The Womens Room

Christmas wish list: Rare Bird of Fashion

Iris Apfel has long been one of the Womens Room favourite Style Icons. We are fascinated by her eccentric style, amazing use of colour and complete refusal to conform and dress like an old lady (she's 88). 

An exhibition dedicated to her Style is currently on in Salem MA at the Peabody Essex Museum and runs until February 2010. They credit Iris with being the first women to turn jeans into a fashion item, when in the 1940's she hounded the owner of her local Army and Navy store, until he ordered her a pair of boy sized jeans. Until then, only lumberjacks and field hands had worn them, but she wore hers with a turban and hoop earrings! The exhibition lists the essential elements of style according to Iris Apfel:

• Never take yourself or and outfit too seriously
• Visit the animal kingdom
• Consider the clergy
• Travel widely
• Go high and low
• Don't fret about your age
• Don't be afraid to stop traffic

Eric Bowman's book Rare Bird of Fashion was published in 2007 and is a tribute to the personal style of Apfel over the last 40 years.  Bowman styled over 90 outfits on mannequins, using the colours, textures and patterns loved by Iris.
A true inspiration and a great present for a stylish friend or relative.

We Love: Crystal Cove

We bought the book, Crystal Cove Cottages some years ago, and taking another look at it recently, made us think about how there are some places in the world, you just know you could live!

The Toronto Islands is another such place and like Crystal Cove in Orange County, California, sadly it's just not possible. Somehow the fact that no matter how much money you have, these little utopia's are just not for sale, makes them even more desirable. To live on the Toronto Islands, you either have to inherit a property or marry someone who owns one. 

Crystal Cove was inhabited by artist and families from the 1920's until 2001, when the area was turned into a national park. The cottages are now available to rent, so it is at least possible to have a holiday there.

 

The book explores the stories of the cottages and their interesting inhabitants and the art the area inspired. A fabulous read for those winter evenings when you want to escape to another world, or dream of a summer holiday. The Crystal Cove website has all the details on how to rent the cottages.

We are reading: Bag

We seem to have so many friends writing books at the moment, we don't have much room left on our coffee table!!

This time our mates Sue and Susie have come up with the essential insight into the world of iconic bags. Over the last 10 years we have seen the handbag develop from merely an accessory into a collectable statement item, each with its own name. This stunning book documents the process from the first Hermes Kelly bag in the 1950's, through to the contemporary designers that are now copied the world over.

Bag is beautifully illustrated with specially commissioned photographs and provides a fascinating insight into the creative process behind the world of accessories.

Another one for the Christmas list.

We are reading: Sharp Suits

This post is just a good excuse to show you a beautifully dressed and rather handsome looking man, which we are hoping might cheer up your day. Should you like the way men look in suits, then can we suggest you look at purchasing Sharp Suits, by Eric Musgrave as a Christmas present for middleagedad, in the hope that perhaps he might get inspired?

The charming Mr Musgrave is something of a dapper dresser himself, having been immersed in all things fashion for some years, not least as award winning editor in chief of the industry’s weekly rag Drapers Record. The book, which is fabulous (Mr Musgrave is a good writer and editor), covers the importance of the role of the suit in history, music, film, celebrity, how it shaped the look of the Royal family and an insight into how it is constructed. Pretty much all you’re ever going to want to know on the subject really.

And then there’s the 148 delicious images, Eric, who confesses to owning 11 suits, told us “I worked hard with my trusty researcher Emma O’Neil to locate photos that are not too familiar, even to menswear nerds like me who look at a lot of menswear books.” We feel the need to do some man-styling, now, where’s middleagedad got to.......?

Sharp Suits by Eric Musgrave Published by Pavilion on 5th October 2009 

We Love: The Front Room

You know how fascinated we are here at the Womens Room with interior style. We love everything from the most stylish to the most eccentric, the only we thing we don't like is boring. There is nothing more disappointing than visiting someones house and finding they have no individual style. 
We particularly love the style of some of our older West Indian neighbours. Their eclectic, bright and often multi patterned style is often reminiscent of their culture and a hybrid of West Indian and English taste. 

