Ruskin wax jacket: c/o Barbour. Vintage floral blouse: 50p. Oasis Isabella jeans: £27. Bally boots: £8, charity shop. Primark fedora: £7.
"So, what are you doing with your day off?"
"I'm off to the place I wrote my dissertation about."
Average Friday, really.
When Jazmine asked if I could get some time off work for a day trip, I always knew it'd be something a little out of the ordinary. Rather than spend it together in our pyjamas (however appealing that may have been), we were up early, breakfasting/hot chocolating in Paddington in some seriously special prints: we'd been invited to the Cotswolds to learn all about Barbour's William Morris collection, and said yes in less time than I've spent deliberating over which meal deal sandwich to go for. Since that visit to the William Morris gallery in primary school, I've been rather partial to his oversized florals, so there was no way I was going to miss out on this one.
Kelmscott Manor was Morris' Summer home; a place away from London, a "heaven on earth", and where supposedly he witnessed that bird steal its strawberry. London definitely felt a lifetime away as we were given an incredibly insightful tour of the house and grounds (and lunch - priorities, obvs). I had a little moment when I noticed the facsimile of Morris and Burne-Jones' Canterbury Tales, a subject for much discussion in my dissertation. My topic of choice had been the distinction between art and literature for Rossetti and, in turn, Morris - it was about time I made the journey! TL;DR, Rossetti was all about the two together being an experience, and in their separation they lose much of the creator's meaning. The dissertation may now be printed and bound, but the love lives on, so if you're as much a Rossetti fangirl as me, you'll be pleased to see that his painting "Blue Silk Dress" takes pride of place. Jazz and I made sure to get some quick snaps in our beautiful Morris-print clothes before heading home (how beautiful does she look in her Acanthus shirt?), and I'm going to be wearing my jacket every time the grey clouds show, to brighten things up a little.
I don't often talk about the "perks" of being a blogger here, as I don't generally feel like I ought to draw attention to it (for fear of being found out as a fraud! I'm still amazed anyone thinks there's worth in me taking a few snaps of their products and posting them here, but there you go), but I really do want to say thank you to everyone at Barbour - and Jazz! - for having me along. I honestly had a wonderful day, and it meant so much to have a little more insight into a subject I've loved for such a long time. Start playing that Oscar speech music before I get too into this. Hope you've all had a wonderful weekend so far!
Sounds like you had an amazing time my lovely! How can any brand not want to work with you! You beauty!
ReplyDeleteSophie
x
Love the photos, your jacket is amazing!
ReplyDeleteAnika | www.anikamay.co.uk
I love hearing how passionate you are about this, it sounds like an amazing day!
ReplyDeleteMaria xxx
Wonderful photos! This looks like such a lovely day!
ReplyDeleteAmber | y a c h t s m a a n
This looks like such a great day, I'm glad you had a lovely time! I love the photos and the collection looks gorgeous too - I think I prefer these prints to the Liberty Barbour jackets! x
ReplyDeleteJosie’s Journal
Great Photos! That jacket is so nice, you have to love a bit of Barbour.
ReplyDeleteJames
www.getyourbronon.com