Amanda | The Womens Room

Home & GardenMarch 20, 2015

Introducing our new weekly food blogger, Jo Orr

By Amanda

We’re excited to introduce our guest cookery blogger on TWR today, Jo Orr, who will be blogging on the Friday slot for a while, tempting us with her signature seasonal recipes. Over to you Jo… My name is Jo Clare… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 19, 2015

Older models, Helen Mirren and L’Oreal

By Amanda

Just keeping you up to date with the older model situation here, since we’ve had such a good start to the year. Here’s Helen Mirren’s advert for L’Oreal, which I’ve only just caught up with, you’ve probably all seen it… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 18, 2015

Gentlewoman styling #2: slouchy trousers

By Amanda

In a completely ironic turn of events, elasticated waist trousers are hot fashion news this season. We seem to have spent a lot of time on TWR saying how we do NOT want to slip into the old cliche of… Read More

Art & CultureMarch 17, 2015

Guest Post: Is it time we rebranded Craft?

By Amanda

So, today we have the first of our guest posts, something we are doing while Jane is on her sabbatical. It’s from Julia Little, and she’s wondering if its time to rebrand the world of craft. Off you go Julia…… Read More

Things We LoveMarch 17, 2015

We love: the smells of method cleaning products

By Amanda

Am I the last person in the world to get how nice the method brand of cleaning products is? We were invited to a trends day hosted by method and Abigail Ahern, where I was quietly impressed with how interesting … Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 16, 2015

Watch this: Iris Apfel at The Met and Raf Simons at Dior

By Amanda

A couple of fashion film tips for you today, both of which look unmissable and show how style, imagination and creativity are totally unrelated to age. Above is a trailer from Iris, a documentary film by director Albert Maysles, about… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 14, 2015

Weekend Woman: Björk

By Amanda

Björk is described in this month’s The Gentlewoman, rightly, as a ‘sonic genius’, but she is of course much more than this. As well as being ground-breakingly original in her music -even people who don’t like it acknowledge her vision… Read More

Home & Garden, We Are ReadingMarch 13, 2015

Beds and Borders by Simon Maughan and Jane Courtier

By Amanda

This is a sweet book for a start-gardener looking for some usable inspiration for creating a well coordinated border. The split-page format allows you to select three graduated-in-size plant types to see what they would look like together and if… Read More

Out & AboutMarch 13, 2015

See this: Savage Beauty at the V&A

By Amanda

Like you need telling….but just incase you’ve been so tied up with The Archers flood that real life has passed you by, the V&A is AT LAST hosting the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty beauty exhibition that was such a smash… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 12, 2015

We are in April’s Good Housekeeping!

By Amanda

If you have a copy of Good Housekeeping for April, turn to page 137, where we are on the Best Dress List…oh yeah….. Actually, we are both a bit blithery about having our photo taken, but Jo Atkinson from the… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 11, 2015

Gentlewoman-styling #1: denim at Whistles

By Amanda

I’m starting to think about spring purchases and I’m going to begin with some gentlewomanly-denim. By gentlewoman styling, I mean that clean, androgynous casualness that is influencing absolutely everyone’s advertising and editorial campaigns this season. It’s a sort of minimal… Read More

Things We LoveMarch 9, 2015

Perfume review: Ostara by Penhaligons, the perfect Mothers Day perfume

By Amanda

Another divinely packaged fragrance from Penhaligon’s, (read here for more), this time featuring a laser cut wrap of daffodils running charmingly all around the box of the new Ostara perfume. I have this in front of me as I write… Read More

Home & GardenMarch 9, 2015

We love: Pillow Post from the Secret Linen Store and Plooms

By Amanda

This is a lovely thing from one of our favourite bedlinen companies, The Secret Linen Store, and Plooms, a fountain pen company started by Sally Page. It has made me wish my children were young again… Harriet and Molly of… Read More

Health & HappinessMarch 8, 2015

Weekend Woman: All of you, Happy International Women’s Day

By Amanda

Happy International Women’s Day readers, if you are female, pat yourself on the back for being awesome, and maybe go do something thoughtful for other females not as fortunate as yourself. If you are male reading this, go and appreciate … Read More

Things We LoveMarch 6, 2015

Monu skincare

By Amanda

After our post on the best skin care for cold weather, the nice people at MONU Skincare introduced us to its excellent range of products that they thought might also be good for older skin in this very drying weather.… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 6, 2015

