Lucy & her Blue Fish
The novel by Elizabeth von Amin entitled Enchanted April is one of my all time favorites. It tells the story of four women in the 1920s who share a villa in Italy for the month of April and in doing so find rejuvenation for their lives. This may be a strange analogy for Blue Fish Clothing – but somehow it speaks to me! Throughout my adult life I have had a connection with all things vintage and have felt most comfortable wearing unique clothing. I am a needlework designer/teacher and owned a needlework shop for ten years. After closing the shop in 1994 I have continued to design and teach throughout the country for needlework guilds and seminars. Through one of these classes I met a woman who had on the most wonderful coat – which of course turned out to be Blue Fish – and from that moment on I have not felt truly comfortable in anything but Blue Fish. Now many years later I cannot imagine my wardrobe without (among all the others) the exquisite velvet ballroom dress or the long vest with velveteen border and hand-printed patterns.
The “enchanted” aspect to Blue Fish is not only the uniqueness of design or even the comfort – but the era of clothing it conjures. When wearing it I feel transported to another time when clothing was designed in more flattering lines and made with care and quality. Many of the styles lend themselves to the style of the 20s which suits me perfectly!
I recently purchased the Muse Dress and find that by wearing various slips underneath and alternating with a length of amber beads or Ruskin pendant made in the early twentieth century I flit around all day feeling as if I just stepped out of the Enchanted April movie! With long hours of work and the every day cares and worries it is comforting to feel that slipping on layers of artistic Blue Fish clothing will make me feel as though I’m playing dress-up – which always makes me feel great!
“It is good to know what one wants” said Rose Arbuthnot in Enchanted April. “Well it saves time” replied Lady Caroline Dester —–I know what I want and it is good to know Blue Fish feeds my soul.
