Kingdom Of Style

If Big Bird had a sister...

and she was a shameless harlot, she very well may wear a jacket like this...

Despite the fact that I am not a harlot or a relative of Big Bird, there is something about this silk fringed Aquascutum coat that I find strangely appealing.

You can find it at Browns reduced in the sale to £930.

Queen Marie

They could have picked better pants...

because these ones look more like a pampers nappy!

Lovely Liv Tyler is one the front of this weeks Style magazine looking anything but lovely.

The sallow colours and backdrop drain the colour from her face. The whole thing just looks unappealing and vaguely grubby, which is quite ironic when the cover proclaims her 'more gorgeous than ever'.

Poor Liv!

Queen Marie

Let's begin with a bow...

The very best surprise presents are those that come as total surprise!

Last night enjoying a catch up with our dear friend Chris D before he rocked the sub, Queen Michelle handed me a parcel. A lovely squishy tissue paper parcel complete with a lovely hand written note. She explained that the lovely Suzanne aka Punk Glam Queen 

had sent us both a little parcel completely out of the blue!  I of course opened it at once, and what shiny happy goodness there was inside.  A sequin bow necklace on thick black ribbon and the most darling little metallic vintage bag you ever did see.

Thank you so much Suzanne, they will both enjoy happy new lives in The Palace.

Your thoughtfulness made this spotty and hormonal Queen very happy!

Queen Marie

x

 

You can't shush this...

Jerry from Lazy Oaf always makes me laugh!

You will laugh too when you see these cheeky Steven Schein necklaces...

I would happily pay £25 to tell MC Hammer to shut the f**k up!

Queen Marie

The sound of summer...

You can forget 'flip flop'

Growing up, the sound of my teenage summer years were marked by the sound of 'thunk thunk'

The thunking, clunking sound of the Dr Scholl Excercise Sandal.

While the Grande Empress Gillian and Lady Christine favoured a white or cream sandal, I always went for Navy!!!  We wore them come rain or shine, summer after summer, despite the fact that you could only walk at a certain pace. Walking or running was nigh on impossible. Yet here I am again, decades later, giving them serious thought.

I blame those temptresses over at My-Wardrobe   who have brought them to my attention again...

The gold ones are calling to me, and to be honest, £49 seems like a small price to pay, to recapture the sound of my teenage years...

Queen Marie

x

A bag fit for a Princess...

I may be trying to not spend money but spending money on presents for other people doesn't count!

 *cough cough*

When I am looking for something that little bit different I know the lovely Anne at Cloudberry will have something special that won't bankrupt me!

It is Princess Jenny's birthday at the end of the month, and I think this little felt crown bag by En Gry & Sif at just £19.00 will be perfect...

Queen Marie

x

Madam! take your hands out of my pants...

this very instant.

I must insist.

What do you mean you were just rifling for loose change...

This is the little pants purse by Parcel.  Function and fun and yours for only £8. Brought to you by that clever girl Becky at the wonderful Lunacy Boutique

Who knew money could be so funny!

Queen Marie

x

Money's too tight to mention...

Having no money is no fun, especially when you enjoy shopping as much as your Queens do! 

But luckily the interweb gives us the option of finding lots of lovely things for not a lot of money. This week I have been visiting some of my favourite sites to take a little look at their new stock and what treasures I have found.

So grab your pennies and lets shop...

Queen Marie

x

Friday Tunes: Iron Maiden

I'm not proud of this, I'm really not, but damn it if I'm having to suffer through this musical regression you can bet your arses I'm taking you all down with me!

I am currently listening to Iron Maiden. I have gone through Killers, Iron Maiden and now I'm onto Powerslave.

I had the Powerslave album on vinyl (the others were ye olde cassette) and I remember studying the design by artist Derek Riggs. The Egyptian themed cover was completely mesmerising to look at with so much detail. I studied it for hours on end. I think that was the first album cover that truly cemented in my head what I wanted to do as a career. I wanted to design album covers.

There are so many great tracks on the album but one of my favourites is the 13 minute epic The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, adapted from the poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. I love this poem. It tells the tale of a mariner who brings a curse upon his crew and himself by killing an albatross, which is duly hung around his neck. It is only when he realises the error of his ways, as the crew begin to die one by one, that the albatross finally falls from his neck.

Four times fifty living men,
(And I heard nor sigh nor groan)
With heavy thump, a lifeless lump,
They dropped down one by one.

There have been many discussion as to the meaning of the poem. It could be a simple tale of redemption - a message to love all Gods creatures. Whatever the meaning, I find it very haunting and I love the fact Iron Maiden take bits if poem and use them within their lyrics.

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink ;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

So, here is the song. I didn't use a live version as I think the lyrics need to be heard properly to be appreciated.

Queen Michelle

Divided And Conquered

So here I am randomly searching t-internet for a dress from H&M I saw in a magazine recently, whilst I wait for some PDF's to download. I can't remember if the dress is just an H&M dress or Divided or a collaboration. I never go into the actual store so my Google searching is pretty random.

During the course of my browsing I find myself on a swedish site which has up a collection called H&M Divided Exclusive. I have never heard of Divided Exclusive. Like I said, I'm never in the shop so it might have been on the go for ages, but as I looked at the images, I admit - I was pretty shocked they were H&M. There are things in there I want. No, I need.

I may be wrong here, but is that not some mighty fine looking stuff right there? A skirt with attached suspenders? Eh yes please! Velvet Victorian style dress? I'll have some of that. It doesn't stop there - a beautifully structured Balenciaga-esque dress; ripped jeans that even I would wear (I never got on board with that whole ripped jeans thing); some fine knit leggings and the prettiest little black shorts I ever did see.

I thought the Divided stuff was for teenagers - I truly had no idea they produced stuff that looks like this. Of course, what ends up being produced and whether they end up this quality is quite another matter. However, come September it's maybe worth checking out.

Queen Michelle