favourite things, tra-la-la















Yesterday I was mainly reclining and enjoying the December issue of UK Vogue - the ‘Fantastic Fashion Fantasy Issue.’ I have to admit to having mixed feelings about fashion magazines, but for me, this issue of Vogue is absolutely what it should be all about. Ridiculous Christmas gift ideas aside (magnum of Moet with bespoke Swarovski crystal lettering, anyone? £175 leather rubik's cube? nope, thought not) it is a delight - an imaginative wonderland of beautiful and inspirational images, showcasing high fashion at its most fabulously outrageous, playful, romantic and whimsical.

Tim Walker’s brilliant ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ shoot is a hugely enjoyable tribute to Roald Dahl, starring a gleefully grotesque Tim Burton, Helena Bohnam Carter and Karen Elson, accompanied with a text by Sophie Dahl. The ‘Unbelievable Fashion’ spread by Nick Knight takes unapologetic pleasure in fashion that pushes the boundaries, celebrating couture at its most experimental (and utterly bonkers). There’s also some beautiful new fashion illustrations, including Karl Lagerfeld’s ‘Secret Ball’ and even a fantasy shoe designed by who else but Manolo Blahnik.

I enjoyed four new ‘fashion fairytales’ commissioned from writers Rose Tremain, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Poppy Adams and Linda Grant - whose twist on the original ‘Little Mermaid’ featured surprise, surprise a pair of strangely compelling red shoes - and was also intrigued by the ‘In My Dreams’ feature revisiting a project from 1967, when Yves Saint Laurent was invited to illustrate a ‘dream wall’ for Vogue bringing together ‘favourite people, colours, ideas, things not yet or ever done... places, sunsets, faces’ (Yves Saint Laurent, Vogue, 1967). In this issue, fashion creatives including Giles Deacon, Rick Owens and Bruno Frisconi were invited to create their own visual representation of their favourite things: I especially liked the response from the wonderful Luella Bartley (you have to love a fashion designer who calls their shows stuff like 'Dial F for Fluro' or 'Daddy I Want a Pony') which included “my 2 sheep”, “Wednesday Adams’ plaits” and “geeky girls like Thora Birch in Ghostworld.”

I got thinking about what I might include on my own ‘dream wall’ and started making a list of ‘a few of my favourite things’ - Von Trapp chorus optional - though once I got started it was hard to stop. This is highly recommended as entertainment for dismal grey November afternoons...
  1. ginger chocolate
  2. velvet ribbon
  3. teapots
  4. libraries
  5. hot baths
  6. striped socks
  7. daisies on the lawn
  8. crayons
  9. mexican food
  10. red shoes (obviously)
  11. rum and ginger beer
  12. 1950s rock and roll
  13. old photographs
  14. earl grey tea
  15. sleeper trains
  16. meadows
  17. french accents
  18. children’s books
  19. sausage dogs
  20. ballet shoes
  21. red poppies
  22. typewriters
  23. snowfall
  24. old records
  25. date and walnut cake
  26. blankets
  27. attics
  28. black ink pens
  29. bluebell woods
  30. vintage illustrations
  31. pecan pie
  32. polka dots
  33. candlelight
  34. piano music
  35. seafood
  36. all hats, especially berets
  37. hammocks
  38. moomins
  39. bonfires
  40. raspberries
  41. penny sweets
  42. stationery shops
  43. wellington boots
  44. leopard print
  45. the smell of the sea
  46. butterflies
  47. victorian novels
  48. bicycles with baskets
  49. line drawings
  50. cherries
  51. breakfast pancakes
  52. knitting
  53. sketchbooks
  54. sushi
  55. fairy lights
  56. eyeliner
  57. cinema popcorn
  58. chinatown
  59. scrabble
  60. pavement cafes
  61. earmuffs
  62. 1940s/1950s dresses
  63. treasure boxes
  64. black cats
  65. amaretto
  66. cinnamon tea
  67. stripy jumpers
  68. red lipstick
  69. bare feet
  70. yellow lined paper
  71. roast chicken dinners
  72. swimming in the sea
  73. coca cola in a glass bottle
  74. black polo necks
  75. ponytails
  76. lemons
  77. radio 4
  78. blue skies
  79. super 8 films
  80. junk shops
  81. country lanes
  82. chandeliers
  83. hot water bottles
  84. peanut butter
  85. satchels
  86. rock pools
  87. woolly tights
  88. drinking through a straw
  89. brown paper
  90. peep toes
  91. bread sauce
  92. red umbrellas
  93. allotments
  94. glass milk bottles
  95. postcards
  96. breton stripes
  97. shuttered windows
  98. cocktail glasses
  99. foreign stamps
  100. secret gardens

