Spot the Dior...

Do you remember the first few collections that John Galliano did for Dior?  He created some of the most beautiful couture gowns that I have ever seen.  From the mid 2000s the collections started to get a little more surreal and then there was the public fall from grace.  These early dresses weren't just beautiful, they were also completely wearable.  I wonder if Amanda Harlech had more influence than anyone ever credited her for.
My budget has never stretched to couture, but I did buy a couple of pieces from the ready to wear collections and the detailing almost raises them  to a couture level.

Spot which of the blue jackets was the original Dior,a friend had it copied in Thailand for me as the very wide pockets were sometimes a little unwearable for every day (answer below).  I was going to sell some of these bits on ebay, but after looking around the boutiques at the offering for SS12, there is nothing that compares with the quality and the workmanship.

(answer the one on right is Dior)

country couture

Country interiors can be tricky to get right.  The more relaxed pace of country living often invites an abode to become a dumping ground for unwanted bits and pieces from elsewhere so that the style is a higgeldy piggeldy mix of everyone's cast offs.
I have always preferred a simple chalky white look, maintaining as much of the original as possible but combining it with modern touches.  There must be light, heat and hot water at the touch of a button.  So many Brits are still happy living in draughty mausoleums relying on their dogs and layers of dust for warmth.  They wear their fortitude as a badge of honour and see central heating as a weakness of the feeble in body and spirit.

The puritanical style that I have adopted has remained unchallenged until I saw this beautiful table cloth for sale at a local shop.  It is antique French linen and the embroidery has been done a lady who lives a few cottages away from me.
She embroiders for the love of it, and a piece is only finished when it is perfect.  She does not labour to get the best price for her work, rather it is the love of creating beauty that drives her.
She has no idea how many hours of work goes into each one, but each is given as long as is required for it to be ready to leave her.  Whatever your personal style, how can you not love this?

The photos simply do not do it justice.  I paid the princely sum of £50.

Each time I look at it it I find different details to love, it just lifts my spirits.