Wednesday's Window: a little bit of drama

 

I love love love these. I'm not sure of my facts because they were taken a few months ago and I didn't label them but I think they were in the Siam Centre. (If anyone knows differently, please let me know and I will happily credit them.)

I love the drama and the sense of the macabre they've created by playing with illusion. (Do you see the half hat?) It's that dolls with scary faces thing (Magic, anyone?) They terrify me and make me laugh in equal measure. 

Wednesday's Window: Lacoste

Wednesday’s Window is one of my favourite posts. I have stopped and photographed shop windows for years without quite realising what they could be: a week after week blog post, of course! There are going to be some old and out of date ones coming up (so you’ll no longer be able to see them live) because even when I’m not blogging, I don’t stop taking pics of gorgeous, clever, interesting windows. I’m just drawn to them.

Back in June I had a date with some friends in the newly refurbished Siam Centre to eat cake and afterwards, I wandered about. This, as a window, wasn’t particularly impressive because I had to get up close to spot it; but as an installation inside the shop, I loved it. It’s from Lacoste and they very kindly – though I’m sure I wasn’t meant to – allowed me to take some pictures inside.

From the outside, these crocodiles were so beautifully crisp looking that I thought they were metallic but they are actually made of good quality card with a high gloss finish.

And I have to confess, I’m actually quite freaked out by the pile of crocs by the door. (My children will sigh and huff and roll their eyes, given that these are paper crocodiles in childish colours; but what is sculpture or art for if it isn’t to move us in some way? Yes, children, I am still too terrified to watch Jurassic Park; yes, I know that the dinosaurs can’t possibly be real but I go in prepared to believe.) It’s the way that these guys have clambered over each other to get to whatever it is they want that makes me unsettled, which is I think a reminiscence of  the behaviour I saw years ago at one of Bangkok’s crocodile farms.

"One is Royally Excited"

The laptop and I are confused.

I am definitely over the jetlag - I'm not as intimately connected to 5am as I was a week ago - but the laptop is still on Bangkok time. When I published the last post on Tuesday evening, the laptop thought it was Wednesday and duly published under that day... and I lost my slot for this Wednesday Window.

Perhaps we could call it  a 'Friday Photo' or perhaps it doesn't much matter; after my long absence, being able to write anything here is a bonus.

This window, courtesy of Liberty London, made me chuckle. I'm not particularly 'royally excited' myself but I'm tickled at the idea of the Queen being 'Great-Nanny' or 'Great-Granny' in the intimate surroundings of her palace. I can't see her being anything other than the Queen we see in public. I can't imagine what life is like inside That Family but I hope very much that things have changed over the last fifteen years. My excitement - if I have any - is to see history made, if the royal baby is a girl, I'm excited to see a first born girl will be heir over a younger brother. Just as it should be....

Wednesday's Window

We are interrupting posts from Indonesia for Wednesday's window which comes from Zen in Centralworld.

I love the silver elfy one and the colourful stripey one but I'm not a massive fan of the pink rabbit ears; I don't like the Playboy bunny girl connotations but here I've attempted to desexualise her with a head and shoulders shot.

Wednesday's Winter Windows

There might be snow, frost, icicles and snowflakes in Bangkok's malls (and not just because of the roaring air conditioning) but there's no sign of 'winter' outside. Let's face it, the three seasons here are hot, hot and wet and really hot, and I'm ready for simply hot.

What is that noise? Ohhhhh; that's the sound of you all tutting and unhooking your RSS feeds, right? Sorry; but it's meant to be a bit cooler now and it's not and I'm a bit fed up with it.

So here are some of Bangkok's winter wonderland windows:

(And, because great minds think alike, when you've finished at Tea Stains you can check out Vogue's Christmas windows here.)

Accessorize Mega Bangna

Dior Emporium

Department store, Siam Paragon

Zen at Centralworld

Wednesday's Window

This was probably one of the creepiest window displays I've ever seen. I photographed this in China - Beijing, I think but I'd have to check my holiday diary to be sure - in 2006. 

It was a case of the double take/You've Been Framed...

These aren't mannequins but real, live girls. 

Ewwwgh.

