As the British media gets itself into a tangle once again about the identity of teenagers – those amazing kids who either already know or are figuring out who they are – I started to reflect on my own teenage years. I was always queer, but I didn’t figure that out until I was 18 years old. I always thought that was because I didn’t realise myself as a sexual being and fully come into my sexuality at all until that age, so there was no compulsory heterosexuality phase because I was pretty much only interested in art, music and friendship before then. I wasn’t really bothered about sex at all un ..read more

In resurrecting this blog from the dusty shelf I left it on at the end of last year, and then combing through its posts and pages to update my name and refresh the focus of the site a little, I realised something important completely passed me by in March 2023; my blog is now twenty years old. There have now been two decades where I’ve had a little corner of the internet for my own writing. Two decades of self-publishing, of learning to write and edit, of navigating various blogging platforms, and of inadvertently building an audience. That’s not what it was about at first – my writing was pur ..read more

Digital media constantly sells us the joyful illusion of having it all. From interviews with folk under 25 who have built up a successful podcast in their spare time, to social media posts that are awash with links to new projects being started up alongside a main career, it can be easy to believe that you’re ‘wasting’ your down-time if you’re not starting a YouTube channel or monetising your hobbies. No one wants to show that these things are actually quite hard to do, and so the representation we see always makes it look like we could have (should have?) done something similar ourselves. It ..read more

In the wake of the ‘Barbenheimer’ opening weekend, I have felt a positive shift in the world. Something that I wasn’t expecting from a global cultural event which developed organically out of two extremely different movies coincidentally opening in cinemas on the same date. At first we all thought it would be purely a numbers game, Barbie versus Oppenheimer, but it ended up becoming so much more than that. Okay, so there’s a lot to unpack like what was lacking from the Barbie movie and Christopher Nolan’s two-dimensional sketches of the women in J Robert Oppenheimer’s life, but other people ha ..read more

Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains affiliate links which means that, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission on any purchases made. I’ve been very quiet on this site lately and that’s because… I’ve been busy moving house! This means that, amongst other things, I’m setting up my home office all over again. the 2023 version is much more roomy, as I’m not confined to a corner of a guest bedroom, which has made a massive difference to how I’m going to organise my space. As I was getting my book ..read more

As long-time readers of my ramblings will know, I have strong opinions about brunch. It is a meal that brings me great joy and, when done well, can be one of life’s purest pleasures. I spent three years reviewing some of London’s many and varied brunch spots with my lovely Brunch Club gang and, back in early 2017 when I introduced Brunch Club to readers of this blog, I penned the following description of the meal: Slotting into your day somewhere between breakfast and lunch, brunch is often viewed as more of an event than a meal, requiring a few hours and some excellent company in order to do ..read more

There are many things that can be learnt about fashion history by studying surviving garments, but there is one question that I always get asked when I show my own personal research collection which is really tricky to answer simply by looking, or by touching the fabric with your fingers. How does it feel to wear? When twenty-first century hands touch mid-twentieth century nylon, it can feel hard and sometimes scratchy. Some 1940s rayon bras seem stiff compared to the equivalent styles you might buy today. 1950s bras can appear to be uncomfortable and unyielding. Of course, some of this is all ..read more

I’m a big fan of slow fashion. Buying garments because I truly love them, waiting for exactly the right thing rather than impulse purchasing and, wherever possible, investing in well-made lovingly-designed pieces that will remain in my wardrobe for years. Sometimes you need to spend a little bit more to get something that’s just right for you, but that becomes an absolute joy when you’re spending money with a small business rather than a big brand. One of my favourite small brands is Gowns by Roberta who make beautiful timeless pieces, often with a signature rose appliqué, and much to my delig ..read more

I’m not someone who usually does much exercise but, having recently moved to a building which has a gym, I thought I’d make a bit more effort to get myself moving. As I only have one top that’s suitable for a workout, I headed to TK Maxx as I didn’t want to spend too much until I knew I was going to stick to my new routine and actually get some wear out of the new clothes. While I was there, I spotted something that claimed to be a sports bra and naively decided to try it on despite several large red flags. The sizing wasn’t cup-and-band, just standard clothes sizes There was no fastening on ..read more

It might surprise you to learn that 80% of people are wearing the wrong clothes size*. When was the last time you measured yourself and checked if all your clothing is actually right for your body? The shocking fact is that many of is never do, we just choose the size we think we are or buy stuff purely because we love it. Why are we not listening to experts?!  Okay, so that (and the clickbait-y headline) was intentionally sarcastic but, if you’ll indulge me a little further, there’s a teeny tiny bit of truth in it… Some people have wardrobes full of clothes that are now a bit tight, but ..read more