Alexander McQueen Pre-Fall 2013

Just like Dolce & Gabbana blended royal and religious elements in their Mosaic Collection, so has Sarah Burton done for the Alexander McQueen Pre-Fall 2013 Collection. Burton's vision is more toned down than that of the Italian duo though, and her idea was to "evoke the humility and purity of low-church Anglicanism, rather than it's incense-and-ritual high-church counterpart". I think this collection is a good example of how simplicity - hear meaning "without an abundance of decorations" - still can look both elegant and opulent, simply because of how the clothes have been designed and put together. So here come - as usual - my favorites from the collection!

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Out And About With Friends

Last Thursday me, Fanny, and Michael, went out for dinner with the lovely milliner Zara (whom I did a post on here), her Swedish fiancé, Rikard, and a bunch of other English people who had come to Sweden for Zara's and Rikard's wedding the Saturday after. 

We went to a pub called Akkurat, that serves the best moules marinières ever!!! 

I don't often shop at H&M, but the same week I had bought a new ring there I really like, so it felt like a good evening to premiere it!

I wore a vintage 50s dress from Rococo Vintage, and Fanny looked elegantly cute in a playsuit. Here we are standing in the middle of the cool light installation we always pass on out way home. In the picture above you can see shining feet, and in the background fish...

...But there are also stars and butterflies...

...and hearts - here shining brightly on Michael! We had a lovely evening, meeting both old and new friends, and I'm pretty sure Zara and Rikard have found the perfect partner in each other. Cheers to love!!!

Fabergé Friday

Let's go for another egg pendant today! This one was made by Fabergé's workmaster August Hollming, around 1890!

The egg is put together by a cabochon moonstone, and a cabochon garnet, held together by a gold band set with rose-cut diamonds. On this band a diamond-set arch is attached, which makes it possible for the egg to swivel and rotate around it's own axis. The hight of the pendant is 3/4'' (1.9 cm), and the price you have to pay to have it as your own, is 35,000 USD. It can be bought here!

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John William Godward

John William Godward (August 9, 1861 - December 13, 1922) was an English painter from the late Pre-Raphaelite/Neo-Classicist era. His work often feature women in Classical dress, semi-nude, or completely nude. Godward studied architecture and dress to be able to meticulously render everything in his paintings in a realistic way. His style wasn't liked at all by new artists like Picasso, and when Godard committed suicide at the age of 61, it is said that he on his suicide note wrote; "the world was not big enough", for both him and Picasso...

I love his paintings though! The vibrant colors, the soft shapes, and the way the fabric flows over these beautiful women's bodies. They all look so relaxed and dreamy...

The Tease

Athenais

The Delphic Oracle

Sweet Nothings

Girl In Yellow Drapery

The Toilette

Autumn

In The Tepidarium

Idleness

Endymion

To see Godward's compete works go here!

Full Moon

No full moon music this month - but a full moon poem instead! This is The Moon and the Yew Tree, by Sylvia Plath!

The Moon and the Yew tree

"This is the light of the mind, cold and planetary.
The trees of the mind are black. The light is blue.
The grasses unload their griefs at my feet as if I were God,
Prickling my ankles and murmuring of their humility.
Fumy spiritious mists inhabit this place
Separated from my house by a row of headstones.
I simply cannot see where there is to get to.

The moon is no door. It is a face in its own right,
White as a knuckle and terribly upset.
It drags the sea after it like a dark crime; it is quiet
With the O-gape of complete despair. I live here.
Twice on Sunday, the bells startle the sky -
Eight great tongues affirming the Resurrection.
At the end, they soberly bong out their names.

The yew tree points up. It has a Gothic shape.
The eyes lift after it and find the moon.
The moon is my mother. She is not sweet like Mary.
Her blue garments unloose small bats and owls.
How I would like to believe in tenderness -
The face of the effigy, gentled by candles,
Bending, on me in particular, its mild eyes.

I have fallen a long way. Clouds are flowering
Blue and mystical over the face of the stars.
Inside the church, the saints will be all blue,
Floating on their delicate feet over cold pews,
Their hands and faces stiff with holiness.
The moon sees nothing of this. She is bald and wild.
And the message of the yew tree is blackness - blackness and silence."

