‘In tombs of gold and lapis lazuli / Bodies of holy men and women exude / Miraculous oil, odour of violet…’ W.B. Yeats, ‘Oil And Blood’, 1933
And in tombs of gold and turquoise lies jewellery created for H&M by fabulous Italian fashion floozy Anna Dello Russo. Keenly anticipated – because ADR is lovely to look at and appears to have that rare and precious thing in fashion: a Good Sense Of Humour – the first glimpse was during LFW when ADR posed for photos in Covent Garden. And although that was aaaages ago, I only popped in to see the stuff in store last week – I’m keeping my powder dry for the Maison Martin Margiela collaboration, and I didn’t want to expose myself to ADR temptation too early.
I really like it. No clobber, just shoes, jewellery, sunglasses, bags and a marvellous headdress, but quite honestly, if you bought wisely from across the range and wore, say, the thigh length boots with the bird head-dress and threw a few necklaces and bracelets around yourself, I don’t think you’d be arrested even if you couldn’t bear to tone down the look with clothing. People would be too busy gawping and saying “Oooh, look the clasp is magnetic!” And I say that as one who hates and fears a nudist, as all good people do a clown. But maybe you could play it safe and add a black bikini, for decency.
I didn’t buy anything. Having lived near Portobello Road during the glory years when ‘vintage’ was just called second-hand and priced accordingly, I’ve had my share of gorgeous bracelets in the form of animals, huge paste necklaces and enormous chandelier earrings. And I’ve still got my thigh boots from twenty years ago. But I loved it all. And I think it’s good value, based on the designs, and the heft, but especially given that it comes in those lovely little blue boxes with ornate gold swirls and silken gold tassels.
Beautiful packaging that was possibly inspired by other beautiful packaging?
4711 has long been one of my favourite scents. I was a child when I first discovered it. The circular bottle (known as the ‘Watch’ Bottle, and designed to fit in the pocket) had been forgotten in an abandoned handbag. I was captivated. I loved the smallness, the flatness, the roundness, the solidity of the glass and, most of all: the label. I have no idea if the style is Rococo, Baroque, Neo-Classical, Art Nouveau or something else entirely, but whatever it is, I have never tired of it. I was astonished when my Grandmother told me it was still in production, and bought me a little stick cologne. I fell in love with the fragrance as well. It’s sharp, clean, and citrus with a hot peppery hit on application that makes it more sensuous than most other colognes. It never stays. But sloshing it on through the day is part of the joy.
Now, the range has been expanded. I saw this display at The Garden Pharmacy. I’ve been used to looking for 4711 in the cheap/celebrity perfume stand at Boots, where sometimes you might find the stick cologne alongside the bottle, and sometimes the ‘refreshing tissues’ too. But a whole stand? Soap! Shower gel! Body Lotion! All of it beautifully packaged and some of it artfully named. I thought I was going to buy the body lotion – drawn by the label that said “sorbet”. I have a huge weakness for products that describe themselves as souffles and sorbets. On closer examination though, my sorbet was part of the NOUVEAU COLOGNE range. This was my first encounter with Nouveau. It’s smart, clever, very attractive – but I was too excited, too much on the trail of the original cologne to want to flirt with its little brother just yet. I bought the 4711 shower gel – thrillingly golden and strongly scented, it’s worth every penny of the £7.00 I paid for it. At the time of writing I don’t think there’s a body lotion to go with it. I hope there will be.
4711 has been around for more than 200 years. I urge you to visit their website  – I can lose myself in there for quite a long time.
Anna Dello Russo for H&M will not be around much longer – it’s good value right now, so if it sells out I won’t be surprised. If any of it remains in store long enough to get marked down (as some of the Marni collaboration did) then it will a be super-bargain.
I think most people would be quite delighted to find a turquoise and gold box under the tree on Christmas Day, whether it contains ADR or 4711.
But for a good Christmas gift I also recommend some W.B. Yeats. He can be found in all the old familiar places: good bookshops, online retailers, the Kindle Store etc etc . If you’d like to know the ending of ‘Oil and Blood’ (the poem that inspired this post), then click here . It’s marvellous.