What hipsters think they’ll look like when they’re older

By Amanda

I am indebted to eldestson, who sent me these images from Vice magazine via email with the title ‘Mum! This is what I’ll look like when I’m older!’ Eldest son is a fully paid up hipster, although he’ll object very… Read More

Home & GardenMarch 4, 2015

Readers Kitchens: Abigail Ahern

By Amanda

I know! No Readers Kitchens articles for ages and then two in less than a week! I was fortunate enough to meet hot interior guru Abigail Ahern last week, when she kindly let me poke about her beautifully stylish kitchen… Read More

Home & Garden, We Are ReadingMarch 3, 2015

First Ladies of Gardening by Heidi Howcroft

By Amanda

Some of the most inspirational women in gardening are listed in this lovely new book by Heidi Howcroft, with images by Marianne Majerus. From Mary Keen and Helen Dillon, Gill Richardson, Rosanna James and Sue Whittington, 14 new and experienced… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 2, 2015

A moment with Diane Pernet and her new fragrance collection

By Amanda

I’m not sure how many of you will have heard of Diane, she writes the blog A Shaded View On Fashion and holds cult status amongst the fashionata for her support of original designers and film makers. I’ve loved her… Read More

Things We LoveMarch 2, 2015

Tudor fragrance love: Jo Malone Rock of Ages collection

By Amanda

Fessing up, I haven’t actually trialled this new set of fragrances from Jo Malone, but the very wise Sali Hughes has, read here, and really liked them. If she gives them the thumbs up, the likely hood is they are… Read More

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 28, 2015

Weekend Woman: Patricia Arquette

By Amanda

Our Weekend Woman can only be Patricia Arquette this week, for her impassioned speech on the need for pay equality for women, at The Oscars 2015. She won her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Boyhood, a really fabulous film… Read More

Things We LoveFebruary 27, 2015

Penhaligon’s Trade Routes Collection

By Amanda

Trade Routes is another lovely collection of fragrances from British brand Penhaligon’s. Launching ‘collections’ of fragrances is becoming something of a thing, offering three to ten new fragrances in one launch rather than the odd one here and there. This… Read More

Fashion, We Are ReadingFebruary 26, 2015

Thea Porter: Bohemian Chic

By Amanda

After New York and London Fashion Week’s interest in all thing 70s bohemia, we suggest to grab a copy of this new V&A publication. Thea Porter’s clothes are the only ones Joan Collins never throws away, apparently and Thea’s shop… Read More

Home & GardenFebruary 26, 2015

Readers kitchens: Helen from South East London

By Amanda

It’s been a while since we’ve had a Readers Kitchens feature, but when I recently saw Helen’s kitchen, so beautifully restored by her and her partner (and a brilliant carpenter apparently) I begged her to let us put it up.… Read More

FoodFebruary 25, 2015

Vanilla Table by Natasha MacAller

By Amanda

This is a lovely book, stuffed with excellent recipes which are linked by the inclusion of vanilla in all. I am a vanilla fiend and will use it whenever I can. I buy the stuff in bulk off the internet… Read More

Things We LoveFebruary 25, 2015

Designerbox.com, with Farrow & Ball

By Amanda

This is a glorious idea from Designerbox.com, a French based company that recruits hot modern designers to produce a beautiful and unique item to send out each month in a neat wooden box. We’ve mentioned the rise of the ‘monthly… Read More

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 24, 2015

In praise of casual camel

By Amanda

In the madness of keeping up with the trends as they happen at Fashion Weeks all over the globe (well ok, we appreciate you might not ALL be as fussed as we are) and all that ‘double seasoning’ (it’s a… Read More

Health & HappinessFebruary 22, 2015

Weekend Womon: Mariella Frostrup

By Amanda

I’ve just read Mariella’s excellent article in today’s Observer Magazine on ‘Life After 50’ and for this, she gets to be our Weekend Woman. In it she explains what turning 50 was like in terms of her professional life -a… Read More

Out & AboutFebruary 20, 2015

How to run a restaurant chain, by Rebecca Mascarenhas

By Amanda

I got to know my Barnes neighbour Rebecca Mascarenhas by reputation before I actually met her, because she started Sonny’s restaurant in Barnes not long after we first moved here and it became one of THE places everyone went to… Read More

Fashion, We Are ReadingFebruary 18, 2015

Have I Said Too Much? by Carole White

By Amanda

Fessing up, I haven’y read this yet, but I bet it’s fabulous. You may remember we interviewed Carole back here, where she was extremely entertaining and very candid on the state of the fashion model industry. She has run her… Read More