Around the World in 80 Dresses

May I introduce you to Mitzi. My neighbour’s Yorkshire terrier is a middle aged lady of dignified demeanor. She likes to be pampered and cuddled. What she dislikes are noisy dogs who do not know how to behave and other untamed animals. I trust she doesn’t mind that I press her to my bosom clad in a print of her wild and mercifully distant cousins. I may like leopards much more than Mitzi, not to mention leopard print, but still we get on quite well. 

Ever since I had read Alfred Andersch's novella Sansibar, I longed for this magic island. Eventually I could travel to Zanzibar. I strolled along the ancient lanes of the Stone Town and peeped through heavy wooden gates into secret courtyards. Once in a restaurant I admired the delicate yellow chiffon sari of a lady at the next table. She introduced me to Memories of Zanzibar , her favourite shop.  The blouse I purchased in this treasure trove is made of the lightest silk and the dark blue checkers temper the gold. One has to bring home some glittering gold from the island were the Arab sultans reigned for a long time.                                                                                                        ...

 Velvet chokers seemed to be a thing of the past. They spell Belle Epoque . Since young girls found out how becoming they are for your swan like neck they had a revival. Pared with a plain linen dress the choker does not get too cheesy.                                                                                                     I got the clutch with the pink lips in Miami where nobody is too shy for a bit of show off. © Deyson, Miami, pixabay

My predilection for the French label and store Naf Naf is evident. They offer unassuming ware with chic and have a great variation of styles on display. The best of all there is a shop in Marmande the small town famous for their special crop of tomatoes not too far from where I am living part of the year. In season the markets in and around Marmande are a paradise for tomato lovers. The fruits come in all sizes and shapes from golden yellow to nearly black. I use to make tomato sauce from the big fat coeur de boeuf, delicious! One sunny afternoon in late summer I searched for pants in Marmande’s signature colour tomato red. Shame, they were gone, but the shop attendant showed me the same becoming cut in khaki, soft fabric, frills and a bow, somewhat different from my usual pants. The subdued colour suited better to early autumn, anyway. I found a matching blouse cum shawl on the same street in the old town crammed with boutiques and happily went home for a lazy afternoon on the ...

The most treasured piece of the South African distant past is the Rhino of Mapungubwe , a small expertly shaped golden rhino found in the North close to Zimbabwe. Mining gold has been and still is the corner stone of the South African economy. Johannesburg was founded in the times of the gold rush and its indigenous name is Egoli , the City of Gold. To own a piece of African gold besides the Krugerrand is seducing. So, I went looking for some gold jewellery that would not empty my wallet completely. Finally, I found it at the Watershed, The market place of South African handicraft at the V &A Waterfront in Cape Town. There Famke Koene, a young designer who studied in the Netherlands, is interpreting African gold in a minimalistic style. Her pieces are looking cool and they do not consume all too much of the precious metal.              Aenne Huette from Germany could have been her aunt. She had a similar concept of using gold in  a...

My personal guardians come from a small gallery in Lithuania. I saw them on an exhibition in Vilnius and travelled some hours up country to meet the artist at her studio. A friend of a friend agreed to take them along when he was going home. As he had not much time I met him on a parking and ordered my taxi driver to look out for a green Opel. He did not hide that he was worried. May be, he suspected me of smuggling weapons or drugs. Here they are looking at my mixture of African necklace cum German dress cum Malaysian bag not to speak of the belt from Guadaloupe where there is dancing everywhere.   I like to think that my gods are looking benevolently. That’s what household gods are meant to, aren’t they? .

Stendhals novel Le Rouge et le Noir / The Red and  the Black  was one of the forbidden books in my mother’s rather limited library. That was the best way to make me read the book from the first to the last page when I was a teenager, though not intentionally. I didn’t understand much but adored the book nevertheless. I don’t often feel like putting on garments of such a strong contrast in colour. When I do so I feel uplifted and playful, the more so as I keep in mind that the pianos on my black and white skirt have been created by the designers of the Swiss label Oscar Rom for their label  Nouvelle femme .  What an intriguing trade mark.