lady, behave!
The Lost Art of Present-Giving – Mums & Babies
Following an encounter yesterday with a very confused friend found wandering the aisles covered in a selection of swimwear (including a fetching swimsuit, complete with hanger, as necklace), we have decided to take pity on those challenged in the art of shopping. So, as part of the Lost Art series, The Lady shall be compiling the perfect present registry to help those lost in the Retail Wilderness.
Sensing a current trend at the moment from friends & acquaintances for popping sprogs, the first epistle is centred on gifts for the mum-to-be and baby. We are of the opinion that really the mum should be the focus of any offerings as basically everyone is going to be chucking all manner of baby items at her & she deserves a little attention to remind her that she is not just a mum, she is a VIP too. But if you must insist on adding to the mountain, there are an awful lot of lovely baby bits & bobs around.
Pre-Birth
Anything that will whet the soon-to-be-a-mum’s nesting instincts will always be a good option. Gifts for the nursery are great, but even better are crafting bits & bobs that will keep excited fingers busy whilst creating an adorable wardrobe for the little one.
- subscription to Milk magazine
- a lovely over-night bag
- a vintage afghan pram rug
- one of these lovely books to get nesting with and maybe some fabric/wool? Little Stitches for Little Ones by Amy Butler, Simple Sewing by Lotta Jansdotters or Baby Knits for Beginners by Debbie Bliss.
- a beautiful mobile for the nursery (The Lady is currently obsessed with tracking down anything by Irmi)
- comfy headphones & an iPod, pre-loaded with taste-appropriate audio books
Birth
Now is the time for extra special treats for the Mum. Baby will doubtless be getting spoilt rotten.
- an enormous stack of the latest magazines wrapped in a gigantic bow – should include at least one gossipy trash mag, one foreign fash mag, Vogue (obv.) & an assortment of other exciting looking glossies. If your newsagent doesn’t have much more than one lone copy of Heat, order a selection from Magazine Cafe.
- a feather pillow (M&S or Ikea) in a pretty embroidered pillowcase (pref vintage, if the new mum isn’t the type to turn her nose up at second-hand)
- pedicure paraphrenalia – & then treat the new mum with a foot massage while you’re doing it (only if you’re not one of those oddbods who get freaked out by feet)
- NB. this is also the point when the New Dad should be gifting his lady with a romantic piece of bling (being skint is no excuse, an engraved locket needn’t come from Tiffanys)
- Neal’s Yard mum-to-be/baby toiletries
- crochet toys by Anne-Claire Petit
Christening Gifts or, When They’re That Little Bit Older
- personalised vintage style bookplates for a new baby – see the Oiseaux Etsy shop
- anything from the Cath Kidston baby range, esp the melamine nursery sets (inc a sippee cup, bowl & spoon)
- anything from The Little Zebra
- Emma Bridgewater children’s crockery
- a Dr Seuss boxed set
- the obligatory silver teething rattle (try Tiffanys?)
- Charley Harper flash cards or the Eames’ House of Cards game
object of lust
Frog, I love you.
The Lady was happily browsing her favourite website the other day, when she accidentally happened upon an article in The Storque on the art of display. Inside was an object seen before but certainly did not know of a use for… until now. Meet the Frog – an object previously used by flower arrangers and now hi-jacked by vintage loving nest makers as desk display art for holding pens & paint-brushes. The Lady wants one. Now. Get yours off ebay or etsy.
the lost art of...
The Lost Art of Shopping at a Haberdashery
As all veteran shoppers know well, all the very best shopping surprises to be found on the High Street can be discovered in those little-known surprises; that back street boutique or the charity shops dotted here & there. But an oft forgotten fact is that there is a sadly dying-out breed of shop that frequently holds a vast treasure cave of wonders… the Haberdashers. Few & far between, haberdashers are a closely held secret once found by over-zealous shopping mavens. But as The Lady is feeling benevolent today, she may be inclined to share a few…
muse of the month
Muse of the Month – Daphne Guinness
The Lady has always had the biggest girl-crush on Daphne Guinness since spotting her in one of Vogue’s many photographs of her in their celebrity-at-play sections… Far too-cool-for school, with her platinum hair & its shock of black, fingers full of enormous silver knuckle-dusters. So, when The Lady discovered that Nancy Mitford was her great-aunt and that she grew up in an artists’ colony with Dali and the Surrealists, the crush grew to epic proportions.