Amanda | The Womens Room

Art & CultureMarch 24, 2013

Listen to this: Neverwhere

By Amanda

Did you all listen to this? Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman, which played everyday on Radio 4 and 4plus this week, over almost six hours. Not only was it a great story about London, but the cast was so starry I… Read More

Health & HappinessMarch 22, 2013

Health and happiness with Gok, Activa and me

By Amanda

Oh blimey, now I remember why I don’t put myself in front of the camera much. Here’s the Activia Feel Good Pledge video my fabulous new BF Gok and I did a while back. The Activia campaign encourages us all… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 20, 2013

Losing my heart to a fabulous fabric

By Amanda

If you want me to buy something, the quickest way to my heart is to make it in a fabulous fabric. I am a complete sucker for a bit of sumptuous velvet draping seductively over my limbs, or the comforting… Read More

Art, Culture & Craft, We Are ReadingMarch 19, 2013

Conflict and Costume: The Herero Tribes of Namibia by Jim Naughten

By Amanda

How much do we love this beautiful book? Glorious images by Jim Naughten that capture the costumes worn by the Herero tribe in Nambia. The women wear patchwork clothes brightly jumbled together and top the whole look off with cow-horn… Read More

Things We LoveMarch 19, 2013

Neom Luxury Organics reed diffuser

By Amanda

I am now totally hooked on reed diffusers, it’s all over with scented candles for me…specially when they smell as good as the Neom Luxury Organics ones. I have been testing the new Sumptuous fragrance this week, one of four… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 18, 2013

Style Icon: Sairey Stemp from Cosmopolitan magazine

By Amanda

This is the always immaculately dressed Sairey Stemp, stylish fashion editor of Cosmopolitan magazine and someone I have been known to stalk at press days just to get a closer look at what she’s wearing. We were properly introduced recently… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 16, 2013

Style Icon: Nichollette Yardley-Moore

By Amanda

After yesterday’s post on embracing the beauty in ageing, it seems an appropriate moment to mention the fabulous Nichollette Yardley Moore. I have the BIGGEST case of hair envy over the curly white-grey locks of Nichollette, Liberty department store’s accessory… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 14, 2013

Ada Rose and Betty & Walter, from Lisa Levis

By Amanda

You may remember we wrote about Lisa Levis’s sweet beauty range Betty & Walter for Boots back here, when we were pleased to see her back on her feet after a bruising business-time (she lost the use of her own… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 12, 2013

Winser London and a quick chat to Kim Winser

By Amanda

With the launch of Winser London, I am starting to think there is hope for grown up women who want decent, stylish, well made modern clothes to wear. The on-line only collection launched last month and on web-images alone I… Read More

Things We LoveMarch 12, 2013

Perfume Review: Dries Van Noten by Frederic Malle

By Amanda

Since I’m a die-hard Dries Van Noten girl, the news that the great man was working with Frederic Malle to create Dries’s first perfume left me giddy with olfactory excitement. I’d bought it before even smelling it, practically. So…..i dashed… Read More

Things We LoveMarch 10, 2013

The best tea towels, from Leila’s

By Amanda

One doesn’t often get the chance to wax lyrical about tea towels, but I am obsessed with these ones from the much lauded Leila’s grocery shop in Shoreditch. Leila’s is a real destination store and cafe and Leila McAlister herself… Read More

Home & GardenMarch 10, 2013

The Women’s Room Meets: Alys Fowler

By Amanda

We were thrilled to be asked to the Gudrun Sjoden’s International Women’s Day celebration at the Covent Garden store on Friday, and to meet my favourite gardening columnist Alys Fowler, who writes for the Guardian’s weekend magazine, along with other… Read More

Art & CultureMarch 8, 2013

Women of the World Festival: The Women’s Room work-in-progress list

By Amanda

To celebrate the Southbank’s WOW -Women Of The World Festival 2013, happening all weekend at the Southbank and of course International Women’s Day, I have put together a list of women we’ve come across who have inspired Jane and I… Read More

Things We LoveMarch 7, 2013

Seascape Island Apothecary

By Amanda

If you need inspiration for a last minute Mother’s Day present, you could do well to look at this lovely, Jersey inspired range of natural-based beauty and skin products from Seascape Island Apothecary. Jane and I were treated to a… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 6, 2013

The perfect March dress

By Amanda

I have found the perfect dress to wear in March, well actually I think it could be a perfect anytime dress, but it will certainly work for that strange mid-season weather-world where you want to wear something more spring like… Read More

