Category: fashion

#734 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn fashion, PhotographsLeave a comment

One moment in a busy Rome street led us to a retrospective Exhibition of Helmut Newton’s High Fashion photography.

Helmut Newton (born Helmut Neustädter; 31 October 1920 – 23 January 2004) was a German-Australian photographer. The New York Times described him as a “prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-and-white photos were a mainstay of Vogue and other publications.

Most of us only glimpse the pages of Vogue but his photographs escaped the rarified pages of Fashion magazines and became iconic images of their eras.

He also photographed icons

Loving art and photography is a funny old habit. Under normal circumstances my head and heart would have looked forward to seeing this exhibition, possibly for many months. As it was we spotted the poster less than 24 hours before we were due to leave Rome. We had to squeeze our visit into the journey from hotel to train station. There was already serendipity built into the exhibition even being there during our visit as it had been scheduled to open during the first dreadful months of Covid, when Italy was particularly affected. The reschedule was our good fortune.

But when serendipity strikes it is always a good idea to grasp it. So even though there was only 1 1/2 hours between the exhibition opening and our train leaving we made the most of our moment.

Next stop Venice.

#478 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn fashionLeave a comment

This week has been a series of sartorial failures. Culminating in a pair of bright pink leggings that I thought were rather cheery in the depth of winter. I may never have worn them in the presence of people who might given an honest opinion. Apparently they are never to be worn outside the house again. In the harsh reality of bright February sunshine they do look a little odd. A mixture of Elizabethan leggings as worn by my father in Shakespearian plays in the 40’s and 50’s and comedy undergarments. Just to cleanse your minds of pink legs I will share some pink Dahlias from The Dahlia Society.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnCSKecPpdT/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

The rest of the weeks failures were not so much poor choices as poor timekeeping. I dressed in the morning for specific tasks, Dog Walking and Bobbing but then failed to have enough time to change before other tasks needed to be achieved. One day was spent in a rugged fisherman’s sweater and another layered up with thermal underwear. Both of these selections turned me into a sweaty mess when I was caught inside buildings with central heating. I will spare you any accompanying images and carry on the flower theme. Tulips and a hyacynth on the kitchen table.

It is one thing to live through the darkness of winter dressed warmly, quite another to emerge blinking into the sunlight in bright pink, badly fitting leggings!

#421 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Advent+2022, fashionLeave a comment
The Beast from the East © theoldmortuary *

This painting made during the last truly cold spell in South West England, illustrates the strange phenomena that is unusual, bitter coldness in this small area of the Devon and Cornwall borders. This part of the country is much more used to wet winters. A huge shock to me when I first moved here over 30 years ago. I arrived in mid- November and the rain didn’t seem to stop until March. I had a very small child and no friends. For nearly a month I contented myself with sorting out a new house, driving to supermarkets and waiting for the rain to stop. When it didn’t stop I went out and bought properly waterproof clothing for the first time in my life. Unlike in Canada, the U.S and parts of Europe seriously wintery coats don’t get a lot of wear, so they stay around for many years, not a fashion item more like a winter friend.

House moves and changing needs mean that my actual “Old Friends” winter coats have made their way into other peoples lives by being donated to Charity shops. They have been replaced as needed by other peoples ” Old Friends” from the same or similar sources. One of them is certainly older than me. Worn only in darkest December and early January it is a Hollywood Starlet 3/4 length fake fur jacket bought on eBay for £15 about 15 years ago.

A more recent purchase is an extra long length tweed coat that called to me from a charity shop window two years ago. Essential for November to March. The shop was closed because of Covid restrictions so I had to play the long game to get it. My instincts were correct it is a fabulous garment, 100℅ wool it shrugs off all but the most persistent rain. It must also have had the most fabulous life before I met it. It was bought at Saks Fifth Avenue probably in the 60’s then very expertly remodeled in the 80’s. By the time I got it in 2020 it had been very little worn. Risking the £40 spent on it I decided to unpick the remodelling and take it back to it’s 60’s swing styling. The remodeling may have saved it, although it looked good it was almost impossible to wear as a highly styled garment because the tweed is so dense. None of the surplus fabric had been cut away which added to the discomfort but made my life so much easier when refurbishing. Quite the travelling coat from North American luxury store to and English Charity Shop found in the the Barbican, Plymouth. A reverse Mayflower journey.

My last winter coat is the newest to the collection. A barely used Barbour wax jacket from a Charity shop in Wimbledon. This one definitely is the most useful. I bought it in October this year and expect it will still be useful in April.

I am really not certain what set me off on this second hand clothing journey. Probably a love of style but not always fashion what I wanted wasn’t always available new, nor could I always afford it. What started on a whim has become a lifestyle choice for me and increasingly the ethical choice, the exact opposite of fast or throwaway fashion. When I am tired of these glorious coats they will find themselves back in a charity shop. Their unknown journeys will continue.

* Beast from the East – currently on loan but is For Sale 1.5 metres square. So quite a big beast.

#333 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn fashion, SerendipityLeave a comment

September in my part of the world is Second-hand September. I have had a personal second hand two years. I made a bit if a pledge to buy mostly second hand clothes at the turn of the century. Definately not a New Year/New Century resolution and something I doubted I could stick with, so kept on the down-low until now. New things allowed in my little pledge were underwear and leggings and, of course, gifts. I also had a stock of good clothes from living in London with a plethora of great independent clothes shops in addition to the chains. The reason I’m celebrating Second Hand September is to get my mojo back. For the most part my experiment has worked, maybe one or two bad purchases but nothing too serious and the items were recycled back to a charity shop. Covid, of course, helped, I should probably do a clear out of things I have not worn for a while.

