Her Majesty The Queen

Cabbages & Roses congratulates Her Majesty the Queen on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee.    

  

This is a marvellous opportunity to celebrate all things British, and a good moment to stop and marvel at the Best of British.

Here is my alphabetical list of what I think is best about Great Britain, which is, as you will see, sadly short of great British 'I's .  

 

To celebrate the Queen's sixty years on the throne Cabbages & Roses will award a gift voucher worth £100 to the most interesting suggestion of a Great British "I".......you can write your suggestions as a comment on this blog post or on our facebook page.

These are what I think is Great about Britain....

The Archers

Apple orchards

Aberfeldy (Perthshire)

Albert Hall

Academy (Royal)

Breakfast - Full english

Beef - roast

Buckingham Palace

Ballroom dancing

Bank Holidays

Cow parsley lining the country lanes during May

Cabbages & Roses

Claridges

The Connaught

Cricket

Candy floss

Caravans

Cornwall

Dogs and how we love them

Duchesses especially of Cambridge and Devonshire

Democracy

Dickens (Charles)

England

Englishness

Eel Pie Island

Eccentricity

Fortnum & Mason

Fairs

Foxgloves

Fairisle

Great British everything

How we organise a pageant, how the British are the best at a jolly good ceremony (trooping the colour/changing of the guard/beating retreat on Horseguards Parade/Royal tournament)

Her Majesty The Queen

Hampstead Heath

How whenever I am in Paris, I think how lucky the Parisians are to live in such a beautiful city, until I come back to London and realise that we are just as lucky

Harry Potter

I - can't wait to hear your suggestions!

Judges

Jaffa cakes

Jubilees and street parties

Kate Middleton

Kings and Queens especially our own Queen

London

Lords (cricket)

Log fires

Land Rovers

Morris Dancers

May Day

Morris Minors

Mini Minors

Marmite

Natural History Museum

Northern Ireland

Narnia invented by our own CS Lewis

Norfolk

Old Bailey

Our poets and writers

Our film makers and films filmed in England paticularly London.

Our designers and makers, our inventors and creators

Our very special sense of humour

Open garden schemes

Parks

Perks

Pork pies

Pubs

Parliament

 

Queens - especially ours

Question Time

Quality Street

Queens (pearly)

Regents Park

Radio 4

Rolling Stones

Roberts Radios

Royal Family

Seasides - we have so many

Stately Homes

Summer Fetes

Sausage Rolls

St Pancras station

 Scotland

Treacle tart

Tartan

Tower Bridge

Umbrella makers

Universities especially Oxford and Cambridge

Vogue - British Vogue is the best of all Vogues

Victoria & Albert museum

Village greens

Village gossips

Wales in the Spring

The Welsh for inventing the Corgi

Wales in the Summer

Wimbledon Tennis/ village/common

Wales (the Prince of)

X (Kings) station

Yorkshire

Yorkshire pudding

Yorkshire cricket

York station

Zoos - particularly our Zoo in Regents Park where I have not been for fifty years but will go to soon

Get thinking of your Great British "I"s - the competition will close next Friday the 8th of June 2012.

xxChristina 

A C&R Brand Profile

Have you seen the lovely Cabbages and Roses brand profile on the fantastic Butterfly Lane blog?

The blog states it is a "Blog to showcase beautiful things and to inspire", so we are very flattered to be included!

If you haven't had a chance to read the piece yet, take a look here: http://butterflylaneinteriors.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/brand-profile-cabbages-and-roses-and-10.html

There is also a special 10% discount code on the blog that can be used instore or online with C&R!

www.cabbagesandroses.com

xxC&R

C&R in Japan: MOOK

A while ago, some of our friends from Japan came to England to take photographs for a Japanese "Mook" (it means that it is a cross between a Magazine and a bOOK!). Now on sale in Japan, we also have three copies to give away. Just leave a comment and we'll randomly generate the winners (giveaway closes on Sunday 27th May). It depicts life with Cabbages & Roses and features some of Christina's favourite places/ recipes etc.

Along with the 'Mook' is a lovely Bees gardening bag (also included in our giveaway).

It was lovely looking at the pictures...now we just need to learn to read Japanese!!

xxC&R

http://www.cabbagesandroses.com/

Floral Cotton Jacqueline Dress

The beautiful Jacqueline dress from our current SS12 collection, as worn by Natalie. Click here to get your very own one! xC&R

 

 

Fashion Vs Style

In 1978 I was the 'administrator' of the art department of Vogue Magazine, I was given this prestigious position at 23 years old, and did not know the difference between a negative and a transparency, a stat or a photo copy, I wore pink dungarees and a large bow in my hair. My name appeared on the mast head. In spite of my inexperience and the large bow in my hair, I adored my job and had more fun than I think I have had since. I met David Bailey in the lift wearing 'Y' fronts on a hot day, and showed Princess Michael of Kent, her engagement photographs. I appeared in court twice, and cooked cous cous for Maria Callas. I looked at the books of promising photographers and allowed those I deemed good enough to see the Art Director.

I found this copy of Vogue in Portabello Market on Friday and bought it for £9 (cover price 75p) and am thrilled to own it.

 

Even 34 years ago there were good clothes and bad fashion, I am reluctant to post the following two photographs just in case they are seen without the copy being read - however to make my point.................

L - an advertisement ~ R - photograph by Alex Chatelain for Vogue, Conde Nast Publications

Of course taste is very personal, and many might consider the above to be exquisite in every way, I consider them both to be regressive steps in civilisation, compare them to Chanel, Dior or Givenchy.

 

Poor 1978, I feel a bit mean, but I was there,working in the building that made this magazine, that told us what we should wear. I might have worn just such clothing, I do hope not. 

 

In the same magazine I found these photographs, and remember now, very well, that this is what I was wearing, am still wearing, and want to continue to wear, in my sixties, seventies and eighties. Style does not age, fashion however, does.

Photographs by Carolyn Schultz for Vogue, Conde Nast Publications



There are very few designs that Cabbages & Roses have made that make me blush, most make me glow with pride, especially when I see strangers on the street, wearing Cabbages & Roses clothes from many seasons ago and still looking lovely. This is not vanity, it is understanding that people should not be made fools of in the name of fashion.

Cabbages & Roses Winter catalogue 2006, photographs by the late Lucinda Symons.

Our new website is due to launch tomorrow - I am saying this in a whisper just in case of technological glitches, have a look and buy on-line, we have fabrics, clothing, antique curiosities and furniture for sale, and what we are most proud of, is the fact that  we can now ship all over the world - help yourselves!!

xxChristina

 

PS no cigarettes for 116 days, and yes still stand rather too close to strangers outside restaurants having a cigarette.