Selfies...You're So Vain

"I loathe narcissism, but I approve of vanity." - Diana Vreeland

So in other news this week...the words 'Twerking', 'Vom' (my favourite) and 'Selfie'  have made it into the Oxford English Dictionary. I had to just Google Twerking to understand what the hell that is (Miley Cyrus' raunchy dance moves at the VMAs apparently?) and well, Selfie is a word borne from an egomaniac generation of narcissistic iPhone users. A few days ago, while having a mani pedi on my lunch break (yah!) I watched a girl parked in a van outside the nail bar spend half an hour taking pictures of herself from above, below, round the side...about 27 snaps later, each with a different shade of pout, she finally settled for the perfect pose. Maybe for a boyfriend (lucky chap!), maybe to stick on Instagram, Twitter, Facey or Tinder (my ultimate favourite!)...I just sat there with my hands under a grill and thought WHAT A LOSER! And hummed Carly Simon to myself...tralalaaaa.

I woke up yesterday morning thinking I had lost my phone. In my Aperol induced haze I lay in bed lamenting the photos I had taken in the last year and phone numbers of people who I would have no way of contacting ever again. After twenty mins of winding myself up and feeling like it was the end of the world, I rolled out of bed and realised that in fact the phone was actually on the floor and I just hadn't put it on to charge. Phewee. You don't know what you've got til it's gone I reckon so I spent the afternoon appreciating my phone, flicking through all of my long forgotten photos, digging into the darkest depths of old albums, reminiscing about happier times and then I realised...I AM A SELFIE TAKER! I remember thinking that if I were going to start blogging about what I wore then I had better document it properly. The thing is, they're all rubbish. I absolutely haven't perfected it and then it dawned on me the chick in the van had it about right...I would need on average 27 (or more) goes to get the perfect pose. I give up after about two, mainly due to time constraints and actually, boredom. Or in one case nearly garotting myself on a loo roll holder in the Pizza Express lavatories. It's embarrassing to explain why you've taken so long in the bathroom when you've innocently just been trying to make your arms look rexi while half smiling. You can't say "Oh I've been doing Selfies in the bog!"

Anyway, as an apology to the poor, judged van girl I am showing you my hashtag Selfies which I never thought would see the light of day. So here they are...me being vain and self-involved in various locations and WCs all over London. Knock yourself out!

Took this one to show a friend a dress (which turned out to be a brilliant purchase from Topshop here) I had been forced to buy because I had sat in tramps pee on a bus and needed something else to wear. Truly. It looks like I'm smiling but I was actually crying.

(I blogged these glorious Poplin PJs once before here )

Favourite ASOS ring - I think they do the best costume jewellery.

ASOS Jewel Print Dress and Clutch

Foot Selfie. Waiting for my close up in the Borders General Hospital.

Evil Eye from House of Harlow but you can get amazing EE stuff from Baublebar which has lovely things.

Another Topshop dress, Anya Hindmarch clutch and Christian Louboutins at St. John.

Best rezza in London I reckon. Cleanest loos.

You can't see it but I am wearing this Zara dress which is my new favourite thing.

Me and my Anya Hindmarch Huxley. I know, I can't see it either.

Me in the office today. Bye then!

I will endeavour to do MUCH better next time. Any Selfie tips are most welcome from you all. Unless your name is Miley Cyrus.

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Off to Bedfordshire

 The worst thing in the world is to try to sleep and not to... 
~F. Scott Fitzgerald

Night time can send me into a spin. Especially when my bedroom is boiling hot and I have a fan whirring near my head which has been the case for these past few weeks.Once I'm out that's pretty much it but it's the drifting off I find most hard. Never do I get more jealous than when my bedfellow falls first.  Many a night have I spent counting sheep or trying to bore myself into oblivion. But then I start asking myself questions like 'What is beyond the Universe?' and seeing faces in my wardrobe...I am wide awake, heart racing.

I'm not mad keen on assisted sleep or swallowing handfuls of sedative hypnotics and waking up with a mouth that tastes like a pet shop, so, through good old trial and error I have discovered a few things that really work and really help me drift off to the land of Nod.

Firstly a good pair of pyjamas. In my initial foray into blogging I mentioned Poplin pyjamas (here) which are a complete wonder. They have a certain wholesomeness that is reminiscent of childhood bedtimes. I have the striped cotton ones which are glorious and when they're in the wash I wear the Indochine silk set. Apart from being beautifully silky and well cut they are insanely glamorous and make me feel very Hollywood starlet. They are slightly wasted on just me in my flat so I often try to find any opportunity to take the rubbish out again or greet the milkman, ask the neighbours for some sugar etc. If on the other hand you have no one to impress then in the winter I opt for an American Aparel onesie but woe betide anyone who wears this in front of people with eyes...even my family threatened to disown me once they'd glanced me in this oversized baby-grow. But if it's comfort you're after, this is just the ticket! But sexy, it is not.

I discovered This Works Deep Sleep range earlier this year. Their award winning pillow spray is quite exceptional. You only have to read the testimonials on their website to see that people all over the world swear by this stuff. I could not work out why I couldn't get out of bed in January and then realised it was purely down to the spray - you only need a small amount on your pillow just before Bedfordshire - I was merrily emptying half a bottle on to my pillows each night. It smells yummy too. Another notable product is Badger Balm Sleep Aid which is a tiny little pot and I don't know why a badger has anything to do with going to sleep (apart from that I look like one when I wake up) but who cares?! It works.

