Out & about in London (on a rainy afternoon)
I arrived in London on Saturday evening, and had a free day Sunday before our color & style training starts today. What to do in London on a rainy afternoon? We decided to go ogle the jewelry at the Victoria & Albert Museum. 🤩
vintage scarf (similar) | jacket | top | pants (similar) | boots
At the last minute, I made some swaps to my London travel wardrobe. I ditched the dark wash jeans and subbed in a pair of ponte knit pants (similar). I left one of the lemon print sweaters behind and added the print top I’m wearing above (I’d been meaning to get it hemmed, but decided to bring anyway.)
So off to the museum…
Sunday shennanigans
We made a stop at Amanda Thompson Couture in Notting Hill to see about perhaps getting a couple of pieces made for me. (As many of you have remarked, I don’t have much in the way of “dressy” clothes…Amanda is going to help me out with that.) This is Amanda and her dog, Frank. He rides in a special seat on her bike around London.
(Just as we arrived, I discovered some forgotten dog treats in my coat pocket, so Frank and I were soon good friends.)
More to come.
Lunch & jewels at the Victoria & Albert
Manina has a museum membership, so we were able to have a lovely lunch in the members cafe. Fortified, we went in search of jewelry, and after some wandering finally found it.
These are part of the permanent collection, so you can visit them anytime you need a little sparkle fix.
Above, London doing its London thing.
We passed through this section of mosaic and enameled furniture & trinkets which was pretty spectacular. At last, the jewels!
The photo doesn’t do justice to the color of these emeralds. They looked like they were lit from within!
Rings with every imaginable kind of gemstone. If it hadn’t been so crowded, I would have snapped a shot of the description panel but couldn’t get a clear one.
Today we start training, which I’ve been advised will be intensive and an all-day affair for the next several days. I’ll keep you updated as I’m able, and in the meantime will try to capture some of the action on Instagram.
And Happy Valentine’s Day! ❤️
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You may have to consider a change in YOUR color palette as you grow out your gray……just thinking out loud relating to my own experience!
My colors went from muted shades to clearer shades when my hair went white.
Can you please tell me the Instagram account for your trainer Karen? I don’t know her last name. Thank you!
Hi Jeanne, here she is: https://www.instagram.com/karenmkarlsen/
Thanks you! Have a great trip. Madewell jacket so cute.
Beautiful photos. Am surprised that you were able to take photos in the museum.
I read “go ogle” as “google,” and thought, “Why would you google the jewelry if you’re there?” Now I’m wondering if the word “Google” comes from that. Probably not.
This sounds like such an exciting trip. Enjoy!
Oh I wish it did! Go ogle sounds fancy, but no, google is a number: one followed by 100 zeroes. Lots of math nerds at my house.
Blessings.
Thanks, Susan, for sharing photos of these gorgeous little baubles! It helps those of us stuck at home enjoy your adventure and feel like we’re traveling a little ourselves.
Thank you for the pics! Love “traveling” with you!!
ThanKs for featuring the V&A jewelry collection. I’ve been to London many times to visit family and it is always on my must see list. To me, it is as impressive as the Crown Jewels but easier to get into see.
I got a chuckle out of your finding dog treats in a coat pocket. I often find poop bags in random pockets of my coats. 🙂
What a great first day outfit, you made some wise swaps. Gosh, the jewelry is amazing. And now you will bring color wisdom back to America! What a trip!
Hi Susan,
I look forward to reading your email. I am trying to focus on looking put together in a casual manner since I am now a stay at home grandma living in the suburbs. Any help on that end would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Sue
Wonderful photos! And thank you for the intro to Amanda Thompson; I am trying to transition from RTW back to sewing my own clothing, and this is great inspiration! Do you know Jon Moore, a British couturier, former creative director at Hardy Amies? You might check out his creations on Instagram, possible inspo for evening pants or top that are dressy, but work for you in SoCal. And Canadian Kathryn Brenne (friend and co-teacher w/ Jon), couture-level sewing teacher and designer: her creations on Instagram are wonderful inspiration for dressy in a relaxed way. Truly amazing woman: she sews, knits, works in leather at the highest skill level.
Aren’t you too cute?!! Thank you so much for the London Update; one of my favorite European cities!! Can’t wait to see your other posts from London & to learn from your class!! Good Luck!!
Love the V & A visit and am excited for your color training. I wonder who is the “ we” you are referring to? Are you there with your husband?
Enjoy the journey!
Yes, it soes rain in these parts of the world. A lot. Thank goodness for museums. Such jewelley always makes me greedy; I want to own it. Which would be entirely useless as I don’t have events to wear them to.
Greetje
London … a wee bit envious of your time there 🙂
When you are not hard at work, consider having Thai food in the restaurant in the back of The Churchill Arms pub on Kensington Church Street (closer to Notting Hill Gate than Kensington High Street). It’s not the least bit posh, but the food is the very best — and the pub is worth a walk-by due to the glorious flowers that adorn the outside.
Cheers!