Stuff

THE SUSIE LOVES STUFF T SHIRT

THE SUSIE LOVES STUFF T SHIRT

The Stuff Page has been a project that The Vampire’s Wife started nearly four years ago. We are now coming up to our four hundredth post! 
MAC MILLER SINGS CIRCLES

MAC MILLER SINGS CIRCLES

Here is a sweet song from American rapper, musician and record producer, Mac Miller, that sort of creeps up on you. 
Bowie and Cher Blow our Minds!

Bowie and Cher Blow our Minds!

This really is one of the most beautiful, playful and charged duets I have ever seen—David Bowie and Cher singing, “Can You Hear Me?” 
PABLO NERUDA SPEAKS INTO OUR TIME

PABLO NERUDA SPEAKS INTO OUR TIME

There really is little more to add to this poem but simply to share it—a beautiful sentiment from the great Chilean poet, Pablo Neruda.
LE MYSTERE DES VOIX BULGARES

LE MYSTERE DES VOIX BULGARES

A person called Heidi from Madison, USA suggested I listen to Le Mystere Des Voix Bulgares and their weird, eerie harmonies have been weaving around the house all day.
A BOY WITH A SNAIL IN HIS HEART

A BOY WITH A SNAIL IN HIS HEART

“Babe, suddenly, without warning, Poem-a-day throws up this extraordinary poem! Do you want to post it on the Stuff Page—it’s wild.”  That’s my husband.
LETTER FROM ABBY

LETTER FROM ABBY

“Hey, babe, there is a letter here from someone called Abby from Manchester. She wants to ask you a question”. That’s my husband.
LEONARD BRINGS IN THE LIGHT

LEONARD BRINGS IN THE LIGHT

My husband sent me this message from his wonderful Red Hand Files. It comes from Kaley in Manchester. 
DEEP NIGHT BY RUAN CHI

DEEP NIGHT BY RUAN CHI

Classical Chinese poetry, written over the course of three thousand years has the capacity to speak to our very hearts.
I THANK GOD FOR THIS MOST AMAZING DAY

I THANK GOD FOR THIS MOST AMAZING DAY

Sitting here, looking out my rainy window, over the sea that rages and crashes everywhere, the wind howling and knocking the trees all about...
WARNING. LISTEN AT OWN RISK. No 16

WARNING. LISTEN AT OWN RISK. No 16

“Hey, babe, Emma from Maryland, USA wrote a beautiful letter. Do you want me to read it to you?” That’s my husband...
COME MY DARLING – ASMAHAN

COME MY DARLING – ASMAHAN

This is a sweet message for Lori from Toronto, who wrote into my husband’s Red Hand Files, recommending this incredibly beautiful song...
BLACK LIPS – DARK COUNTRY

BLACK LIPS – DARK COUNTRY

This strange hypnotic number, ‘Get It On Time’ by Black Lips, sung by the extraordinary Los Angeles-based actress and musician, Zumi Rosow...
JODIE COMER WEARS THE VAMPIRE’S WIFE

JODIE COMER WEARS THE VAMPIRE’S WIFE

The brilliant and beautiful Jodie Comer wears The Vampire’s Wife Floral Gypsy Tea Dress while filming Series 3 of the wonderful Killing Eve
CILLA AND MARC – LIFE’S A GAS

CILLA AND MARC – LIFE’S A GAS

Rachel from Sydney, Australia brought this beautiful duet to my attention through my husband’s Red Hand Files. It is a gorgeous thing—an instant cure for the doldrums.  
ANNA PAVLOVA AND THE DYING SWAN

ANNA PAVLOVA AND THE DYING SWAN

Allyson from Kimberton, USA, sent this letter to my husband’s glorious Red Hand Files, commenting on the name of the new collection Frill Seeker. 
LASHANA LYNCH BLOSSOMS!

LASHANA LYNCH BLOSSOMS!

Wonderful Lashana Lynch, styled by the brilliant Karla Welch wears The Vampire’s Wife Green Floral Blossom Dress and we love her for it! 
GWENDOLYN BROOKS - WE REAL COOL

GWENDOLYN BROOKS - WE REAL COOL

My husband asked me to put this poem by Gwendolyn Brooks up on The Stuff Page.
THE COLD STARS SHONE IN MOCKERY

THE COLD STARS SHONE IN MOCKERY

Flipping through Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein while sitting in the breakfast room of the Shelley Hotel in Lewes
THE FRILL SEEKER COLLECTION

THE FRILL SEEKER COLLECTION

The new collection is here! The Vampire’s Wife continue to play with the idea of femininity with the Frill Seeker Collection.
THE MELANCHOLY WONDER OF SHARMILLA ROY

