CHARLY IN PARADISE
This week, we invite British wordsmith and mental health advocate Charly Cox to share her Eden on earth, from prancing in Soho bookshops to a solitary spot on the sofa.
PARADISE IS...
A present moment. I think we've all learned in the last year that if you can't find paradise within parameters, it's nothing but a far away dream. Unconditional paradise is when I close my eyes and I could still be 8 years old strolling down Kilburn High Road with my grandfather with a huge cup of pic’n’mix. Paradise in the real world has two very specific locations for me - prancing around Soho, going from bookshop to cafe to pub on my own with a notebook. Since that's been unattainable, this spot on the sofa has become all three of those things.
IN THREE WORDS...
A present moment.
IF PARADISE WAS A TASTE...
The first sip of a pint outside the French House at 5pm in the first slither of summer.
A SCENT...
Vivienne Westwood - Boudoir. My mum always wore it when I was a child, it smells like love and warmth and safety.
A SONG...
Justin Bieber - Sorry. One New Year’s Eve, our friend Jacob put it on by accident instead of Auld Lang Syne at midnight - it's become a tradition now. I’m immediately transported back to the rooftop nights we spent in Ladbroke Grove - they were paradise in a way that only nostalgia can give them that title now.
ON JOYFUL DRESSING...
When I wear Hayley Menzies, I feel like Marianne Faithful stepping off a private jet, with a head full of unspeakable memories and a wry smile that suggests they were all worth it. Everything Hayley designs, from the cuts to colours, oozes the cool girl you always hoped to be as a kid.