The Trunk

I've already tweeted about it once or twice but the arrival of The Trunk really does deserve a proper mention on here too, I feel. Having neglected the blog for way too long it seems the perfect icebreaker and hopefully will serve to re-open the floodgates for me, writing-wise.

Last year a friend's neighbour had decided to sell her house with a great deal of furniture and nick nacks still in it, as she retired into a local home for the elderly. Before putting the house on the market, the immediate family came and checked all the 'remnants' and told my friend she was welcome to purchase any of the items marked 'for sale'. I was over at my friend's for a cup of tea and a natter one afternoon when she invited me to go next door and have a peak at the things she'd chosen for herself and 'Who knows,' she said, 'there may be something you'd like?'. Well, I do love a house clearance as well as antiques plus I'm by nature too nosy for my own good, so took great pleasure in accepting the invitation. There were a few lovely little pieces: wardrobes, interesting cabinets, paintings and prints, a globe and some luggage and of course the pièce de résistance, an old Louis Vuitton Steamer trunk. When I saw it I thought 'Oh gosh, we've always wanted one of those' but was certain that if my friend hadn't earmarked it for herself, the family surely would have. Instead nobody showed any interest, apart from me. I registered my eagerness and awaited confirmation that I could purchase it from the owners. Whilst still in the house I took pictures and sent them to him indoors, he promptly came back with 'Get it! Get it!' or words to that effect. 'He's keen', I thought. My friend and I took a few moments to inspect the case, we opened it and couldn't believe the interior, it was very impressive with beautiful original mahogany Louis Vuitton engraved coat hangers and it seemed in relatively good condition considering its age which at a guess I'd say was just over 100 years. We moved on, had more tea and eventually said our goodbyes - she said she'd let me know and of course there was no hurry on my part so I told her not to worry. Although I must admit to having felt an underlying excitement within me, in my gut, which told me this was a nice piece to have come across, casually in such a way.

I eventually received the 'OK' via my friend from the family of the lady and also the price which I felt was very reasonable indeed. Especially as I had chosen a selection of items, so the price was for the lot rather than for individual pieces. It took 2 strong men to carry the LV down about 100 steps and into our car. It now stands resplendent in our office. A magnificent beast of a trunk, I've started researching its origins and history as well as the monogrammed letters on the lid (RvS... ironic, no?).
I also came across this wonderful 2010 project called "Louis Vuitton: 100 Legendary Trunks", an exceptional book which showcases the most beautiful  LV creations through more than eight hundred photographs. In the book you'll find many incredible pieces, along with the equally incredible stories of their creation. To find out more and to be transported into the glamourous world of Louis Vuitton and luxury luggage, go directly to the Louis Vuitton website and select "The World Of Louis Vuitton" where you'll find the link to the Legendary Trunks page and its exquisite video.You'll also find Bono and his lovely wife Ali somewhere there.
Oh, and there's even an app!

Anyway, here's our beast. We're having it valued next. Christie's I think.

Number Six London

 

I love menswear and especially if it knows exactly what it's doing, ie. if it has the courage of its convictions. So, if you're a guy (aged teen to well and truly matured) and you like cool and if you happen to be in London then head straight down to Brick Lane to get yourself kitted out with some sharp typically London-cool wardrobe staples. Just thought I'd mention it. I'm talking about Number Six (aka When We Were Casuals).  The lads  there say that they have some new tricks up their sleeves for 2010, just visit their blog for a preview. If you're in a rush and don't have time to visit their website, here are some of the brands you'll find there: Lyle & Scott Vintage, Fila Vintage, Barbour, Farah Vintage, Adidas Originals, Fred Perry, Napapijri, and so many more. In fact everything that a man's heart desires when it comes to looking pretty darn good.

Oh, and I almost forgot: sooner or later everyone in our family seems to develop a thing about shoes (fetish, passion, obsession, call it what you like) so we got understandably but unreasonably excited when we saw this!

business & pleasure

I was reminded what it's like to be a career girl this week when I had to travel to Lucerne on a 2 day work trip. Not bad for a change, good to get out and play at the business game. Whilst business was good and very interesting indeed, I think the best bit for me was the impromptu off duty evening I was able to spend with my husband who also just happened to be in the area. He knows I'm a bit high maintenance when it comes to hotels - I can't be bothered with average, it really has to be something thrilling. So while my client had booked me into a very grand but bland hotel, I was whisked off by my husband to an altogether different setting. Walking into the Astoria in Lucerne I felt all excited and tingly, THIS was more like it!  A cool, smooth affair, whiter than white with a divine reception desk all covered in minute, sparkly mosaic tiles  begging to be touched and behind it a suave but friendly male receptionist eager to please. Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron (Tate Modern London, Allianz Arena Munich, Birds Nest Stadium Peking and Prada Tokyo to name but a few) extended this hotel in 2005 and created something very special indeed. If ever you have the opportunity to stop over in Lucerne, try this, I reckon you might be impressed.  You don't even have to walk anywhere at all to get to the coolest bars, lounges and restaurants, as they're all in the hotel itself. Incredibly convenient. We tried the Penthouse bar for aperitivi and then headed for the excellent Asian bistro Mekong located on the ground floor. Unfortunately I cannot report on the rooms - from the website though it would appear that Superior and Deluxe are the way to go. Steer clear of Standard - that's the rule.