THE MELANCHOLY WONDER OF SHARMILLA ROY

If you like Umm Kulthum, you maybe also appreciate Sharmilla Roy especially 'Ontoro momo' Her voice is so extraordinary, moving, melancholy and extremely joyful at the same time.
SINCE YOU WENT AWAY – SHU CH’I-SIANG

SINCE YOU WENT AWAY – SHU CH’I-SIANG

The aching, erotic stillness of these ancient Chinese poems completely overpowers me, as they find their way into The Vampire’s Wife designs.
ST VINCENT BLOWS US AWAY

ST VINCENT BLOWS US AWAY

The brilliant and beautiful Annie Clark aka Saint Vincent wears The Vampire’s Wife Mini Mayhem Dress to the Independent Spirit Awards in LA last week.
GERMAINE GREER BY DIANE ARBUS

GERMAINE GREER BY DIANE ARBUS

I was flipping through a book on the photography of Diane Arbus and found that she had photographed the feminist provocateur Germaine Greer. 
WARNING. LISTEN AT OWN RISK No. 15

WARNING. LISTEN AT OWN RISK No. 15

Known as ‘The Voice of Egypt’ Umm Kulthum rings around the house this morning, cranked up loud, her raw emotion and incredible vocal range ever splendid.
“LET THERE BE LIBERTY, GOD SAID, AND LO!”

“LET THERE BE LIBERTY, GOD SAID, AND LO!”

Divine Liberty Ross wore The Vampire’s Wife Black Velvet Lace Night Sparrow Dress to the Tom Ford show in Los Angeles last week.
TO GEORGE SAND: A DESIRE

TO GEORGE SAND: A DESIRE

The most poplar writer of her day, I must admit I have never read George Sand, but I still I adore her!
CLAUDIA CARDINALE AND BRIGITTE BARDOT

CLAUDIA CARDINALE AND BRIGITTE BARDOT

Just watched the great 1971 spaghetti western Les Pétroleuses, with Claudia Cardinale and Brigitte Bardot, yet again. Erotic, subversive, complex
DO YOU BELIEVE IN VAMPIRES?

DO YOU BELIEVE IN VAMPIRES?

My husband is sitting at the kitchen table reading the questions on his Red Hand Files. I’m almost out the door, heading to the brand new Vampire’s Wife offices
DOVIMA AND THE ELEPHANTS

DOVIMA AND THE ELEPHANTS

Dovima and the Elephants by Richard Avedon—this challenging, discomforting photograph intrigued me as a young girl
A POEM FROM SAINT AUGUSTINE

A POEM FROM SAINT AUGUSTINE

Someone called Lindsay sent this lovely message to my husband’s Red Hand Files. I love that people out there are participating on the Stuff Page.
THE DIVINE GILLIAN ANDERSON

THE DIVINE GILLIAN ANDERSON

Gillian Anderson wore the American Chevron Dress from The Vampire’s Wife Pussy Bow Collection whilst attending the premiere of Sex Education last week in London.
A PIECE OF STÉPHANE MALLARMÉ

A PIECE OF STÉPHANE MALLARMÉ

It is so easy to fall into despair, ‘hide within our wounds’, spiral into a darkness of our own misfortune—but, in doing so, we lose our ability to feel...  
FOR THE ANIMALS

FOR THE ANIMALS

As my friend, Palma, wrote, “We're watching the earth change before our eyes. The truth is, it wasn't always a habitable globe for creatures like us
SOPHIA DE MELLO BREYNER ANDRESEN

SOPHIA DE MELLO BREYNER ANDRESEN

Someone called Yara sent this to my husband’s Red Hand Files. It’s such an incredibly sweet letter and the poem is lovely. I’ve never seen it before. I love it that people send things in.
LOVE WILL REMAIN

LOVE WILL REMAIN

Here is a gorgeous song, fragmentary but vast, by the great Bill Fay. I hope you like it.
A LITTLE HOPE GOES A LONG WAY

A LITTLE HOPE GOES A LONG WAY

I had a dream last night I was sitting in a field listening to Mazzy Star’s beautiful Fade Into You and woke up with the song in my head. 
ATTAR BRINGS IN THE NEW YEAR

ATTAR BRINGS IN THE NEW YEAR

I spent time reading the Persian poet, Farid Al-Din Attar’s wonderful book The Conference of Birds over the Christmas break, full of the most beautiful words
“WE ARE ALL JUST WALKING EACH OTHER HOME”

“WE ARE ALL JUST WALKING EACH OTHER HOME”

