Distinguished Gentlemen (and Ladies)

Today I strolled down to Borough to spectate at the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride... And I had a thoroughly enjoyable morning there.

The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride happens in cities all around the world and is held to raise money for prostate cancer research. It involves gentlemen (and ladies) dressing up dapper and mounting their classic and classic-style motorbikes to ride around, making lots of noise, creating a (well-mannered) spectacle, and hopefully raising awareness and sponsorship money. I found out about it through a very good friend of mine who was involved in the ride in Sydney, Australia. Unfortunately, I'm unable to ride myself and I don't know anyone with a bike here in London so was unable to join in even as a pillion. But I could go down and look at all the lovely bikes and admire everyone's style... People had made a great effort, with only a few shameful fake moustaches. (Seriously, when are some people going to realise that events that call for you to dress as a gentleman are about proper style, not about fancy dress piss-takes? Sorry, rant over.)

So on to the bikes and gentlemen:

Sorry, lots of photos there, but I figured it was the best way to demonstrate just how awesome the whole thing was! Oh, and a video snippet is definitely necessary, because what's a classic motorbike calvacade without the roar of the motors??

Finally, what did I wear as a distinguished gentlewoman spectator? Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures at the event as The Cat was unable to make it (despite being a motorbike fan himself - with a licence but without a stead...) so I had to wait until I was home to get a photo. It's still warm and sunny here in London, despite the fact that it's late September, so while I'm still able to get away with it, I'm wearing all the light summer dresses I can. I was going to wear gloves but it was just too warm! I did rock the (fake) pearls though, for a little distinction...

If you'd like to read more about the Distinguished Gentleman's Ride, and if you would like to make an 11th hour donation, you can do so here.

Kew Garden Florals

It's been quite a while since my last Kew visit. So with the long weekend, good weather, and my determination to do some proper, carefree unwinding following the hectic end days of my long-term job, it seemed like a good idea to head out there today.

This is what I saw, and this is what I wore. Flowers and colours in abundance, in both instances! I wore tulips, thinking it was about the right time for them but I saw very few of them in fact, and think I may have been a tad late in my timing. Oh well, there were plenty of other things to see...

A plane caught my attention... One of the few problems with Kew is the massive number of loud, loud planes
that go over. It somewhat interrupts the sound of leaves rustling in breeze...

Making friends with trees again

Bumble bee! I love bees!

Dress: Beyond Retro
Jacket: Cow (Sheffield branch)
Belt: Beyond Retro
Shoes: Jones Bootmaker
Bracelet: Recent gift from a friend
Earrings (little red beads that are barely visible!): market in Nottingham

I photographed some of the last of the season's roses last year... and this is one of the
first of this year

Statue entitled 'A Sower'

Some ironwork photographed once before, but now with leaves on the tree and a
brighter background

Cricket on Kew Green after the Gardens

Happy Sunday! And happy May Bank Holiday to those other lucky people who get the day off.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, dear readers!

It's Easter today, and the clocks have sprung forward too... And yet, sadly, it still doesn't feel quite like spring is here. I woke up to some glorious sun but unfortunately the clouds came in and covered him up. At least there hasn't been any random snowfalls, like there was yesterday! And The Cat and I did manage to hunt down a patch of daffodils and signs of life to serve as a backdrop to my Easter outfit post.

It's that cold here that at first I was hesitant to remove my coat...

But then I realised that, really, I had to take my coat off to show off my new Easter frock... As you may remember from my Easter post last year, I've been embracing the old tradition of having something new to wear for Easter Sunday for the past few years. As before, I've not bought any clothes in a while, so it was special to wear not only my new dress, but my new jacket too! The dress was from the old reliable Beyond Retro (the Cheshire Street branch on this occasion) while the jacket was purchased from Cow in Sheffield on my recent visit up there, where I had more luck than I did at the Nottingham branch back in summer 2011.

The shade of colours in the dress inspired me to partner them with this wonderful 1950s cocktail hat which I bought last year. I'd wanted a hat with a veil for a while and then a friend was DJ-ing at a night where hats were demanded, so I had the perfect reason to go out hunting for one. I struck gold at Cloud Cuckoo Land, a wee vintage shop just off Camden Passage, near Angel. It's a really wonderful shop, which I was pleased to discover. I told the lady this, to which she responded, 'Thank you - that's just what I needed to hear today'. It felt like a happy exchange to have brightened her day with a few nice words after she had brightened my day when I found the hat, after having almost given up after a long search through many shops. And it was nice to be able to wear it again today because, to be honest, it's not really an 'everyday wear' kind of item. Of course, I got some funny looks when I was out and about but they're like water off a duck's back. More important is the fact that I got some nice smiles as people admired my Easter bonnet. 

And I saw this little chap bouncing around the local park when we were taking outfit shots. I wonder if he's a friend of the guy I snapped last year at Easter?

Hope you've all had a beautiful and joyous Easter. Alleluia, Christ is risen!