Fabergé Friday

This Friday we'll take a look at a Fabergé brooch, made by workmaster Oskar Pihl, around the year 1900!

The gold-mounted brooch is enameled in a deep translucent salmon color over a guilloché ground, bordered by a chased gold border of rocaille scrolls set with four diamonds. The rectangular piece is 7/8'' high, and 1 3/8'' wide (2.2 x 3.5 centimeters).

It's up for sale at John Atzbach Antiques for 16,500 USD!

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New Job

Last week I started my new, full time, job, as Sales & Marketing Coordinator at Elevate Scandinavia. The weather was warm and sunny, so I wore a 60s dress I have inherited from my mom, a pair of cat eye shades...

...and one of my favorite pair of red shoes, from Deichman!

I packed my retro lunch box, and walked away to the subway. There I noticed my train had been cancelled, had to wait for the next one, and so ended up being late on my first day. Yay... But it worked out well anyway.

The office lies in a business park, among loads of other companies. I quickly learnt my duties as a Sales and Marketing Coordinator, and got to work! The only problem right now is the pain in my leg has been pretty horrible the last few weeks, so everything feels a bit heavy right now. Plus I just got the news my other grandma (paternal) is dying too, so so far this summer has been extremely crappy. Hoping for the best though, so we'll see how things turn out in the end!

Picnic In The Park

Some days ago me and my sister decided to have a picnic in a park called Rolambshovsparken. It's a beautiful and very popular hangout during warm summer days.

I wore a 50s style dress designed by Bernie Dexter that I bought as a Valentine's gift to myself in February, but haven't worn yet. It's called the Amour and More Dress in Plaid, and I found it at Mod Cloth.

Rolambshovsparken is full of green grass and trees, and has a lovely view out over the water. The weather was perfect, and after buying salads, chocolates, and a box of rosé wine we sat down on my newly acquired picnic blanket - me in the shade, and my sister in the sun.

When my sister had to leave two Italians and one Frenchman arrived instead. They demanded ice cream, so ice cream we got!

When we started to get hungry we went home to Ciara's - the Italian girl's - apartment, where she has a whole room dedicated to her shoes!

Then we had dinner on the terrace on top of the apartment building, where we had an amazing view over Stockholm in all four directions. A perfect day with a perfect ending!

Fabergé Friday

During the sunny summer a parasol might come in handy. If the parasol has a handle by Fabergé, the sunny day might seem even sunnier. Take a look at this beauty, made by workmaster Henrik Wigström, sometime between 1908 and 1917!

The parasol handle is covered in translucent pink enamel over a wavy guilloché ground. The green ball on top is carved out of nephrite and mounted with gold laurel swags set with diamonds. A gold chased band of laurel also encircles the bottom. The hight of the handle is 2 3/4'' (7 centimeters), and if you feel like getting a new handle for your parasol, this one can be yours for 39,500 USD over at John Atzbach Antiques!

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...Moving In

So, yesterday I told you that I finally was able to move away from my parent's house, and back to my beloved Stockholm, where I will rent a room in my best friend's apartment.

My new landlord and landlady had prepared my room for me. They even repainted the walls, and Fanny had put jasmine flowers on my nightstand! The room was already furnished, so the only "furniture" I brought was my big mirror, and the lamp in the picture above which I had just found in a thrift store. It matches my red curtains perfectly, and when it's dark it gives off a very cosy, red light!

Morris quickly found his place in my bed...

...and Milfred moved into my lingerie drawer!

I'm also sharing the house with Fanny's two leopard geckos - Tyra (skinny tail) and Lizzie (fat tail)...

...and their food. Mmmmm, yummy...

We celebrated my arrival with sushi, Dawn of the Dead, and champagne. Of course Milfred had to taste some too. Goddamn alcoholic mink!!!

The only sad part of the day was that my grandmother decided to die around an hour after I had arrived to my new den, so I guess you could say we both moved that day... She became almost 96 years old, and was a really cool, strong lady. Now she's probably dancing around in the heavenly ballroom, young and dressed in a wonderful 40s gown! Love you grandma! See you in the future!