Love is not visible to the eyes but to the soul - Shakespeare

Showing posts with label Inspired by.... Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inspired by.... Show all posts

Friday, 8 March 2013

{Inspired by} Mary Wollstonecraft

 
In tribute and in the celebration of the International Women's Day, I will take the time to express my admiration and respect to one of the first feminists: Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797). Her most influential work in this field is beyond a doubt A Vindication of the Rights of Woman from 1792. This should be on the reading list of everyone, not just women, and I particularly like her emphasis on the importance of equal education for men and women.
 
Sadly, many of her points in her work are still being fought over today. Women still experience objectification and undervalue. The same thing goes for the stereotypical areas connected to women, even if they are produced or evoked by men.
 
 
I do believe in equal value and worth, and whatever the individual should want to do, the individual should be regarded on the work, not gender (or race for that matter, because so many of her sentiments on gender can also be applied to race). And especially not looks and appearances! It is also about time that the traditional misunderstanding that beauty equals goodness is lost. We can never make a tabula rasa, but let's stop the nonsense about such clearly distinguished and divided sections of the world. No one should be forced to account for them wanting to have children, their desire to be the CEO, not wanting children, getting married or not, or any other personal and individual way to set up their lives and then be met with stereotypes of traditional and outdated gender roles. This is what I fight for and mark on this day, and continue to do any other day.
 
Mary Wollstonecraft was a remarkable woman and I really recommend reading up about her, even just at Wikipedia. She has influeced such a vast number of people with her writings and her life, despite also falling for some of the things she advocated against, and other people's contempt and prejudice. Nevertheless, she tried. And we all should at least try to educate ourselves and inspire the people around us.
 
And so, to inspire for today I give you some of her quotes from A Vindication of the Rights of Woman with the hope and the faith that people will one day be respected and admired for their individuality and not their success in stereotypical conformity.
 
 
“It is time to effect a revolution in female manners - time to restore to them their lost dignity - and make them, as a part of the human species, labour by reforming themselves to reform the world. It is time to separate unchangeable morals from local manners.” 
 
 “My own sex, I hope, will excuse me, if I treat them like rational creatures, instead of flattering their fascinating graces, and viewing them as if they were in a state of perpetual childhood, unable to stand alone. I earnestly wish to point out in what true dignity and human happiness consists - I wish to persuade women to endeavour to acquire strength, both mind and body, and to convince them that the soft phrases, susceptibility of heart, delicacy of sentiment, and refinement of taste, are almost synonymous with epithets of weakness, and that those beings who are only objects of pity and that kind of love, which has been termed its sister, will soon become objects of contempt.” 
 
“Weakness may excite tenderness, and gratify the arrogant pride of man; but the lordly caresses of a protector will not gratify a noble mind that pants for, and deserves to be respected. Fondness is a poor substitute for friendship.” 
 
“But women are very differently situated with respect to eachother - for they are all rivals (...) Is it then surprising that when the sole ambition of woman centres in beauty, and interest gives vanity additional force, perpetual rivalships should ensue? They are all running the same race, and would rise above the virtue of morals, if they did not view each other with a suspicious and even envious eye.” 
 
“I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves.” 
 
