Diana, Princess of Wales

Today is the 12th anniversary of Diana, Princess of Wales' tragic and untimely death in Paris in 1997.  I was a big fan of Diana and to this day I miss her.  I was lucky enough to see Diana 3 times in the 1980s, but sadly I never met her.

This is a lovely portrait of Diana, by the French photographer Patrick Demarchelier, that I have always liked.  Diana may be gone, but I like to think she is not forgotten.

My Venice Collection

La Serenissima Venezia!
Who could fail to be seduced by the magic of Venice?  It is a magical place and holds a special place in many people's hearts.  I go to Venice every year at least once - it's part of my rountine now!

Venice February 2009

Of course Hermes has honoured Venice several times with it's designs - Carnevale de Venice/Fetes Venitiennes, Trophees de Venise I, Trophees de Venise II, Bissone de Venise, Rialto and Venise.

I have managed to collect a few scarves with a Venice theme and was thrilled to obtain a new 70cm vintage silk Rialto last year in Venice - it is a special edition just for the Venice boutique and is marked 2008.

Here are my Venice scarves:-

Rialto by Peron 70cm silk (Venice Hermes Boutique 2008 edition)

Rialto by Peron 70cm cotton SS09

Carnevale de Venise/Fetes Venitiennes 90cm silk - and these scarves have jacquard weave of mandolins and violins in the silk which you can just about make out in the 2 larger photos.

 

I hope you have enjoyed my little scarf trip around Venice - Ciao!

Not all my scarves are Hermes!

Some of my favourite scarves are not Hermes at all, but Tie Rack.  A few years ago Tie Rack supported art/design students through their Young British Designer range.  I own 2 of the scarves from that range and they are just about my all time favourites because I love the colours and patterns plus the stories and sentiments attached.  The first scarf is "The Magic Carpet" by Jill France the colours and patterns in this are to my eye fabulous and just "do it" for me.  I own a Hermes "Zabavushka" scarf from AW09 and for me that scarf draws a parallel to the patterns and some colours in "The Magic Carpet"...which is probably why I had to have it, as well as liking all things Russian (of course!). 

^^Zabavushka

The second scarf in the greens and blues is by Tamara Salman but I do not have its name. The city of Venice is one of my favourite places and this design reminds me of Venice and the Basilica of San Marco.

The balloon basket the man is standing in is rather gondola like as well!

A little scarf I found in Paris

This is a cute little scarf I found in a boutique in Paris a couple of years ago - it is by Mia Zia and I really like the jolly colours and the little dangly bits! It looks great with a T-shirt or a with a collared shirt with the collars upstanding.

By Pass "Knot" with Scarf Ring

This is a very simple way to use a scarf ring - fold your scarf in the "basic fold" first and put it around your neck then follow the video! You can wear the first look in lots of different lengths - I have chosen to show it 3 ways: close to the neck, mid chest or lower again at lower rib-cage level (for a larger scarf or shawl you could go lower again)- my caveat would be to wear the length appropriate to what activity you will be doing. Then you can choose to wear the scarf another 2 ways - I pulled the scarf/ring close to the neck again to wear it with the ends split over the shoulders or I tied the ends at the back of the neck to make a lovely (warm)collar. I am using my Hermes 70cm Kelly en Caleche scarf in the video with a plain gold plated stainless steel band ring (UK size P which fits the 70cm scarves well). Hope you find this useful and have a go it is so easy!

Ex Libris


Butterfly Knot with scarf ring


Half Ascot Knot


Plain Knot


Cowboy


Just back from Amsterdam after a trip to see some ballet and the fabulous new Hermitage Amsterdam Museum - I highly recommend a visit to the current exhibition "At The Russian Court" - the exhibits were fantastic.
I could not go to a city where Hermes has a branch and not call by, so I popped by the one in Amsterdam - not intending to buy a thing - but then I caught sight of a rather good selection of gavroches so I had to go in. I have been after an Ex Libris for a while and they had 4 colourways. Anyway I whittled it down to between the black/navy/white and a purple and magenta one - I picked the purple. I was given a large box as they had no small ones left so now I have a single home for all my gavroches and they even gave me 3 super 15ml miniature perfumes which was a really nice treat!









Here are a couple of little pictures of the Mariinksy/Kirov at the end of Don Quixote - one of the happiest "sunshine" ballets I know.











And one cannot go to Amsterdam and not buy some lovely flowers so here is a close up of a lovely rose from a big bunch I bought.