Saturday 9 April 2016

Chanel cardies, Sotheby's Art Highlights, and Gardens of the Royal Academy and Shoreditch and more


I'm still going to Shoreditch once a week to babysit Millie.
I now am documenting all the fun and witty graffiti in the area because every week it seems there is a whole new batch that gets taken down and sprayed over.

This TB one above is no longer there which I am sad about.


I went to wander around the Nomadic Gardens of Shoreditch.
My brother volunteered here for a while before there was some major internal politics and egos played their hand which was odd from an outsider like myself. 
It made me think that actually Parliament isn't so bad considering all that power and money on the table.
But it is an interesting place which is sadly going to be redeveloped at the end of the year to be turned into what London is in dire need of...
Yes, you guessed it - some more over priced housing!
But in the meantime my brother has adopted a few beds ( the ones pictured are not his.)
It also is a place where people sit around at night or have coffee during the day.
It helps the local children learn about planting and gardens and basic food growing.
On Pinterest, I would have rolled my eyes at this 3 tier tire planter 
but in this setting it doesn't feel smug at all.
Back in west London, this is one of the most sculpted garden vignettes and gives respite to so many city folk.
Last year I heard rumours about a black swan in the Serpentine and did even see it in a hidden covey bit of the lake but finally saw it up close doing some bad synchronized swimming.
The tickets for the Painting the Modern Garden exhibition at the RA was ridiculously tedious to get so I became a "friend".
So glad I did because I have now seen it 3 times and got a free bag out of it.
I am happy I was a fleeting friend of the late Zaha Hadid via the RA.
I had coffee at the Serpentine cafe the day she passed.
Being a friend of the RA gives you the benefit of going to the internal courtyard that is only allowed for "friends."
Check out these 250 year old Aussie ferns they flew over!


Thing about plants is even these modest tulips hold their own.
They are my favorite kind - white with green veining and small dashes of pink.

Gosh they make shopping so easy at Chanel.
You sit while you wait while they get things out the back that aren't always on display.
They give you a Chanel leather quilted ipad case to browse without having to go to all 4 floors.

They had some actual wearable clothes other than the editorial stuff you see in magazines.
I love or as FF would say LUFF their dress coats.
But having gained weight is saving me so much money as I didn't buy this otherwise simple cardigan because I looked frumpy.
Before you say - Oh Naomi you look okay.
You weren't there and as you can see I chopped the pic.
My mother and I rarely agree on many matters but we both think the double CC's in their logo is their code for women with breasts bigger than C's need not apply.

This Fendi number will be seen for sure in the twilight hours of the passegiata peak time in Capri and St Tropez I am sure.
Speaking of window shopping...
I do love Sotheby's as regular readers can attest.
How can you not when it is so easily accessible and it like a museum with a new exhibition every few weeks!
I did a post ages ago saying that the charm of these paintings was that in most cases that this would be the last time they would be able to view as they would most likely go into the private home or offices that most of us can't access.

This Cy Twombly must be going for a ridiculous estimate.


Even for Sotheby's where estimate are in their millions, they said estimate upon request!!

This Renoir is a bit schmaltzy but interesting how one's taste change if you think if it's for your home.
My standards lower considerably and I wouldn't mind this in my bedroom.
But if it were his vernissage, 
then Monsieur Renoir - 
how very indulgent and populist of you sir!

Actually I prefer this Paul Gaugin still life below.

This is Paloma when she was little and before she was more associated with Tiffany than Picasso.

They also had a little nook with its own security for some jewels.
Gosh, hashtagging really is au fait.
I must get my act together.
It was the usual suspects of huge amazing stones.
Truth be told, I get more excited by people's engagement rings even if they are less than a carat.
But then those fiancees don't serve you truffles and macaroons while you have a look.
I just love the space and the calm to enjoy these paintings without the crowds.

I went to a talk by Ruby Wax who discussed her booked called Frazzled.
She's the one who co wrote Absolutely Fabulous and was a comedian herself.
She suffered and still does suffer from depression and in a way of handling it went to Oxford to study psychology.

She was talking about the stresses of modern life and 
how it is harder to diagnose stress as most of our stress is invisible in our modern age as opposed to the physical presence of say a mammoth ages ago.

I went to Bristol and marvel at the buildings every time.
Driving back was the consistent combination of sun and rain which miraculously results as a rainbow.
I alway marvel when I see a rainbow - especially a double rainbow.
Right Blue Booby?

34 comments:

  1. I'm going to keep my paddle holstered for the Cy Twombly and 'comment upon request'.

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    1. Even if you have a fly in your face at the moment do not swat with your paddle.

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  2. I do luff the coat dresses and the blue cardy!! I trust you if you say it didn't suit but it looks good!

