California

Memories from a Californian road trip earlier this year. Big Sur, Palm Springs, LA... A feast for the eyes, mind and belly!

Arnold Newman

I came across Arnold Newman's work in an usual way... I was working at a big photography studios in London and the Creatives working upstairs decided that the communal toilet would be the place to store their tomes of photography books and magazines while building work was carried out to their offices.

 Two Men on Front Porch, West Palm Beach, Florida, 1941

Boy with Dog, Arden, Delaware, 1947

Both these images are photographs taken from a book found in the toilet... as I couldn't find better reproductions online. They're so atmospheric, capturing the emotion of the men and boy. I love the porches - the chair and geraniums, climbing ivy and wooden shutters... And naturally, the clothes. Both photographs are part of Newman's early work, before he got famous and took some of the portraits that are now very well known. 

Georgia O'Keeffe, Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, 1968

Pablo Picasso, Vallauris, France, 1954

All The Pretty Horses

I've just finished reading All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. A fantastic book which I urge anyone to read - especially if like me, you love cowboys... Such beautiful descriptions of Mexico, friendship, love and honour. I was reminded of my trip to Mid West America back in 2011. Cowboy country - so many diners like this one, selling delicious things... See the cinnamon buns below. Big enough to feed a cowboy and his horse surely... 

Midnight Cowboy

I'm one of the few people in London/UK/The World it seems that still uses a DVD player - and borrows DVDs from their local library. A recent hit was Midnight Cowboy, a 1969 Oscar winning film starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman. While being very dark in places, the film is also very touching in the relationship forged between pretend cowboy Voight and outcast vagabond Hoffman. And of course....the clothes.... 

The Swans

A friend recommended a book recently - which I finally got around to reading this Christmas - Swan Song, by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott. The book tells the story of Truman Capote and his Swans; the well dressed and heeled American socialites of 1950s and 60s. So unbelievably glamourous and OTT. It provoked much googling on my behalf - endless outfit inspiration!

Slim Keith

Barbaba 'Babe' Paley

Lee Radziwell

Gloria Guinness 

Dave Heath

I visited the Photographer's Gallery this week to see the Deutsche Börse prize, but what really caught my eye were the Dave Heath pictures on display. Famed for his portraits of life in post war North America, Heath was predominantly self taught and well known for his skilled printing technique. Of course, I loved the clothes in these snapshots of 1960s New York, but it's worth a visit if you're sartorially interested or not.

Alice Neel

One of the many joys of London is that having time to burn is often a blessing, as I found last week while waiting for a friend to finish work.  Nearby was the Victoria Miro Gallery and a retrospective of American painter Alice Neel's work. What a great show - full of life and vibrancy. Neel sounds like she was a pretty fab, painting and living in New York with her children and long term latino lover, her work focusing on local subjects.

Alice Childress, 1950

Girl with Pink Flower, 1940s

Anselmo, 1962

Victoria Miro

16 Wharf Road N1 7RW

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This is SO good

Anna Ewers by Ryan McGinley

Stern Mode Magazine SS16

70s Summer

Venice beach in the 1970s looks like it was a great place to be

  

 

Peter, Grace and Daria

   

 

 

A friend of mine recently pointed me in the direction of this Peter Lindberg shoot for US Vogue back in 2011. I haven't managed to upload the pictures in order, but I love the way the photographs tell a story - a proper photo narrative. And of course, the clothes are incredible. Grace Coddington strikes again.