Fashion, We Are ReadingMarch 4, 2013

Empress of Fashion by Amanda MacKenzie Stuart

By Amanda

If you’ve been following TWR’s adoration of Fashion Guru Diane Vreeland ( there was the accessory range, the film and then another book) you’ll be interested to know there’s a new book out, written by Amanda MacKenzie Stuart. I haven’t… Read More

Health & HappinessMarch 4, 2013

The one where I got to work with Gok Wan (on Activia’s Feel Good Pledge)

By Amanda

When we got the invitation to work with Gok Wan on a campaign for Activia, we did wonder if the organising company had seen our tweets on what we thought of his styling (well Jane’s actually, I’d never even SEEN… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 1, 2013

How to wear a beanie when you are a grown up

By Amanda

Last week I went to New York, where it was even colder than it has been in London for the whole of 2013. It was BITTER and even though I was wrapped up in layers of Uniqlo Heattech and down… Read More

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 28, 2013

Flush-fashion: clothes to wear for menopausal hot flushes

By Amanda

The winter before last I treated myself to the above Marni coat, a beautifully neat zip front number that is a complex patchwork of downy-jacket front, knitted ribbed sleeves and houndstooth black and white checked wool back. I adore it.… Read More

Novels & Biogs, We Are ReadingFebruary 26, 2013

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

By Amanda

I was tipped off about this wonderful novel by my friend Shirley and it was every bit as good as she said it would be. It’s an elegantly written tale of a strong minded independent girl -Katherine- who lives in… Read More

Art & CultureFebruary 26, 2013

Bill Armstrong’s Film Noir at ClampArt New York

By Amanda

Last week I was in New York and lucky enough to have an afternoon to visit the burgeoning art galleries around Chelsea. Goodness that’s one wealthy set of streets! There is money in art, even if not much of it… Read More

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 24, 2013

Gudrun Sjodens opens in New York’s SoHo

By Amanda

The influence of Scandinavian design continues its spread across the globe with the opening this month of Swedish designer Gudrun Sjödéns’ new eco-friendly Green Store on SoHo’s Greene Street, New York, the brand’s first in the US…..so this post is… Read More

Art & CultureFebruary 22, 2013

Mr Finch and Selvedge magazine at Anthropologie King’s Road

By Amanda

The Anthropologie store in The King’s Road has a six week pop up store with Selvedge Magazine, so that’s two of our favourite stores/magazines combined, what’s not to love? For the opening, Selvedge arranged for the talented Yorkshireman Mr Finch… Read More

Things We LoveFebruary 20, 2013

Perfume review: Eight & Bob

By Amanda

Eight & Bob is a super-smooth cologne that smells like a mix between Palm-beach glamour and Mediterranean sunshine that might smarten up a man you know. It’s not exclusively for men but the back story makes it quite masculine. Back… Read More

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 20, 2013

Good things from London Fashion Week: palmer//harding

By Amanda

Just occasionally when you attend London Fashion Week, you come across clothes that could slip right into your wardrobe that day, which you could wear tomorrow and would make everything you already own just a little bit more fabulous. That’s… Read More

Out & AboutFebruary 18, 2013

Artangel’s A Room For London, also known as my favourite hotel room in the world

By Amanda

What did you do for Valentine’s Day last week? Ignore it? Do token gesture presents to keep the love alive? I bought middleagedad a Led Zeppelin DVD from Amazon and he took me here, to A Room For London’s boat… Read More

Home & GardenFebruary 16, 2013

Chiswick House Camellia Festival with Peter Blake

By Amanda

If you are a gardening type, you might like to know that Chiswick House refurbished it’s historic, 300 ft long, Grade 1 listed camellia glass houses after years rotting in the doldrums in 2010 and is celebrating their 200th birthday… Read More

Things We LoveFebruary 15, 2013

Yves Saint Laurent Forever Youth Liberating collection

By Amanda

Goodness me, this is good. When the nice people at YSL sent us the Foundation to trial, they also put in a pot of Forever Youth Liberator Night Creme and a jar of Active Serum. Now I’ll be honest with… Read More

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 14, 2013

Streetstyle: Scoop International and Pure

By Amanda

This week we were at the two London fashion trade shows Pure London and Scoop International. While it’s a great place for us to catch up with what brands have for AW/13, it’s also good to spot what buyers, sellers… Read More

Fashion & BeautyFebruary 12, 2013

Looking for a good chambray shirt

By Amanda

So what are we going to wear with all these printed pencil skirts and trousers that we’ve been talking about? The classic white shirt is an obvious option, or maybe a cashmere block colour sweater, but I’m hankering after a… Read More