Teddy Bear's Picnic

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Dress: Review embroidered jacquard

Kimono: Araki Vintage hand-painted cotton

Brogues: Beltrami suede (via Styletread)

Handbag: Forever New vinyl with gold hardware

Tote Bag: Gift, leather with bronze hardware

Bangles: Vintage, brass (from America)

Hinged Bangles: Sistaco silver, brass, diamante

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Finally sharing all of the gorgeous photographs - ostensibly of my outfit - from a day spent celebrating the poetry of Sir John Betjeman (1906-1984) at a vintage-themed teddy bear's picnic in the park with one of my dearest friends who was visiting from England.

Widely regarded as one of England's best-loved wordsmiths of the 20th century & poet laureate from 1972 until his death, Betjeman is perhaps best known for the eccentric habit of taking his childhood bear, christened Archibald Ormsby-Gore & his toy elephant friend Jumbo with him to Magdalen College at Oxford, the memory of which inspired his contemporary, writer Evelyn Waugh, to include Sebastian Flyte's constant furry companion, "pompous old bear" Aloysius in his literary masterpiece, "Brideshead Revisited," published in 1945. 

According to Betjeman, Archibald was the one person who never let him down and, rather poignantly, Archibald & Jumbo were in Betjeman's arms when he died at the age of seventy-seven in 1984. They now reside - together, of course - in a glass cabinet at St Pancras Station, near to the statue of Betjeman himself, who helped preserve the historical location from demolition in the 1960s.

Whatever rush to catch a train

Whatever joy there was to share

Of sounding seaboard, rainbowed rain

Or seaweed-scented Cornish air

Sharing the laughs, you still were there

You silly, unrepentant bear

(Archibald)

For such a special occasion, I chose a bright pink jacquard fit-to-flare dress with heavy, oriental-style embroidery & a strong retro flair from Aussie brand Review, known for their inherent "girly" aesthetic, pattern-mixed with a beautiful, hand-painted heavy cotton kimono from Araki Vintage, found at a recent Antiques & Collectibles Fair & gifted to me by my younger brother for my birthday. When it came to jewellery, more was definitely more: a pair of heavy brass bangles in differing widths that I picked up at The Way We Wore vintage fair some years ago on one wrist & on the other, four coloured diamante hinged bangles (matched to colours inherent in the dress' embroidery) in both silver & brass from Sistaco, another thoughtful gift from generous friends. 

Owing to the uneven nature of grass, comfortable yet stylish shoes were a must & these gold suede brogues from Beltrami (via Styletread) fitted the bill perfectly, matched with a pearlised vinyl handbag with gold hardware from Forever New to fit in all the essentials... well, almost all... as you'll soon understand...

You may have noticed that there is a large, blush pink leather tote behind me with two darling little faces peeking out... These formed part of a recent birthday present from the friend who was accompanying me to the picnic, the large antique teddy bear - complete with scarf - from his very own nursery (& reputed to have been in the running to play Aloysius in the 1981 "Brideshead Revisited" miniseries starring Jeremy Irons & Anthony Andrews) & satin stuffed 1920s elephant toy from a little boutique in Paris, creating my own little John Betjeman inspired creative idyll halfway across the world... It's safe to say that I am already head-over-heels in love with them!

Cuddles with Archie...

And even more cuddles with Jumbo...

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