places to go, people to see

image: fiona

MANY THANKS to the delectable fiona kerr for the first post of the week! she tells me: 'It's actually the cover sleeve from a Cartier book we got sent at work, I thought "A-ha invite holder" and nicked it and left the book coatless - 'I've probably had it about a year and it is so coming with me when I leave!' nifty.

COSMOgirl!

i'd like to present ms helen gurley brown, the legendary editor of cosmopolitan whose biography bad girls go everywhere has to be one of the best books i've read this year. and i'm not just judging this book by its cover.

which is amazing. gurley brown lounges in a cheetah-print polo neck by one of the Great-glam italian fashion houses - cavalli, krizia or versace? the wrap around hardback jacket replicates that pattern, providing an in-your-face look for a serious biography.

gurley brown has always endorsed a pragmatic strand of everyday feminism cultivated by her own life experiences as a working class woman from the southern united states born in 1922. the bought-in bling of her chain belt and the striking animal-print references align with her unapologetic personal philosophies. working one's feminine assets to make money and get ahead.

i'll be reviewing in full soon for the next pamflet...

i don't know where i'm going, only god knows where i've been

images: mine

even though i have a phone that can supposedly locate me wherever i am, no matter what any tech-type says, i'll always need a decent london map in my handbag just in case. this is a philip's street atlas of london, that comes with a small black silken ribbon bookmark (tail), its covers pulled together with a stretch elastic band. It is available in leopardskin.

JUDGING A BOOK... THE THOUGHTFUL DRESSER by Linda Grant

it's not often that leopard gets a look in on the cover of a book, but linda grant's latest 'the thoughtful dresser' (published by virago in march), is a collection of essays about style and clothes from a lady who operates outside fashion: this is the interesting choice of book jacket. a kate spade (i think)leopard handbag is the striking image of the ensemble - chosen, to paraphase a chapter in the book, becuase grant's mother believed that a handbag MAKES an outfit. grant inherited her mum's collection of bags and lives by the same outfit-rule. a receommended read.