Socks and Heels

Socks and heels - yay or nay? The Cat says 'nay' but I say 'yay'. A friend today basically accused me of being a hipster, in as much as he suggested that I was wearing socks and heels because I thought it was so geeky it was actually cool... But I genuinely think it's fun! A nice nod to the '80s. I'd really like a pair of lacy bobby socks, actually...

I'm also loving the fact that I'm seeing so many girls here in London getting their pale, untanned legs out, now that summer has properly hit, with sunshine and warmth. I bare my white-as-white legs without shame, and it's nice to see others doing the same. 

Musical Resolution

Happy New Year, dear readers! Hope you all had a fabulous time seeing out 2012 and seeing in 2013.

I've actually found myself with a New Year's resolution this year. I haven't bothered with one for years and years. But, this New Year's Eve, an incident occurred to inspire me to make a pledge...

1983: Love Cats, The Cure (Image source)

So, I ended up opting for a pretty quiet New Year's Eve. To help with the countdown, however, I decided to compose a party soundtrack, counting down (or up) from the beginning of the 1980s, when I was born.

1984: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper (Image source)

It was compiled in a quite quick and dirty fashion. I just opened up Wikipedia and looked up the singles that made the charts each year, picking out one that was suitably upbeat and had played some part in my life.

1987: Sweet Child o' Mine, Guns 'n' Roses (Image source)

I wasn't being a perfectionist about the actual release date or anything like that. So long as a song was in the charts in the year it represented, that was fine by me...

1992: Motocycle Emptiness, Manic Street Preachers (Image source)

I wasn't agonising over making sure all my favourite bands found a place in there. I wasn't bothering to think beyond the charts or pull out obscure releases.  It was just a party soundtrack, after all.

1994: Girls and Boys, Blur (Image source)

It was actually quite a fascinating exercise, to see what led on from what, where there was a sudden shake-up and contrast...

1997: Breathe, The Prodigy (Image source)

But as I progressed further on, coming into the noughties, I began to get a little bit anxious...

2001: Last Nite, The Strokes (Image source) 

'Hang on a second', I thought to myself. 'These chart lists are becoming less and less saturated with songs I love... or even know...' There was a sense of relief every time I spotted something with which I genuinely had any affinity...

2007: Rehab, Amy Winehouse (Image source)

I managed to squeeze something out of 2010 but then it dried up. The problem is, I've been spending the last few years discovering new music, but new music to me, not genuinely new...

2012: Ummmm...
Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, The Andrews Sisters??? (Image source)

So, feeling incredibly humbled and out of the loop, I swore to myself that I would pay more attention to new music this year. Even if I write most of it off, I want to at least know what's going on out there. Even if I end up just going for things with a retro twist, like electro swing and modern close harmony groups such as the Puppini Sisters (hey, maybe I do know something!), at least I'll be informed.

After all, I always say that, even though I love all my classic music, vintage clothes and historic architecture, I love living now, in the twenty-first century. We have such rich pickings to choose from as we root around in the past, finding and keeping our favourite aspects from each decade. So, true to my seeking out the best of every time and era, I should weave more modern music into my listening, interspersed with Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra...

Does anyone else have any New Year's resolutions? Or does anyone else feel they should make a pledge to become a little more au fait with the modern world...?

A Decade a Day to the Jubilee: Part 2

Glad so many of you enjoyed the first part of my Diamond Jubilee countdown! Without further ado, I present Part 2: The '70s and '80s. The additional challenge of charting of female emancipation through the decades kind of fell by the wayside, but we still got some snaps to document our outfits.

First up, Wednesday, the 1970s. A hazy summer field would have been more appropriate for this outfit, but work got in the way. My colleague (cropped out to preserve his dignity) and I actually accidentally colour coordinated quite well...

I guess you could say that men and women are standing side by side as equals
in this pic, if you were clutching at straws (or straw hats)

And Thursday, the 1980s. This is where it started to get challenging. As I am without power suits in my wardrobe, it was quite hard to find an outfit that was suitably '80s without being too inappropriate (or embarrassing!) to wear to work. I finally settled on the below ensemble. And note my colleague's glasses: they were absolutely awesome - the other side was a black triangle. But, again, sparing him the possibility of public internet humiliation so you can't see their full glory.

Applying my lipstick at my desk, in preparation for my high-powered meeting,
while my male assistant stands by

Tomorrow, the '90s. I think it's just getting harder and harder as I go on, to be honest. It's getting too close to home now, and yet not so close that I actually have any of the items I want for it in my wardrobe... Namely, where are my old Doc Martens when I need them, to recreate either Brit Pop or grunge? As for the '00s, that's going to be very tricky! I wore second-hand and vintage for the whole decade, so I can't even remember what was actually in fashion... Any tips??

Sooty (and Sweep) Nostalgia

Last Sunday, my mum, my sister, The Cat and I all went off to see The Sooty Christmas Show at the Garrick Theatre.  I thought this merited a mention on here because (a) we all had a good old-fashioned fun time and (b) the show is, when you think about it, a vintage gem and classic.

I will transcribe for you the brief history of The Sooty Show as included on the label of the Sweep puppets my sister and I purchased (because, as anyone who's anyone knows, Sweep is totally cool):

In July 1948 Harry Corbett was on holiday with his wife, Marjorie, and children, David and Matthew.  While walking on The North Pier, Harry spotted a teddy bear puppet in a gift shop.  For the pricely sum of 7s6d, Harry purchased the little bear and introduced his new partner into his amateur magic act.  Such was his success, a BBC TV producer asked Harry to make an appearance on screen.  Sooty's antics instantly captivated the nation and won him a place in television history,  New members joined the Sooty family including the lovable spaniel Sweep and Soo the helpful panda.  In 1976, Harry's son Matthew took over as Sooty's right hand man, followed in 2000 by Richard Cadell.

Of course, being a child of the 80s, it's Matthew Corbett's guardianship of the three puppets that I remember.  So I'll leave you with a classic 80s scene.

Sooty's Busy Christmas (Image source)