More specifically, Dame Edith Sitwell. Well, well, you ask and I deliver – the continuation of the vintage icon posts. I thought I’d pick someone a little less known, though by no means forgotten. Someone who isn’t of the actress/model/musician breed I’ve featured previously, but was in fact a poet and, better still, known as an English eccentric!

A Brief Bio

Edith Sitwell was born in 1887 in Scarborough, England. As I’ve already mentioned, she was a poet – and a controversial one – known (according to wikipedia… I really should read other sources too…) for being a “supporter of innovative trends in English poetry“. I’ve not read any of her poems (or prose) but I think I shall be visiting the library soon enough! Actually, I was drawn to Edith not because of her unusual style (coming to that), but because of some quotes I’d read. I mean, someone who says these, have got to be interesting…

“Good taste is the worst vice ever invented.”

“I am patient with stupidity but not with those who are proud of it.”

“I have often wished I had time to cultivate modesty… but I am too busy thinking about myself.”

“I am dying, but otherwise I am quite well.”

That was rather a lot, but I had a hard time choosing one! There are many more quotes listed here, so definitely have a gander at some point.

Photos

Onto the fashion aspect of this post. Edith has a “angular” features – which I assume is a polite way of hinting at her profile – and stood tall, at 6 foot. So, she is not what one would consider a “conventional beauty” (urrgh, I hate these definitions of ‘beauty’, as if beauty only comes in one form), but, that is exactly what makes her so wonderful – she was ‘unconventional’ and from the sound of it, didn’t give a damn. Adorning herself in a striking mix of brocade/velvet dresses, gold turbans and many many rings; I imagine her critics must have had endless joy lampooning her, and she lampooning back!

All images found via Google. You can click on these to enlarge them if you so desire.

Whilst Edith’s style might be considered tame by today’s standards, putting into context of the early 20th century, then perhaps, we can begin to see why her style piqued interested when she was alive. Like many a fashion eccentric, she was muse to artists, wore and collected items she loved and probably enjoyed flouting the so-called ‘rules’ of dressing. Her jewellery collection can apparently be seen in the V&A, so, as I am visiting London (specifically there!) tomorrow, I’m definitely going to have to investigate.

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Of all the icons I’ve done so far, I think Dame Edith Sitwell is fast becoming one of my favourites. I think it’s that (despite the fact I have and will never meet her), she seems like quite a character! She dressed for herself, spoke for herself and made no apologies about it – in spite of being deemed “eccentric” (which, in my humble opinion, is never a bad thing) by her contemporaries. Well, to put it in Dame Edith’s own words, “Why not be oneself? That is the whole secret of a successful appearance. If one is a greyhound, why try to look like a Pekingese?” Why indeed!