    I saw Ruby Wax Live a few years ago and she was so funny but there was a sadness there also.

    I hope you ate lots of those free snacks because they look good.

    Love the blog as always x

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    1. Ruby was a bit hyper and this was more of a talk and she admitted she'd only used the bits where people laughed in a future stand up!

      I never met a dress coat I didn't like. I would have gobbled all those treats except it was right after I'd been to Chanel so just enjoyed the option of free stuff! X

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  3. I love the simpler, non editorial Chanel stuff that isn't too heavily emblazoned with the logo. It's recognisable as it is, lots of logos tend to say fashion victim to me. But I know what you mean about the CC sizing - my sister was told she had the 'perfect chanel figure' by a saleswoman as she is flat chested, about 5'8" tall and was at that time very thin. She did look very elegant in the suit (didn't buy it, she bought a car instead!!).
    Not so sure about that chocolate box Renoir.... all those roses are a little kitschy. And loved your comment about the pinterest style tyre pot arrangement. I think when it's an organic thing (no one would have looked at pinterest to create that surely), it works. When you've seen it on Pinterest and then recreate it in your outer suburban bungalow garden it doesn't seem to work quite so well.
    Gosh, those jewels! Fortunately I have no where to wear them...! xx

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    1. I like Chanel this season and they gave s few classics but I don't have Coco's lean figure and to be fair even in my thinner days Chanel just doesn't cut for my frame.
      That Renoir was just a study looking st the composition but if someone gave it to me I wouldn't say no!! But it's coma by sugar sweet...
      Yes I think it's the smugness I can't bear on some Pinterest boards instead of what would Martha do with Robinson Crusoe scenario. There was a super rare pink diamond but it was out of the cage BC someone was having a look in another secure room. People were wondering which former dictator it might be ;p xx

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  4. Great post. I would love to add a Chanel cardigan to my wardrobe someday but at the moment it's all about the VCA fund so my cardigans will have to continue to come from J. Crew! Thank you for including the gems here, those ruby and diamond earrings are quite nice. I am thinking of going to Sotheby's this weekend for their jewelry preview, all to see a 1947 VCA ballerina clip made right here in NY. I am obsessed. xx

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    1. They made them with a slight angle and I couldn't get the button through due to it. I prefer the straight lines edge. VCA find will get you more enjoyment returns BC you can wear it everyday. I'm still glad I went but want to see the pink diamond I missed xx

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  5. Lucky you Naomi! How wonderful to be able to wander Chanel whenever you feel like it - and all those auction goodies, to say nothing of luscious chocs (even if you didn't nibble). The days when I could have worn Chanel clothing are long gone - I had the skinny figure for Mary Quant minis back in the day. So that's where my money went when I had any (wouldn't have stretched to Chanel anyway). That and travel. I preferred to spend time and money travelling in Italy, France, Spain etc, rather than throwing it at a heap of expensive things. Still do. Though these days I admit I love visiting Chanel in the rue Cambon. They have heaps of things you don't see on the catwalk or the mags or their website (which is dreadful, no?). Plus while you're sitting on one of their stools examining sautoirs and scarves they ply you with coffee or champagne or whatever.
    Loved some of those paintings, particularly the still lifes with flowers - and that landscape - am old school that way. Somehow I've never got Cy Twombly. Even though he still seems to be the rage and commands huge prices. I wonder how he will last into the future. But I do like some of the moderns, like Rothko (love the room at the Tate Modern) and Gerhard Richter (there was a fab exhibition in Paris a couple of years ago).

    Will be so pleasant to relax in that lovely RA courtyard in summer. Have you tried Skye Gyngell's Spring restaurant. We loved it last year. Decor and style - heaven. The food - amazingly reasonable if you go for the set price lunch - and super quality fresh. Met Skye and she was so nice. Any chance you'll be in Paris in June?
    Pammie xx

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    1. Cy commands more BC of modern day first generation owners and the politics. But that's another post.

      I like Chanel and am always amused at the Windows. Thr shop at bond is lovely and the furniture is worth s look. But yes I prefer travel truth be told too,

      I did go to Spring but finding her new palette too bland for me I'm afraid. Lovely venue though.

      I have other plans for June but you never know!! Xx

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    2. Sorry to hear Spring décor was a bit bland for you. Skye told us what it was like before she and her decorator sister turned it into a restaurant. Had been offices for a branch of the Tax department for decades: the walls were old and dirty and with brown nicotine stains, hideous old petitions, falling apart blinds etc. When we lunched there it seemed so fresh and softly pretty and the roses and other flowers were a delight. Also they'd restored all the architectural features.
      Will keep fingers crossed about Paris, H likely to be there in second week of June too. Pammie

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    3. The venue is amazing and I love their informal area. Are you doing your annual trip this summer? Our H?