Michael McMillan curated an exhibition at the Geffrye Museum in East London some years ago, featuring West Indian front rooms and their social significance. He has now turned the project into a book which is out at the end of September. This unique study of different migrant groups, examines how these rooms reflect some of the isolation, aspiration and displacement the owners felt and how certain objects became symbolic to them. The images are poignant and nostalgic and we love the mixture of print, pattern and colour.

Take a look at the website for some images that may well transport you back to you own childhood!!

And while we are on the subject, if you like this book you may well like Living Normally too! Not so much a visual inspiration, but defiantly heartwarming and makes you realise that maybe style doesn't matter so much after all!

Sandy Lewis in the Sunday Times

In a shameless plug for family success, we would urge you to read Sandy and Max Lewis in the Sunday Times today. We've written about Sandy and Max before when we featured Sandy's book Living With Max, which is a heartfelt account of the highs and lows of bringing up a child with Downs Syndrome. Sandy is Amanda's sister. The book goes from strength to strength and Sandy and Max have done a summer full of daytime TV appearences, book signings and other media stuff.

Somehow getting in The Sunday Times seems the very best thing and we are immensely proud of them both. We have been reading Relative Values in the ST all our lives, so to see your sister and nephew featured is beyond exciting and a little awe inspiring. It's been a hard struggle for Sandy, her husband Paul, Max and his brother Charlie, but they have all done so much to raise the issues of Downs Syndrome and the need to change attitudes towards all disabilities. Go sis!

Sandy and Max in the Sunday Times 

Sandy's blog on living with Max

We love: John Lewis's Make Do and Mend

The new John Lewis update (left) and the original 1940s pamphlet, available from the Imperial War Museum (right)

Everyone's at this home-made lark. Yesterday we told you about the Make Lounge and then we found out that John Lewis has brought out a great Make Do and Mend booklet, an updated version of the original 1940s government booklet on being frugal.

John Lewis believe there is an increased interest in maintaining and making things and sales in its haberdashery departments are up a reported 17% this year. The little booklet, which costs £3.00, is full of useful tips on how to mend tights, revive the colour of denim jeans and take up hems and is for sale in the habidashery department of most branches. A few John Lewis branches are offering Make Do and Mend classes this September, where you can brush up on your sewing skills, or even learn them for the first time. Classes are free, but you need to book and pay for materiels used. It's time we upgraded our sewing boxes.....

The booklet is out from Monday 7th Sept and for John Lewis Make Do and Mend classes, check stores for availability

Post update! John Lewis has just sent me the press release for this, which states that sales for sewing boxes are up a staggering 75%! (that'll be the nice Cath Kidstone one's I spotted yesterday) and sewing machines sales are up 30%. There's a craft revolution going on ladies!

We are reading: Food from your Garden

Recently we looked at our favourite cookery books  and it was pretty clear that Reader's Digest books are worth investing in as Jane and I have at least one in each of our favourites list. Well, after a trip to Pembrokeshire last week to see friends, we've got another one to add to the list. Food from your Garden was published by Reader's Digest in 1977 and is an alphabetical guide to what to grow, how to grow it and then what to do with it when you've got a glut of successful produce (currently pears and plums in this garden).

What with everyone now growing their own fruit and veg, this book is an essential both for the shed (where our mate keeps his) and the kitchen, where I will be keeping mine. Unbelievably, the book is out of print and although available on Amazon from Other Sellers, is mighty pricey, starting at about £25 (although compared to some of the cookery books we've seen recently for sale, it's not that much more and probably will be much more useful). Imagine my smug satisfaction then, at finding one in a second hand bookshop in Cardigan for £3.50.....it is clearly worth keeping your eyes open for a copy when trawling your local seller.

