Firstly, I am very sorry to report the demise of Merlin, the fish. He is currently on the kitchen worksurface wrapped in greaseproof paper awaiting his burial in the morning. Poor Merlin - we didn't even have him a week.
It was whilst I was sitting here, checking my blog and noticing that I now have four, yes four, followers that I felt slightly chilly and donned my dressing gown over my clothes and put on a pair of socks too - not a good look it has to be said. It was as I was coming down the stairs in the said attire that I realised how is it that the grass is always greener? When it is the summer, I long for winter clothes. The lovely palette of rich colours, the silks, velvets, cashmere and beautiful tailoring. I have ideas that this winter I will, finally, crack the warmth issue and be draped in layers of sensual but warm underwear with lace peeping out, never to feel the chill again. My winter boots will shine to perfection and offer comfort and warmth. Yet when the winter is here, I long for summer clothes - lighter colours, floaty silk dresses with just a cardigan thrown over for a stylish look or perhaps this season's trousers, the perfect white T and a blazer for the final touch. Trendy sandals, sunglasses and beautiful accessories.
What a load of old tosh that is: on both fronts. For me, the winter is characterised by enough layers to make me look like the michelin man. The only thing that keeps me warm is a bright pink puffa jacket that I picked up in the sale at Selfridges at least five years ago which was vastly reduced, clearly because no one (other than me) wanted it. It only has one popper left on it now as well so it's not actually that effective. I try not to wear it out in case I see any clients of mine and they wonder whether I have taken leave of my senses. The silks leave me freezing and certainly every wardrobe that I have been into recently (and that's a lot) have had moths nibbling away at the cashmere. My warm underwear is a mottly selection of GAP vests, (none of which can be described as sensual) and my boots always seem to have a white line left by the water, just to demonstrate how I used them for paddling.
As for the summer wardrobe - wow, the up keep of the hair free legs, tanning products, painted toe nails - that's enough to make me wish for the cold weather to return. The dresses are never quite right - slightly too short, slightly too long, the perfect fit but too nice for every day or even better, the ones that highlight the "blueness" of one's legs. And as for the shoes: feet are not that attractive, ankle straps stunt one's legs, high heels are great but impractical and ballet pumps make me feel short and frumpy. I could give up but that's not in my nature, so I guess I will have to carry on my pursuit of the perfect wardrobe. It's a hard job but someone has to do it - I will share the contents with you as I go on my travels.....
