The kings and queens of England

Now, I really want some of these, and the voice that says big pants may not be the easiest thing to wear for most occasions does not seem to quite be winning over the one that says, I just want them. To buy and love or to admire from afar?

As a student of history and a bit of a feminist, I do love Elizabeth the First!

Sweet nightmare

I'll have my lace with the dark dreams of the forest captured in the web. I'll float with spring blossom in the breeze, but my eyes are sharp and my grip strong. I don't want your fairytales if I can't run with the wolf in the forest and follow the axe-man to a seedy motel. I want ice and a cold bite, a dress made of moonlight that casts its own spell. True heroines are only part sugar, and the rest is sharp spikes.

(Dolce and Gabbana, Marchesa, Marios Schwab, Coco de Coeur, Alice Kipps, Australian Vogue).

Futuristic cyber love.

That white ensemble = the best outfit ever, full stop. I can't even say how much I want that orange hair... I love the look of the whole thing.

Why do people not dress this fun in reality?!

Why I spent all my Christmas money in one shop...

I blame River Island for my new addiction to all things black, gold and leopard print. Haven't bought anything there in years, and now I want the whole shop! Shiny and with an edge - what a great combination, like a royal punk! I can't wait for Christmas.

(leopard skirt photo from Strutt La Mode blog, they've sold out so I couldn't find another one!)

The Solitary Walker

In the streets and in society I am almost invariably cheap and dissipated, my life is unspeakably mean... But alone in the distant woods or fields, in unpretending sprout-lands or pastures tracked by rabbits, even in a bleak and, to most, cheerless day like this, when a villager would be thinking of his inn, I come to myself, I once more feel myself grandly related, and that cold and solitude are friends of mine. I come home to my solitary woodland walk as the homesick go home'. - Thoreau

(lissy elle, art.com, marie hochhaus)

Why I love this woman and would like to steal all her clothes at night.

She would be my dream best friend - innocence and daring all at once. I love how free she looks.

Although I am thinking of growing my hair into a bob again, she makes me want to keep it short!

(Photos from agyness-deynonline.blogspot.com)

The Wildness of the Heart

We built our castle as close to the sky as we could, and spent our days with the eagles and the vultures. The thin air silenced our voices, and all we could look at was the rich green cleft we perched in.

Never have I known such refined, diamond silence. We nestled in, built walls against the wind. We sat, and gazed, and wanted nothing but purity and the delicious thrill of clinging on, up high, and nearly floating.

The world seemed distant, and yet the earth spoke of terrifying beauty, exuberance, power. I wanted nothing but to hold its answers in my soul forever. I felt myself slip into a wilderness folk-tale of a knotted-hair girl amongst the pine forests. I wanted nothing but you and the air rising up beneath us.

We built our city and filled it with walking hopes and dreams.

It was a place of curious lights and unknown visions, and in it I was certain of everything I thought I had not known. Our castle in the air is a breath, a mosaic of lights, an openness behind the eyes, that will always be there. It is you and me and utter freedom. Us, exultant and wondering.

Solid, but flying.
(Photos from my amazing holiday in the Tarn valley of France)