Thanks Blue Booby! And thank her for the giveaway

Well there hasn't been much to cheer on about lately with terrible things happening in the world but I will take positivity where I can find it without seeming saccharine.

I got surprised by a lovely little parcel from Teresa at the witty and straight shooting blog Blue Booby last week that made my week.

Knowing my love of magazines she sent me a few issues of

 Garden & Gun which I have only just discovered thanks to her and a Tennessee tea towel.

Thank you Blue Booby!!

Not only are you a true Southern wit but you also have great taste and I love that you introduced a new magazine to my repertoire.

Thanks to her I decided I should have a give away .

I had decided against it when I hit my 18 month point ( I am mentally plogging along in 6 month chunks.) but this inspired me to do one.

If you have entered my giveaways before you are automatically entered so no need to enter again unless you are vehemently against it in which case I will take your name out.

I will also add a few new known followers and commenters to the mix since my last giveaway.

If there are newer joiners that are normally quiet then please let me know so I can add you.

I don't know what the heck the prize will be. 

 In fact I will pick two names out of the hat and according to the person I may do what Blue Booby has done and 

just tailor a present.

The giveaway will close 26th of August so either comment below if you have never done so before or you can email me on  couldashouldawoulda9@gmail.com

Good luck!

July 2014 Instagramy Post

Christie's had a Banksy auction recently.

Says a lot about how much Christie's has changed but also how far Banksy has come.

I love his sense of humor.

His artistic sarcasm may be blunter than previously expressed by artists of another generation but I think he will have an enduring appeal though no one can predict these things for sure.

Banksy is known to be anti-establishment and rumor has it he is upset that his work is being auctioned off at such a powerhouse of an auction house.

One of this works depicting this sentiment.

But the works were put forward by his former agent with whom he is not on the best terms.

Steve was  correct that Banksy does make people smile by leaving his works around various spots in London.

This is the nearest Banksy to my house.

It used to be the spot where papparazzi would take shots of people who would have gone to Ottolenghi or a nearby boutique.

It's been there for more than a decade and they have put perspex over it to protect it.

The shop window of the month goes to Smythson on Bond Street.

Don't you love how this fighter plane is made by notebook covers and wallets.

This is the pub with the enthusiastic flowers covering it in Kensington Church Street.

It's so odd to see remnants of a formalized and public smoking.

This was the smoking pod at Llubjana airport.

Coming back from a holiday is hard enough but to try and maintain healthy eating is even harder.

Take away porridge with fried bananas in coconut oil was the compromise.

Oxford Street was named the most polluted street in the U.K.

I hate the sidewalk congestion just as much on that road.

Seeking passionate sales assistant?

Selling shoes or affair with the boss?

I love the quatrefoil in any form but particularly find it soothing as a door handle.

Might consider it for the home.

Went to an Anzac coffee place in Soho that was ok.

The baristas had such a quasi-hipster snobby attitude and the coffee was ok but don't think I would go back.

Hope you had a good July! x

British Vogue August 2014 Part 2

This was the second choice of the cover featuring Victoria Beckham.  They rarely give choices so I think Victoria's team wanted two looks.

What a difference almost a hundred years make.
An illustrated cover might make a nice refreshing change.
This was the cover for the July 1918 issue.

It says that the difficulty in obtaining a copy is due to the

 "Kaiser and his Junker!"  And I don't think they were referring to Karl Lagerfeld...

I wonder if people a century from now will view our present issues and think how twee and terrible all at once.

Instead of telling us about the latest polish they were discussing the "potatriot". At that time matters of farming dictated the crucial trends.

A lot of brands seem to be chasing and emulating the crafts and handmade nature of Hermes bags.  Every bag now seems to have 5000 stitches sewn by vestal virgins or 80 year old men who have a skill passed down by 5 generations of his forebears.

 

This Louis Vuitton bag uses a specific craft called tuffetage 

( see pronunciation above) to justify the latest attempt at being the 2014 it bag.

How do you pronounce 'belle tentative'?

Charlotte Olympia has inspired other brands to do humorous and gimmicky bags.

And I think she still leads the way if you want an accessory that doesn't take itself too seriously.

I really like Celine. ( Who doesn't? )

It is perfect for the woman who doesn't want to faff about with fashion but acknowledges that appearance is important to a degree but doesn't need to prove anything.

