Coolest cars of all time! Part One.

For me the sixties and seventies was a halcyon age for automotive design, well for design in general to be honest. Each manufacturer imbued there cars with a particular look and style that was uniquely their own. They weren't limited by the requirements of today's consumer and so they were able to inject real personality into their design.

For me one of the best looking cars of all time is the Jensen Interceptor, just the name evokes something fast and deadly, though not deadly to drive. Jensen was one of those legendary British companies that built stylish and totally individual cars, some like Bristol are still making cars today though their exclusivity not to mention eccentricity means that they have a low profile.

The Jensen Interceptor is the sort of car a 1970s TV superhero would be driving as he pulls up to a Mayfair townhouse to attend a cocktail party. This is a sort of car that demands you wear a pair of calf skin driving gloves before you even touch the steering wheel. I love the single piece of curved glass that formed the large back window. It made it look kind of futuristic in the 1970s and would be adopted by Renault in their nasty but nice Fuego. The Interceptor had a very powerful V12 engine and handled superbly for a car of it's size and power. Being a semi hand built car the standard of trim in the cabin was very high.

These cars are still very highly prized today and sell for high prices. I have seen two for sale in Australia recently, both circa 1974 and apparently in good condition. One was selling for $40,000+, the other for $16,500 was snapped up damn quick.

Gravity and Grace

This is a great store in Swan Street, Richmond. They have a selection of stylish, well designed furniture from a range of smaller, European manufacturers. This is furniture you won't be sick of the sight of within a couple of years, made to a high standard.
They also have a great range of local and European accessories.
Highly recommended!
www.gravityandgrace.com.au

The cult of Scentology.

It's getting to be that time again. My bottle of Comme des Garcons, MAN2 is starting to run dangerously low and I need to think about what my next "smelly" purchase will be.
I must admit to being a bit of a Comme des Garcons groupie, especially their incense influenced perfumes. I would love to try Kyoto or Avignon, but, here at the arse end of the world there seems to be no one who stocks these scents.
At least Mecca have the new Tom of Finland scent from Etat Libre D'Orange. This is supposed to be the scent of a masculine man as he steps out of the shower and puts on his leather pants (I'm not joking!). I had a snifter the other day and boy is it interesting. It starts overpoweringly, then starts to smell kind of like a sweaty body, then smells a bit like Chanel's Egoiste, before it settles down to something typically French. Thing is the Aldehydes in it gave me a headache, which is a shame as I would have loved to have been able to tell people that I was wearing Tom of Finland!
The other choice is Monocle/ Hinoki, the new scent which is a collaboration between CDG and Tyler Creme Brulee's new vanity publication, Monocle.
Hinoki is a lovely scent, it is supposed to evoke Japanese bathhouses and forests. It starts off with a touch of eccentric Turpentine but settles down to a different but pleasant scent in which the Hinkoki wood is apparent. It doesn't last as long as Tom of Finland but that may not be a bad thing. Of course you cannot buy it here so I will have to get it on the Internet. This is not such a bad thing as being shallow I like to think that few other people here will be wearing it.