Amanda | The Womens Room

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 18, 2015

Another new brand to watch: Day In A Life

By Amanda

It’s been busy old start to the year fashion wise, what with all the excitement on ‘older’ and then the new Finery brand to get excited about (did you buy? I did and it’s lovely stuff). Now here’s another, smaller… Read More

Things We LoveFebruary 16, 2015

Chocolate bird skulls from The Conjurer’s Kitchen

By Amanda

Now, I appreciate not everyone is going to love the idea of chocolate bird skulls, even if they are beautifully made and anatomically correct. I came across these amazing things at The Barbican’s Magnificent Obsessions, The Artist As Collector exhibition… Read More

Art & CultureFebruary 16, 2015

The importance of clutter #2 and more things to see in February

By Amanda

Clutter and collecting are officially having a moment. You may remember we first mentioned it back here at Frieze Master’s and when Paul Smith showed us how he worked best surrounded by inspiring ‘stuff”. Well now London is awash with… Read More

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 12, 2015

Style icon: Joni Mitchell

By Amanda

If there was a God and she happened to be female, then surely she’d look like Joni Mitchell in last weeks New York Magazine? Although would God be able to afford Lanvin, which is what Joni is wearing in the… Read More

Things We LoveFebruary 11, 2015

Mini leather satchel, from The Cambridge Satchel Company

By Amanda

I shouldn’t like this because a) it’s a mini leather satchel and I don’t ‘do’ mini handbags, b) it’s pink and (until recently) I’ve not been a pink girl, c) I do not need another handbag, I’m a dedicated back… Read More

Out & AboutFebruary 10, 2015

Heal’s Modern Craft Market: things to do in February

By Amanda

Today’s post is by our regular contributor Julia Little, who takes a break from digital and does a bit of crafting for us….. I’m not going to apologise, I love a bit of craft. In the past it has had… Read More

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 7, 2015

Weekend Woman: Rosanne Cash

By Amanda

I was fortunate enough to meet Rosanne Cash when I went to New York last December, not at some fancy pants press party but at an afternoon sewing bee with my friend Kay, where Rosanne was busy making an Alabama… Read More

Art & CultureFebruary 6, 2015

Cultural Crawl: good things to see in February

By Amanda

Did you read in the comments on yesterday’s post on Soft Living, that the Danish have a word for this? It’s ‘hygge’, so let’s make February a ‘hygge’ month and be nice to ourselves. Make some time for ‘hygging’ while… Read More

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 4, 2015

Cold weather protection for older skin

By Amanda

While I love a bit of snow, cold weather generally makes my skin itch. My skin has got more sensitive to cold weather as I’ve got older and I shrivel up like a sun dried tomato at the first signs… Read More

Things We LoveFebruary 2, 2015

Redermic R corrective concentrate by La Roche-Posay

By Amanda

I’ve been meaning to write about this for ages but Christmas held me up. La Roche-Posay is a beauty brand I’m warming to fast, I like its good-quality-at-reasonable-price point and its increasing availability- once it was a brand you picked… Read More

Home & GardenFebruary 2, 2015

Wolf Hall lighting – lets get those candles burning

By Amanda

Anyone else obsessed with the way Wolf Hall is lit? All that lighting and snuffing out of candles adds to the drama and makes everyone and everything look so darn gorgeous. Huge effort has gone into making not just the… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJanuary 31, 2015

Weekend Woman: Viola Smith

By Amanda

I intended to write about musician PJ Harvey as our Weekend Woman this week, as I’m off to see one of her Recording Sessions at Somerset House this week, but I am indebted to middleagedad who while researching for an… Read More

Novels & Biogs, We Are ReadingJanuary 29, 2015

The Ruby Slippers by Keir Alexander

By Amanda

This is a sweet, sad and thoughtful novel to fill a bleak January or February. Set in New York, it weaves a list of characters around a mildly mild plot to sell a pair of the Ruby Slippers made famous… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJanuary 29, 2015

The language of older: age appropriate

By Amanda

We’re not done with the conversation around what language we use when we talk about older here at TWR. We might be making great progress on getting older women on magazine covers and heading up brand marketing campaigns but there’s… Read More

Out & AboutJanuary 27, 2015

Pocket Brocket: our favourite city guides

By Amanda

The writer, knitter, quilter and baker Jane Brocket is someone we are hugely proud to call a friend at TWR. We adored Jane’s Yarnstorm blog aeons before we ever got to meet her and both of us are keen users… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJanuary 24, 2015

