Hat inspiration

A friend just told me about this brilliant hat blog full of inspiration for milliners and fashion enthusiasts alike.
There haven't been any recent entries - but what's there is great.

 Have a look and be transported!

Brown Owl

My friend Melissa  was recently raking through a trunk-load of childhood belongings that she hasn't  been able to house since she moved abroad many years ago. She was delighted to find her old Girl Guide uniform complete with its many badges (she was a Queen's Guide and so rather keen at proving her skills!) still lying intact at the bottom of all her stuff. It's about 20 years old now and filled her with such delight that she e-mailed me straight away, knowing how much I love the old badges too for their vintage charm and customising credentials. I'm waiting for a photo of the uniform to add to the Blog. Melissa now has three daughters of her own and  the memories kick-started by the discovery will no doubt inspire many stories for them. It just shows that hoarding can be a VERY GOOD thing! Staying on the subject of Girl Guide badges, I was interested to see  that Top Shop has just realised  their contemporary style potential too.....I know...they are WAY behind me...tut tut Top Shop!  On a recent trip to the Oxford Street branch, I spotted a pair of khaki green shorts and a retro-style jacket which has been embellished with reproduction Brownie badges. Both the items look great - but with the jacket coming in at £125 it's OH SO MUCH CHEAPER to do it yourself with the real thing - and it's great fun tracking the badges down on E-bay. My current favourite is the one with a ball of wool and a pair of knitting needles on it. Can anyone remember what it was awarded for?

Exhibition must see

Claire Richardson is doing the photography for my book - which will be out next year. She's brilliant - with a lovely eye for off-beat colour and emotive places. I think her exhibition will be well-worth seeing. Apparently the charity shops in St Leonards are fantastic too - and you can get a breath of fresh air on the sea-front!

Clothes-peg dress

Here's the clothes-peg dress I mentioned in my Tweet a while back. It's in the window of Harvey Nic's in London - and I think it's just beautiful.

Tea, clothes and vintage 'do's in York

I've just read in The Guardian about The House of Avalon in York. Vintage clothes, tea shop and retro hair-do's too. I'll definitely be heading there next time I'm up North.

Colour