The World's Best Fabric & Textiles Stores

I was in a favourite fabric store yesterday, which has the charming name of Odette. It's the smaller sister store of the hugely popular Scarlett Jones in Hawthorn. [scarletjonesmelbourne.blogspot.com] The charming girls and I struck up an animated conversation about our love for linen, as they explained the differences between French, Belgium and Irish. (French is thicker; Irish is finer.)

Then the most glamorous, elegantly svelte woman wandered in, wearing a linen ensemble so fabulous we all stopped talking immediately. She revealed that the long, narrowly cut linen pinafore and pants had been made by Amanda Tabberer (daughter of Maggie and the author of My Amalfi Coast), and had long been one of her favourite outfits. She'd owned the two pieces for years, she confessed, and had even worn them gardening. (My friend Fiona laughed at me on this blog the other day for suggesting linen for gardening, and I admit I was sceptical until I saw this woman's outfit: it was incredibly beautiful and clearly hardy after years of dead-heading the roses.)

The glamorous linen lady then told us what the colour of her outfit was – "Humble Potato".

"You should have seen the other colours – fuchsia and such, ugh," she said as she twisted her nose in horror. I wanted to say: "I would have like to have seen the fuchsia" but didn't dare. Clearly Humble Potato was the only colour one should be seen wearing. (See colour palette above.) I sense I have a lot to learn about the world of linen.

Curiously, the most popular post on this blog was the one on fabrics late last year. Obviously there are lots of other fabric lovers out there. 

So here are a few textile links, fabric sources and stores around the world to inspire you.

(3 images above from my linen pile. Store pix from Odette.)

NB If you're attending the Trade Secrets Garden Fair in Connecticut in May this year, be sure to wear some linen there. It's a linen lover's kinda place...

Blog post on Trade Secrets here – link

or here:

http://janellemccullochlibraryofdesign.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/bunny-williams-and-her-trade-secrets.html

PS I do love a bolt of fuchsia linen... 

But will no doubt be struck from The Linen Lover's Club now.

A SELECTION OF THE WORLD'S BEST FABRIC & TEXTILE STORES AND SOURCES

TRAVEL & LEISURE GUIDE'S TO THE BEST LINEN SOURCES IN EUROPE

[Link here]

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/sources-of-softness

APARTMENT THERAPY'S BEST SOURCES FOR LINEN BEDDING

[Link here]

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/best-linen-bedding-43411

APARTMENT THERAPY'S TOP 10 DESIGNER FABRIC & TEXTILE STORES

[Link here]

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/top-10-designer-textile-stores-140731

DESIGN SPONGE'S TOP 20 FABRIC RESOURCES

[Link here]

http://www.designsponge.com/2010/09/top-20-fabric-resources.html

FABRIC SHOPPING IN LONDON

[Link here]

http://www.tillyandthebuttons.com/2012/05/fabric-shopping-in-london.html

TEXTILE TOURS TO INDIA

www.fionawright.com/tour.html‎

or

www.colorsofindiatravel.com/textile-craft-tour.htm‎

THE FABRICS OF INDIA

Link here

www.travelandleisure.com/articles/the-fabric-of-india‎

and

http://www.travelandleisure.com/trips/discovering-indias-resplendent-textiles

Link here

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Paris in Black and White (and Grey)

I'm still chained to my desk, writing a book about Provence and the south of France that's facing a tight deadline, so hope to catch up with all your lovely emails, comments and also a few overdue posts by the end of this week. In the meantime, here's a glimpse at Paris, in all its black and white glamour. 

(I was showing a friend some pix of the recent trip the other day and we noticed that all I seemed to take photos of was fashion and flowers. So apologies to all those who are tired of seeing frocks and floral borders. Will try and resume regular posts soon, including Harbour Island, New York and London.)

Paris in black and white.

The newly restored cafe of the Musée d'Orsay.

(And the famous clock, through which you can see a fantastic view of Paris.)

Vintage Dior gowns at the Haute Couture Exhibition at the Hotel de Ville in the Marais.

(This exhibition was free. Don't you love that?)

More gorgeousness from the Haute Couture exhibition.

A flashback to 1980's Chanel in the window of the Rue Cambon store. 

(Apparently Chanel jewellery from the 1980s is hugely popular again, according to a dealer I met in New York.)

A present for my mother for her birthday.

The Chanel exhibition.

