Quote: Alter Ego

A beautiful Horse and Rider at the 2006 Arabian Horse Nationals (2536434720)

“My father’s sense of optimism – that the world would always be full of surprises – was helped by the fact that he thought of his own persona, from day to day, as a surprise…
“His belief goes something like this: Why stick to one identity? Why limit your limitless self every day to the costume of a suburban housewife, if once in a while you can be Salome? Why dress in the costume of a stockbroker – or a retired college teacher – all the time if you can sometimes be a Zouave horseman?”

The Treehouse: Eccentric Wisdom from My Father on how to Live, Love and See
Naomi Wolf

I'm Back! with a Question

I have had a lovely holiday (apart from the sudden and violent encounter with a bee, in which more than one individual lost their composure) and, as stated above, I’m back with a question.

If you could wear the clothing of any place and period in history, what would it be?

LA2-NSRW-2-0065

Myself, I can think of three periods I am particularly fond of, all from the Britain of my ancestors.

First (at least chronologically), the early medieval period, once circumstances permitted clothing to be more than purely practical, but before they reached the degree of elaboration which says nothing but I Have Way Too Much Free Time.

Bildnis einer Dame mit dem Schwanenorden, unbekannter deutscher Maler (1490)

Secondly, the Regency era (looks good on most figures), and lastly, the 1930s (elegant, but works with curves).
As you may have noticed, I tend to shy away from eras which had women heavily corseted (delightful as the resulting appearance may be), and nothing on earth would persuade me into an Edwardian S-bend corset.

What about you? Which era, and from what part of the world? What would you wear if you could, and if you can, why don’t you? (Or do you?) And what about you, gentlemen? Your views welcomed!

This is Goodbye…

Or rather (as the French have it), au revoir.

I’ve been blogging for just over two years now (two years, one week and six days, to be precise) and in that time I have posted one hundred and ninety-six, er – posts. Not counting this one. That’s about one every three to four days. For two years.

So – you guessed it – I’ve decided it’s time for a little blog-holiday. Just a couple of weeks, while I do a little decluttering, a little reading, a little handwork, and then I shall come back with new ideas fountaining out of my head like the feathers of a Las Vegas showgirl.

I have a few ideas already, such as – but no, that would be telling. Au revoir, then, mes amis, and I shall see you in two weeks.

In the meantime, feel free to entertain each other in the comment section with a discussion of paid leave entitlements. To kick things off: New Zealand has a minimum entitlement of four weeks paid leave per year. This is, alas, only available to those who have paying jobs. And you?

New commenters please note: I’ll be popping in and out to approve first-time comments as time permits. If your comment doesn’t appear straight off, rest assured it is not forgotten.