29 October 2009

new denim


Ok, time for a new pair. You all know how I feel about denim. I've worn the boyfriend all summer and rediscovered my beloved floppy French Connection carpenter jeans. But now I need my new fix. It's autumn and after having sifted through all my old styles and edited out what had no business inside my wardrobe, I am at a serious loss for words and alternatives. I need new denim and here, in Locarno, there is none! How am I meant to operate under these conditions? "You exaggerate!" I hear you exclaim. I don't think so. I'm not asking for Anthropologie, I'm not asking for Topshop and I'm not even asking for The Gap, for goodness sake. All I want is a pair of cool jeans. Globus have dissappointed me profoundly (I won't even give you their link as they're just not worth it) - they're usually my only hope around here but alas, the buyer seems to have had a temporary bout of incompetence and ordered only weird Italian styles boasting about 17 details too many. My search continues. I shall let you know what happens, I know you're all dying to know.
The picture above is courtesy of the current J Brand advertising campaign. J Brand is my denim nirvana.

22 October 2009

apron-time

                                  
As the nights draw in and the going back (or is it forward? I'll never get the hang of it I swear, it's just useless, why don't we abolish this custom, who's idea was it anyway? Answers please!) of the clocks looms, we're not out and about so much. Instead we're at home more and generally busying ourselves with indoor activities. Or at least that's what I've been doing. The heating's on and of an evening we're already very well established in our light-the-woodburner-routine. It's kind of nice and you don't feel so guilty for resembling a sloth, as the weather really doesn't entice us to any sort of outdoorsey activity. Heavily engrossed in all these homely thoughts and non-activities, while proudly wearing one of my many aprons (you don't want to know how many cakes I've baked in the last week!), I got to thinking about my kids and how much time, effort and most of all parental love goes into ensuring that theirs are perfect lives. While we are all "of course" individuals, making our mark and making a difference where possible, we all tend to flock together when it's about what we want for our children. We all want the same for them, don't we? Coming from divorced parents I tend to overcompensate for a lot when it comes to my children's wellbeing and happiness but I'm pretty sure that the majority of us parents just want our kids to be as unburdened as possible ie. carefree, happy, stable and most of all safe (incidentally I am pretty sure that both my own parents, divorced or not, still want exactly that for me too). So, with our two sons slowly growing into young men, I'm savouring baking them cakes, cooking them lunches and generally sitting with them during homework-time or telly-time and even just perching on their beds while they sleep (I am hopefully not the only mum that STILL does this). I am of course hoping that all this will stay with them forever and that when they look back at their childhood, they will have warm and happy memories flooding through their heads. At one stage during this thought process I actually asked myself how I would know that they are living a happy childhood now...? "Hi darling, so c'mon, out of 10, how d'you rate your family life?" A blank stare would have been all I deserved for such an irresponsible question, yet I was tempted, if only to give myself a laugh and a pat on the back for having a wicked sense of humour.
Well it won't last forever this childhood thing, and let's face it, after my recent revelation that Patsy Stone's my evil inner twin, the homemaker personality won't last that much longer either as she'll soon be hit over the head with a Marc Jacobs 'Stam' or a bottle of gin. But realistically now, it will have to come to an end eventually as I'm sure the girlfriend or wife won't appreciate waking up to mother-in-law, sat on the end of the bed with a tender look in her eyes...
Maybe it'll be me who needs to let go of the apron.
I have a thing about aprons (vintage aprons, please) and while scouring for a suitable image for this post I came across the one above from a lovely blog dealing in exactly that, vintage aprons! Delightful.

19 October 2009

a prime specimen


The blue is "the original Mercedes colour spec" - this being a 1966 SE250 Automatic Coupe. One that has been lovingly restored (as so often is the case) and which regularly sweeps majestically up and down the mountains, engine purring softly. The owner, a neighbour and another one of Signor Belotti's esteemed customers, talks with much enthusiasm and animation about the origin of his car and the painstaking effort and investment it has taken to get it to look this good. After listening appreciatively to our friendly neighbour, there is nothing left to do but collectively sigh and stand back in silence and admiration. Sunday mornings were made for this.
                                        
                                       
                                       
                                       
                                       

13 October 2009

pats

One does like to be naughty every now and then, and for me there's nothing naughtier than indulging in my very own particular hero-worship of the ultra-fabulous Patsy Stone. You may scorn and splutter but I think of her as my evil inner twin. Always have done, ever since AbFab appeared on our British screens in 1992. In an age, ie. at my age which is 41 almost 42 actually, when one is fully immersed and floating on that wonderful, soft (or wire wool, depending on what time of the month it is) cloud of motherhood, I do enjoy going right off on a tangent pretending for one long moment that yes, deep deep deep down, I am (still) that glamorous rough tart of a fashion babe JUST back from the shows ("...backstage parties, landmined with bitch fashion editors and Donatella-bloody-Versace...!") smoking at least 40 (but more like 60) a day while guzzling my 5th bottle of Bolly and it's not even 6pm. I love Patsy (almost as much as I love Joanna Lumley) 'cos she reminds me that it's totally ok to be glamorous all the time - and I for one SO need the occasional (it won't kill you, I promise!) glamour injection here, in this quiet backwater. So of late I'm making an extra effort - I am rediscovering the pleasure of wearing heels and doing a lot of wafting around feeling really rather fabulous. I'll probably go back to the old denims and my All-Stars come Friday but for now, this feels pretty damn good, darling!
Do you remember the utter magic of AbFab? Do you? Do you? Well, you may say you do, but click here and here for a refresher course nonetheless. Now might also be a good time to give those pelvic floor exercises another go, ladies.
Cheers yeah thanks.
TheStyleInside aka "Executive Creative Director Chief Buyer and Lifestyle Coordinator"

12 October 2009


I cannot believe it's that time again already. Just kissed summer goodbye and our attention drifts swiftly to plans for Christmas. As in many other parts of Continental Europe, we too have a very strong tradition of Christmas markets here. And you will have gathered by now that I do love a good market (be it the Auer Dult in Munich, a good old English carboot sale, my friend's wonderful yardsale or the forthcoming Christmas markets). Here, in our little corner of southern Switzerland, at the foot of the Centovalli, our neighbouring village Tegna organises its own very special, very delightful annual market. A tireless Dutch girl is the organiser and it's because of her that every year people from all over Switzerland return to sell their wares. Last year's event was a great success with over 40 stalls and I was particularly pleased, as I was able to convince my two ceramicist friends to also exhibit their beautiful pieces. Not only did they sell the whole lot, they also took further orders from keen customers. Oh, it was very satisfying.
Now for this year, I have immersed myself even further into the role of  PR and Agent (I'm sure you'll agree that all these wonderfully talented and creative people must be celebrated) and after having words with the said organiser lady (Dutchwomanabroad) to ensure that we are allocated optimal positions, I am ridiculously excited to announce that there will be a really rather delightful corner featuring some of the most exquisite creations you will come across this side of Christmas (amongst the myriad of other exhibitors, of course). So do pop over to Tegna on 6th December to indulge in a good dose of Christmas shopping and admire the simple, beautiful creations of Cri & Domi , Dani & Giovanna and of course Karin.
Whilst Dani is the very creative talent behind Salcottroad, Karin's website is Semplice-k, and both have been featured on The Style Inside, as has the wonderful work of ceramicists Cri & Domi. The work of Giovanna Weber (find it on Salcottroad) also deserves a special mention and I just know that you will delight in her exquisitely delicate creations.
Well, I've put Tegna on the map so if you're local, there's no excuse. Come and get your cup of mulled wine and mooch through the village and the stalls. Can't wait to see you!

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