Goodbye, Ram Dass. “Having empathy for another person means yourheart is breaking, because you understand the intensity of their experience...
HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

Dear everyone! Have a wonderful Christmas and see you in the New Year. Thank you for all your support this last year and for those of you who helped out with the Stuff Posts.
A QUOTE FROM CLARICE LISPECTOR

A QUOTE FROM CLARICE LISPECTOR

Our dear friend, Rodrigo, sent us this message.  People are always digging around and finding these strange, life-affirming treasures. 
VIRGINIA WOOLF BY JULIA MARGARET CAMERON

VIRGINIA WOOLF BY JULIA MARGARET CAMERON

I spent Sunday morning looking at the beautiful photographs of Julia Margaret Cameron, in a wonderful, old book I have of her photography. 
NICK AND WARREN AT THE OPERA HOUSE

NICK AND WARREN AT THE OPERA HOUSE

My husband and Warren Ellis played their soundtrack music at the Sydney Opera House this week, with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Philharmonia Choir.
EMILY DICKINSON'S BIRTHDAY

EMILY DICKINSON'S BIRTHDAY

Today is the birthday of the great Emily Dickinson. Emily would lower her poems in a basket from her bedroom window 
JODIE TURNER-SMITH SHOWS US HOW TO WEAR A VAMPIRE’S WIFE MINI DRESS

JODIE TURNER-SMITH SHOWS US HOW TO WEAR A VAMPIRE’S WIFE MINI DRESS

Actress Jodie Turner-Smith wears The Sparkle Velvet Runaway Dress to attend the Queen & Slim Premiere after-party in LA.
THE MOST BRILLIANT WEYES BLOOD

THE MOST BRILLIANT WEYES BLOOD

Sitting here in the back of a car heading to LAX and back to London and listening to Weyes Blood’s brilliant Andromeda, cosmic and confrontational and full of yearning. 
WE TRY. ALL OF US. WE TRY

WE TRY. ALL OF US. WE TRY

I was reading this last night, the final paragraph from Richard Ford’s wonderful novel, Canada. Such truth put so simply and without fuss.
WARNING. LISTEN AT OWN RISK. No. 14

WARNING. LISTEN AT OWN RISK. No. 14

“How are you?” That’s my husband. He’s on the phone. He’s in LA, where it’s the afternoon and sunny and warm.
In The End History Has Its Way!

In The End History Has Its Way!

I don’t know the date of this article below, but it rings so many bells for us all, the ‘gleefully dabbles’ not the least of them.
Sapphire

A poem by Sapphire

Sapphire’s 1994 book American Dreams is some of the toughest, most confrontative poetry I’ve ever read. Amazing stuff. But I stumbled across this...
Ramana

Ramana The Sage

My husband sent me this letter he received on his Red Hand Files because he knew that I would love it. Ramana Maharshi, also, said that ‘Silence is a conversation,’...
Mary Elizabeth Frye

Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep

Written in 1932 and routinely voted as America’s favourite poem, Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep was taught in schools everywhere. I remember...
Lauren Mayberry

The divine Lauren Mayberry

The euphoria-inducing Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches performs ‘Death Stranding’ on the Late Late Show with James Corden wearing...
Tali Lennox

We declare ourselves witches

The Vampire’s Wife acolyte and all-round sorceress, Tali Lennox and friend, Ariana Papademetropoulos, dabble in the dark arts, looking completely beguiling in The Vampire’s Wife Black Velvet Runaway Dress and the enchanting Falconetti. Something is definitely brewing. We adore you, Tali and Ariana, here at The Vampire’s Wife. Love, Susie x Here is Siling Zhang’s poem of female witch power! We Declare Ourselves WitchesWhen we declare ourselves witchesWe usurp the head of the churchWe stand before God with our backs turnedAnd appropriate his halo. By Siling Zhang  
Pierre Klossowski

Her beauty is a weapon

Pierre Klossowski, artist, writer and older brother of the painter Balthus, spent a lifetime drawing the most extraordinary and provocative pictures of his wife...
Julianne Moore

In praise of Julianne Moore

Just to let you know Julianne Moore’s performance in the masterful Magnolia back in 1999 blew my mind.It was so adventurous, so real and...
Larkin

I see a girl dragged by the wrists

I found this beautiful Philip Larkin poem – full of strange yearning and self-doubt and wanted to share...
Tomasz Mreńca

In praise of Tomasz Mreńca

My husband received another message from Kuba from Cleksyn, Poland, on his Red Hand Files, with another beautiful recommendation...
Jessie Barden

Mischief-maker Jessie Barden on the train to somewhere

Wonderful Jessie Barden, star of the hit TV series, End of the Fucking World, that features my son Earl (I’m just saying) knocks us all out...
Rod McKuen

