Edie the First

the original youthquaker xoxo

The Other Beautiful Game

The oldest known chess gang from the Isle of Lewis...

The royal court of my dreams.

 xoxo

Kate Kanzier...Shoe Pioneer

If you adore quirky shoes (like myself, the adorable Suzy Bubble, and countless others), but you don't have a ton of cash to splash on them, you must run to Kate Kanzier. Established in England in 2003, she designs gorgeous and comfortable shoes for the girl on a budget. 

She also sells handbags and sweet little clutches, perfect for a saucy Friday night out. If you can't make it to the delicious shop on Leather Lane in London, check out the recently launched website. There you'll discover for yourself that Kate has a genuine knack for designing shoes with a fierce individuality and a fierce edge. 

The site gets a 10 for being easy to navigate, as does the designer herself for delivering such affordable eye candy for our feet. xoxo

On the Go to Liberty & Co.

Yes Harrods is amazing, but (for me) a quieter and equally impressive stroll is to be found at Liberty of London. Arthur Liberty wanted the gorgeous emporium on Regent Street in the West End, to feel as if you were shopping in your own home when you went to his store. Obviously he was a youthquaker!

Approaching the gorgeous Tudor building was enough to take my breath away. Once inside I was surrounded by what I can only describe as a palace of sartorial splendor. It was like browsing beautiful works of art in a museum! I felt like Alice in couture wonderland! 

Youthquakers don't miss this one xoxo

Q&A with Genius

Though I have yet to familiarize myself with his works personally (though my insatiable appetite for art will soon take me there), I have still fallen for him. He is French writer, great thinker, and avant-garde-ist of the Belle Epoque, Marcel Proust.

He was asked a series of questions twice in his early life, once when 13, once when 20 and his answers are just as bright as the day they left his incandescent inner thoughts.

So youthquakers here are the 13 year old's answers to those questions. Here is the wonderful Proust Questionnaire. What are your thoughts? xoxo

• What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
  
  To be separated from Mama
• Where would you like to live?
  
  In the country of the Ideal, or, rather, of my ideal
• What is your idea of earthly happiness?
  
  To live in contact with those I love, with the beauties of nature, with a quantity of books and music, and to have, within easy distance, a French theater
• To what faults do you feel most indulgent?
  
  To a life deprived of the works of genius
• Who are your favorite heroes of fiction?
  
  Those of romance and poetry, those who are the expression of an ideal rather than an imitation of the real
• Who are your favorite characters in history?
  
  A mixture of Socrates, Pericles, Mahomet, Pliny the Younger and Augustin Thierry
• Who are your favorite heroines in real life?
  
  A woman of genius leading an ordinary life
• Who are your favorite heroines of fiction?
  
  Those who are more than women without ceasing to be womanly; everything that is tender, poetic, pure and in every way beautiful
• Your favorite painter?
  
  Meissonier
• Your favorite musician?
  
  Mozart
• The quality you most admire in a man?
  
  Intelligence, moral sense
• The quality you most admire in a woman?
  
  Gentleness, naturalness, intelligence
• Your favorite virtue?
  
  All virtues that are not limited to a sect: the universal virtues
• Your favorite occupation?
  
  Reading, dreaming, and writing verse
• Who would you have liked to be?
  
  Since the question does not arise, I prefer not to answer it. All the same, I should very much have liked to be Pliny the Younger.

Best Entrance Ever??

16 seconds of girl power bliss...love, love, love xoxo

The Queen of Burlesque

I'm sitting here drinking a lovely glass of sauvignon blanc and listening to the soothing and sexy sounds of David Rose and his orchestra. No doubt Dita Von Teese knows these tracks backwards and sideways and has most likely practiced her glam burlesque act to this same soundtrack. What some folks would call trashy tartiness, I call the art of an enchantress.

Dita has revived burlesque for my generation with her glamorous vintage act. Watching her is like observing a a work of art in delicate motion. An art that I myself would love to learn. It's an empowering spectacle for myself, a young woman.

Dita is not the first burlesque entertainer, nor will she be the last. Once upon a time there was Gypsy Lee Rose, Lili St. Cyr, and one of my favorites, Sally Rand who used gorgeous feather fans (works of art in themselves), and a gigantic balloon for her act. Youthquakers it is grand and simply beautiful.

I'm elated that burlesque hasn't faded into darkness. It's really a wonderful, aesthetic display, and though Von Teese shows a bit more skin than the more modest acts of the past, she remains a classy and entertaining original, sure to go down in history amongst the best.

So my music is still going, the wine still flowing and my hips are inevitably starting to sway. I am determined to unleash my inner Dita, my inner sexiness and innocence, my womanhood.

Thanks girls for the confident push xoxo

And here are some words from the Teese herself....

"I`ve been called anti-feminist before and it makes me really mad. I don`t do my job for men, I do it because I love the make-up, the costumes and the history of showgirls."

"When things get you down, make the best of your own life rather than worrying about what everyone else thinks."

"When sexuality, style, humor and playfulness all come together, along with a bit of innocence, well, that’s when a burlesque show becomes great."

"I advocate glamour. Every day. Every minute."

"It`s not about seducing men, it"s about embracing womanhood."

"I love it when you can go about your daily business with the knowledge that you have a little secret of your own on underneath."

"Basically, I'm the girl that your mother warned you about."

Enough said Dita....and now,

Sally Rand takes over below..brilliant and a half