Get ready with me, medieval style....
I’ll be back next week with a long read, but here's a few things you might enjoy in the meantime....
I’ll be back next week properly, but heres a few things you might enjoy in the meantime…
JOIN ME - Monday 18th Nov at The British Library, London - 6pm
There’s an amazing new exhibition at The British Library in London dedicated to Medieval Women: In Their Own Words (25 October – 2 March 2025). I’ll be in conversation with lovely friends fashion historian Amber Butchart and historian Professor Jill Burke - you loved her thoughts here on renaissance beauty standards.
It’ll be a fun and innovative panel event exploring the history of cosmetics, fragrances and treatments, along with some medieval beauty tips and trials.
Tickets are available here - and if you do come, please say hi!
LISTEN: to my episode of Lady Swindlers on Radio 4….
I’m on the new series of BBC Radio 4’s Lady Swindlers with historian Lucy Worsley talking about Madame Rachel, a victorian beauty scammer in London who tricked rich women out of money promising them beauty and youth. I’d written about Madame Rachel in UGLY, so getting to discuss her and current attitudes to beauty with historians I love was a dream come true. You can hear the excitement in my voice tbh, I couldn’t contain it. LOVED THIS SO MUCH!
READ: About my journey with my Indian heritage in Sunday Times Style this weekend.
I stopped wearing South Asian clothes when I was 15 because I didn’t feel safe physically in them, and I didn’t think they felt like me, but very recently I’ve started wearing them again. I’ve written about that journey in this weekend’s Sunday Times Style magazine, alongside a photoshoot of me doing some looks that fuse my goth and my Indian side (as seen above.) Was such a fun feature to write and a brilliant shoot too. Love to know your thoughts if you get a copy!
READ: About my trip to Salem for Conde Nast Traveller here.
Here’s a bit to whet your witchy appetites…
“For centuries, Salem in Massachusetts was a quiet town known principally for its infamous 17th-century witch trials. But all of that changed following an episode of the 1970s TV show Bewitched, called “Salem Saga.” Tourists began flocking to the “Witch City,” pouring over 100 million dollars a year, mostly during Halloween, into the plethora of kitsch shops, gothic wares and horror exhibits.
The town is exactly as I expected, bar one thing. Among the tourist trap shops were a series of beauty and wellness shops. There were upscale apothecaries like Nocturne, which sells handcrafted perfumes and candles with the most unique, complex scents I’ve ever encountered, and Artemisia Botanicals, with its 400-plus jars of herbs and teas. But these “natural” wellness emporiums have a difference: their products are created using witchcraft and infused with magic….”
And finally…
Sending our US comrades some love….
I know this is a scary time, as overly optimistic as this may sound, there’s always light after the darkness. In the meantime, take a cat meme as a tiny, momentary distraction….
Much love…and speak soon!