It has a brilliant section on jams, jellies, pickles and syrups (plum/pear syrup anyone?) and gets much more technical and useful than any book we've read recently on the subject (I now know how to do a pectin test with meths and that it's best not to rely wholly on a sugar thermometer). There's also a section on countryside food where I was able to identify the fruits we found on an Irish mountainside growing next to heather as bilberries, not the blueberries I thought they were.

Altogether a genius book to have if you are growing your own and it's always nice to go into a second hand bookshop with a sense of purpose.

We are reading: Sheds on the Seashore

Sheds on the Seashore by Kathryn Ferry, traces the history of British beach huts, right back to the first wheeled bathing machines of the mid-eighteenth century. It also takes a contemporary tour around the English coast, to explore the iconic beach huts of today.
We have mentioned before how much we love British beach huts and we will definitely be taking this book with us to our shed by the sea this summer.

We are reading: Tips for Knitters

Since we are such craft enthusiasts here at The Women's Room, all new books on how to make stuff are of interest, particularly when they are nicely designed with good pictures. So we love the new Tips for Knitters book from Debbie Bliss, which explains everything you need to know about knitting, from how to cast on to including beads in your stitiches. It's a perfect present for beginners, acting a little like a guide book to stitches, understanding patterns, knitting terminology, fixing mistakes and understanding yarn. Being neat (a little smaller than A5) it will fit in any knitting bag too.

The Women's Room knitting guru Belinda tells us that Ms Bliss is well respected in the knitting world and her patterns are good, the book is certainly very pretty. Although there are no actual sweater patterns in the book, there are instructions on how to do practise squares of lots of different stitches and lace edging, which is lovely and a good place to start for real beginners. Practise squares could be patched together and edged around with the lace, we can feel a summer project coming on.....

Just Tips for Knitters by Debbie Bliss is published by Vermilion at £7.99 and is available from www.rbooks.co.uk

We are reading: Slim Aarons

One half of the Womens Room will actually be poolside by the time you read this, but it's doubtful we will be surrounded by the beautiful people featured in these books. A Place in the Sun and Poolside, offer a glimpse into the glamorous holidays of the international jet set, between the 1940's and the 1990's. 

Slim Aarons described his career as "photographing attractive people who were doing attractive things in attractive places." 
How fabulous!

We love: Gentlemen of the Bakongo

 
As part of the day job I am responsible for forecasting colour for the fashion industry (and no I am not going to tell you what colour to wear in two years time, it's entirely up to you) This means I am always on look out for inspiring colours, whether its the colour of someones front door, or the way Dot Cotton's (from UK soap Eastenders, for our non UK readers) hair colour perfectly co-ordinated with her outfit and the phone she was holding, on TV the other night. Teen daughter said, 'you are so weird mum, only you would notice that!

Books are a fabulous source of inspiration and I am always on the look out for old and new books with interesting colour combinations.
One of my current favourites is Gentlemen of the Bakongo, which features the well dressed dapper gentlemen of Brazzaville in the Congo.
The arrival of the French and Belgiuns to the Congo at the begining of the 20th Century, brought the style and elegance of Paris to the Congolese working for the colonialists. In 1922, G. A. Matsoua was the first-ever Congolese to return from Paris fully clad as an authentic French gentleman, which caused great uproar and much admiration amongst his fellow countrymen. He was the first Grand Sapeur (The society for the Advancement of People of Elegance). Members have their own code of honour, codes of professional conduct and strict notions of morality. Respected and admired in their communities, today's sapeurs see themselves as artists.
They are spectaculary well dressed and their unique colour sense and dandy style wouldn't look out of place walking down Saville Row.

Paul Smith for Father's Day

 

OK, so we're a little late with a reminder for Father's Day, particularly if you are buying on line, which is what we are suggesting here, but it's the thought that counts......