Weekend Woman: Twiggy

By Amanda

Another week in 2015, another stylish woman who happens to be older than the average model is selected to front a major brand campaign. This week it’s Twiggy, who is the new L’Oreal ambassador for hair care. We’ve loved Twiggy… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJanuary 23, 2015

Style Icon: Marpessa Hennink

By Amanda

As Fashion Week/month approaches, it will be interesting to see if the current enthusiasm for older brand campaign models stretches to the catwalk. I wouldn’t hold your breath. There are a few designers who use the odd gorgeous older model… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJanuary 22, 2015

Beauty update: products you need to know about from our Good Housekeeping shoot

By Amanda

It’s far too cold to consider buying spring clothes currently and I think it’s madness to buy anything other than good sale finds in January anyway. So today we’re going to talk about the excellent beauty advice we were given… Read More

Things We LoveJanuary 21, 2015

Perfume review: Á la rose by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

By Amanda

If you are a rose lover, then pay attention to this new fragrance by Maison Francis Kurkdjian, which is an exquisite blend of the two roses rosa damascena and rosa centifolia. Á la rose is a light bright rose that… Read More

Health & HappinessJanuary 20, 2015

Smizing, from Simon Doonan

By Amanda

// Love this for a cold and grim Tuesday morning, forget those expensive eye creams and ice packs (and I’m not even going to mention hideous surgery), smizing is the new instant under eye bag removal concept, from visual merchandising… Read More

Home & GardenJanuary 19, 2015

The day Todd Selby came to visit

By Amanda

I promise this is the last post for a while on MAD and his Selfridges Bright Old Tthings project, but I couldn’t NOT tell you about the day Todd Selby (of The Selby blog) came to take photos of the… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJanuary 17, 2015

Weekend Woman: Jo Malone

By Amanda

Did anyone else hear the inspiring Desert Island Discs this week featuring Jo Malone? Jo is one of our TWR perfume heroines. Everyone knows Jo Malone, it’s hard to overestimate the influence Jo has had on our fragrance buying habits,… Read More

Things We LoveJanuary 16, 2015

Rush Salon Styling Collection at Marks & Spencer

By Amanda

This is a lovely new range of semi-professional hair styling products from luxury London based hair salon collective Rush, which has collaborated with M&S to produce a very well priced collection. Two years in the making, the range is deliberately… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJanuary 15, 2015

Universal Works, perfect for a mid life change of career for Middleagedad

By Amanda

As part of the Selfridges Bright Old Things programme, Middleagedad has had to be ‘press-ready’ in terms of his daily outfits, as there have been photo shoots to attended and parties to be seen at. What he wears has suddenly… Read More

Out & AboutJanuary 13, 2015

What to buy from Bright Old Things at Selfridges

By Amanda

As you can imagine, I have been spending an inordinate amount of time in Selfridges recently, what with MADs stint as a Bright Old Thing. This isn’t good for me, there are way too many tempting treats within its walls.… Read More

Health & HappinessJanuary 10, 2015

Weekend Woman: Joni Mitchell

By Amanda

Blimey, what a week for grown ups in the press, indeed, what a start to the year! First Joan Didion, then Bright Old Things at Selfridges, and now news of Joni Mitchell for Saint Laurent. I absolutely ADORE Joni, always… Read More

Out & AboutJanuary 9, 2015

Selfridges presents Bright Old Things

By Amanda

It’s been a very exciting week at the Barnes branch of TWR, due to Middleagedad’s involvement with Selfridges Bright Old Things project, which launched yesterday. As MAD’s assistant I helped him put in his window (below) which happened all day… Read More

Food, We Are ReadingJanuary 7, 2015

Bread by Dean Brettschneider

By Amanda

This is not a book you may want to consider if you are going carbs-free for the January period but when you come back into the fold, Bread is a lovely book for anyone who loves to bake. With over… Read More

Home & GardenJanuary 7, 2015

Eat Your Books, a Q&A with co-founder Jane Kelly

By Amanda

I put Eat Your Books up on Monday as a Things We Love feature. Shortly after, co founder Jane Kelly made contact and she sounded so fabulous I felt we needed to know more, so we did a quick email… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJanuary 5, 2015

Welcome to 2015, hopefully filled with more stylish and clever older women

By Amanda

Ooh it’s tough getting back to work after a long break, isn’t it? We do hope your festive holiday was fun, we enjoyed ‘unplugging’ from all things digital (although we were still pottering about on twitter and Instagram) and return… Read More