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Fashion Fantasy

‘Really, I only photograph what I love’ ~Tim Walker

Tim Walker’s fashion photography is stunning. The sheer beauty of his work fascinates me endlessly. I got to Somerset House just in the nick of time to catch his Story Teller exhibition at the end of its run. And boy am I glad I did. Absolutely gorgeous. Known for his surreal, fantastical and fairy tale imagery, Walkers work leaves me drooling. He never fails to play with our concept of scale and imagination. Over sized props, doll like models, dreamlike surroundings, childish, fragile and softly eerie, the narrative in all his work is what makes it stand out from other fashion photography. His work has an echo of the photographer Cindy Sherman, whose work I also love. This exhibition was like escaping into a wonderland for a while, room after room, plain white with wooden floors, filled with magnificent props and the most perfect display of his work. A much better space than the Valentino exhibition which I visited elsewhere in Somerset House.There were also a few short films of photo shoots, the most adorable was the doll one, with a fuzzy dreamy haze and Jewellery box music soundtrack. When I try to choose my most favourite images of Walkers, I can’t, there are way too many, and he has photographed Miss Moss many times too which makes choosing even harder. Here are some images of his that I love the most, and some shots of the props that were at the show. Divine.

Tim Walker, Kate Moss, 2012

Tim Walker, Spitfire, 2009

Tim Walker, Swan, 2002

Tim Walker, Giant Doll, 2012

Sugar crystalized roses and cream, photographed by Tim Walker, 2010

Tim Walker, Giant Snail, 2009Tim Walker, Mechanical Doll, 2011

Tim Walker, Pastel Cats, 2000

tim Walker, The Dress Lamp Tree, 2002

Tim Walker SpitfireTim Walker Swan CarriageGiant Doll

 

  • Kate Moss by Tim Walker, 2012
  • Blue Spitfire by Tim Walker, 2009
  • Swan by Tim Walker, 2002
  • Giant Doll by Tim Walker, 2012
  • Sugar crystallized Roses by Tim Walker, 2010
  • Giant Snail by Tim Walker, 2009
  • Clockwork Doll by Tim Walker, 2011
  • Pastel Cats by Tim Walker, 2000
  • Dress Lamp Tree by Tim Walker, 2002
  • Spitfire prop at the exhibition
  • Swan chariot prop at the exhibition
  • Giant doll prop at the exhibition

Visit Somerset House for details of up and coming exhibitions.

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J’adore Couture

Wenda Parkinson in a Hardy Amies dress, photographed by Norman Parkinson, 1951

Haute Couture; the very best of dressmaking, the very finest of fabrics, the most specific tailoring, the most intricate embellishment, the most beautiful fashion in the world. As a girl whose heart beats faster at the sight of a well-made dress, it doesn’t get much better than this. One of my all time favourite places has an utterly divine exhibition on at the moment and I got my peepers on it last week. ‘Hartnell to Amies, Couture by Royal appointment’, is just perfect. The Fashion and Textile Museum, as always, is a great place to see an exhibition, great size, relaxed atmosphere, and always impeccably curated, on this occasion by Dennis Nothdruft and Michael Pick.

Models wearing Norman Hartnell for Vogue, 1953. Photographed by Norman Parkinson Wenda Parkinson in Hardy Amies coat, 1949. Photographed by Norman Parkinson Fiona Campbell-Walter with Julia Clarke and Hardy Amies, photographed by Norman Parkinson, 1953

This darling of a show focuses on the undisputed Kings of British vintage couture; Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies. With a stunning selection of their work, displayed beautifully and with great informative text alongside. We also get to see examples of hat couturier Frederick Fox. In addition to all this gorgeousness, we are treated to the sights of some other couture pieces including Worth, Digby Morton and Lachasse. It is always an absolute treat to see the fashion up close, to study the detail and craftsmanship. As a vintage shop owner, I am lucky enough to come across couture pieces myself. I currently have dresses by Hardy Amies, Lachasse and Worth in my collection which I love and will blog about separately. These photographs above are a few of my favourite from the work of infamous couture photographer, Norman Parkinson, beautiful. I did take some photos whilst at the show, not great but a bit of a glimpse at my pick of what was on display.