Warning. Listen at own risk No. 13

“Hey, babe, check this out.” That’s my husband. He is sitting at the kitchen table, reading the questions on his Red Hand Files. It always puts him in a good mood. It makes him happy and, kind of, hopeful. “What?” “There is a person called Naomi from Glasgow who is making a suggestion for a song on your Stuff Page.” I’m sitting here too, trying to write my Stuff Page. My Stuff Page makes me happy and hopeful, too. “Naomi from Glasgow says, “On the wonderful Vampire’s Wife Stuff Page you sometimes suggest a Song of Devastation. What makes a...
The Pussy Bow Collection

Here comes The Pussy Bow Collection

The Vampire's Wife launches a new collection of dresses entitled ‘Pussy Bow’. Working with costume designer extraordinaire Alice Babidge...
Courtney Love

Courtney Love and a Pom called Bell

Beautiful Courtney sits at the Connaught Hotel dressed in the Blue Corduroy Festival Dress, with Bell, her Pomeranian...
Francis Bacon

A message from Francis Bacon

“The creative process is a cocktail of instinct, skill, culture and a highly creative feverishness. It is not like a drug; it is a particular state when everything happens very quickly, a mixture of consciousness and unconsciousness, of fear and pleasure; it’s a little like making love, the physical act of love.” By Francis Bacon
Kisa Gotami

Kisa Gotami and the mustard seed

During Buddha’s time, there lived a woman named Kisa Gotami. She married young and gave birth to a son. One day, the baby...
Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius and The Daily Stoic

I’ve found a great book recently called The Daily Stoic and it gives a quote each day from one of the ancient Stoics...
Guy Bourdin

Unseen Guy Bourdin photos

My dear friend Katherine who is always on the lookout for things strange and beautiful sent me these two unseen photographs...
Song of Songs

In praise of the Song of Songs

How beautiful, how sensuous, how disturbing this piece of biblical text is, full of longing and dark violence and tremendous need? My fingers dripped with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the lock. Love, Susie x Beloved 2   I was asleep, but my heart was awake.  It is the voice of my beloved who knocks:  "Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled;  for my head is filled with dew,  and my hair with the dampness of the night."  3   I have taken off my robe. Indeed, must I put it on?  I have washed my feet. Indeed, must...
Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg does the husband

The Stuff Page has never been a forum to promote my husband’s work, but I just can’t let this one go...
Natalie Portman

A wild weekend in paradise!

The Vampire’s Wife blew Los Angeles and New York away last weekend as Natalie Portman stormed The Ellen DeGeneres Show dressed in the L.A. Mini Dress and the wild and wonderful Lisa Bonet attended the “Joker” film premiere, all sultry in the Silk Tea Dress and our much loved Kirsten Dunst, wore the Hummingbird Dress at the world premiere of "The Irishman" in New York. A good, good couple of days! Love Susie.
Earl Cave

It's a mother's right to brag

Make of it what you will, but I’m just saying, doesn’t my son Earl look completely gorgeous in this photograph. His film...
David Hicks

In praise of David Hicks

I first fell in love with David Hicks's jewellery many years ago - before I really realised how everything I ever loved about interiors came...
Bob Dylan

Warning - Listen at own risk No. 12

I am sitting with my husband listening to the radio. He is reading a book by Darcey Steinke called ‘Flash Count Diary - Menopause, and the...
Nadia Comâneci

The Nadia Comâneci Dream

When I was ten years old, I dreamed of being a gymnast. I had seen Nadia Comâneci on the TV performing at the Montreal Olympic games in 1976, and like so many young girls, was swept away by the purity of her performance and her incredible courage. Next door to me, in Bromley, lived a teenage girl who practised gymnastics in her backyard, and I used to watch her exercising through a hole in the fence, and I would copy her movements. My dreams were the dreams of countless young girls, and I learned to handstand and backflip and cartwheel...
Daniel Johnston

Daniel Johnston R.I.P

Daniel Johnston, singer, songwriter, artist and inspiration to so many has died...
An interlude with Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell

An interlude with Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell

Allyson from Kimberton, USA, sent a poem to my husband’s wonderful Red Hand Files by the brilliant Dame Edith Louisa Sitwell. We both loved it and....
Vivienne Westwood

Susie and Vivienne from 1998

My friend, Katherine, sent me this wonderful photograph from 1998. Here I am with my great inspiration...
Munch

