Just glanced at it today, Terry, but it looks like fun!
I will work through it tomorrow on my lunch.

Nice to see James made it.

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..

Last edited by Vaclav (2007-07-02 17:05:33)

Joined the little stroll and very much enjoyed it.

I have a question though. I see a lot of vintage English goods, bespoke or otherwise, made from crocodile, etc. Who would have been the clients who ordered those items? I see that some bespoke items have heraldic crests which meant they were made for aristocrats; but what of the lay clients?

Certainly all the English cordwainers made and make exotic-skinned shoes. Apparently Alan McAfee thought crocodile/alligator too pedestrian and only used sea turtle skins.

Last edited by Incroyable (2007-07-02 20:11:11)

Agreed - Get a good name.
Also agreed on the Deco period - REAL quality and luxury that remains wearable/usable today. Odd that such a mannered style remains so classic and yet somehow it works, unlike Nouveau which seems to stay stuck in time.

There's a nice thread somewhere in cataloguing the artifacts of the socially insecure... All those over-blown items left behind from ages of rapid social change.
The popular view of the Victorians is often one of great self-confidence, but what I see mainly is a society trying to hold it all together by using pretty random totem items - Giving themselves a (false) feeling of security by evoking family crests and a heraldic heritage that was never in fact really theirs... Re-writing and re-inventing the middle-ages into a time of ludicrously effete good manners instead of the blood-soaked epoch it really was just to give their construct of The Christian English Gentleman a phoney pedigree.

Funny the things some people will do when they feel all vulnerable and under siege...

Never mind, eh?

Last edited by Terry Lean (2007-07-03 04:06:31)

The Heath, up in North London -

http://www.cix.co.uk/~archaeology/hampstead-heath/autumn03/autumn.htm

Lots of nice shots of this much loved landmark where you might even meet somebody famous like George Michael out exercising his dog.


And Hampstead village is lovely to explore too...

http://www.london-walks.co.uk/34/index.shtml

The nearest chemists is down in Camden, btw:   http://www.192.com/directory.cfm/HAMPSTEAD/CHEMIST

Just read the article, Terry.
Really enjoyed it and it's a fine reference!

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A good read, Terry.

It is a great feeling to have authors on the website all of whom write much better and more interestingly than i do.  It's also good stuff for people who actually want to get into clothing without intimidation or smarmy, ulterior motives.

I think we will have to post photos, Terry.

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