A cacophony of cats wins the festive Loves vote for Another Man fashion editor Ellie Grace Cumming
Fires, elaborate jumpers, snowmen, carols and heart-warming adverts – this is the spangled stuff of Christmas, the elements that make up what Andy Williams gushingly described as “the most wonderful time of the year”. And at the heart of this twinkling miasma of port-addled good will stands the Christmas tree, draped in tinsel and propped up with mounds of presents. Here at AnOther, we are all united in our adoration for the evergreen conifer of tradition; however, if we were to have our choice, the ideal tree would have to be this extraordinary Cat Christmas Tree by Usaginingen, chosen by Another Man fashion editor Ellie Grace Cumming.
The custom of the Christmas tree developed in early modern Germany, but there were rituals involving evergreen trees that date back to the pre-Christian pagan times. Queen Victoria’s German husband Albert is often credited with the popularisation of the tradition in Britain, as the Royal family set a fashion for trees hung with lights and sugar ornaments that was slavishly followed by wealthy middle-class families, and today, more than 8 million trees are grown in the UK each year to satisfy the Christmas tree market. Inevitably they have now become something of a competition, with cities and stores battling for the grandest, tallest and most extravagant trees. Rio de Janeiro’s Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon now hosts the world’s largest floating tree, while an artificial tree on Mount Ingino in Perugia, standing at 650 metres, has just been crowned the world’s tallest. But here at AnOther, we are indifferent in the face of sheer numbers, far preferring the glories of this tree of many cats, eschewing the danger of candles for the slightly sinister glint of thirty five pairs of green eyes.
So, to celebrate the most Loved post of the Christmas season, we ask Cummings to list all her festive desires, and what she'll be singing come Christmas Day.
Why did you love this tree of cats?
It is the dream tree!
Where would you keep it if you owned it – in both pictorial and literal form?
Literal form – with my mum in Odiham as she lives in the perfect cottage. Pictorial form, on the fridge with a fabulous magnet.
What's your favourite example of cats in art?
In fashion it would Tim Walker's pastel cats.
What's your favourite Christmas tree accessory?
An angel.
What will you be wearing on Christmas Day?
Pyjamas.
What are you most excited for this Christmas?
Spending the day with my niece, Lola.
What's your favourite Christmas song?
A carol – O Come All Ye Faithful.
What's your favourite Christmas food?
A gingerbread house.
What do you want for Christmas?
Such a hard question...OK, a Claire Barrow Earth Angels leather jacket.
What was the last thing you bought?
Lovely Christmas cards from Liberty's.