Paul Smith has earmarked a few things on his site that the design-concious dad-about-town may find rather desirable. Under Father's Day he has a selection of gifts that range from the economic if a little cheap skate £6.00 toothbrush, to the truly bonkers expensive Blumenau model train set at £1000. Somewhere in the middle is his book You Can Find Inspiration In Everything, £29.95, which we can recommend having had a copy for a while now and it really does inspire. Paul has signed 50 of these to send out for Father's Day, which might appeal to arty dads, or there's always the stripey sock at £14.00 which look very acceptable to us.

We love Paul Smith, although we can't actually afford his clothes, women or mens, unless we visit Bicester Village outlet centre, where we have picked up a few bargains in the past. But we don't have to buy Mr Smith's clothes to admire him, we like what he stands for, good quality design with a strong British flavour. He is also big into art and photography, he has even installed an art wall in his Heathrow Terminal Five shop, and he's a great collector of junk, which of course we at The Women's Room thoroughly approve of. 

He also has quite an interesting blog on his website, which is photo heavy, not a bad thing as he has a good eye and camera, which notes interesting art exhibitions and events. Arty dads might appreciate this, although you are still going to have to buy a present.....,

We love: Book blogs

Talking to the founder of Persephone books, Nicola Beauman last week, we asked her about the future of books. She thinks more and more people will be increasingly influenced by book blogs and lists Stuck in Book, Dove Grey Reader and Maude Newton among her favourites.
Maybe its something to do with the fact, that with blogs, you feel you are reading an honest review, or maybe its because blogs talk to connect to and lead tribes of like-minded people with a common interest.

Dove Grey Reader is our favourite book blog and was started in 2006 to to connect like-minded readers. The blog is now read all over the world with over 30,000 readers in the UK alone. The writer remains anonymous and all we know about her, is that she describes herself as, 'a Devonshire based bookaholic, sock knitting quilter, who used to be a community nurse in her spare time.' She loves to share her thoughts on reading, subjectively and emotionally, describe how a book has fired her imagination and think about what it makes her want to read next.

Like The Womens Room, Dove Grey posts every day and includes other things she likes, as well as books. But it's her book reviews that we love and some of her recent recommendations that we have enjoyed, include; Hearts and Minds by Amanda Craig, The Room of Lost Things by Stella Duffy and The Other Elizabeth Taylor by Nicola Beauman.

We are reading: Gypset Style

Journalist Julia Chaplin invented the word Gypset (gypsy + jet-set) and her new book Gypset Style focuses on an emerging group of artists, musicians, fashion designers, surfers and bon vivants, who lead semi-nomadic, unconventional lives. The Gypsetters featured in their self designed homes include conceptual artist Andrea Zittel from Joshua Tree, the Mignot sisters from Sayulita, Mexico and Damien Hirst and Maia Norman Thames from London and Trancoso, Mexico.
There’s also a historic section that traces the evolution of the Gypset movement; from the British romantic poets, Victorian era adventuresses to surrealists in Mexico

Chaplin describes Gypsetters, as 'people I’ve met or been inspired by in my travels, who have perfected a high-low approach to life that fuses the freelance and nomadic wile of a gypsy with the sophistication and global references of the jet set. It's an alternative way of traveling and living that’s based more on creativity then money. Instead of a luxury hotel in St Tropez or St. Bart’s, you might find a Gypsetter in Montauk, Cornwall, or in a teepee in Ibiza.'

We can so feel a 70's kaftan moment coming on!

We are reading: Bad Girls Go Everywhere:The Life of Helen Gurley Brown

Magazine editors are like fashion directors, fascinating, but often more than a little bit scary (see our previous post on Anna Wintour). We have encountered many high powered women in our careers that make Miranda Priestley in 'The Devil Wears Prada,' look positively tame.
Helen Gurely Brown is one such fashion editor and has always strangely fascinated us, although we're not sure we'd like to work for her!
At the age of 87 she still goes into work as the International editor of Cosmopolitan, exercises for 90 minutes every day and if she eats more 1,800 calories a day, will fast for 36 hours!

