Sherlock who?

Sherlock who?

by marlies|dekkers

A swift movement in the dark, a stifled cry, an overturned chair. A crime, but no clues. “Oh, but there are always clues, chéri,” The Detective said with an enigmatic smile. Making eye contact with every suspect in the room, she took a magnifying glass out of her immaculately tailored trench coat. “It’s not enough to merely see; one must observe,” she declared. Then, briskly: “But first, let’s have a nice cup of tea, shall we?”

Sick of male, arrogant, know-it-all detectives (yes, even her own creation, Belgian dandy Hercule Poirot!) Agatha Christie decided to create a new type of sharp, witty female sleuth. The fact that the world still dismissed women as ‘the weaker sex’ was only convenient for Agatha’s female crime-fighter; it enabled her to do her investigating under the radar. While the men were busy giving their tiring ‘mansplanations’, she got the job done, efficiently and without a fuss. For this, she didn’t just use her ‘grey cells’ but also unashamedly relied on her female intuition. Like Agatha’s beloved Miss Jane Marple liked to say: “Intuition is like reading a word without having to spell it out.” From sassy flapper Tuppence Beresford to fearless math genius Lucy Eylesbarrow, Agatha’s detective heroines entered our subconscious as a manifestation of feminine empowerment, showing at least 3 generations of women how to use prejudices against us to our own advantage. Call it a feminist version of ‘when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade’. Or in Marple’s case: you solve the damn murder.

 

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fall|winter 20 preview

Marlies Says

fall|winter 20 preview

by marlies|dekkers

In January, I presented my newest FW20 collection during a show full of dance and entertainment in Rotterdam. All my work as a feminist designer is inspired by muses, powerful female icons from past and present. And for FW20, my muse will be crime writer Agatha Christie. A few months from now, you will get to discover the collections, and see how they tell stories like Agatha’s thrilling books do..

Running for your life

MD Friends

Running for your life

by marlies|dekkers

Dr. Bram Bakker is a psychiatrist, a writer, a runner and a provocateur. With his many bestselling books and columns – and yes, even his own theatre show – he urges us to think outside the box when it comes to our mental health. Not crazy about popping pills? Bram shared some interesting alternatives with me, from throwing out our phones to running ‘till we puke’.

Peas & peppers instead of pills

MD Friends

Peas & peppers instead of pills

by marlies|dekkers

General practitioner Tamara de Weijer believes that we would feel a lot better if we hit the produce stand before we visited the pharmacy. “On a massive scale, we have been putting the wrong kind of fuel in our bodies.”

Singles Day – You’ve Got this!

Marlies Says

Singles Day – You’ve Got this!

by marlies|dekkers

All the single ladies, listen up! With single women rapidly becoming the majority, it is high time to stop feeling singled out. This Singles Day, let’s celebrate our freedom and independence by sharing all those solo milestones that make us go: ‘You’ve got this!’.