3 comments:

25 November 2008 at 00:31 emily josephine mcphillips said...

chandeliers. i love them too.
i've been writing a story about a girl who has a big hang up on chandeliers. they just look so decadent and exicitng.

26 November 2008 at 11:25 Anonymous said...

Hey (again)! I LOVED this! And the list is SO YOU! Of course, it got me thinking, and yesterday I jotted things down as I thought of them - it's not difficult to get to a hundred is it?!? So here are mine (!!):

1)my mum
2)360+ thread count white bed linen
3)Dior mascara
4)champagne
5)Agent Provocateur lingerie
6)diamond earrings
7)handbags – esp Mulberry ones
8)cashmere jumpers
9)chip butties
10)hats
11)corsets
12)cups of tea
13)Ugg boots
14)Elemis facials
15)Christian Louboutin shoes
16)sunshine
17)ciggies
18)love letters
19)vanilla ice cream
20)Carrie Bradshaw
21)Zippo lighters
22)bare feet
23)roses
24)gin and tonic
25)madeira cake
26)bread and butter
27)Manchester United
28)silk stockings
29)New York City
30)leather gloves
31)lip gloss
32)steak bearnaise
33)fishnet tights
34)maps
35)Moleskin notebooks
36)Pomerol
37)open fires
38)black pencil skirts
39)log cabins
40)bed socks
41)the smell of rain
42)glasses of milk
43)Hotel du Vin
44)Alfa Spiders
45)gerberas
46)vintage Halston
47)white shirts
48)Radio 4
49)Philosophy perfume
50)Chanel Le Vernis Rouge Noir nail polish
51)corsages
52)Cabaret
53)short dark bobs
54)the smell of old library books
55)flea markets
56)massages
57)toe rings
58)net petticoats
59)hot baths
60)early nights
61)tiger lilies
62)ASOS.com
63)pedicures
64)John Keats
65)old Roberts radios
66)silver Tiffany jewellery
67)L’Occitane hand cream
68)chocolate eclairs
69)Galleries Lafayette
70)Vogue magazine
71)scented tissues
72)Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps
73)stirrup tights
74)curly hair
75)men in spectacles
76)painted toenails
77)1940s lingerie
78)ice cubes
79)Victoria Beckham
80)jacuzzis
81)Paris
82)black kohl pencil
83)Routemaster buses
84)skinny jeans
85)Ray Ban aviator sunglasses
86)flower shops
87)sausage rolls
88)Yankee Candle scented candles – esp Fresh Cut Roses
89)black lace
90)parcels wrapped in brown paper and string
91)Sex and the City
92)vintage nightdresses
93)proper ink pens
94)snow
95)pashminas
96)Judith Lieber clutch bags
97)red telephone boxes
98)diamante hair slides
99)barbeques
100)jacket potatoes

26 November 2008 at 12:53 sally said...

God I read this and thought 'hooray, another reason to write a list!' and then I read yours and realised that actually, it is pretty much all the things I would have in my list, so I don't need to.

I failed miserably at Nanowrimo. So let's meet up soon, do you fancy mulled wine at the Christmas markets, next week maybe?