(Which was also free. And not a single person in the queue.)

The beautiful powder room of the Hotel Trocadero Dokhan, where a group of us met for a few bottles of Champagne one evening. 

(I picked up the tab. The price of 200 Euros made my eyes water slightly. But it was a wonderful evening, and the group hadn't let me pay for dinner once during the week. Such lovely people.) 

Ralph Lauren's Left Bank boutique.

Always love to peek in here.

The simple but classically stylish fitting rooms at Ralph Lauren.

Artwork at the Hotel Maurice. 

This quirky grey painting said, simply, 'Versailles'. Not sure if the chairs were part of the installation? 

The foyer of the Hotel Maurice. 

Had afternoon tea here with a friend. I hadn't realised how magnificent it was inside. 

Some of our cute group taking in turns to take a photo of the Eiffel Tower. (I had taken them to a secret place where you can get the perfect shot of the Eiffel Tower, and they'd all lined up in a row to compose it.)

This photo makes me smile every time I look at it. Look how happy they look? No barging in front of each other, no complaining, no whinging that people are in their way. Just patience and pure joy to be on holiday. That's what travel is about.

A quiet corner.

Dinner at a classic restaurant on the Seine.

A quiet street near the Luxembourg Gardens.

A glimpse of an icon.

The gates of the Fashion Museum.

A blink-and-you-miss sighting of my books in the WH Smith on Rue Rivoli.

Valentino. Oh, Valentino.

A great little store on the Left Bank that sells vintage Louis Vuitton and other labels, including old steamer bags and trunks.

Look at the lovely old cash register with the LV on top.

Pure Paris.

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Photographing Paris (& Other Places): A Non-Lesson

I'm always shy of using the word 'lesson'. Nobody wants to be lectured. So this is a kind of a non-tutorial in the art of photography.

As with all non-tutorials, you don't have to follow it. You can just look at the pictures. And if you want to chime in with non-tutorial comments of your own, you're very welcome. After all, I'm still learning about photography. My partner jokes I'm a graduate from the "Click-And-Pray School" of photography, and it's not far from the truth. I always hope the photograph of a scene I see will be as good on screen as it is in reality.

Sometimes it isn't. Sometimes the real thing is so beautiful, so ethereal, I can't possibly capture it with a simple lens. But occasionally I can. Here are some simple things I've learned over the years. Oh – and a good camera helps too! Mine has recently died. RIP.

SHOOT WITH YOUR HEART, NOT YOUR HEAD

I don't take photos of scenes that I think I should take photos of. I take photos of scenes that I want to remember when I'm old and wobbly and and unable to hold a gin and tonic, let alone a heavy SLR.

This photo was taken at the end of a long day walking around Paris. I was crossing a bridge to the islands at exactly the right time. I remember stopping and gazing at this beautiful scene; the light, the clichéd boat, the whole, romantic, Parisian perfectness of it. It touches my heart every time I see it. Take photos that touch your heart.

Don't worry if the composition isn't perfect. The memory will be.

CONSIDER THE LIGHT

Lighting is such a big part of photography. It can make or break a photo. I love shooting cities at twilight. It's the best time of day to take a camera out. A gorgeous sky can make an average composition, such as these (above), look almost acceptable.

CONSIDER COLOUR

Colour is so uplifting. Bold colours can make a photograph come alive. Think of the colours of India, or the Bahamas, or a garden in spring. Try to look for colours when you're walking around. They can be anything – a cafe, a storefront, a gallery wall, even a man in a pea-green coat!

LOOK UP

So many travellers spend their days looking down, at the pavement (cobblestones can make it tricky to walk, I know), or at the street scenes around them, but I think the best scenes are above head-height. Think about the incredible detail of Paris' wrought-iron balconies. The sky passing over the rooftops. The sheer spectacle of the architecture and skyline. Catherine Deneuve's apartment is the enormous greenhouse high above the Square Saint-Sulpice. I wouldn't have known this had I not looked up. (And been told it the day before!)

FOCUS ON A THEME

If you find a colour, a subject matter or a theme you like, try to shoot around it. It will give you a series of photos that have more cohesion than just a whole lot of random shots. I'm partial to gilt things so I'll often shoot scenes that have gold in them. We have a wall here at home with these gilt pix, all framed in gilt. They not only remind me of Paris every time I walk past, they also make me smile.

And that, I think, is what the best photos should do.

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