The trousers need tailoring but the jacket is simulataneously 
sexy and serious.
Zara can try to copy it but it's these seemingly easy designs that just don't translate into the high street unfortunately.

Prints are great but I always feel like they are for people with tons of clothes or the very wealthy.

 

This blouse is £7800. 

How many wears could you get away with until people think you only own the one blouse? 

The same goes for this painted leather jacket from Fendi.

Christopher Kane is great but it is more of a favorite of fashion editors who get free samples and massive discounts.

To be blunt, at that price point I couldn't justify this brand.
Apologies to the British Fashion council.

I know bloggers are notorious for wearing capes.

But I might join the tribe because Valentino is doing some amazing cape coats this season.

I saw a grey cashmere double breasted cape coat that is on my wish list. ( Tried to find a pic but it was in last months Vogue.)

 

You could achieve this look by dyeing those fluffy wool rugs and then taking it to a seamstress rather than hand over money to Gucci.

While I like the London look and non chalance that permeates British Vogue I find it falls flat in this picture.

 

I would be very upset if I were working 
for the PR office of Dolce and Gabbana.  This brand bluntly put is the antithesis of this model's look.   Anemic and androgynous figures with lanky hair do this dress no favors.

Casting models is a very important job.

This girl looks like she is wearing her father's leather jacket from the 70's to a theme party.

Now this is when a photo editor and stylist and model didn't do their job well.  You may make fun of America's Next Top Model but Tyra taught me that you have to find the USP ( unique selling point ) and show it off.

 

Huge fail! 

The captions says the jacket as plimsoll laces but you can't see them.  It's 70% of the design. It is supposed to be "THE" jacket of the season and most copied on the high street and yet the editors chose this picture?

I love this Chanel jacket but just don't like the rest of the look that is normally compiled together.

Fashion companies normally have a "look number".  
This means that there is a full outfit composed together and most likely was sent off that way in the catwalk.  So some stylists just order the whole ensemble if it is a big shoot. 
But this coat would be amazing with another outfit.

I never knew that Versace is going to use the bias cut for the first time this season! I thought it was standard?

Now onto Victoria's editorial!

They gave her soo many pages.

It didn't start well for me because the first picture was that tired, I mean, tried and true Vogue formula of dressing someone up in a ballgown doing a menial or domestic chore which has been DONE.

But it was actually fun and I have never seen her look so beautiful.

( I know she has been retouched but who hasn't? She used to be retouched before but I never thought she looked that nice.)

But let's be frank, these editorials are for rebranding or adding a new layer to her image and they pulled out all the stops.

Hands up - who else does their flower cuttings this way?
No I am not talking about the dress but that pose.
She looks like she is posing for a still life art class.
How cute is that puppy though? 
Reminds me of my brother's dog.

The photo editor decided that pictoral consistency was not the order of the day but making her look great was the priority hence the black and white zen shot.

The "I am actually really vulnerable" look turned out well.

This is more of a classic VB and how I "see" her.

Practiced pout with the lips a few millimeters apart and neck pulled up and back.

My first reaction here was what are you doing Vicky?

Then I realized this is the unmarried Regency girl pining for her gentleman caller about to faint from the pain of separation then promptly to be revived with smelling salts look.

I know some of you can explain better because it is just odd.

The "I am carefree and I am not as stuffy as you think I am look."

I doubt she would run even for her life.

This is Victoria getting dinner.

For the whole family.  

Harper is not going to be allowed to be chubby for very much longer...

( don't look at me like that cuz you thought it too!)

Then out of nowhere, there was this collage of various objects.

Huh?

Then this picture followed.

I like she can take the mick out of herself too.

Now this was a flagrant attempt to show us her different sides.

But it just reminds me of a Japanese high school girl trying to be cutesy and only shows us she does botox.
Or perhaps she wants to branch into acting and this is a way of showing her different expressions?

She does hats really well. 
She looks great even when looking bored.
But the outdoorsy English housewife isn't really her look is it?

Gosh, I wish I could look that good sleeping.
No wonder David is still with her!

 

I would be lying if I said I have always been a fan.

But I love how she has evolved.

She isn't the same girl as the one who wore purple matching suits with David to cut her wedding cake and ate them while sitting on their thrones.

I love seeing her come into her own and wish her well.

Hope you enjoyed the UK issue! x