6.10.10

A Tourist at Home

Sometimes it's fun to be a tourist in your own city. I'm the kind of tourist who tries to blend in with whatever place I'm visiting in order to see the real place, not the manufactured directed version that you are fed as a slavish tourist. The hardest part about trying to fit in in a place that you have never been before is not getting lost, so being a tourist in the city that you already know is easy.

So, in true Bristol tourism style, here is Clifton Suspension Bridge and its surroundings in the late autumn sunshine. It's an almost impossible structure, built in the mid-nineteenth century across the deep Avon Gorge, which itself has seen more than its fair share of people jumping to their deaths from the bridge above. The best tale of this bridge that I have heard is that of Sarah Ann Henley, who, intent on ending her life in 1885, threw herself off it only to be buoyed up by her many petticoats, which acted as a parachute and saved her life, guiding her down gently. She lived into her eighties.


Photobucket


I was tempted to wear something voluminous in her honour, but settled for this instead, my vintage Betty Barclay autumn dress. Its length would make it a great summer dress, were it not for the long sleeves. They are too warm for summer and too cold for winter, but perfect for sunny autumn evenings like this. I like that it is cut in a classic shape in a classic colour but that the camel is broken up by the flashes of fushia in the wings of the birds. I bought it in Camden Market in London, which happens in fact to be the place most often thought of by Londoners as a horrible tourist nightmare – I do still go, though.


Dress: vintage Betty Barclay
Cardigan: Topshop
Tights: M&S
Shoes: Long Tall Sally

13 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I visited Bristol when I was little and liked it lots. I also love your cardi and I would love to be as tall as you are - don't hide it!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you Jane. I do tend to shy away from it a little. Amazing that you've been to Bristol before - no one has usually ever heard of it! It's a funny little place.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love these photos... If tourists looked like this, people wouldn't mind them :-)
    Also, I agree with Jane... I think it's supercool when tall people wear heals... it shows a certain confidence thats hard to resist ;-)

    M
    ------------------
    http://mayabeus.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. BEAUTIFUL isn't even the word! PERFECTION is better, LOVE these pics & your site adding this to my inspiration list

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a pretty dress and love those cute houses! xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like seeing your photos of Bristol. I haven't been there for a couple of years but I always enjoy my visits. This is a very pretty outfit. And I agree heels look great on tall girls, wear with pride!

    ReplyDelete
  7. oh I have the same problem! I'm almost 6 ft. too and its the hardest because even though I love heels and I can never bring myself to wear them outside of my house! haha

    ReplyDelete
  8. The light and your pictures are very beautiful ! I hope I could visit Bristol one day; it's really seems to be great :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think you look absolutely GORGEOUS. I love you in heels!

    ▲ WOLF WHISTLE ▲

    ReplyDelete
  10. I agree with the other ladies about wearing heels, it just makes the wearer look so confident.

    Also, I love the story of the billowing skirts saving Sarah Ann Henley! What a story.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I recently found you on weardrobe and within matter of minutes found myself browsing through your posts in earnest frenzy. There is something about your photos that I can not quite put my finger on, it just really mesmerizes me. I just added you to the Daily Reads section on my little blog. See you again.

    Love from Toronto, Canada

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ultra Feminine. LOVE IT!

    And as for the height issue. Embrace it to the max! I am 5'10...all heels make me that much longer. See, 'longer', use that word...sounds more elegant and divine. 'Taller' is for trees.

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete

I really appreciate your comments, so thank you for leaving one! Please though, don't leave your blog address in the comment box – it is slightly spammy, and already linked via your blogger profile. Thank you!