“The beginning is always today.”
~~~~~~~~~~ 


Thursday, 19 July 2012

{Inspired by Green}

For the past three days, I have been busy going through my vast collection of cut-outs which I have accumulated through the years. Now since I both have my blog here and a tumblr, as well as Pinterest, I though it was time to scan most of them and upload them in stead of having them taking up physical space in my apartment.
So braise yourselves, because once in a while it will probably feel like a regular spamming session from me with images. However, due to my past not-so-organized self, many of the scans will not be credited.

However, today it will not be all just my scans but the post was inspired by one though. A close-up scan of a Givenchy or Balmain dress from some years ago now (looking through all of my scans really made me realize how fast time goes - especially in fashion land). And since, I always thought it to be a most stunning green, green is today's colour and inspiration.

Enjoy!

 A leaf in a microscope - I love the small happy faces!
 You can buy an excact replica of Kiera Knightley's green dress from Atonement. I'm tempted!

{Credits: 1: my scan; 2: Monkeyknifefight 3: a red flag will fly 4: Farfetch 5: via 6: Etsy 7: oldfashionedpretty 8: my tumblr 9: my tumblr 10: my tumblr 11: my tumblr 12: my tumblr and 13: my photo and edit}



Monday, 11 June 2012

{Inspired by Anaïs Nin}

Do you ever experience encounters with writers whom you immediate think could have been your best friend if you had lived in the same era? I do, and one of the writers I instantly knew I shared some kind of bond with was Anaïs Nin.
Especially her legendary diary has been a wonderful source of encouragement to me, and I really think more people should become familiar with her, and not just through her erotica. What I particularly like about Anaïs Nin is that she does not judge people - she observes, analyzes, and interprets, but never judges them. And that is something I think we should take to heart; integrity and respect for everyone's different opinions and values. This is just one of the reasons why I respect and look up to Anaïs Nin so much.

So a small, and so not adequate, homage to the talented and boundless muse and writer, I give you some images of the things which I associate with her and her work.
'If what Proust says is true, that happiness is the absence of fever, then I shall never know happiness. For I am possessed by a fever for knowledge, experience, and creation. I think I have an immediate awareness in living which is far more terrible and more painful. There is no time lapse, no distance between me and the present. Instantaneous awareness. But it is also true that when I write afterwards, I see much more, I understand better, I develop and enrich' 
'You cannot possess without loving'
'The romantic submits to life, the classicist dominates it.'
Anais Nin

{images via Pinterest and Tumblr: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7: Van Gogh, 8}
All quotes from The Diary of Anaïs Nin Vol. 1

Saturday, 28 April 2012

Inspired by Ophelia

Despite her tragedy, I have always felt a strong connection with Ophelia and have many times pondered on whether she would survive in our society or is forever a doomed being regardless of times and eras. That aside, I feel we should celebrate one of the most interesting characters from the bard's hand and also a small patriotic salute to a 'fellow Dane'.
Here is some of the images from my tumblr which I feel has the Ophelia-feel to them.

How to make a flower wreath
The Danish Crown Regalias

Ophelia Syndrome

A long-term disease, most common among young women.
Symptoms: depression, bouts of mania, suicidal thoughts, slight insomnia, feelings of helplessness and dependence on others, the tendency to lose oneself in vivid daydreams, an intense longing for people and things one can never have, a strong sense of aestheticism and an appreciation for the beauty in little things, the urge to decorate everything with daisy chains.
 
Valentino, Haute Couture, Fall 2011
 Audrey Kawasaki

{all images from my tumblr}
{the last is by artist Audrey Kawasaki}

Thursday, 19 January 2012

Inspired by Mint Blue

Browsing throught the vast endlessness of Pinterest, I discovered this outfit and completely fell in love with the fresh and crisp feel it envoked in me. Today has just been a dull, grey, and eventless day so I will just share some of the images that also reached my eye after being hit with a dash of mint. Enjoy...


Images 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8
All images found via Pinterest



Sunday, 28 August 2011

Inspired by RUM Magazine may 2011

***How completely odd! I have just discovered that a post I did like two monts ago was never posted! Weird, have any of you experienced something like that? Anyways, I don't want you guys to miss it so here it is.

My my my!! the cover shot featured the living room of a Parisian (of course!) apartment and the colour scheme and the decor was so lovely and inspirational. I'm thinking about whether a three-coloured wall would work in my apartment - and I actually think it would!
This is it..
 Everything about it just speaks my name, even though I doubt the interior decorater who lives there is up for a swatch.. Its the perfect place for a Arne Jacobsen 'Swan' sofa and the beautiful floor just screams at me (I'm the daughter of a carpenter, what can I do?).
But the walls!! The black, the pink, the white AND the neon yellow stripe that you almost can't see in these photos - love love love..
And of course that set my mind fluttering around pastel hues and bold blacks. Take a look..

Thursday, 28 July 2011

Inspired by Holly Golightly

It seems like ages ago by now when I read Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote, and back then I think I promised you an Inspired by... post with Holly Golightly {don't you just LOVE saying that name?} Anyways, here it is - finally!

I took my inspiration from the novella, mostly, and that's why there are all the references to the 1940s (the novella is set there and not in the 60s)
However, as with my other Inspired by.. posts, this is just some ideas that pop up when I think of the person/character and not so much actual story line or life facts.

Hope you'll enjoy..


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