Chopping one's bangs/fringe off is a sign - Beyonce is no exception

 I am not a psychoanalyst nor psychologist.  

My credentials are simply human instinct, intuition and experience, and years of watching Oprah.

But when I saw these latest pictures of Beyonce with her bangs / fringe ( you choose your preferred word ) 

there is no doubt she is in some sort of mental flux.

( Gurrl knows she should go but she loves JayZ and is in pain.)

Via

We all now know that she is a cool cucumber and in complete control of her emotions after we saw the footage of that incident in the elevator with her sister and Jay Z.

 

 

 

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She may or may not deserve her Grammys but for that smooth unfettered smile - give the girl an Oscar!

Yes they insist on playing happy families for whatever private and personal reason.

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That is completely her own choice and I am old enough to not judge and know any relationship is complicated.

I sometimes cut my hair with thinning scissors but that is because I find the process of booking an appointment with a London hairdreser and telling them about my plans for that night painful and also a waste of money. 

Plus I am not that vain and a civilian.

But we all know that a sudden haircut or hairstyle change is an external expression of something deeply internal.  I knew something was up when Garance Dore got her hair chopped and then she announced she broke up with Scott aka the Sartorialist.

But to cut your hair so bluntly and in an unflattering manner

( she is not normally so avant garde ) is a sign that you are in emotional turmoil or extreme state of flux.

Via

Beyonce must have a lot to think about and emotions have a way of manifesting sooner or later and in her case seems to have been expressed through her hair.

But I have a feeling that this picture is as far as she will come to kicking Jay Z to the street curb.

The word "Chic" has officially been mis and overused

My own disco song that always gets me to the dance floor was the song Le Freak by the group Chic.


I loved saying the word "chic" as a little girl and 
 judging by social media and numerous titles in journalism, 
I am not the only who has a soft spot for this word.

But through no fault of its own and albeit fine in principle,
 like Beyonce it really is time to take a break and 
recuperate from overexposure. 

It is so easy to be guilty of it. 
The word is monosyllabic;
starts with a soft linguistic diagraph and ends with a crisp consonant. 
It also has the bonus of being a French word that no hardened Parisian would bother correcting our pronunciation when said.

However, things came to a head for me this past week when the late Dowager Duchess of Devonshire had her funeral and the processions made the various rounds on all news outlets.

I am a small blog so doubt this will be read by those very people but nevertheless out of politesse I shall not name and shame those very "tastemakers" and "style shapers" who were hashtagging and describing her coffin consistently with the adjective

 #chic 

Some things are just meant to be inside one's own head or discussed with family at dinner reminding relatives not to mention this in outside company.  Of course, one can add that the casket was beautiful and befitting but chic? 

Guess what folks now there are whole other levels in which you and your taste levels will be judged and measured.  
So add caskets and funerals to the already long list of clothes, home decor, jewellery, car and other manners of comportment. 

Unless you die while taking your last breath of air scented with bio-dynamic roses in a vase that has been in your family for a thousand years while drinking a gin and dubonnet mixed by your newly hired butler who used to serve the very same drink to the late Queen Mother while landing on your country estate on your private plane with your hand carved, environmentally friendly casket designed by Fendi ready and waiting for you at your private chapel
 then you just ain't doing it right.

#mannersandtruetasteisnotratingburialmethods

#justsayitwasabeautifulservice

#notusingthewordchictil2015

#yesiamback

Instagramy-y Post October 2014

Isn't it odd that one can chit chat in detail about the events of the day with someone you see or contact on a daily basis but when you haven't seen someone in a long time you end up summarizing like  - yeah, haven't been up to much really, got married you know whatever. 

I kind of feel like that right now but I thought I would share a few tidbits of my trip to Korea and Japan anyway.

The main highlight of September was my trip to Kyoto, Japan.

