One of my ladies....

...sent me a link to this video by the Wild Beasts. The song's called "Brave Bulging Bouyant Clairvoyants" (!) and it's interesting because the concept is based on a lithograph Escher made in 1956 which remained unfinished due to the maths. The directors have run with the "Droste Effect" and made it move! Pretty impressive......although watching the video all the way through can lead to a slight feeling of queasiness.....

Wild Beasts - Brave Bulging Buoyant Clairvoyants. Dir: OneInThree from OneInThree on Vimeo.
Quite the set of lungs, love a man who can sing falsetto yet serve masculinity!

Madame x

A Perfect End....

The boys went back to school yesterday. Duke came home with a blue card - not a good thing - and a "well done" sticker on his sweatshirt - to counterbalance the blue card perhaps. Joe was covered in yogurt and pronounced himself ill this morning. So none of us is particularly thrilled with the beginning of term.....

The last full day I spent with the boys was Monday. I was predicting a day full of name-tag stitching and gathering of school bits, but then Superduck called on Sunday night with a request for a band of singing children that he could film for his Sigur Ros projections project. A bit of phoning around and we spent a sunny afternoon on Clapham Common with seven lip-synching under 11's! It was fun. We went to the Italian ice cream parlour once everyone had given their all and then the kids had a bit of a climb all over the bandstand.....

Lovely, unexpected day out...and if the Super 8 turns out as planned we'll all be going to see their little faces behind the band in November at Alexander Palace.

The holiday ended quite beautifully actually. I drove down to Herne Bay for the last weekend where the boys were already, and while London suffered drizzle, we basked in Kent's micro-climate.


Between going to Gosport and Herne Bay, the boys probably spent about a week in London tops this summer, I'm really pleased, they look brown and healthy, had space to run around, messed around in the sea, on the sea....they seem to have grown about two inches, both schooldays I put Duke's uniform trousers on and they're whipping around his ankles! Even though we didn't go abroad or anything I feel rested after the summer for the first time since they were born!

Still, wish we could squeeze a couple more weeks of summer out....I'm not mentally ready for this jumper....

Madame xxx

Next Week....

I have been informed that our A.P.C. will be arrriving next week, hopefully Tuesday or Wednesday but of course I'll let you know as soon as.....

But just to clarify as to which films go with which collection, these are for autumn and winter A.P.C. I think because I post my sneak previews six months before they're due sometimes you get confused as to which film goes with which collection, sorry but I can never wait to show you the goodies as soon as I return from Paris!





I'm not sure what will be in the first delivery, but I'm pretty sure the sailor jackets (which a lot of you have been driven to distraction over!) will be in there!!!

Madame x

Thought you'd enjoy...

...the latest M. Goldstein's acquisition. Pretty self-explanatory really.



Madame x

A bit of French

Sarah Lee dropped by the shop yesterday...hadn't seen her for an aaaage and we had a catch up, I watched her eat a pizza with a plastic spoon and we shared our ritualistic eclair from upstairs....

Then my eyes fell on her camera bag.....and drifted up to the shiny new Eley Kishimoto on the rails, and we probably did the quickest shoot we've ever done! We went around to The French House which was a great idea of Sarah's because they couldn't have been more welcoming - even gave me a "prop" glass of wine, AND encouraged us to go upstairs into the restaurant to shoot a few outfits! Unbelievably kind....and the photos are unbelievably great! Not that Sarah doesn't always take unbelievable photos, it's just when we don't plan it and just grab a moment we always do the best ones!

See for yourself...







And we got some great new Westwood hairclips and brooches and it was a shame not to crack off a couple....



Thankyou to the folks at the French and thankyou Sarah for being such a damn fine photographer!

Madame x

Thursday 28th August

Do join me this Thursday again for some cracking music and flagrant exhibitionism from your own madame.

x

So.....

I decided to take my eyebrows up a couple of shades....

...this was after a little encouragement from Lektrogirl. I still catch sight of the huge upper expanse now reaching from eyes to hairline and gasp, but I think it's quite summery so as I grasp every last vestige of summer to my breast as it slips away, I think I'll keep it like this....or should I go all out bleached freak white?! The joy of course is you can draw in your eyebrows any shape so it's pretty much a win, win.

Madame x

Kembra

Since I namechecked Kembra Pfahler in my answer to Lektrogirl's comment on my "I dream of Donna" post....and in case anyone hasn't heard of her, I decided to post this amazing picture. If Donna Jordan is my favourite model, Kembra is my forehead idol! This is a woman who has lurked about the New York art and rock underground for years. I've always been fascinated by her - got that shakey "I'm in the presence of someone I've always wanted to meet but now I can't speak!" paralysis as I stood next to her at the aftershow for Antony and the Johnsons, and I have mixed feelings about the fact that there is a five page spread about her in i-D this month....Liza Angst and I share an admiration bordering on hero-worship for this woman (in fact Kembra used to go to see Liza's band The Spitters in New York...along with Genesis P. Orridge....but that's another story - I'll try to persuade Liza to tell it sometime soon!)....
You know when you are into something or someone and suddenly everyone's talking about them?! You're pleased the object of your obsession is getting the exposure....but you kind of wanted to keep them to yourself????? Wierd. Anyway, check out the article in i-D, listen to her band The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black here and be amazed.

Madame x

My Other Ladies

These are my other lovely ladies. The small ones at the front of the picture would be affixed to powder puffs! The mid-sized Marie-Antoinette style lady was knitted a little gilet by a previous owner! Aren't they beautiful? They will live with me at home for a few days longer but at some point I'm going to take them to Hackney Road to sell at M. Goldstein's. Probably I'll put a very high price on them because in truth I just want them to stay exactly where they are......