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    4. Yes, annual trip. But this time only to France. Sorry, that should have been R. Will FB message you. P

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  6. When you are paying that amount for clothes, they need to make your body sing, not look frumpy.

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    1. I won't spend even a quid! Which is why I hardly buy clothes anymore!

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  7. Well Naomi, I'd love to have those Aussie ferns in my garden, those tulips in my kitchen, those Chanel jackets in my closet and I wouldn't mind some boobies bigger than a C cup! Happy Sunday lovely xx

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  8. My mother saw 'Painting the Modern Garden' in Cleveland, and raved about it. I wasn't sure whether she was more jealous of the paintings, or of the gardens.

    I agree with you about the splendid chance offered by auction house displays and catalogues. Although some of the pieces, as you say, go into hiding, many have an odd way of resurfacing, and then you can say, "I knew them when!"
    --Jim

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    1. I think the space and calm is the luxury in town BC I was at the garden exhibit and it's been so popular they have extended closing hours to accommodate the crowd and it was three rows deep for every painting. But at Sotheby's it's free with museum quality stuff and you could go the hokey pokey! Well three S triptych with 3 of them reunited for the first time in a 100 years. It's a real gym this exhibit!

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  9. I would skip the art and only enjoy the jewels. How gorgeous. I also approve of the tire bed at that garden where clearly recycling is the priority. We would both roll our eyes more at the Pinterest comment that says "luv this idea!!! upcycling is my passion". Something actually being done and used bothers me less.
    Though unfortunately I did know a woman who spent her life savings trying to patent the idea of using tires as planters. Not sure how she felt she had a leg to stand on there but I'm sure her patent attorney told her she would make millions.
    So funny about Chanel and the C cup cut off.
    Love the swans!

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    1. We could have asked to try on the pink diamond but you'd have to sign papers get a security clearance so it's much easier to try on a sweater st Chanel! The chocolate wasn't that popular but the crowd were guzzling the booze. I do follow the upcycle boards BC they make me laugh and cry. It's like the craft version of slapstick.
      Dude, was her lawyer called Saul BC Hank from breaking bad used him and he had his moments!!!
      Black swan surely has its own feed unknowingly on Instagram...i papped it too.

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  10. Love the RA: look at you with your fancy access. Love shopping Chanel. Wish all stores worked like that! I think you look lovely but we are all our own harshest critics.
    Xo

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    1. It's so funny BC all the "friends" well 98% are straight out of central casting Jen - you'd laugh!!! The service was so darn good and I love Chanel even more for it xx

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    2. I love that kind of thing!

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  11. I think you and your mother might be spot on re the c cups - very sadly...I persevere, but I def need fewer curves.Went to see the Garden paintings at the RA last week when I realised it was nearly at an end already and it might be my last chance. Took a whingey child with me: won't be doing that again when I go back for a second look this week.Love being a Friend - can't cope with all that booking of slots business.Usually feel a bit common amongst all the smart Friends, though. You're doing sterling work with all these round-ups.Xsue

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    1. There were so many people there yesterday! I doubt that you look anything like that. I don't bother that much and lucky I am not vain hehe I fo appreciate Chanel on others though but this weekend was a reminder to lose weight which is why I hate shopping now!! Xx

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  12. NO COMMENT!
    YOU TAKE MY BREATH AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!
    XX

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  13. There was much in this post to enjoy. Thanks for sharing!

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  14. Chanel, Cy Twombly, and parrot tulips!!! Yes to all :) I love you in that Chanel. Slay sister!!! xoxo

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    1. I only have the tulips though!! You are very sweet Loi xx

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  15. Oh those Chanel dress jackets are divine! Tbh I can't remember the last time I went inside Chanel though...I never get time on weekdays and the melb store actually has a queue on weekend! If there is one thing I won't stand for (pun intended!) it's queuing for $$$ designer goods! Just seems too desperate!

    I am considering picking something Chanel up on my Euro honeymoon in June though the dress coats far exceed my budget!

    You are so lucky to have access to Sotheby's like that. And so fabulous that you take advantage of it! I certainly wouldn't mind any of that art on my wall! Those jewels are beautiful too. Would have loved to see the pink diamond. And would have overdosed on the free chocolates!

    I'd be keen to hear more on the ruby wax talk. I think she is quite interesting though at times maybe a bit too brash for my tastes.

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    1. I remember the days when Chanel in Melbourne just opened and it was empty and the same bag would be in the window sill for days on end...

      Yes get it here and get the tax off and during the sale! But remember to ask the staff if they have anything at the back because they really dont have the space to put everything out.

      Yes one of the perks of living here is going around the auction houses and the museums. If I had a pool in my backyard I can tell you my blog would be about my tan!!

      PS Ruby has written a book and it is called Frazzled x

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