This Means Waugh

 

*

Dress: Lula Soul via Hummingbird the Shop viscose, tassels

Heels: Wittner leather, laces

Bag: Forever New vinyl, silver chain

Bangle: Gift, 20th Century Antiques & Collectibles vintage silver

Bangle Stack: Gift, vintage Mexican silver

*

Feeling "darling in deco" in this 1920s inspired ensemble that I styled up to wear to a recent theatre performance of Evelyn Waugh's 1945 masterpiece "Brideshead Revisited," a three part tome which follows the life & romances of the young Charles Ryder & his fascination & entanglement with both Flyte siblings (Julia & Sebastian... & Sebastian's ever present & rather large teddy bear Aloysius*) who are members of a family of wealthy & eccentric English Catholics who live in a steadily decaying yet palatial mansion called Brideshead Castle & who change the trajectory of his life in many, many ways. It's an absolutely brilliant book & there's even an 11 part mini series from 1981 starring Jeremy Irons & Anthony Andrews or a more modern, abridged 2008 movie starring Matthew Goode & Ben Whishaw.

But I digress. For those who are interested, here's more about the ensemble... The stunning green & pink floral print viscose drop-waist midi dress with its voluminous three-quarter-length sleeves, elasticated waistline & tasseled neck from bohemian label Lula Soul (discovered at the divine Hummingbird the Shop in Paddington) was the perfect way to evoke a little bit of Julia Flyte for the occasion, particularly when mixed with a pair of blush pink leather pointy-toed lace-up heels from Wittner, a blush pink vinyl shoulder bag with silver chain strap from Forever New to carry all the essentials (hand sanitizer & facemask at the ready), a vintage silver bangle from the sadly-now-defunct 20th Century Antiques & Collectibles at Coolangatta & a stack of seven Mexican silver bangles that were sent to me by some dear friends who currently live overseas to complete the look.

Scroll down to see more...

* Aloysius the bear - a furry little scene-stealer in the 1981 version - was modelled on Archibald Ormsby-Gore, the constant companion of the English poet laureate John Betjeman, Evelyn Waugh's best friend at Oxford University. Much like the eccentric Sebastian Flyte, Betjeman would take Archibald Ormsby-Gore & his other companion, a stuffed elephant named Jumbo with him everywhere he went regardless of his age or his marriage or the arrival of his two children & even wrote & published poems & illustrated children's books about the pair. In fact, both were in his arms when he died in 1984 at the age of seventy-seven.

Anthony Andrews as Sebastian Flyte dotes on Aloysius in the 1981 mini series

Aloysius, the scarf-wearing little scene-stealer himself...

John Betjeman with his beloved Archibald Ormsby-Gore & Jumbo in the late 1970s

Archibald Ormsby-Gore & Jumbo on display... together forever just as Betjeman would have wanted...