Norman Hartnell, Black crepe dress with bolero. 1938

Norman Hartnell. Black crepe dress, 1938

Norman Hartnell, pale bronze silk satin dress, circa 1946

Norman Hartnell, pale bronze evening dress, circa 1946

Norman Hartnell, blue crepe two piece suit, circa 1956

Norman Hartnell, two piece suit, circa 1956

Hardy Amies, red and black printed cocktail dress, circa 1960

Hardy Amies, copper satin cocktail dress, 1952

Hardy Amies, scarlet crepe evening dress, , 1980

Hardy Amies, scarlet dress, 1980

  • Black crepe evening dress with matching bolero, Norman Hartnell, 1938
  • Embroidered pale bronze silk evening dress, Norman Hartnell, Circa 1946
  • Blue crepe two piece suit, Norman Hartnell, Circa 1956
  • Dark red and black printed glazed manmade satin dress, Hardy Amies, 1960
  • Copper satin dress, fitted bodice, full skirt, Hardy Amies, 1952
  • Scarlet crepe evening dress, Hardy Amies, 1980

This wonderful exhibition is on until 23rd February

 

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The Things I Work With

Things I work with

I’m a lucky girl. Lucky because I get to work with and be surrounded by things that I love. Running my vintage fashion shop is a pretty great way to earn my pounds, but the actual shop is just a small portion of what goes into selling clothes. James is pretty much the salesman, he runs the shop most days, and very good he is at it too, he simply excels. I am behind the scenes, and there sure is a whole heap of stuff behind there. My role is to source the stock and then prepare it for the store. Prepping generally involves me being at home, out at the back of our house we have a garage which has been converted into my work space, it’s pretty cold in there but I have everything I need and my cats can visit all day long too, super! I take each item and wash it, whether it be by hand or in the machine and then I steam and iron it and do any fixings and repairs that it may need, making sure it’s in a tip-top shape for being sold. Each and every day I fall in love with an item, most usually a dress. I become amazed at the beauty of it and the detail it contains. I adore looking at old hand stitched seams, explicit tailoring, intricate detail and embroidery that would have taken a whole heap of love to create, it fascinates me all of the time.

My weeks are full and I love that fact. I do sourcing and prep work a few days a week, other days I blog, do admin, go to London, meet friends, oh and a couple of days a week I get myself to the shop to merchandise, clean and tidy and be the most sales-girly I can be. Running Prim involves more work than I have ever known and the stress of owning a shop can grind a girl down, but, in my heart I know that I would take this over an office job any day.

Things I work with

Things I wok with

tiww6tiww7tiww8Things I work withtiww10tiww11tiww13tiww14tiww16atiww17tiww20tiww21tiww24tiww25

 

Things I work with

 

  1. key to my work space
  2. the Prim archives under wraps
  3. a mug of green tea, always
  4. boxes of dresses waiting to be prepped
  5. loving the fact I can put posters up like when I was a teen
  6. Kate on my wall
  7. more posters and my old radio
  8. ironing pile
  9. lace 1950’s Wendy dress
  10. steaming the dress
  11. beautiful
  12. sewing box
  13. original old zips to replace broken ones
  14. steaming a 1930’s lace and crepe gown
  15. keeping me company…and his own tail warm!
  16. steaming a Quant waistcoat
  17. amazing detail on this 50’s Heiress dress
  18. love the old hand stitching I discover in the seams

 www.primvintagefashion.com

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Something & Nothing

For the first Something & Nothing of 2013 I’m using a few shots taken on my iphone over the festive season…..also using it as a means of saying, Hey!….follow theprimgirl on Instagram for more photo fun!

  1. My festive front door
  2. Christmas heaven
  3. Tis the season for fake fur
  4. Pandoro cake
  5. Gratuitous self portrait of my green dress
  6. New Years Eve in sequin dress and oversized jacket
  7. New Years Eve…ready to go out
  8. Cromer, Norfolk
  9. James at Cromer for fireworks off the pier, New Years Day evening
  10. Dead doll
  11. Freggle in a box
  12. Freggle in a box

 

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Festivities at the Folks new house

Christmas is done.

Now we are all new.

December is a crazy time for most, and especially for those of us who own or work in shops….James and I were stupidly busy; with both our little store and with heaps of absolutely lovely social happenings. So it was with much gratitude that we hotfooted it down to my parents in our old Scirocco on Christmas eve for a few days of respite. A very calm and relaxed affair it was too. Just James, I and my Mum and Dad. My sister and her hubby couldn’t make it down until the next day so with just the four of us it was an utterly tranquil time. Good food, good chats and good lounging. It was also the best chance for me to explore my folks’ new home. They had moved there, literally, just weeks before Christmas and so it was a whole new place for me to call home. They had frantically unpacked and made it feel like theirs just in time for our visit. I totally adore their new house, so many beautiful original features and the space and feel of it is awesome, a truly handsome abode. A lovely time indeed.

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