Hello darlings,
You may have noticed from recent BnB newsletter’s that I’ve mentioned this platform is about to change… Well here it is: the new Blonde not Beige Mail 🥂
Though before I discuss what that means in-depth I will give a little backstory to how this newsletter began…
Late last year I felt like my world was disintegrating faster than I could pick up the pieces. Absolutely everything went (seemingly) wrong. I was in the process of setting up a new life after closing up my shop and just generally wrapping up a chapter which ended rather abruptly. I was heartbroken to say the least, yet I never lost sight of my ambition. It was simply clear that a big life reset was in order.
With that I spoke with literary publicist, Lauren Cerand, from NYC via Zoom. In exchange for a haul of vintage clothes she agreed to coach me on what to do next with my seemingly crumbling career. I told her that my main aim for 2022 was to become a real, proper, paid-for writer (and funnily enough, between my booking the call with her and actually speaking to her I got my first proper fashion article commissioned).
On the call we chatted about book deals and article commissions, and we also chatted about other things I could do to help boost my profile as a person in the media, things like starting a podcast, pitching to my favourite publications and starting a newsletter - this newsletter. It was also Lauren who suggested I use Substack for it as it was a good way to monetise one’s work.
So I set about setting Blonde not Beige Mail up and began to write. At first I thought this would just be about vintage clothes as that made sense, but as I wrote more and more I found this newsletter was becoming about, well, everything, and all topics I’m passionate about. The discipline required in meeting the regular deadline this newsletter requires has been pivotal in increasing my skills as a writer and freelancer. And since its launch Blonde not Beige Mail has gained a lovely little following. Now, finally, 9 months later, I actually know what I really want to do with this platform.
From now on, this newsletter will be a weekly occurrence, and every fortnight, I will send out an original essay on… well, again, just about anything. However essays will be even more in-depth and sometimes involve interviews. It will officially be a place where I share wisdom (often garnered from my own mistakes) on all things modern, independent, creative female life. And naturally we will still chat about vintage clothes on here (plus I am always open to topic recommendations via the comments section, email or DMs).
On the in between weeks I will send out the opportunity for Q&A’s with me, livestreams or Zoom chats as a community, all depending on what you gals are in the mood for. You can continue to give me feedback on what you’re loving so we can do more of it. Really it’s a great chance for us all to get to know each other and to spend time with an aligned set of people.
More than anything this platform is about championing being fabulous, regardless of one’s circumstances. Because life always has inevitable ups and downs, and sometimes simply chatting it out is the solution to weathering any storm (not to mention donning a decent outfit and/or making yourself a drink, be that tea or a cocktail, in the process).
Starting from today paid subscribers will access the entire archive, along with a weekly dose of aforementioned fabulousness. A paid subscription is only $5/month: like any perfect vintage outfit it really is affordable, chic & unique. If you subscribe now, to an annual plan or monthly plan, you will also receive 20% off (making is $4 per month or $44 per year)! Alternatively, remaining a free subscriber will still enable a smaller dose of BnB, with access to my monthly “Read, Watch, Wear” newsletter (paid subscribers get this too), in which I share a few things I’ve been loving lately.
In any case thank you for supporting me and this business. Being a writer can be a grind at times but cultivating an aligned audience here has been such a privilege. I simply adore you all!
Kisses,
Charlotte x
1950s Showgirls encapsulating Blonde not Beige energy 💖
Read, Watch, Wear: No.1
Without further or do, here are some notes on a few bits I have been loving lately.
Read:
What can I say other than share the fact that Emma Forrest is the best memoirist I’ve ever experienced (Viv Albertine being a close second). Busy Being Free is Emma’s second memoir and tackles many topics from single motherhood to divorce to celibacy. Its tone is poetic and dreamy but keeps you engaged. It is a raw, stripped back, sensational piece of writing that I could not put down (and in fact would have read it even faster had I not been so busy, being chained to a desk, whilst reading it).
Emma goes where many others dear not to go in this modern, heavily policed media landscape. She shares dark thoughts, contradictory observations, and exposing truths about herself as a mother, divorcee and working woman. This book brought out every emotion in me - I laughed, I cried, I even got turned on (for a book centred on celibacy it’s very sexy)! Her writing is simply fearless.
So, in an age where seemingly everyone writes a memoir, why not read one written by a real writer?