Vampire in the Forest

I was looking through a new book of the despairing paintings of Edvard Munch with my husband (we really know how to have a good time!) and, anyway, how many books on Edvard Munch does one family need (!) and found yet another vampire painting, a subject that Munch returned to again and again – the female vampire sucking the blood of the cowering male. And, well, Munch was not what you’d call a ladies man, and has over the years got into a fair amount of trouble for his representation of women, but I always found Munch’s women, wonderfully...
Staple Singers

Warning. Listen at own risk No. 11

“Hey Babe?” That’s my husband. “Uh-huh?” That’s me. “I got a letter on The Red Hand Files from a girl called Phoebe F. She suggested a Song of Devastation.”...
Father Yod

Father Yod and The Mystic Road

I’ve just been reading The Mystic Road purported to be based on Father Yod’s teachings. Now as far as cult leaders go Father Yod seemed pretty wild....
Vampire

Vampire week and beautiful dresses

Immortality. We all want it. The chance to defy that black spectre of death that equalises us. But to live forever...
Dracula

Vampire week and beautiful dresses

Dracula offers the illusion of immortality, the subconscious wish we all have for a limitless life. He is a man of tremendous...
Wild star of light

Wild star of light

I don’t really know where to start with this one. Kirsten Dunst is a wild star of light, stealing our hearts as Claudia, the little blood-sucking fiend in Interview with The Vampire, then broke it in Lars Von Trier’s desolate masterpiece, Melancholia. Not to mention the comic engine of the second season of Fargo, maybe the best piece of television in existence. Anyway, here she is wearing the The Vampire’s Wife Silver Lamè Mini Festival Dress and as Alessandro Michele once said to me, “It is a good day! It is a happy day!” Thank you Kirsten. We love you here at...
David Whyte

David Whyte on heartbreak

I was reading Maria Popova’s wonderful Brain Pickings website last night and stumbled across this quote...
Barbie

W.B. Yeats and Barbie

'Never shall a young man, Thrown into despair, By those great honey-coloured Ramparts at your ear...
The Velvet Underground

In Praise of The Velvet Underground

Sunday morning here in London and just been dreaming it away, listening to the Velvet Underground, who, so many years later, still sound so bold and challenging and enlivening; they are capsules of light from an era that seems to have died – an era that seemed so much freer, so much more daring, so less inhibited than the one we are currently building for ourselves. Time to get bold! Love, Susie.
Maya Angelou

I know why the caged bird sings

The free bird leaps on the back of the wind, and floats downstream till the current ends, and dips his wings in the orange sun rays...
The Langley School Music Project

Warning. Listen at own risk No. 10

“Hey, I just got this letter on The Red Hand Files from someone called Heidi suggesting we put up The Langley School Music Project’s version of...
Azuma Makato

Azuma Makoto - florist from outer space

I stumbled on these beautiful floral arrangements by Azuma Makoto in an amazing book...
Jane Birkin

In further praise of Jane Birkin

I have already done a Stuff Post about the divine Jane Birkin but who can resist these beautiful photos of this most extraordinary woman. I love the dresses! All praise to Jane Birkin. Just to let you know, The Vampire’s Wife are preparing to drop a range of mini-dresses, inspired by this wild and wonderful woman. Love, Susie x
Hania Rani - Glass

Hania Rani - Glass

Someone called Kuba from Cieksyn in Poland send this link to my husband’s wonderful Red Hand Files. Kuba suggested that my husband and I “lie next to each other and listen to this beautiful song by the young Polish composer, Hania Rani. In my opinion it is just breath-taking. Just enjoy the moment.” Well, Kuba, we gave it a shot and you are right, it is truly a thing of wonder! Thank you for tuning us in to this wonderful talent from Poland. Love Susie x  The piece of music is called ‘Glass’ by Hania Rani.
Nick Cave

Permanent shivers

A friend, Bella, just sent me this video of my husband as a mere child doing the beautiful teen-angst anthem ‘Shivers’ with his first band The Boys Next Door. I haven’t seen it for years. I’m sorry, but how completely adorable. Thank you, Bella! Love, Susie x   Shivers I've been contemplating suicide But it really doesn't suit my style So I think I’ll just act bored instead And contain the blood I would've shed She makes me feel so ill at ease My heart is really on it's knees I keep a poker face so well That even mother...
Louise Bogan

Louise Bogan - nothing will ever stir

I found this poem today by Louise Bogan called Medusa. It took a couple of reads to for me to work out just what was going on. Sometimes a poem speaks to a part you, beyond understanding. But it seems the speaker of the poem, steps into a clearing and sees a house. All things are ready to happen – a bell is about to strike, the rain is about to fall. The speaker sees, in the doorway, the Medusa, with her hair full of snakes. The legend is, that if you look into the eyes of the Medusa you...
Dolphins

Warning. Listen at own risk no. 9

I’ve just walked into my husband’s office. “What’s the matter, babe? You look a bit down,” I ask.  “I don’t know.” “Have you been listening to Tim Buckley again?” “Maybe,” he says. “I warned you about that.” “Yeah, I know.” “Well, maybe you have a new Song of Devastation for the Stuff Page? It’s been a while and people keep writing in and asking to hear another one.” “Well, okay, but this one you’ve got to watch the performance on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Tim Buckley sings the gorgeous Fred Neil song, Dolphins and simply loses himself in his...
Cat Power

The beauty of cats!

