Bring on 2015!

January is the corridor month into a new year and how you approach it is often indicative of the year to come. It is also when one takes a brief backward look over one's shoulder at the previous year and then one looks firmly forward into the new one, ideally from the comfort of home, precisely my living room.

Last year had so many highlights: unforgettable art exhibitions such as the Matisse: Cutouts at Tate Modern which I returned to again and again, for those dazzling displays of colour and form from a master scissorhands and the ground-breaking show at the Royal Academy with Sensing Spaces bringing architecture up close, personal and to the rafters in Picadilly. Also at Tate Modern, the Paul Klee and Malevich shows were both absorbing and inspiring whilst the RA's Summer Exhibition is always a fixture in my calendar.

At the V&A, each exhibition seemed to outdo the next in the glamour stakes: from the peerless Pearls show to the Glamour of Italian Fashion and those Bulgari jewels, owned by Elizabeth Taylor, to the more recent Horst show.

In south London, I enjoy my thrice yearly trips to Battersea, with the Decorative Art Fair to make a purchase and discover what exactly is taking the interior designer's fancy at the moment, as well the two weekends in May which celebrate  Artists' Open House. On the street is certainly where I help take fashion from local boutique, Paraphernalia, from CroftFest to Croftmas. It is my only opportunity to dress up in totally different looks, without having to buy the clothes but I inevitably fall for that one piece!  My local gallery, the Dulwich Picture Gallery, always has interesting shows, notably 2014's Hockney: Printmaker and Art & Life and currently has brought Emily Carr to the capital and sparked fresh interest in one of Canda's best-loved artists. And in the shadow of Tower Bridge, the Design Museum showed off the endlessly inventive talents of Paul Smith in a memorable exhibition.

Further afield, we had a grand weekend at Knepp Castle (not as guests I might add) but helping friends with their vintage stall at The Floral Fringe; and a couple of trips to Chichester to visit a favourite, the Pallant, to see the Pauline Boty and J.D. Fergusson exhibitions. The Pallant House Gallery also re-affirms that small is not only beautiful but always fulfilling and a trip to Margate in late summer showed that the Kent seaside town has a showcase gallery in the form of the Turner Contemporary. And for all the above events and excursions, I continue to wear clothes from my wardrobe: old, new, vintage, repaired, reconstituted and reinvented, but always with aplomb. That's really the only accessory required. And a little Dior lipstick!

Ring, ring at Kiosk No. 2

The K2 kiosk was Britain's first red telephone box. Designed by British architect, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the K2 was introduced in 1926, after which around 1,700 models were placed mostly in London. Now some 200 examples remain on Britain's streets and have since acquired Grade II listing status. The K2 design had one distinguishing feature: a domed roof, said to inspired by a lantern design at the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Now you can find a fine example of  K2 at the aforesaid gallery. It may not be in working order but it is a charming backdrop, as is the lovely gallery garden, for a few snaps. I'm wearing a vintage dress from Mabel, Melbourne Grove in SE22; studded sandals by Ash; a pair of kiosk-red vintage sunnies by Revlon; some cowrie-shell jewellery, and a basket from my unnecessarily large collection. The lipstick, as ever, is by Dior: Dolce Vita.

N.B. Catch the last few days of the Art and Life exhibition, ending 21st September.

Art and Life

 

A seasonally warm evening for the private view of Dulwich Picture Gallery’s latest exhibition: Art and Life 1920-1931, celebrating the work of Ben and Winifred Nicholson, together with contemporaries, Christopher Wood, Alfred Wallis and potter, William Staite Murray. At the forefront of the Modern British Movement, Ben and Winifred Nicholson painted some of their most memorable works during this period. This exhibition, curated by their grandson, Jovan Nicholson, provides a rare opportunity to see both artists’ views of the same landscapes, seascapes, still lifes and portraits, together with significant works by their friends and contemporaries. To suit the balmy evening, I wore a silky favourite by Betty Jackson, worn last summer in 'Betty Jackson (again)', together with my gold Mare sandals. Beads and cuff are both vintage, from the '30s. The straw hat and basket-woven bucket bag suit the season.

Let's all be Friends!

Dulwich by night... specifically Dulwich Picture Gallery which hosted its Friends' Preview event for 'Hockney, Printmaker', which coincides with the 60th anniversary of the artist’s first print.This exhibition highlights the variety and scope of the printed works of one of Britain's best-loved artists and judging from last night's turn-out, the exhibition is going to be yet another sell-out. Whilst all eyes were on the modern art last night, I brought a little classical imagery in from the cold with earrings from The Start Collection. The rest was double check: a Betty Jackson dress and vintage tartan silk jacket, last worn at an entirely different south London space - Frank's in 'Frankly Friday!'. Mongolian lamb continued to keep me warm and elevation came from my Russell & Bromley platforms.