When I was little, my mother used to always say “Who do you think you are? Marie of Romania?” whenever I put on airs. I had no idea who this Marie character was, but she sounded like MY KIND OF GAL. Over the years, I’ve run across mentions of her in various biographies where she’s always described as unconventional outré, and ahead of her time. And slightly nutty. Nicky Haslam describes her in his autobiography as “a whey-faced, kohl-eyed dowager, famous for her self-designed medieval uniforms.” Which is FABULOUS. I think she’s perfectly lovely, of course, and that her style was beyond brilliant. She dressed how a queen OUGHT to dress. That Gothic crown is fantastic. And her penchant for 16th century religious garb and Bavarian milkmaid uniforms is a hoot. I love that when she couldn’t find outfits that reflected her rather eclectic tastes, she designed them herself. Such a clubkid! Born in 1875, she was the eldest daughter of Prince Alfred and Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia. Her father was the second-eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Her mother was the only surviving daughter of Alexander II of Russia and his beautiful wife Maria Alexandrovna of Hesse. Sop she was a big wheel in royal circles. She could have had the pick of just about any royal figure in the world for a husband. According to Wikipedia: ”Her first cousin, Prince George of Wales, later King George V of Britain, fell in love with her and proposed marriage. Marie’s father and George’s father approved of the marriage, but their mothers did not. Marie’s mother did not like the British Royal family and George’s mother did not like Germans so the idea of a marriage was nixed. Before Marie could find someone else suitable to marry, her mother found Ferdinand of Romania. He was the German-raised nephew of the King of Romania (and a distant cousin of the rulers of Prussia).” They LOATHED each other, but what’s a young princess to do? They married and, after a time, Marie became Romania’s beloved ruler. You can read the rest of her story in her fabulous autobiography The Story of My Life. (There’s one copy available on Amazon for $374. TOTALLY WORTH IT.)
A Russian carved-wood skeleton rocking chair from the 19th century. In a perfect world, it will creak when it rocks and blow foul graveyard breath on the back of your neck. (via 