The cat is such a perfect symbol of beauty and superiority that it seems scarcely possible for any true aesthete to do other than worship it...
P.J. Proby

In praise of P.J. Proby

P.J. Proby, sings ‘Somewhere’ from the musical West Side Story, in this clip from American Bandstand, in 1965. With the bow in the back of his hair and his weird...
Maria Callas

Maria Callas and Pier Paolo Pasolini

A dear friend sent me the picture of Maria Callas and Pier Paolo Pasolini, below. Pasolini enjoyed a...
Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave at Glastonbury

Vampire attacks pop princess at music festival

How completely moving was Kylie at Glastonbury. It was such a gigantic moment for her. She wore a bespoke Vampire’s Wife dress, looked so absolutely beautiful and... 
Isabelle Adjani

Isabelle Adjani and time travel

A dear friend just sent me this picture of Isabelle Adjani. Now it is no secret that Isabelle has always been and will always be the actress that shines the brightest for me, and it is impossible to exaggerate the influence she has had over us all, here at The Vampire’s Wife. I have never seen this photo before, but here she is wearing what is essentially a Vampire’s Wife dress, back in the early eighties, I guess, and it gives me a strange feeling of temporal dissonance, where the past comes rushing forward and the present is not as...
Inger by Edvard Munch

The artist's sister, Inger

Well, in case it isn’t glaringly apparent, the paintings of Edvard Munch, especially his paintings of women, have had a huge impact on...
Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson

A Sunday poem from Alice Moore Dunbar-Nelson

It’s Sunday morning here in London and I have resigned to do nothing but be idle and, well, write this Stuff Post. I am reminded of Alice Dunbar-Nelson and her wry poem on idleness. Writer, poet, journalist, and teacher, Alice used her writings to advocate for the rights of women and African-Americans and was considered one of the premier poets of the Harlem Renaissance. Love, Susie x   The Idler An idle lingerer on the wayside's road,He gathers up his work and yawns away;A little longer, ere the tiresome loadShall be reduced to ashes or to clay. No matter if the...
Earl & Susie Cave with Stevie Nicks

Sometimes you meet your heroes

On Sunday night, Early and I (and some of the wonderful people from Cloud Workshop) went to see Fleetwood Mac at Wembley. It was such beautiful, joyful show. Stevie Nicks has always been the rock ‘n’ roll touchstone that has sustained me and nourished me throughout my life, and taught me about perserverance and emotional truth and, well, I love her. Pure unadulterated fandom. I love her – nothing more, nothing less. Thank you Stevie and all of Fleetwood Mac for such a wonderful evening. Love, Susie x
Leonard Cohen

Lovely quote from Leonard Cohen

“You felt that you were this aching creature in the midst of this aching cosmos and the ache was okay. Not only was it okay, but it was the way you embraced the sun and the moon.” Tina from Sydney, Australia sent this beautiful quote from Leonard Cohen, to my husband on his Red Hand Files. It is such a lovely thing to say, and so true. Thank you, Tina, I hope it was all right to put it up on the Stuff Page. With much love to you (and Cillian, wherever he may be.) Susie x
Peggy Lipton

Late goodbye to Peggy Lipton

Beautiful Peggy Lipton, who starred as Julia Barnes in The Mod Squad back in the late sixties died at 72, on May 11th. She broke fresh ground for women on TV at the time, playing a new kind of woman, young and hip. She went onto play the awesome Norma at the Double D Diner in Twin Peaks, many years later.  Actor Kyle MacLachlan who worked with her on Twin Peaks, said of her - "Peggy radiated a sense of purpose. She was always gracious and ever thoughtful, and moved to her own rhythm. She was wise and seemed all...
Susie Cave aged 6

How to wear a dress by The Vampire's Wife

Susie aged 6 What kind of dress has always appealed to you? Are there any shapes or styles that you naturally gravitate towards? The shape I gravitate towards is a strong silhouette that shows the power and glory of the female form without a need to show a whole lot of flesh. There needs to be a tension between what is seen and what exists within the imagination. The imagination is the wellspring of sensuality! How should a great dress make you feel? Should you have an emotional response to it?Of course! You should have an emotional response to everything you wear....
Eve Babitz