This path in the bamboo forest was a place that I had been wanting to visit for a few years so I decided to visit it as it is only an hour and a half flight from Seoul.  ( Crouching tiger, hidden dragon wasn't filmed here in case you were wondering.)

I love certain things about Japan like this special red/orange pigment they use on special buildings mostly Shinto shrines. 
This specific one was in the Kyoto Imperial Villa that is now vacated as the capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo a couple of hundred years ago.

French Vogue September Issue 2014

I am in the middle of my travels so I haven't had the time to do all the September issues of various countries.  I am only sharing this French September issue of Vogue for your viewing.

( PS there is an editorial with some nudity so please stop here if that offends you.)

 

I love this picture and I don't normally like red.

 

 

 

 

These diamond hoop earrings combine both luxury and every usage well.

Too much jewellry ironically doesn't get used because it is too previous and never gets the literal chance to shine.

Not too sure about these Coco Chanel perfume bottle earrings.

 

 

 

 

They really wanted to style that hat but ran out of ideas.

 

This topless boxer doesn't look good on anyone so please don't try this at home.

 

This red coat is great if you are a high fashion flasher.

 

French Vogue loves Edie and I find her great because, well, because she isn't Cara.

 

 

 

 

I would have gone crazy over this dress but am upset that she is smoking in this picture.

There is a blog post coming on that issue when I get back to normal scheduling.

 

 

 

 

Remeber Betty Blue?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The daughter of the LVMH dynasty is known to be a Celine fan and wear that in her daily life even though she is raising the flag for Louis Vuitton in this feature.

Carla's back.  And the way French politics is going - she may be back at the Palace after Hollande's term ends.

 

 

 

These pair of Miu Miu boots or have made several editorials and will be pounding the pavements near you in a few months!

 

No comments on this post but hope you are all well!

Fingers crossed for the Scottish election which may mean different things to different people...

Happy Chusoek / Moon Festival

Today is Chusoek in Korea and what the Chinese refer to as the Harvest Moon Gestivdl. It is customarily the 15th day (always the full moon)  of the 8th month in the lunar calendar.  It is always the largest full moon of the whole year and at around 6 pm your local time is meant to be the fullest for the year. It is the Asian equivalent of Thanksgiving. 

In most Asian countries that follow both the lunar and gregorian calendars it is noted as the second most important holiday of the year after the new year.

While people celebrate the usual way of commemorating holidays, in Korea there are some holiday rites that may seem peculiar to foreigners.

Most families will visit dead relatives graves and honor them by first bowing but also having a picnic in front of the tomb.

What is an interesting sight to some is that families are known to pour a bottle if the deceased choice of either sake or beer over the tomb and stick a lit cigarette in the grave. 

But what can be appreciated universally is that people give gifts like westerners do over the end of year Christmas and Hannukah season.  But the presents are always food of some kind. 

Meat and an ornamentsl box of fruits ( like one of the individually wrapped melons we got today) in season are a popular choice which symbolise the harvests at this time.

In Korea and Japan, it is etiquette to wrap presents more so than other cultures. In fact not only is wrapping paper used but a special silk or cotton cloth is used to cover the item. 

In Korea, it is referred to as bojagi and in Japan it is called furoshiki.

It is a custom I have only seen in these two countries thus far and I was do delighted to see people still maintain this tradition. 

 In fact there is a special bojagi that was mainly used by the korean royal family that was always embroidered.

Korea seems to have concentrated more on the embroidery side.

In Japan, many furoshiki have evolved to tie dyeing and the use of special indigo dyes.

In the spirit of modern oneupmanship, my mother received a Chusoek present a few years ago in an expensive silk scarf but luckily that hasn't caught on and traditional arts are kept alive although there are modern polyester varieties also available.

I am in Korea for the holidays at present so I would like to wish you a happy Chusoek / autumn / spring equinox. 

I also want to say that readers Kate and Constance Snow have won the giveaway. Please email me on couldashouldawoulda9@gmail.com

Pps please excuse this format but I am using the blogger app...