From 1936 until her resignation in 1962, Diana Vreeland ran a column for Harper’s Bazaar called “Why Don’t You?” offering ideas and suggestions to remain creative in everyday life.

Here are some suggestions which she put in her column, some of which are a fabulous idea and others, that bit more outlandish!

Why don’t you ……

….. use a gigantic shell instead of a bucket to ice your champagne?

….. tie an enormous bunch of silver balloons on the foot of your child’s bed on Christmas Eve?

….. paint a map of the world on all four walls of your boys’ nursery so that they won’t grow up with a provincial point of view?

….. tie black tulle bows on your wrists?

…. turn your child into an Infanta for a fancy dress party?

…. wear violet velvet mittens with everything?

…. have a yellow satin bed entirely quilted in butterflies?

…. remember how delicious champagne cocktails are after tennis or golf? Indifferent champagne can be used for these.

…. have an elk-hide trunk for the back of your car? Hermes of Paris will make this.

Which leads me to the all important question. Why don’t you …….. ? Well, why don’t you tell me what you’re going to do today that imaginative, inventive and out of the ordinary? (And that would also make Diana Vreeland proud?)