Gurley Brown wrote 'Sex and the Single Girl' in 1962 at the age of 40 and overnight created a publishing sensation. The book dispelled the myth that girls should be married before having sex and explored the pleasures of flirting, enjoying affairs from beginning to end, finding men in unexpected places and the delights and drawbacks of married men.

In 1965 she became editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan and reversed the fortunes of the failing magazine. She was an outspoken advocate of women's sexual freedom, sought to provide them with role-models in Cosmo and claimed that women could have it all, "love, sex, and money."

Her personal life is as fascinating as the effect she had on feminism and the invention of the 'Cosmo Girl' generation. Re-inventing herself from humble secretary to one of the highest paid copy writers on the West coast and later a leader of the sexual revolution, Gurely Brown's story is a real rags to riches tale.

We love her famous quotes and feel a 'Sex in the city' type film version of the book coming on. Just imagine the fabulous outfits!!

"Beauty can't amuse you, but brainwork, reading, writing and thinking can."

"People think chutzpah is in the genes. It isn’t…it’s in the needing and wanting and being willing to fall on your face. It isn't fun…who wants all that rejection, but life is sweeter if you make yourself do uncomfortable things."

"The flirt reacts. She laughs at the jokes, clucks at the sad parts, applauds bravery. I really think it gets easier to flirt as you get older because you learn to listen to any man, employing the same charm and rapt attention you once reserved for seven-year-olds."

"Money, if it does not bring you happiness, will at least help you be miserable in comfort."

"Good girls go to heaven; bad girls go everywhere."

Bad Girls Go Everywhere: The Life of Helen Gurley Brown

We are reading:How To Dress for Success

 

One of the Women's Room's favourite animated films is The Incredibles, due entirely to the wonderful Edna Mode, the height-challanged, giant glasses wearing fashion maven who gives the ailing Super Heros' suits a stylish makeover. She has the best lines ("No capes Daaahrling...no capes") and is allegedly based on a cross between Karl Largerfeld and the genius Hollywood costume designer Edith Head.

Edith Head designed costumes for stars such as Grace Kelly, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Davis and Gloria Swanson in the days when it was all about the glamour. So we were almost hyperventilating with excitiement when we discovered that Miss Head's book "How To Dress For Success", which was first published in 1967, has been republished and updated by Joe Hyams.

All the useful tips expert Edith picked up during a lifetime of making clothes for films are packaged in the book, which is handily small and bound in lavender cotton fabric. Luckily for us, as well as advice on how to build a successful wardrobe, analyse your figure and use colour successfully, Miss Head has included a chapter on "How to Look Younger", a chapter title who's words brutally remind us of the importance of youth back in the 60s (has anything changed?). She allows us insights into how the movie stars of the day keep loooking fab (they took great care of their skin and hair) but also claims that "As the years advance, the right clothes are the greatest ally a woman has in camouflaging the signs of age that are as inevitable as autumn leaves at summer's end".

She's 'old school' in her straight talking advice, which doesn't pull any punches, no touchy-feely empathy for the middle age frump here, if she was alive today we can see her using phrases like "get a grip" and perhaps giving those bossy Trinny and Susannah girls a run for their money. She includes a strict list of The Big Don'ts (wide belts, which is tough as that's a hot trend for winter, blouses that finish at the waist, tight fitting clothes, flounces and 'extremes') and gives guidence on grey areas such as decollete, weight and hemlines. She suggests overcoming liabilities through the Three Cs, Camouflage, Conceal and Cover up while maintaing that "Maturity is the time to act mature and think maturely while you manage to look younger."

No mention of capes, but the book is a retro joy for fashion followers and we're sure Edna Mode would give her full approval. Definitely one to add to the library.

