Mum and Ma'am

I’ve been in London this week and caught up with my Mum for a belated Mother’s Day Out. Mum is a dedicated Royalist, as was my Grandmother before her (with a few recent Royal exceptions!!), so I booked tickets in advance for ‘Queen Elizabeth II, Fashion and Style’ at the King’s Gallery in Buckingham Palace.

Appropriately, it started to drizzle as we queued outside. We Brits love to queue, and it was good people watching. Several older visitors showed up in matching suits and hats, and one had a tiny purse shaped like a crown. Ma’am would approve.

The things that stayed with me from the exhibition:

The Queen loved color and went all in. Some of it is almost neon!

Her hats are simply superb; she expertly used them for storytelling, soft politics, and sometimes just for fun.

She had surprisingly big feet!

The ‘off-duty’ outdoorsy outfits showed her personality the most, and I would wear any of the handwoven tweedy riding jackets.

She loved craft, promoting British hand weavers, designers, milliners, and embroiderers, and frequently re-wore outfits. She put home-grown designers like Sir Hardy Amies, Sir Norman Hartnell and Ian Thomas on the map alongside well-known names like Burberry.

Not to leave out Dad, I took him to the newly renovated and quite fabulous Simpson’s in the Strand restaurant for a very proper lunch.

It’s old school, understated trad, in the chicest way, so I wore a suit and my Dad’s old school tie. So did he.

To round out the London week, there was a terrific Red Arrows flyover in celebration of the King’s Official Birthday and Trooping the Colour. It flew right overhead our London flat.

Peony. This color is so good it’s nuts. I bought these in Columbia Road Flower Market. If you’re in London on a Sunday morning, it’s a lot of (busy) fun.

Bye for now!

Caroline x