Making Life more Beautiful
In Romania recently I naturally took a close interest in fashion, fabric, style and stitching. I was unaware that Matisse had painted many versions of the Romanian blouse. But how inspirational are these images? Matisse’s love of textiles and his … Continued
Is there an English style? What we see, in our towns and cities, is women in leggings and baggy jumpers and men in shapeless jackets and jeans. What we imagine is pinstripes and bowlers, tweed skirts and cosy woolies, Wellington … Continued
I wanted to post about the variety of colouring that occurs naturally in humans. Eyes, hair, skin – textures, hues, shapes. I searched the Internet. I was a bit disappointed. In order to get reliable photographs of natural beauty I … Continued
When I first started sewing my teacher suggested that we all buy a “wardrobe” pattern. These patterns, which during the 1980s when I was learning to sew, were especially aimed at workwear, have a longer history. Here is one from … Continued
A delegation from Notting Hill Housing recently visited Romania, where we went to learn about housing, health and education, integration into Europe, social challenges, and issues for Romanians in the UK. After a couple of days in Bucharest we went … Continued
Now fur is controversial and I am not entirely sure why, when leather is all the rage. Hides, with fur intact, were worn by mankind especially in cold climates and are durable, warm, flexible and beautiful. Indigenous people in arctic … Continued
Jon Land is the Editor of www.24housing.co.uk – one of the must-reads in the Housing industry – and he has asked me to write about my “passions outside housing” for the Culture Vulture spot. Here are some of the standard questions: what was the … Continued
Winter is coming, as they say on Game of Thrones. I am going to need some warmer clothes, and warmer clothes are what I most enjoy sewing. Jackets, skirts, coats – warm but elegant. I always plan my sewing to … Continued
I am sure that Jane Shepherdson thought an edgy photo shoot on a Council housing estate would make her clothes really stand out. Why not use a Council estate as a backdrop? Perhaps the sculptural beauty of the Municipal architecture would … Continued
Very few staff at Notting Hill wear anything other than modern contemporary clothes for their work. We don’t have uniforms or a dress code. But when it comes to dressing up for parties our teams really like to push the … Continued