Weddings and Frocks!

Still reeling from the prosecco at the street party? Carry the celebrations on with these wedding and Sarah Burton-inspired books.

Oleg Cassini and Liz Smith, The Wedding Dress, £32.50

Kristin Knox, Alexander McQueen. Genius of a Generation, £19.99

Foreword by Tommy Hilfiger, Grace Kelly. A Life in Pictures, £25

Vincent Meyland, Queens' Jewels, £39.95

Vintage Books

We had our cafe society evening and book signing on Wednesday - the champagne flowed, the pen ink ran, it was generally pretty heavenly. Luckily, for those of you who couldn't make it, there are still a few great vintage titles in stock.

Come in quickly, once they're gone they're gone! 

Michael Arlen, A Young Man Comes to London, 1931 (£85) 

Diana Vreeland, Allure, 1980 (£250)

Barbara Plumb, Horst Interiors, 1993 (£200)

Arthur King Peters et al, Jean Cocteau and the French Scene, 1984 (£35)

Cecil Beaton, The Face of the World, 1957 (£160)

Patina

Hmm. Surely The King's Speech should be making me think great things about the joys of a quiet film, or the revival of British cinema, or the incredible craft of Colin Firth. 

Instead, I remember it mainly for the patina. 

If I knew where it was (and had better skills as a squatter) I would already have packed a small bag and headed straight to the room that is used as the set for Geoffrey Rush's practice. There, I would lie on the failing sofa, wiling away the hours, looking up at the blissfully flaking painted wall above me.

Hey ho, no seagreen heaven for me. Instead, maybe I'll just use the afternoon to flick through these books and bask in their love of patina and surface.

 Florence de Dampierre, Walls. The Best of Decorative Treatments

Jole Smith, Andrew Moore, Making History. Selected Photographs 1980-2010

 Jean-Claude David and Gerard Degorge, Palais et Demeures d'Orient XVIe-XIXe Siecle

Axel Vervoordt and Tatsuro Miki, Axel Vervoordt. Wabi Inspirations

Plus, a bonus! While we're here, why not take a look at OMA's plans for rebuilding the Hermitage. Building by not redeveloping. It's pretty great, particularly the photo of the  Malevich.