Two Tims - Halloween Special

“One person's crazyness is another person's reality.” 

Tim Burton

Happy Halloween folks! Maybe not as big over here as it is in the States but still an excuse to get your spook on and dress up as fantastically as you wish. In honour of the most dark of holidays, here a selection of fabulous images Walker did a couple of years ago, inspired and featuring Tim Burton. Such an extraordinary blend of beauty and creativity with Gothic darkness creeping around the sides, I find them an endless source of inspiration. I'm sorry I've been off radar for a couple of weeks, there is a reason that shall be revealed next time.  In the meantime, enjoy these fabulous images! Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha!

“Any fable or fairytale has some sort of reality in it. That's why I think I love the form of fantasy or fairytale, is that you're able to kind of put things in there and let people sort of, discover their own emotion, discover their own sort of feelings about things. Or make their own lessons from it.' 

--Tim Burton 

At the Movies 

Nov. 17, 2005

To finish, one of my favourite moments of all time from Edward Scissorhands...

Some Like It Hot

"I wish I could play her for the rest of my life" Michelle on Marilyn

This post was originally going to be about part two of my Autumn wardrobe but as I write this, it's currently 28 degrees in London and frankly, it's thrown me into a bit of a tizz. I was mentally prepared for nesting, wearing knitwear and tights and crunching through mounds of brightly coloured leaves in my Hunters...instead, I'm back in Summer.  Grooming has been shifted to top of the priority list and sundresses have been shaken out of storage.  My Autumn wardrobe post will have to wait.

However, there is nothing like a bit of style inspiration for a Friday and I was blown away seeing these pictures of Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe. It's been said that you can be divided into two camps of style, those fans of the gamine, beautiful Audrey or the megawatt smile and curves of Marilyn. I disagree, I love them both..two of my favourite films of all time are Some Like it Hot and Funny Face. I've day dreamed about being both, it depends on my mood and they are both captivating in their own way.

You can imagine my excitement when I heard about this film..Directed by Simon Curtis My Week With Marilyn is based on Colin Clark's diaries which depict the making of the 1957 film The Prince and the Showgirl which starred Marilyn Monroe and Laurence Olivier. The cast includes such stellar names as Kenneth Branagh as Olivier and Eddie Redmayne as Clark himself.

With Dougray Scott as Arthur Miller

It is Colin’s brief encounter with Monroe as her confidant, protector, and almost lover that gives My Week with Marilyn its tender heart. Dougray Scott stars as Monroe’s aloof husband, Arthur Miller; Dominic Cooper as her anxious business partner Milton Greene; and Zoë Wanamaker as her Svengali-like acting coach Paula Strasberg; there are also  stylish cameos by Simon Russell Beale, Sir Derek Jacobi, and, as Dame Sybil Thorndike, the great British treasure which is Dame Judi...or 'The Dench' as I recently heard Tom Wilkinson refer to her as.

All photographs by Annie Leibovitz and the full Vogue interview with Michelle Williams by Adam Green, here.  I'm off to sizzle and have a glass of champagne in honour of Marilyn/ Michelle, any excuse! It is Friday after all.

You Can Learn A LOT from an Old Bird

"People need to get less stressed about fashion and get into the enjoyment of it"

"Take what is available and contour it towards what your needs are."

The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas

I have grey hair and I'm getting crows feet.  Every day I have London snot...that's when there's mysterious black shizzle up your nose from all the fumes at the end of the day..and my idea of a good night in at the moment is working through the Poirot or Downton boxset and doing my tapestry. I have also got unreasonably excited when I'm in bed before midnight.  What does all this mean?  Am I on a slip road to Golden Oldie-town heading towards the earlybird special and a night of Bingo with the Boy...(actually it would be backgammon if he had his way) ?  Or am I in denial about a certain birthday that happened nearly a week ago? YES I AM.

"Don't take your self too seriously."

"Dress for the theatre of your life." Lynn Dell 78.

I had decided that I was cool with it, aging is no big deal, it happens to everyone blah blah blah but when certain people reacted to my new age with glances that said, "You're two minutes away from the Stannah stairlift dearie", I began to feel perturbed.  I've written before about how happy I was that it wasn't just prepubescent girls lining the catwalks and spoken about my admiration for the many beautiful older models including Carmen dell Orefice but was I ready to start feeling past my prime when I wasn't sure I'd had my prime yet?

I don't mind going grey that much. I've already decided that I will have Cruella DeVille hair as soon as I can no longer pull off dying it it's god given colour and wrinkles give a face character so on an afternoon of counting my grey hairs, sorting my tapestry wools and blog surfing, imagine my delight when I came across a blog called Advanced Style.

Alice Carey, early 60s

Written by Ari Seth Cohen, I'll let him use his own words, "I roam the streets of New York looking for the most stylish and creative older folks. Respect your elders and let these ladies and gents teach you a thing or two about living life to the fullest.  Advanced Style offers proof from the wise and silver-haired set that personal style advances with age."  Darn right Ari. I think this is something we can all aspire to.  It was so hard to pick just a few to show you but I hope it makes you smile as much as it did me, Happy Friday!X

Iris Apfel for Vogue Japan shot by Ari

Elle-O

The ELLE team / LONDON FASHION WEEK S/S 2011: DAY 1

A birthday for me last weekend and a birthday for this blog! Really this should make me more proactive than usual but instead I have been lazing about admiring my lovely presents and eating quantities of cake!  One of things I particularly like to do when I have oodles of time to myself is to peruse the vast array of blogs out there.  This time, during my travels on the web, I came across something that I'd never seen before.  It's by one of the big players, Ellle (UK magazine).  I am obsessed with magazines be it Elle, Vogue, Wonderland, Dazed, LOVE etc. and having interned at a couple in the Conde Nast stable, I know that not only is The Devil Wears Prada not a million miles from the mark but also that yes, you can't just roll out of bed into the office, you do have to give it a certain amount of thought..and then end up looking like you haven't...obvs.

How super then to be given access to what the bods at Elle are wearing every week. I'm sure the ladies do think a smidge more carefully when they know a camera is going to be on them but I truly don't think that any of them look particularly over-done or try hard.  To me they have provided some sartorial inspiration particularly during this rather wet Fashion Week. Enjoy.

Donna Wallace: ELLE Accessories Editor: Neil Barret jacket, French Connection shirt, Dagmar dress, Cos trousers, APC boots, Laura Lee ring

Emma Sells: ELLEuk.com Fashion/News Editor:All Saints coat, Topshop top, Club Monaco trousers, Russell and Bromley shoes, Jas MB bag, Mawi necklace. Bex Rox bracelet

Alice Watt: ELLEuk.com Fashion Assistant:Alexander Wang jumper, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Burberry belt, Emma Cook boots, New Look rucksack

I LOVE these shorts!

Stacey Duguid: ELLE Executive Fashion Editor: Mui Mui jacket, Vanessa Bruno dress, Prada shoes

Rosa Connell: ELLE Fashion Assistant

Versus boots