Umbrellas
The most elegant accessory in sunshine or rain. An umbrella must always match your outfit! Also, more practically, those of us with fair skin need to be protected. A lady needs at least three types:
1. an umbrella to match outfits that are black/white
2. a pretty pastel parasol for days when she is feeling feminine
3. a bright, happy coloured umbrella as if to say "I defy the grey sky"
Best umbrella movies: Les Parapluies de Cherbourg and Mary Poppins
Best umbrella shop: The Umbrella Shop in Vancouver, Canada, has very sturdy frames which are essential in windy weather.
Anni Albers
Anni Albers (1899-1994) was a remarkable textile designer, artist and teacher who studied at the Bauhaus in Germany and migrated to America in 1933. She was known particularly for her abstract weavings and Knoll textile designs. I particularly love the cotton weaving 'Tykal' (shown below) from 1958. The beautiful photograph is Anni Albers with her husband Josef (the designer/artist).
Banana Yellow
This vibrant colour is my favourite because it reminds me of Banana Paddlepops, sunshine and summer.
Plummy Accents
A crisp, clipped British accent sends thrills and chills through my body. In books and films, the most delicious villains and the most beautiful women always have plummy British accents.
Best plummy accent: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and P.G. Wodehouse's characters Bertie Wooster and his long-suffering butler Jeeves:
"Not those socks, Jeeves," I said, gulping a bit but having a dash at the careless, off-hand sort of tone. "Give me the purple ones."
"I beg your pardon, sir?" said Jeeves, coldly.
"Those jolly purple ones."
"Very good, sir."
He lugged them out of the drawer as if he were a vegetarian fishing a caterpillar out of his salad. You could see he was feeling deeply. Deuced painful and all that, this sort of thing, but a fellow has got to assert himself every now and then.
- from Jeeves and the Chump Cyril (1918)
Kay Nielsen
Kay Nielsen (1886-1957) was a Danish artist who achieved fame through his magical fairytale illustrations, mostly created during the years 1910 to 1930. They are beautifully decorative, deliciously muted in colour and reflect the Art Nouveau style. Have a look at Kay Nielsen's illustrations here on my favourite fairytale website.
Blonde Men
I am so fond. Fair, with blue or green eyes. Like Westley in The Princess Bride.
Libraries
Rows of organised, Dewey decimalised printed matter. Silence. That musty, booky smell. Heaven. I would love to be a librarian. There are biographies of 'Bodley's Librarians' from 1600 to the present day on the interweb here. Fascinating. The most inviting libraries have intimidatingly tall windows, spiral staircases, comfortable padded chairs (I loathe hard wooden pews) and lots of delicious old books that smell.
Most attractive library I've been to: Stockholms Stadsbiblioteket (curved in shape and a very good children's section)
Libraries I want to visit: The Bodleian, Library of Congress and Abbey Library St. Gallen in Switzerland (pictured below)
Best book in my collection: The Most Beautiful Libraries of the World by Guillame de Laubier
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
A favourite novel. Published in 1928, it is a tale of great beauty and strangeness – a fascinating character who lives for hundreds of years, shifting between genders. The novel is based on the life on Woolf's friend Vita Sackville-West and has been the subject of hundreds of scholarly essays by people who really should spend a bit more time in the sunshine. Just read it and enjoy the wonderful language.
Fashion photography of Melvin Sokolsky
My favourite fashion photographer. A legend. Outrageously creative. The pictures speak for themselves.
A wonderful article about him.
Miss Piggy
The glamourpig herself. Miss Piggy's Guide to Life is the most influential book in my life – her advice on diet, exercise and romance has seen me through my darkest hours. Piggy is, and will always be, the ultimate Muppet.
