It’s been a good week for ... sartorial taste
Dresses, jewellery and handbags that belonged to Margaret Thatcher are to be auctioned after the Victoria and Albert (V&A) museum turned down an offer to exhibit her clothes.
The V&A – which has has one of the world's largest fashion collections – has scored hits with exhibitions featuring clothing worn by David Bowie and Kylie Minogue (a highlight being Kylie's gold lame hotpants).
“The V&A politely declined the offer of Baroness Thatcher’s clothes," said a statement, adding: “The museum is responsible for chronicling fashionable dress and its collecting policy tends to focus on acquiring examples of outstanding aesthetic or technical quality.”
Cue handbags at dawn as critics attacked the V&A for turning down Thatcher’s garb, arguing she was a prominent figure of the late 20th century – a woman of power operating in a man’s world amid a culture rife with sexism – and, as such, how she dressed gives a fascinating insight of those times.
More interesting than Ziggy Stardust or Kylie’s hotpants?
This might be up for debate, but there’s no doubting that at least Thatcher’s clothes will be well ironed.
It’s been a bad week for ... patience
I sit at my desk at 9am on Thursday morning, enjoying the peace and quiet of a grey suburban morning. To my alarm, this silence is shattered by a long rally of explosive bursts. I recover from the shock and mop the tea from my chin. It’s only fireworks. Fireworks?! At nine in the morning? Sorry, but this is beyond reason. What glittering spectacle could possibly be witnessed on even the gloomiest of Scottish mornings? Could the perpetrators just not contain their excitement until nightfall.
Of course, we’re used to festivals being anticipated earlier and earlier. Some shops have already put up Christmas trees (sorry, I’ve just gone and mentioned the C word) and so determined are the supermarkets to plug their festive wares that there was barely room in the aisles as garish Hallowe’en sweets vied with jolly chocolate Santas for attention.
I’m sure there will be Valentine’s tat in the shops any day now.
Wait, is that a child rolling an Easter egg out there? The shock of morning fireworks must have turned my head ...
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