Eve Babitz - wild child

I’ve spent the morning dipping in and out of the books of original 60s and 70s Hollywood wild child, Eve Babitz...
Judith Kerr

Goodbye Judith Kerr

Oh, dear. Beloved author and illustrator Judith Kerr died last week aged 95. That is so sad. I loved The Tiger Who Came To Tea...
Lady Constance Malleson

Bertrand Russell to Lady Constance Malleson

“The centre of me is always and eternally a terrible pain, a curious, wild pain, a searching for something beyond what the world contains. Something transfigured and infinite. The beatific vision – God, I do not find it, I do not think it is to be found – but the love of it is my life. It the actual spring of life within me.” This is excerpt from a letter Bertrand Russell wrote to Lady Constance Malleson in 1916. I feel it very clearly describes the feeling – a curious, wild pain - that exists within us all in our...
Nico

Warning. Listen at own risk no. 8

My Darling Susie, I’m in Oslo, waiting for the sun to go down. I don’t think it ever does here. It’s very late. You will be sleeping now. Play this Nico song when you wake. I forgot how completely beautiful it is. The words! I love you, Nick ------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear All, Just to say, be very careful when you play this song first thing in the morning! Love to you all, Susie x     These Days  I've been out walking I don't do too much talking these days These days These days I seem to think a lot About...
William Blake

Eternity by William Blake

Just read this William Blake poem, full of hopeful instruction, but that feels kind of melancholy today, as I look out of my window over the valley...
ten foot Susies

Attack of the ten-foot Susies

Dover Street Market in Los Angeles hosted a dinner on Thursday night to celebrate The Vampire’s Wife installation of the Ten-Foot Susies. Thank you to my friends for coming along. It was such a fun night! Much love to you all, Susie x
Krishna

The birth of Lord Krishna

Here is the story of the Birth of Krishna and his transformation into a human child – and a very mischievous...
Isabella Rossellini

In praise of Isabella Rossellini

I watched Blue Velvet again last week and thirty-something years on, this film, so ubiquitous in its influence, still had the same effect as...
The Scream

The Scream emerges!

I walked along a road one evening – on one side of the town and the fjord lay beneath me. I was weary and sick – I stood looking over the fjord...
The Vampire

The Vampire by Charles Baudelaire

You, who like a dagger ploughed into my heart with deadly thrill: You who, stronger than a crowd of demons, mad, and dressed to kill...
Olivia Hussey

Olivia Hussey - the purest beauty

Olivia Hussey was my first love. As a schoolgirl, I watched her extraordinary performance in Franco Zeffirelli’s version of Shakespeare’s...
Nina Simone

Warning. Listen at own risk No. 7

My husband is sitting at his desk by his window, up in the hills, here in L.A. He is looking perturbed. Out the window he can see down into the valley. “What’s wrong?” I ask...
Marlon and Marilyn

Marlon and Marilyn

Such a lovely photo of Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando - they are like twin stars – the yin and the yang, but both...
Girls behaving themselves in The Vampire's Wife No. 14

Girls behaving themselves in The Vampire's Wife No. 14

Patsy Ferran enters the winners’ corridor after receiving her best actress award for Summer and Smoke, followed by the beautiful Zawe Ashton...
Circle Call

Ancient witches circle call

Darksome night and shining moon. Harken to our joyous tune. North, East, South and West, we call ye forth to this circle, blest!
Joan Crawford

In praise of Joan Crawford

I read Joan Crawford’s book My Way of Life years ago. Part memoir, part self-help book, part guide to being fabulous, My Way of Life advises the reader...
The Church of Spilled Blood

Benedictus

No one knows the wonder your child awoke in you, your heart a perfect cradle. To hold its presence, inside and outside became one...
Greta Bellamacina

Our child arranges the sky

Mother’s of the world unite! Beautiful, wonder-poet Greta Bellamacina wears a White Corduroy Mini Cate Dress. Below are some lines from Greta’s gorgeous poem...
Peggy March

Peggy March - 14 year old wonder!

My husband released a list of his favourite love songs on his Red Hand Files and in response Larry ‘Ratso’ Sloman sent a favourite of his...
The sulk vindicated!

The sulk vindicated!

