise what was she doing in this glamourous world? 

And then later, when she lost the weight, how she had to deal with people all over the world 'weighing' (no pun intended, of course) in on her shape, telling her that she had sold out, that she had lost her confidence, that she was much better when she was full-figured. Sophie's frank analysis of her body over her 30 something life shows considerable and commendable hindsight, and she writes with such poignancy and pathos that it is hard not to feel sorry for her. 'I have been as round as a Rubens and as skinny as a twig' she writes in the introduction, and ultimately this cook book is less about food and more about eating, if that makes sense. The happy medium where she finds herself now, slim and fit, leaves her in a healthy position. 

But the thing is that it wasn't that she wasn't healthy before. I mean, yes, her weight did balloon considerably during her modelling years, but when she started, as she admits, she was a healthy full-figured 19 year old with a chain-smoking habit and a best friend of Isabella Blow. She wasn't model-size (thank god) but she wasn't plus sized either. What was wrong with that? Nothing, but this fickle world of fashion wreaks havoc on us all. 

As Sophie writes, we have to change our understanding of what is beautiful and what is sexy. She finished her book saying that she has seen and been that woman who is 'reed-thin and creamily voluptuous'. The woman who is truly sexy are those who eat sensibly, but don't count calories or stuff their faces. They exercise, but in a way that they enjoy. 'They are not prisoners to their body'. 

'Sexy,' Sophie writes,  'is inherent in a healthy appreciation for food, in having the energy to romp with your beloved, pick up your baby, cook dinner for your friends... it is feeling sated, having opinions and feeling alive.' 

Sometimes, after rejections from boys or particularly bad days at uni, or from spending too much time with my terribly trim and svelte good friends life can get you down about your body and it's all too easy to wallow in self pity. What these formative past few years have taught me is an appreciation for who I am, warts and all.  And though i wouldn't go so far as to call myself sexy, i do think there are things about me that could be considered beautiful. After years of worrying and tears and hating it all i'm comfortable in my skin. And i have energy, so much energy, to spend lazy days leafing through fashion and cooking magazines with my mum, to run around our garden playing 3 man cricket with my brothers, to spend hours rushing through the library stacks searching for obscure books on Moliere's 'le bourgeois gentilhomme', to prepare a 3 course meal and then to eat it, to dance the night away with best friends. 

And reading Sophie's reaisation of this made me feel a little bit more confident. Even though she is a great deal thinner than myself, and hardly the girl i idealised for bucking trends and embodying voluptuous sexiness - who could forget Tom Ford's comments on that YSL opium ad 'she looks like she's had too much food, too much sex, too much love...' - I admire her for being comfortable in her own skin, at last. I wish there were more women like her in fashion and the media who are truly comfortable with who they are. 

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Iphone snapshots of Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights

it is a truly delightful book, split up into seasons and then further into breakfasts, lunches and suppers, filled with organic and interesting food, comfort meals, sumptuous photography and witty, incredibly endearing introductions. If you love cooking beautiful, hearty food then this is the book for you. If you love gorgeous photos teeming with vibrant life, this is the book for you. If you love all things beautiful, then this is the book for you. Seriously, I cannot give enough praise for this cookbook, the recipes are easy to follow and scrumptious ( i made the eton mess as soon as i got home) and Miss Dahl herself is a fascination writer with a powerful voice. Lovely. 

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you must take the A train

A friend and I were chatting about life, and travel, and all things lovely the other day, and since she is far more well-travelled than I (think, tours of Greece, Turkey and the Mediterranean to places I have only dreamt of), I was interested to hear about what her perfect, money is no object vacation for 'next time' would be. 

'The trans-siberian express', she said emphatically.

And suddenly both of us were caught up in this magical, mystical, opulent world of the 1930s (who can envisage a long train ride in any other decade, i ask you?), swathed in furs and luxury, dressing for dinner and tea, jewels locked away in a safe below the desk. 

I have always been fascinated by this era, even to the point where i only wore authentic 1930s petticoats and clothing at one stage, and even though i no longer dress like a countryfied woman recently escaped from a shooting party, an evelyn waugh refugee, if you will, I still feel a pull towards this time period. The jazzy beats that so often emanate from my room are characterised by that fuzziness of early 20th century records, i still carry around a little compact mirror with sea shell pattern on the lid, bought for a fiver in Brighton, I still revel in the comforting words of Nancy Mitford and Evelyn Waugh, tales of being 'tight' (drunk) and enjoying the bright-eyed effervescence of youth. 

I think the 1930s is the best decade for being young. Fresh from World War I all those children too young to understand how serious the Great War had been suddenly blossomed into bright young things with huge amounts of disposable income and the social notoriety that accompanied it. Sexual boundaries and taboos became blurred, women raised their hemlines as high as they deemed correct (calf length, most of the time), and dresses fell dramatically on the bias cut to the small of the back. 

And if money was really no object (trips on this train cost upwards of 5000 australian dollars just for the train ride alone) I would travel gloriously decadently on this train, caviar and toast every afternoon, a bottle of champagne on ice wherever I went. I think there's also something so modern about it too, it was the first real 'sight-seeing' tour, with 1 or 2 days in each city, enough to soak up the atmosphere and witness some culture, and then onto the next one. I'd like to think that that's kind of what I'm like... Flighty, irrepressible, always travelling. Like Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's, who is never all in one place, even if physically she appears to be. 

One of my most favourite editorials of all time, an editorial that i saw in the print when i was just shy of 14 and which has stayed with me, even though the magazine hasn't (sadly) all through adolescence, was the following editorial. It features model Rie Rasmussen traversing the harsh landscape of Russia to Beijing, accompanied by her 'shoot diary' telling of lost cameras, shaping a cape out of a bed sheet and shooting in forbidden areas without a license, risking capture by the authorities. Personally i would choose the Vladivostok to Venice route, and then spent lazy afternoons on a gondola trawling through the city, but that's just me. 

 Vogue UK December 2005

Model: Rie Rasmussen

Photographer: Norbert Schroeder

Stylist: Charlotte Stockdale

not full editorial... it's 26 pages long!!

What is your travel fantasy? 

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