Watch:
I’ve watched a lot of films lately, at the actual cinema in fact. Going to the movies has always been my greatest comfort zone, and apart from my family, naturally, it was the thing I missed most during lockdowns. Usually you’ll find me at a Palace Cinema on a rainy weeknight, flying solo, wine in hand, watching a complicated European drama or extravagant period film. Yet this week I decided to really relax by watching a so-called “feel good” film.
Tuesday Club, or Tisdagsklubben in Swedish, is a movie about a woman who finds herself abruptly exiting a 40 year marriage and in that rediscovering herself, her passion for food and her treasured relationships with friends. Basically it is the loose premise for 50% of the stories out there, but something about this movie is different.
What’s different is that this movie has a sense of humour and earthiness to it. Set in a small town near-ish Stockholm, something about it feels familiar, in that we all come from a hometown or suburb that isn’t quite the big city. The story is aspirational yet real. We see the protagonist change career and fall in love again, yet it lacks a Hollywood lense and all seems highly likely given the circumstance of the story. The film is anxiety inducing at points but leaves you full of warm fuzzy’s at the end (that’s after wrapping up the film in a way you wouldn’t necessarily see coming).
The beautiful, un-botoxed faces of the actors are as captivating as the constant plates of food featured whilst the main character, Karin, spends more time in the kitchen. I made the foolish mistake of seeing this film without a full belly, and basically spent the entire screening with my tummy growling. You’ll go home wanting to fire up the stove.
So, who wants to watch a bunch of 60-something-Swedes cooking (and occasionally having sex) in order to feel better about life? I do! And I bet you do too!
Wear:
Elle Fanning, definitely Blonde, definitely not Beige.
So few red carpet looks give me much to dream about these days. Yes it’s cool to see an increasingly diverse set of artists parading about in increasingly daring outfits before they share their film with the world. But really, when was the last time you stopped scrolling on a pre-Emmy’s or post-Oscars round up?
Elle Fanning really bloody brought it at the Emmy’s last week. Donned in a swirl of black silk with pale pink accents, she looked elegant, glamorous and good enough to eat. It turns out what she wore isn’t a “designer” frock either, rather it’s a collaboration between The Great’s costume designer, Sharon Long, and the seamstress and cutter from the show, Catherine Shaw.
Apparently the women who worked on the dress, and Elle herself, were inspired by costumer designers of yesteryear, people like Edith Head, etc, to bring proper movie magic to the actor’s look for the big event.
Whatever their inspiration was they have left me feeling inspired. Whilst I’m hardly Elle’s devoted follower (though I do reference her for pale-people-make-up-looks now and then) she nailed it last week and, in my opinion, eclipsed everyone else at the Emmy’s.
Other:
Waiter, make mine white!
For some reason I have completely lost my taste for red wine. Beyond that I have only had one glass of (white) wine in the past 10 days…! Where did she go?
No, I’m not joining a nunnery. But I have been reviewing many habits of mine recently as I have been doing a lot of self development work of late. Up until 10 days ago wine was a regular part of my routine. Not really in excess, but especially with being self-employed, I would use wine to punctuate the end of my work day and switch off from my never-ending to-do list.
Red wine took over from white wine when I entered my real relationship at age 24. He was 36, an earnest academic, and wouldn’t be caught dead drinking sav blanc. With him I switched to red in order to appease his stubbornness and began drinking a little bit of it on weeknights, like a proper grown up. A soothing glass or two of it each evening was something I soon came to indulge in almost every night, a habit which continued well after that relationship ended.
However, recently, in reviewing all of these patterns and habits, I realised that red wine make me kind of grumpy. I pinpointed that drinking it was never really my choice either. And on reflection I realise that it probably has a lot to answer for!
I’ve been sick recently, so sick I needed antibiotics and with that I had to press pause on booze, hence the 10 days off. And now that I’m (almost) well again I don’t really want to go back to wine town, nor do I fancy a glass of red ever again. It turns out not drinking absolutely makes you happier!
So watch this space. Expect a gin here or there, and I’ll never say no to a good glass of fizz, but I’ll be saying no to red for the foreseeable, and I won’t be glugging back wine every night anymore. (Bonus: I have already lost 1kg thanks to this…)
Thank you for reading the first edition of Read, Watch, Wear. And don’t forget about the current discount on paid subscriptions!
Kisses!