In the mood

In a blink of the eye we floated from April to July. I am now reborn; soaking up the sun, swimming in the ponds (supremely cold, but invigorating), reading books, waking up to humming jazz and wild landscapes (and sometimes on a chilled summer's night we wore a woollen jumper & started a fire), slowly and steadily falling in love. I am never so sure before - this is really all I need. An inner joy and peace that stays, a skirt that floats like butterfly while I bike.

In summer, I -
wear: either a white or breton shirt, navy skirt, chestnut brown leather loafters, a singular dainty gold bracelet
listen to: the sound of the sea, various Spotify playlists, Louis Armstrong Five
read: Roger Deakin's Waterlog, Miranda July (but most of the time I am just lazily watching le tour de france)

look forward to: travelling and trekking in Northern Vietnam, wearing a straw hat and eat pho at dusk

x

Cinematic Writing X

Brian W. Ferry

And still the mad magnificent herald Spring

assembles beauty from forgetfulness

with the wild trump of April: witchery

of sound and odour drives the wingless thing

man forth into bright air,for now the red

leaps in the maple's cheek,and suddenly

by shining hordes in sweet unserious dress

ascends the golden crocus from the dead.

- e.e. cummings

The Bachelor Girl

We were having bacon and pancakes at the Breakfast Club Spitalfield when my friend asked me - 'How would you describe your style?' Without a hint of hesitation I blurted -

em, a boyish girl who wears skirts?

Only until this evening I realised this is probably the singular, most succinct sentence that summarises what I wear/like as of late, be it the reliable combo of breton tee + skirt + top knot, or shirt + black trousers + braids (for short-medium hair), plus my good old Masculin Féminin tote. There is a certain liberation in mixing anything in the wardrobe and the permutation would just work together (although there is always room for a yet-to-be-found pleated skirt and tweed jacket). For me, the way you dress is not only an important facet of self-representation, it is also a manifestation of your aesthetics and how comfortable and at peace you are with yourself. I like to evolve and be influenced every day by more unlikely sources of fashion inspiration such as art, literature, music and nature; and what matters to me the most will always be simplicity, authenticity and consistency.

All images from woolsilk.

x

Clare Grill

She is interviewed in Lula Issue 16.

In Praise of Mornings

We plan, we toil, we suffer – in the hope of what? A camel load of idols' eyes? The title deeds of Radio City? The empire of Asia? A trip to the moon? No, no, no, no. Simply to wake up just in time to smell coffee and bacon and eggs.

- J. B. Priestley

Why wake up late, when you can get up early - when the sexiest meal of the day is breakfast? In the week days I am so used to waking up early that during weekends, I find myself wide awake no later than 8:30am - Today at nine o'clock I dipped my toes in the local swimming pool with the water still and unrippled, followed by a quick shower, breakfast (of scrambled eggs and assam tea) and a stroll around the empty streets, walking among quiet passages and snow flurries. I tasted idleness at its best, before the city awakes with its quickened breaths and fury and pallor. 

- Slow baby slow, because you can afford to, because you have a whole afternoon and night to look forward to.

//Top five places in London for breakfast/brunch:

• Lantana - scrambled eggs (I heart eggs) with sourdough bread, accompanied by the Observer
• Local greasy spoon - full English breakfast (fried bread, roasted tomato drowned in a sea of baked beans, mug-full of tea)
• The Little Bread Pedlar - stack of toasts and French butter, black Monmouth coffee (bring your own grapefruit)
• Bistrotheque - fluffy pancakes with blueberry compote and crème fraîche
• The Delaunay - freshly squeezed juice, eating muesli with a silver spoon - and less busy than its sister restaurant near the Ritz

x

(Not exactly) Secret London

1.

Marylebone /ˈmɑrlɪbən/

where you can find:

 Farmer's Market every sunday morning, market for vintage clothes and accessories in the church courtyard every saturday. Daunt books for books on travelling, La Fromagerie (beautiful cheese boards paired with wine, the Jerusalem of Cheese), the Natural Kitchen, Ginger Pig (for the best cuts), Monocle, Rococo Chocolate.

2.

Feast /fiːst/

where you can have:

the best burgers by Elliot's, boozy winter eton mess (rose and pomegranate yummmm) by meringue girls, rock oysters, steaming pork belly buns, mac&cheese, baroness banana cupcakes - all in the most unconventional spaces.

We went to the winter one in an abandoned postal building in Islington which was an absolutely stunning feasting experience. The next one would be happening on 7-10 March at Tobacco Dock in Wapping. Maybe see you there?

x

Overheard on the radio -

"God exists in this world, like poetry in poems. You have to read into it, and your understanding of it matures and deepens with age."

x