Kate's Shopping Trip

Kate Middleton went into Hobbs on the Kings Road today and bought a coat which I have been coveting myself. It is the Crepe Bow Coat & has the most gorgeous bow detail. Very Audrey Hepburn! They didn't have her size in the Kings Road store, so it was cabbed over from another branch! She also bought the Charlotte Dress and the Celeste Flared Coat.
Apparently she went into the store by herself and was absolutely charming! Well Done Kate for being such a fantastic ambassador for the British High Street!

Dress of the Week

Welcome to the Dress of the Week!!

It is the 'Bewes' dress from Hobbs

The dress is part of a story called 'Julie', named after the ridiculously fabulous Julie Christie.
Why is it called Bewes I wonder? Maybe because Ms Christie starred alongside Rodney Bewes in 'Billy Liar'?
Love 'Billy Liar'

When I was about 18 or 19 years old I saw a picture of Julie in an apple green jacket. I scoured Camden Market looking for one just like it. I found one in suede. Oh, how I loved that jacket, I thought I was the bees knees in it!!
So, all these years later - a true lady like Mrs Pink would never reveal how many!! - I have gone from the Julie jacket to the Julie dress.

Think renting 'Far From the Madding Crowd' might be in order . . . .

"Terry meets Julie, Waterloo Station
Every Friday night"

From One Jane to Another

Well, that's how it goes I guess, you just leave one Jane behind - Austen in my case - and another one comes along!
Started a new job with Hobbs today and have been busy being inspired by Jane Birkin.
The actress & singer who now lives in France - even more reason to be inspired - is best known for being the muse of Serge Gainsbourg. In the fashion world of course, she is most famous for inspiring a classic handbag. In 1981, the chief executive of Hermes (Mrs Pink's dream job!) was seated next to Birkin on a flight from Paris to London. She had just placed her straw bag in the overhead compartment of her seat, but the contents fell to the ground, leaving her to scramble to replace the contents. Birkin explained to the exec that it had been difficult to find a leather weekend bag she liked. In 1984, he created a black supple leather bag for her: the Birkin bag!
However it is the fabulous check Albury shift dress in the new Autumn / Winter 'Jane' collection at Hobbs which has been the cause of today's daydreams . . .

"I always travel by balloon."

I was just 14 when 'Room with a View' came out & must have been about 17 the first time that I watched it.
Oh, how I longed to be Lucy Honeychurch!!
(Still do a bit, especially as I re-read the book last year, but there we are . . . . )
There has just been a wonderful exhibition at the Fashion Museum in Bath called 'Dressing the Stars.' It showcased British Costume Design at the Academy Awards and featured an outfit worn by Helena Bonham Carter in the film. (I went to see the exhibition twice!)
Now, all these years on I am on the verge of my first ever trip to Florence so have to plan where to go. Here's my film location wish list;

Pensione Bertolini, where our heroine finds herself in a room without a view, is the Hotel degli Orafi, Lungarno degli Archibusieri 4 alongside the Arno.
When Eleanor Lavish whisks Charlotte Bartlett off to see the real Florence she starts at the statue of Grand Duke Ferdinand in the Piazza Santissima Annunziata, while Lucy sets off to explore the sights alone. She’s hassled by locals at the monument to Dante in the Church of Santa Croce, Piazza Santa Croce 16
The famous knife fight scene took place in Piazza della Signoria.

So, finally, I shall walk these streets but I shan't be playing any Beethoven,

"Mother doesn't like me playing Beethoven. She says I'm always peevish afterwards."

Now,

"You must forgive me if I say stupid things. My brain has gone to pieces."

Books To The Ceiling

Have a head full of books today!!

Firstly, I'm lusting over the newly released 'Vintage 21' - a rainbow of 21 iconic titles from Vintage Books. Each book is a luscious colour and the edges of the pages match the cover! Where to start though???
With 'The Woman in Black' by Susan Hill???
Or start with a red one, as the rainbow itself starts???
Nothing is easy . . . . .

THEN, there are things to be done about the house, but my current read: 'Lady Rose & Mrs Memmary' by Ruby Ferguson is distraction itself. This year I set myself a New Year's Reading Resolution: to read a wonderful Persephone title each month. So far I have read:
'Mariana'
'The Victorian Chaise Longue'
'Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day' (Magical!!)
'Cheerful Weather for the Wedding'
'The Priory'
'Bricks & Mortar'
'Operation Heartbreak' (cried & cried at the end!)
. . . and now here we are with the August read. It's a wonderful tale of a great Scottish house, set in the present day & the mid 1870's. A lady visiting the house in the present day is strangely captivated by the lady of the house back in Victorian days . . . . making me think of my recent visit to Chatsworth & Georgiana again. Further distraction . . . . .

Then of course there are the beautiful new Virago releases. I have 3 of the 5, but only 4 of the 10 from last time they did it. Is there a medical term for someone obsessed with sets of books? I wonder . . . .

All this reminds me of this verse by Arnold Lobel:

Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.

My Marilyn Summer

My Marilyn summer continues . . . going to see 'Bus Stop' tomorrow night at the gorgeous 'Little Theatre' in Bath.
Marilyn plays Cherie, a sassy saloon singer, in this 1956 movie. Don Murray plays Bo, the cowboy who falls in love with her & wants to steal her away to get married and live on his ranch in Montana.
This cinematic Marilyn - fest is all thanks to the American Museum in Bath who are hosting this wonderful exhibition to celebrate their 50th anniversary:

http://www.americanmuseum.org/default.cfm/loadindex.238

Mrs Pink has already paid two visits . . . you just know she'll be going again . . .

Happy Birthday Coco!

Happy Birthday Coco Chanel!!!

Born on this day in 1883 & a Mrs Pink muse - her greatest achievement, perhaps???

Do something Chanel-esque today: don your pearls, wear black & white (as I have done!) squirt a little No.5, (A women who doesn't wear perfume has no future, you know) whatever you wish, but DO mark the occasion!

And remember:

"A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous."

'Coco Before Chanel' on DVD tonight, I think . . . . .