How to Dress for Success

We are reading anthropology books

It's an interesting time to be watching our society. If we hadn't chosen fashion as a career (or become chocolatiers), The Woman's Room would have quite liked to have been anthropologists. After A level Sociology we were all ready to be Margaret Mead and set off into the wild unknown to watch people from exciting tribes and log their behaviour. What probably would have happened is we would have found a tribe, loved the clothes/beadwork/baskets/tribal headgear and tried to negotiate purchasing and exporting. Not very politically correct, even for the eighties

Instead we ended up in fashion, which has its own fascinating tribal and social behaviour, so we didn't really miss out and we have plenty of interesting people to watch and study. For some reason, fashion attracts, how can we say this politely, creatively eccentric individuals who don't always subscribe to what is 'normal' either in dress or behaviour. We of course, love this whole element and it only serves to feed our interest and we consider ourselves just as daring as sweet Bruce Parry and his trips up the Amazon, plenty of scarey tribal chiefs and weird rituals around planet fashion.

With recession shopping behaviour all over the place we feel we should be taking notes for future generations. Last week alone we learnt that older generations are reeling in horror at the giant size debt mountain we're now encumbered with and swear never again to pay full price for anything, where as the young, who shop at Topshop, Topman and other Arcadia brands are completely unaware of there being a problem (many of the brand directors we spoke to last week at the Arcadia press day, are slightly concerend at how little they are being affected by the downturn, sales are high).

So we have our 'observation note books' by our sides wherever we go at the moment, and to help us we are reading Martin Lindstrom's Buy.Ology, now out in paperback. With the help of neuromarketing it has been discovered that shopping makes us feel fantastic. To be honest Martin we could have told you that without all the brain diodes being attached to our heads, but it's nice to have a scientist write it down officially and it's well worth revisiting some of the areas this book covers, such as why a smile helps persuade us to buy and how we are likely to buy more if the room smells nice..

To keep our anthropology skills up to scratch tho, we return time after time, to the truly wonderful Kate Fox book, Watching the English, which is a priceless study of why we do what we do, written as if it's a novel and there's a great chapter on clothes. Compelling reading at this time and a must for all amateur anthropologists.

Simple Pleasures: a pile of books

There is something special about a pile of new books, the anticipation and excitement of knowing you will be lost in another time or place every time you pick it up and the simple pleasure of a stolen hour on your own, engrossed in a different world.

But is it just us or do you find if a book doesn't engage you by the second chapter you cant seem to continue with it? Not something we ever did when we were younger.
Maybe we had less money and felt the need for a return on our investment, maybe we were less fussy and more willing to try new things. Or is it that we sometimes feel (especially with fiction) that all too often we've heard it all before! In the same way that we really don't want to read re-hashed features on dieting or relationships in magazines, obvious chick lits novels and the like leave us cold.

Becoming more discerning is a definite sign of getting older, as you are clearer about what you like and less willing to waste time. But there is always the danger of  becoming set in ones ways. Joining a book group is a great way to move out of your comfort zone and experience books you might not normally try.

Personally we always find the books we love most are recommended by friends. So here are some of our recent favourites.

Somewhere Towards The End - Diana Athill

Sunset Song - Lewis Grassic Gibbon 

Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates 

The Home-Maker - Dorothy Canfield Fisher 

The Room of Lost Things - Stella Duffy 

Born to Be Good - Dacher Keltner  

We are reading: Creative Space: Urban Homes of Artists and Innovators

As you know we are very nosey here at the Womens Room and love nothing more than a good old snoop round interesting peoples houses. Remember the fabulous blog The Selby we told you about a while ago featuring the interior spaces of creatives from around the world.  Now visual arts editor from Dazed and Confused magazine, Francesca Gavin, explores the homes and studios of designers, stylists, artists, graffiti writers, curators, novelists and innovators from Barcelona, Berlin, London, New York, Paris and Tokyo, in her new book Creative Space: Urban Homes of Artists and Innovators. The book has a strong DIY ethos as many of the interiors included are crammed with inexpensive vintage pieces and junk yard finds.
A great one for inspiration when putting together your own eclectic interiors.

Out on the 4th of May.  

Creative Space: Urban Homes of Artists and Innovators
By Francesca Gavin
Publisher: Laurence King
ISBN: 1856695883