Powder puffs today should be ashamed of themselves imho! Utilitarian, unbreakable, flat flat flat.....

Madame x

A Blog in Time....

.....saves me from much heartache.

I have been very reflective of late for various reasons. This seems to be an important time of change for me in many ways, some unavoidable, some initiated by me through necessity. But through all the heart-rending, one truth occurred to me out of the blue. This blog has been such a lifesaver. You see, thinking of an amusing/interesting/stupid story to tell you lot forces me to look on the bright side. And it helps, it really does. Because nothing's THAT bad.



Madame x

Tripping the Night Fantastic!!!

T-shirts were distributed....The Lovely Jonjo demonstrated the technique while pulling on his Lone Dog t....



Lektrogirl chose the Nigel Waymouth pop Jean Harlow...

Max felt that the Femmes Fatale was more him...

Jeff Dexter did us proud with his psychedelic set and even brought his own light fittings!

Wonderful turn out, Guy Sangster Adams from the Horse Hospital must've said something very shocking to Caz Facey....

Lara Clifton and Liza Angst popped in for a beer before their pub crawl around the brothels and strip clubs of the east end....

Jenny Drag from the Priscillas was in full leopard print force....

I played a storming set though I do say so myself, there were people actually dancing on the TABLES! Nice to have living legends Nigel Waymouth, Tommy Roberts and Jeff Dexter partying alongside Hoxton's finest....The Look Presents...another success, and any of these Granny Takes a Trip t shirts are available at Top Man for twenty quid. The brilliant thing is they go from xxs to xxl - bisexual t shirts! Get down to Topman boys and girls!

Cheers!


Madame x

I dream of Donna...

The only reason I wore blue eyeshadow yesterday was because I came across this picture of Donna Jordan by chance. I've got a drawer full of pages I've torn out of magazines from the last twenty years or so which I couldn't part with when it came to chucking out the magazines themselves.

I love models who have an extreme style because it goes against the whole idea of them as some kind of passive blank canvas. Donna Jordan was a beautiful freak who hung out with Yves Saint Laurent and his entourage in Paris in the 70's, was the muse of Antonio Lopez, bleached her hair and eyebrows and is probably my favourite model EVAH!!!
Loathe as I am to put a picture of myself anywhere near hers, this is just to prove the point. I mean, I wasn't trying to emulate, in order to do that I'd be bleaching my eyebrows (was tempted....didn't have time!) and carrying the blue right up to the brow....but I just love Donna Jordan. Wanted to share that.


Madame x

This Thursday!

Special occasion alert!

This Thursday at the George and Dragon I have the honour of hosting a party for the latest in Paul Gorman and Max Karie's "Look Presents...." collaborations with Topman. This time it"s all about Nigel Waymouth's Granny Takes a Trip - and if you've never heard of the seminal boutique shame on you and you need to look it up, quicksmart!

Anyhoo, they have recreated some of the most famous images associated with the store on t shirts - my favourites are the Femme Fatale and the portrait of the lady on the shopfront - there willl be some on display on the beautiful barstaff and all it leaves me to say is do come down!!! From 8pm on Thursday at the George and Dragon, 2 Hackney Road E2.

Take a trip down there and join me for a drink.....I'll be the Granny on the decks!

madame xxx

No More No Name!

So...we have a name!!!!

No longer simply 67 Hackney Road.....drum roll.....M.Goldstein is now open for business!!! Nathaniel ripped away the cheap facure the previous tenant had (which I think said "everthing a ££££") to reveal this beautiful old shopfront!

He had some old bunting which he duly draped....voila!

The booty from the previous week looked amazing in the shop and I set-to with my chinagraph pricing things up....

There was the kitchen area....

The skull is now wearing my favourite hood...

Garden stuff for the Columbia Road crowd...

And crockery with garden stuff on it...


Don't forget: Open Saturday and Sunday.....and sometimes Fridays!

Madame xx

Cruising in Kent

I've had a few days of sunshine, seaside, house clearances, fishcakes, go-carts with a difference, carnivals, rain, skinny-dipping and fireworks.... back at the computer again with grey clouds outside and still in my nighty at 2pm! I've been up since 9am but I can't seem to find the will to get dressed - where oh where is the sun???? Alex just called and said she may pop by later thank goodness....a reason to drag my carcass to the shower and get some clothes on! I think it's the novelty of being here on my own and no work until tomorrow.....yes that's what it is.....the novelty of squalor!

Funniest moments of the weekend were burning up and down the seafront on mobility scooters! Bugger go-carts!

Duke was actually a pretty careful driver....

Joe on the other hand was a danger to all, he drove over toes and into the other scooter several times...

Jonjo came to stay for a few days and we had a fantastic night skinny dipping in the rain....




....and I may have caught a little chill, which also accounts for the attire today.....that's right, I'm ill and it's the novelty.....

Strangest moment was the Herne Bay Carnival such as it was. Unfortunately for the participants it rained for almost the entirety of the spectacle. There are very few photos due to the fact that the rain was sheeting down much of the time but the grimacing faces of the young girls twirling their batons in the face of the elements will stay with me for a long time......
We all stood in our wet-weather gear clutching bags of pennies to throw on (NOT at!) the floats representing various theatre groups and beauty salons from the town....and THIS:

Now, this enormous lady is the mascot of Herne Bay, and you can just about see how enormous this papier macher figurine is....it was like The Whicker Man in a dress! I wonder if she'd disintegrated by the end....
The kids loved it of course and couldn't have cared less what the weather was doing as long as they had a balloon to hold and a bag of pennies....

How wonderfully British we were gritting our teeth in the cold, I love this country!!!

Madame xxx