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Gargoyles vs Grotesques: Only One of Them Was Doing the Plumbing
The difference between gargoyles and grotesques begins with rainwater. What happens when the original carvings wear away is a much more interesting question. Copy
The Latest
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The surprisingly complicated business of carrying an umbrella
Umbrellas have attracted mockery, elaborate pavement manners and a Shropshire…
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Clothing Patterns Explained: What’s Woven and What’s Printed?
What makes gingham different from Tattersall? How does herringbone get…
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What a Hallmark Actually Tells You About Second-Hand Jewellery
A tiny stamp can look wonderfully official without proving very…
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Why Bonfire Smoke Sticks to Clothes — and How to Get It Out
Bonfire smoke can linger in clothes long after the fire…
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How to Judge Second-Hand Leather Gloves by the Parts Nobody Names
Most second-hand glove advice stops at checking the leather and…
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Jane Eyre’s Clothes: Plainness, Style and Self-Possession
Jane Eyre’s plain clothes are not an absence of style.…
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A Bestiary for People Bored of Dragons
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Fantasy has plenty of monsters. What it often loses is everything that made them strange in the first place: jobs, cures, local customs, particular hills and one very suspicious wolf-man.
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Someone Cut the Label Out: Washing a Wool Jumper Without Guessing
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A missing care label removes the certainty from washing wool. Here’s how to work from the lowest-risk option upwards, when cautious hand washing is reasonable and when to leave the jumper alone.
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I Like Old Things. I Don’t Like Things Pretending to Be Old.
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I like objects that show their age. I am much less interested when the age has been applied with sandpaper, dark glaze and decorative worm holes. On patina, distressed furniture and the difference between evidence and imitation.
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The Search Box Is Not an Oracle
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Aesthetic labels and garment names both fail in different ways. Here’s how to work out what carries the character, adjust a second-hand search and recognise it on the rail.