Wednesday's Windows: Recycling at Siam Paragon

This week's window is all about a fantasy world created by recycling and is courtesy of the department store in Siam Paragon.

Oh, it's all in the little details. I adore the paint colour chips on the background (we're back with my old friend, Multiples;) her paper hair is gorgeous - I wonder if I could do that look? I love that her skirt is made of shop carrier bags, her bodice is computer keyboard buttons, and I love the mad ram with a Rubik's cube chest.

Love love love.

 

Wednesday's Windows: Louis Vuitton and Yayoi Kusama

Like her or loathe her, you have to have been living in a bubble not to have seen Yayoi Kusama's work. You HAVE been living in a bubble? Ok, she's a Japanese conceptual artist and writer. For me she will always be synonymous with Bangkok because it's where I've seen most of her work.

To celebrate her ready made collection for Louis Vuitton seven stores worldwide are being taken over. All 24 windows in Selfridges in London have been commandeered as well as space inside the store. You can see more details here.

Louis Vuitton's window in Emporium is looking bonkers and I love it.

Wednesday's Windows: Hugo Boss

Before I went to the UK, the Hugo Boss window in Siam Paragon caught my eye. It reminds me of the kinetic installations that a peer on my fine art degree used to make. This window display didn't move, (can you imagine how fabulous it would have been if it could?) but, for anyone in Bangkok, there's a vast clockwork installation in the middle of Central Chit Lom that does move! (BAH; why didn't I take a picture when I was there yesterday?)

Using a light source to throw shadows is a simple idea but I imagine it's not as easy to execute as it looks.

Wednesday's Windows

There have been two main themes in the UK's window displays this summer:

• Celebrate Britain/Jubilee/Olympics
• And Not..

I may post others in coming weeks, but Selfridges wins the prize for the most wonderful. (It probably also has the biggest budget... but that's life, eh?)

Don't forget to scroll down to the bottom picture for my very favourite window: it's all about the tea, people.

Wimbledon

The seaside

The boat race

Changing of the Guard

Britain's high streets

The Pearly King and Queen

The English fete

Britain's obsession with the weather

A builders' tea party

Wednesday's Windows

Good morning. I am post Pilates class today so am feeling pretty chipper (and clearly from circa 1960...)

Today's window is dedicated to all the writers and readers in my life. It's from Jaspal. I first spotted it in Emporium, my local mall; but then, from a taxi, I saw the whole front window at Terminal 21 decorated bookishly. Sadly some of the pictures were a bit reflection heavy and it was beginning to spit I didn't hang around for a drenching in the afternoon downpour.

What's not to love? My favourite trick, playing with scale, makes another appearance and it's in celebration of books and writing. Brilliant.

Jaspal Emporium

Jaspal Terminal 21

Jaspal Terminal 21 close up

Wednesday's Windows

Okay, so the high end shops I've been featuring have got lots of money (relatively speaking) to spend on their window displays. But here are a couple of unrelated shop fronts who demonstrate that it's not about money...

The first one is Thann, an upmarket spa shop with their own products line. This is their Gaysorn branch. Oh how I love the simplicity... It must have taken someone many hours of cutting corrugated card into these lovely leafy branches and you do need tons to be effective but effective it is. It's so lovely and simple. I LURVE...

The next one I spotted  this week. It's courtesy of Adidas in Siam Centre. I'm completely unmoved by sports and I never rarely get stopped in my tracks by a sports shop's window display but I love this. Simple and brilliant. And of course it's hits the spot with my favourite technique, playing with scale.

Wednesday's Windows

There's been a bit of a War Horse thing going on in some of the Bangkok window displays. There's a third, but my addled brain can't find it!

From CPS CHAPS Emporium
Website

Yakko Maricard Siam Paragon
Website

Wednesday's Windows

Wednesday's Windows is my new regular blog slot. I've always taken photos of window displays and sometimes I've blogged them but mostly, I've haven't, wondering why anyone else would be interested.

Now that I'm moving my interests back towards the visual, I've decided to establish Wednesday's Windows. They might be window displays, or they might be interiors; we shall have to see. (I'm making this up as I go along.)

So here's the first one: I hate macaroons but I love playing with scale!

CPS Chaps Emporium

Cloud9 at Gaysorn

Cloud9 at Gaysorn