As I so often do, I was roaming around Maria Popova’s superlative website Brain Pickings – how many hours I have spent enthralled by...
Jean Marie Banier

François-Marie Banier on Samuel Beckett

My husband’s friend, Rodrigo, sent him this beautiful little story. We thought it would make a great Stuff Post...
Jodie Comer

Jodie Comer kills it in The Vampire's Wife

Awesome Jodie Comer wore The Vampire’s Wife Mini Priscilla Dress this week on the red carpet at the Royal Television Society Awards...
Elizabeth Taylor

Time to wake up Maisie

Spending the morning, in London, reading Richard Burton’s diaries and his beautiful words about Elizabeth Taylor. How they burn...
Susie Cave

The testimonials keep coming

The dress arrived, beautifully wrapped, first thing on Saturday morning. It is the most wonderful dress I have ever seen...
Sometimes we need a sad song

Sometimes we need a sad song

Well, sometimes we need a sad song. Sometimes we need a sad song and that’s okay because sometimes we follow Leonard Cohen’s voice to a broken-hearted place...
Marilyn

Pasolini's words to Marilyn

I found this lovely photo of Marilyn, here at The Vampire’s Wife and at the same time stumbled on this quote...
Gabriele D'Annunzio

A poem by Gabriele D'Annunzio

Denis from Cosenza in Italy sent this beautiful poem to my husband at his Red Hand Files. He loved it and he read it to me over breakfast...
Yalitza Aparicio

Yalitza Aparicio - a vision at The Oscars

Yalitza Aparicio wears The Vampire's Wife at the Oscars! Such a proud moment! Have you all seen the extraordinary Roma? I finally got to see it last night...
Johnny Cash

Happy Birthday, Johnny

We all love the great Johnny Cash here at The Vampire’s Wife, on the day of his 87th birthday...
Aline Murray Kilmer

Aline Murray Kilmer - forgotten by the world

Aline Murray Kilmer (1888 – 1941) was an American poet and children's book author and the wife and widow of the poet Joyce Kilmer...
Ballet Russes

Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes

My pile of Ballet Russes books are the most treasured books I own. The costumes of the Ballet Russes are what inspired me to become a designer...
Pieta

Pietà by Steve Scafidi

I came across this beautiful poem by Steve Scafidi whilst tiptoeing through the Internet on the weekend here in London and I thought...
Mama Cass

Dream A Little Dream Of Me

Just in case you’ve had a difficult day or feel a little lost or think the world doesn’t have much to offer you, well, here is a song to remind you that you are not alone...
Mary Oliver

Mary Oliver - willing to be dazzled

Some beautiful words from the most wonderful poet Mary Oliver who died last month...
Goya - The White Duchess

White Duchess, Black Duchess

There is always deep drama to Goya’s work, even his beautiful portraits, which I like the most of all his work. I love the dark psychology behind the paintings and also...
David Tibet

David Tibet's beautiful invocations

We love the work of the mighty David Tibet here at The Vampire’s Wife and my house is full of his strange visionary work. His pictures literally stir up the spirits...
Sharon Van Etten

In praise of Sharon Van Etten

Just heard Sharon Van Etten’s irresistible new record, Remind Me Tomorrow and we are playing it here non-stop at The Vampire’s Wife...
Billie Holiday

Loverman, where can you be?

Back in LA, right now, doing Vampire’s Wife business and feeling a bit homesick. Not for my actual home (wherever that may be)...
Pieta

Pietà by Rilke

Fills now my cup, and past thought is my fulness thereof. I harden as a stone sets hard at its heart. Hard that I am, I know this alone...
Madonna

The transformation of Madonna

I can’t begin to tell you how happy this makes me! Beautiful Madonna is bitten! Madonna transforms in The Vampire’s Wife Spooky Creature Dress...
Marilyn

Divinity Poem from Marilyn

Life is what you make it. No matter what, you’re going to mess up sometimes. It’s a universal truth, but the good part is...
12 words

The twelve most delightful words in the English language

“Words, like nature, half reveal and half-conceal the world within.” Alfred, Lord Tennyson. A lovely couple who live in Chiapas...
The Queen

In praise of Cecil Beaton

I was re-watching The Crown on Netflix over the holidays and the Royal photographer Cecil Beaton was represented as...
The Moody Blues

Nights in White Satin

Just wanted to share this extraordinary love song by The Moody Blues with you. I guess you all know it, but sometimes we need to be reminded...
Lao Tzu

Wise words from Lao Tzu

Here are some quotes from my favourite Chinese philosopher and all round wild man. I love his infinitely wise and pithy sayings...
Tilda Swinton

The Dress of 2018? The Vampire's Wife wins hands down! - Vogue

I’m just saying. I’m just saying. I’m just saying. I’m just saying. I’m just saying. I’m just saying. I’m just saying...