Editor at large

I have a roving ambassador - an angel travelling to places I cannot reach, my very own VIP. Next stop Paris. She will return with a style treasure that you will LOVE... I simply cannot wait! The above picture is but a mere hint, I bet you can't guess what it is that she will bring to me...

camping it up

Moving within the spirit of the times, respecting the current economic climate, we have discarded the usual frills, pomp and circumstance in favour of a more natural and simple (don't you LOVE those two words?) summer holiday. Yes, we are going to brave the campsite and get down and dirty, right back to basics and finally use those 2 massive (brand) new tents that have never seen the light of the moon let alone a mosquito and go camping. Not for a weekend, not for a week - heck, no! We're totally insane and going it for three...whole...weeks. I'm playing it cool at the moment. So overwhelmed by the mere fact that very soon we'll be back in lovely Sardinia, I won't allow my joy to be overrun by dark thoughts regarding the impossibility of sandfree clothes storage, dirty feet (I have a bit of a thing about those), having to wash dishes by hand and then of course not having en-suite facilities.... Like I said, I will not let myself be overcome by all that negativity.

Instead I choose to open my mind to the possibility that this really could be a pleasurable adventure beyond compare and that with a little bit of organisation and a huge pinch of the 'chill' factor, we can all enjoy an unforgettable, uncomplicated time together. My husband will make me sign a contract in which I swear not to become 'unreasonable' about grains of sand in the tent and that if I utter the words 'I have nothing to wear!' he has perfectly good grounds for divorce. I have promised to take a leaf out of all of my friends' books who have been camping practically every year of their lives, and focus on the essentials of campsite living but make those essentials as beautiful as they can possibly be. So, I just need a few accessories to 'brighten up' our pitch and personalise it by giving it a bit of a style injection. I will start by looking a bit more closely at the Cath Kidston website and I have already noticed with great pleasure, that Swiss retailers take their camping sections very seriously indeed and I wouldn't be at all surprised if I found the bulk of my camping 'style fodder' on my doorstep at either Migros or Coop. And another thing: all that stuff we get fed by women's magazines about 'how to pack the bare essentials' or 'how to make one single garment work a 100 ways' would be fantastic for my camping dilemma IF IT WERE TRUE! It's total nonsense of course and unless you were born around 1941 and therefore frugality is an indelible part of your genetic make-up, you will know that packing the 'bare essentials' means stuffing at least 48 to 54 garments into your suitcase. So in order to make this experience work for me I'm going to:

• plan out my pitch meticulously, logically and stylishly (I will allow husband to help with this)
• buy an inordinate amount of tealights and little glasses that will contain them
• inject a dose of glamour even into campsite life by never looking anything less than effortlessly chic (see pictures above)
• not get hysterical at the sight of dust-covered sons, in fact I will learn to embrace them in their new, natural state (I use the word embrace not in its physical, but spiritual sense)
• last but not least, I absolutely promise that I will chillax
  
  Should be great!
  

Whilst I do realise that this post contains a ridiculous amount of pictures compared to my usual select few, I really wanted to bring TOAST to your attention once again. Their style and their photography lends itself incredibly well to my camping fantasy! Do browse their current catalogue here and especially here...

All of the above photographs are taken from the current S/S 09 TOAST catalogues (DAYWEAR and HOUSE & HOME)

California

There is something about listening to the Beach Boys (oh go on then, Dave Lee Roth!) that just makes me wanna pack a bag and take off on a jet plane headed for California. That's America to me (well, that and New York) but California is slightly addictive once you've experienced its laid-back, hippy ways. I spent three pivotal years there and boy, they were good years. Boy! Boys! Beach Boys! Bleached sandy hair, tanned legs 365 days a year, surfboards, frozen jogurt, marine biology, my first CAR: a gold VW beetle (chosen in favour of a 1968 Mustang - my father and especially Mr R have never forgiven me for this faux pas). And yet some demon inside me told me to leave this sunny paradise and head across the water back to London Town. Totally inexplicable now, but at the time and with the maturity of all my 19 years behind me, it was London or certain death. These days I unashamedly spend hours trying desperately to remember what it felt like to watch the sunset over Del Mar beach or walking into the Pannikin coffee/bookstore and smelling the roasted coffee beans and freshly baked muffins. It would be interesting if I were to endeavour in a spell of time travel and be transported in my current state, to those heady days of 1986 - I would probably keel over and die with emotion. Life in southern California is, in a way, even more remote than it is here in Ticino. You are so (pleasantly) removed from what is real (I don't mean in an artificial L.A./Hollywood kind of way, no sir!) that there really is nothing else but the abovementioned ingredients (Dave Lee Roth, frozen yogurt, surfers, hippies, beetles, pot, marine biology etc). It's its own special little universe where you just live for your immediate surroundings. Sounds shallow to you? It shouldn't. Pure nature all around you, the most fantastic marine life, incredible universities where you can study till you're 90, great music culture, and the knowledge that Mexico lies at your feet. If you get bored just rent a Mustang (not a Beetle) and head north along highway 101. I often ask myself what devil inside me made me leave this place?
A few more haunts: La Jolla and Jake's and finally, for all you academics or parents with kids looking for a superb university, look not further than UCSD.