Which leads me on to silk pillowcases. You may laugh at me for sounding so precious but it's actually worth getting one of these. Apart from being lovely to lay your head on, they also stop ones face from looking like a crumpled receipt on waking the next morning.

I know you are now imagining me in some Barbara Cartlandseque boudoir with my silky drawers, scented pillowcases and pink toy poodles but I think it's all about atmosphere, drawing curtains, clean sheets and flowers next to your bed, because....well, why the hell not?! A White Company Mattress topper, lovely pjs and switching off all electrics in your room. That is, except my Roberts Radio. I often just tune into the Shipping Forecast....Viking, North Utsire, South Utsire, Forties, Cromarty, Forth, Tyne, Dogger...and before long it's zzzzzzzzzzz...




My bedside table



This is what I look like first thing in the morning...blissfully happy in my Poplin Pyjamas - a bit badger like.
Please ignore the kitchen knives top left.

This is what I wish I looked like...one can dream...

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All Inclusive in Turkey - Beating the System

How beautiful it is to do nothing, then rest afterward - Proverb

My friend and I have just returned from a blissful holiday in Turkey. On paper it didn't look too pretty - all inclusive hotel in Bodrum with free beer and biscuits. All you could eat buffet at the flash of a wristband. Turps on tap, thinly disguised as vodka. Nightly "entertainment" (loosest sense of the word) in the on-site amphitheatre. Plenty of sunburnt youths on apres A-level booze ups, washing themselves in tequila, grilling their skin and vomiting off the balconies, but with all these things it's never your only option! There is something about being in a foreign country when the sun is shining - there is always an adventure to be had. SO rather than resigning ourselves to a slightly suspect swimming pool and the sea snail in our bathroom (yup!) we wandered away from the burgers, karaoke calamities and mangy people cats and headed towards the phosphorescence and glow-wormed secret side of Bodrum. A place which I highly, highly recommend.

We chanced upon a lone jetty stretching out onto the Mediterranean sea with Kos in the distance. We swam, jumped off pontoons, read, slept, ate. You pretty much get the gist of what was done for the rest of the holiday............absolutely nothing.....and it was heaven. Bodders....we'll be back next year.

The Lone Jetty

Topshop Vine Leaf Bikini similar here

Turkish Coffee - yummers
V.G book Here and Now. Letters between two of my favourite authors. 

Illesteva Leonard Sunglasses - best things I've ever invested in. They go with everything.
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter - a really wonderful book. The New York Times says it's 'A monument to crazy love with a deeply romanitc heart'...I mean HOW could I resist??!

Flora resplendent in ASOS Sunglasses and a Forever 21 Bikini

...and Chanel and Coops London Earring - MOST BEAUTIFUL - get them here! More on them later.

Zoe and Morgan Lasso Love Ring
Alex Monroe Rope Ring

J.Crew Seersucker Bikini 

Local Turkish Trinkets from the market. Evil Eyes and Lucky Fish.

ASOS Penelope Bikini

This is what I packed - including the variety of bikinis above. I love anywhere that is so hot you don't really have to wear clothes. Simplicity is key - good sunglasses, good jewellery, good lipstick (at the moment it's Nars Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Mexican Rose) and a good book. I also find that it's a lovely thing to take a new scent on holiday so it forever reminds you of your time away. A small escapism trick! I'm currently basically drinking Miller Harris' new scent La Fumée Ottoman (it's divine) to try and revive my memories.

Bye Turkey! See you on my plate.

PS. Follow me on Instagram - if you want to! @ghudsonevans

Some photographs courtesy of Flora Parkinson

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Personal Style Icons

"...Don't think you were born too late. Everyone has that illusion. But you aren't. The only problem is if you think too late." - Diana Vreeland

I always feel that I would have fitted in better (sartorially speaking) had I been born 100 years ago. I still get a touch upset that we don't dress for dinner as we used to or that hats and gloves are no longer donned every day. But as Vreeland states, that is simply not the attitude! 

However today I feel a bit nostalgic for the icons of yesteryear and wish to hark back to the classics and pay homage to them and the stars of today who keep the fires of glamour burning. A bit of fashspiration for all tomorrows parties...

These are the fashion gods I pray to when I stand in front of my chaotic wardrobe (above) asking my most favourite question WHAT SHALL I WEAR?

Jane Birkin

Kate and Johnny. I mean...

Diana Vreeland. Watch The Eye Has To Travel

Sebastian Flyte with Aloysius and Charles Ryder, Brideshead Revisited

Iris Apfel - read this amazing book Rare Bird of Fashion - The Irreverant Iris Apfel

Lorna Garman. Read The Rare and The Beautiful - I became obsessed with her style after reading this book. Her lover Laurie Lee wrote in his journal that 'Once she turned up in seven different blues (counting her eyes)' 

Marilyn Monroe when she was hanging out in Palm Springs

Jean-Paul Belmondo. Watch Pierrot Le Fou - you may well fall in love with him. I did.

Audrey Hepburn - specifically in Breakfast At Tiffanys. This outfit makes my heart sing.

Edie Segwick read Edie- Girl On Fire 

Elizabeth Taylor - specifically this outfit which she wore to marry Richard Burton the first time.

Marchesa Luisa Casati,  painting by Augustus John. Read The Marchesa Casatti - Portraits Of A Muse

Her fancy dress outfits are legendary.

Anna Della Russo - check out her blog here

Zelda Fitzgerald - inspired the character of Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby - see my take on a modern day Daisy here

Grace Kelly. Amen.

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