For the most part the project has been easy, I have always loved clothes but been intimidated by clothes shops, especially the overstimulating ones. E-Bay and selected Charity shops are my suppliers of choice and I just research and search for the brands I loved when I had a London salary.

I fell off my second hand wagon a little this summer which is why I am glad to be reminded. When buying new garments this summer I realised that I have become much more observant and know my own style far better than I ever did before, I also have a much better tolerance of shopping as the process no longer bamboozles me into making expensive mistakes. One lovely second hand gift took a trip home on our recent holiday. My friend Kathy gave me a leopard print scarf from her deceased, Canadian, mothers magnificent cache. I wore it in Chicago and Toronto knowing that it was very close to home. Similarly I stood outside Saks 5th Avenue looking at their fall collection of tweed coats, knowing that my own winter coat started out life there so many decades ago that it looks current.

https://www.oxfam.org.uk/get-involved/second-hand-september/

#236 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn fashion1 Comment

Quite by accident today I realised that I was rocking a look that is called ‘Coastal Granny’ in North America. It is also popular in Britain but I am unsure of the name of the style here.

In the hands of an accomplished stylist the selfie in a mirror is a thing of elegance and simplicity.

Not words that have ever been used to describe myself. I have always liked to think that longer legs would be the boost I need towards elegance. It possibly does not help that the best full length mirror in the house is outside of the house. On the plus side I am indeed a coastal granny or to be much more precise I am a theoretical coastal nanna. Theoretical because one grandchild is thousands of miles away and another is in the cooking stage. Now it seems to me that pale colours and grandchildren might not be a good mix, so maybe a theoretical, coastal grandma is exactly the fashion ideal.

Unspattered by the excrescences of small children these pale clothes lasted all day, with walks on the beach and chattering with coffee and friends with dogs.. I believe the clothes could possibly make it to tomorrow. Coastal grannydom at its most theoretical. They even managed a garden centre without mishap. Very elegant indeed! But that was just the plants.

#todayimwearing. Why I couldn’t survive a capsule wardrobe.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn fashion, over60blogging, SerendipityLeave a comment

I’ve collected clothes since I was about 20, that’s 40 years of shopping. Its also 40 years of donating to charity shops as I curate my collection and get rid of the evidence of impulse or imprudent purchases. I’ve always considered my wardrobe to be my palette for creating my style on a day to day basis. Not much exists that is actually 40 years old, but many items have been replaced like for like as they have worn out. In some respects this is counter to the current trend for fashion bloggers, or influencers who highlight what is available to buy now and indeed Fashion and Style magazines. Real life is not about buying everything new each fashion season. It is about knowing what works for you as an individual and buying a couple of bits to replace worn out things or to add some new colour. Just as I have favourite products and colours to create abstract paintings, I have favourite clothes that can be combined to create the style that I feel comfortable in. I have made some expensive mistakes both in art and fashion shops.

All of my previous working life I wore a uniform, clothes shopping was for commuting and weekends. Now I have a new life, as a full time artist and writer, clothes have become a lovely every day creative process and I rarely put the same two things together.

I’ve become more careful about wearing normal clothes to paint in. I managed to buy a massive pair of 1970’s dungarees on Ebay a couple of years ago. I wear old t-shirts underneath. So on painting days the age of my #todayimwearing clothing is about 45 years.

The inspiration for this blog was an outfit I put together recently to deliver some paintings to a client. I was aiming for an arty look. As I put the composite parts back into the wardrobe I realised I’ve been putting this look together since 1977. In turn it was inspired by my mum in the 60’s. I can be that accurate because I wore this look to attend my Viva Voce exam in Russell Square London. At the time I thought this look reflected me as a sensible professional. I realise now it was just me being me.

I am still a fan of a knitted cardigan, but now it tends to be Seasalt that make them rather than my mum.

www.seasaltcornwall.co.uk

Here are the four pieces that inspired this piece of blogging.

The Straw Hat- I love hats, my grandmother bought hats from a gay milliner called Francis Golightly ( seriously) I longed to wear hats , as she did, every day. That was never going to be possible so a straw hat in the summer is the best I can do. This one is about number five and is possibly the cheapest ever as it was bought in a hurry from New Look after number four met a watery grave during a storm in Cuba.

newlook.com/uk

Big Sunglasses- I suffer from sweaty eyelids, big sunglasses are the only answer.I have no idea how many pairs of these I’ve owned. Usually they are cheap fake ones from Greek supermarkets. Age has caught up with me and now they need to be prescription lenses. Ollie Quinn makes these beauties.

oqspecs.com

Scarf- I may have the national Collection of scarves. Simple reason. I’ve never been a size zero and any woman no matter what size can buy a scarf even in the most sizist of shops. Blush pink, I’ve learned to love it, inspired by a fellow blogger. This member of the scarf family came from Oliver Bonas.

sleek-chic.co.uk

oliverbonas.com

The black and white dress. I love this dress, it is the latest iteration of my black and white dress family and is probably the closest to the one my mum wore in the 60’s . I used to make these for my Sindy. This one is from Marimekko.

www.marimekko.com

It’s strange that I’ve never realised that my clothing choices have not really evolved greatly throughout my adult life. I suspect I could trace all my clothes back with similar stories to these four pieces. What chaos could I create in my life if I ever used a personal shopper?