ART DECO DAYS

I hope no birds were hurt in the production of this hat, but what a Dazzler!!

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, wore it this week. 

Hasn't she come out of her shell this past year?

Did you see the Princess Charlene interview on the Today Show?

I really liked her; she is quite delicate, very pretty and speaks in a charming South African accent.

They say men often look for a wife who resembles their mother in some way,

and one can certainly see echos of the late Princess Grace in Charlene, not just in looks but in her sweetness and gentle caring ways. 

I can see why Albert was keen to keep her!

I like to read at least 2 books at a time:

Finally got around to the very popular Good Living Street: The Fortunes of my Viennese Family by Tim Bonyhady.

This is a family history of an early 20th century family living in great beauty and luxury in Vienna when it was the centre of European art and culture prior to WWII.

Their opulent apartment was designed by the legendary Art Deco/Modernist designer Josef Hoffman, and they owned portraits and paintings by Gustav Klimt.

Escaping Vienna at the onset of war, they relocated to Cremorne, Sydney, complete with much of their fabulous collection.  I am loving this beautifully illustrated book.

Here are some Hoffman designs I found to show you:

Timeless chic - he worked a lot in back and white, with silver accessories.

Remember the wonderful 2010 Valentino Exhibition at GOMA?

It included black and white gowns inspired by Hoffman.

Valentino found inspiration all around him.

My other book is a complete opposite.

The Last Explorer was Hubert Wilkins, a relatively unknown Aussie from the early 20th century.  A polar explorer, war photographer and reporter, early aviator, writer, spy and scientist - and lots more.. he was the first man to take a submarine under the polar ice.

My old Dad knew about him because Wilkins was on the battlefields in Ypres in WWI, where Dad's father, (my grandfather) was an Aussie soldier working as a medical orderley (with a donkey cart removing the wounded from the field).

Perhaps I should put the books down and do some washing ..

or sewing .. whatever....