Jane | The Womens Room

Middle Aged MumAugust 27, 2014

Middleagedmum.com: In praise of unplugging

By Jane

Visiting the Secret Cinema screening of Back to the Future last week I was slightly alarmed to read that participants would not be able to take their mobile phones with them to the event. My initial reaction was how will… Read More

Novels & Biogs, We Are ReadingAugust 25, 2014

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

By Jane

Set in 1922 , in a genteel Camberwell villa, bereft of brothers, husband and servants due to the war, Mrs Wary and her daughter Frances are obliged to take in lodgers to make ends meet. Enter Lilian and Leonard Barber,… Read More

Things We LoveAugust 25, 2014

Betty & Walter chocolate

By Jane

I don’t know about you but I’m something of a snob when it comes to chocolate. Forget boring old Cadbury and Nestle (they taste like a gross combination of fat and sugar to me) over the last few years I… Read More

UncategorizedAugust 25, 2014

Shoespiration: Monk straps and En Brogue

By Jane

Having briefly dabbled with a heel when I was 14 and trying to gain entry to the Over 21 night Tiffanys nightclub in Hull, I soon realised that A. height has nothing to do with deception and B. high heels… Read More

Fashion & BeautyAugust 21, 2014

Daphne Guinness has an Evening in Space

By Jane

And has sex with a pink alien – and quite frankly why not. The 47 year old (go Daphne) artist and heiress has released a mesmerising, if slightly insane music video directed by David LaChapelle Evening in Space was produced… Read More

Out & AboutAugust 19, 2014

See this: Horst Photographer of Style

By Jane

Starting on September the 6th, the V&A will hold a retrospective of the work of Horst P. Horst (1906-99), one of the 20th century’s greatest fashion photographers. In a career that spanned six decades, Horst photographed the work of couturiers… Read More

Fashion & BeautyAugust 15, 2014

Buy this: Glamglow face mask

By Jane

If you are a beauty junkie or teenager you will almost probably have heard of GlamGlow. But if like me you can take or leave the beauty pages/blogs/Vlogs and reviews, it may well have passed you by. I’m informed by… Read More

Fashion & BeautyAugust 13, 2014

How to wear: Culottes

By Jane

So culottes are a “thing” again and I’m not going to lie, this is a tricky one particularly if you are short like me. But there is a certain amount of liberation in a culotte and if you can get… Read More

Middle Aged MumAugust 11, 2014

Middleagedmum.com: Electrical shops

By Jane

As I have said many times, I am not a fan of shopping unless it is for antiques in remote corners of the world, Duane Reade in New York, European hardware shops, farmers markets or clothes shopping in Marni. I… Read More

Out & AboutAugust 6, 2014

See this: The Corner Shop

By Jane

It’s not every day I come across a shop that fills me with utter joy, as shopping generally leaves me cold (unless it’s Marni of course). But imagine a shop that stirs memories, makes you smile and leaves you feeling… Read More

Fashion & BeautyAugust 5, 2014

Trend Alert: Midi Skirts

By Jane

Banish all thoughts of the 70’s and bad memories of A line denim skirts with giant wooden wedges and super skinny ribs sweaters, the midi skirt is back, but not as you know it. The new midi is sophisticated and… Read More

Middle Aged MumAugust 2, 2014

Middleaged mum.com: How to change a toilet roll

By Jane

This popped up on my Facebook feed the other day and its genius. Frustrated dad Will Reid used social media to post the first in a series of instructional videos to help his teenagers with their life. It’s such a… Read More

Out & AboutAugust 1, 2014

See this: Finding Vivian Maier

By Jane

Remember we told you about Vivian Maier back in September last year. A career nanny who secretly took over 100,000 photographs and earned a posthumous reputation as one of America’s most insightful street photographers. The film about her fascinating life… Read More

Things We LoveJuly 30, 2014

Buy this: Wild Mint and Mandarin Scrub from Neom

By Jane

It’s a tricky time for beauty brands, as every week there seems to be a new ‘authentic/artisan/organic/specially created’ product launch and there are many elements required to make them stand out in an over saturated market place. Recently I was… Read More

Out & AboutJuly 30, 2014

Something for the weekend: Hackney WickED and Feast

By Jane

Hackney Wick is one of those areas you might never visit unless your were local. Nestled between Victoria Park and the Olympic park/ Westfield, Stratford, until recently (pre Olypmpics) it was full of small factories, artist studios and undiscovered (except… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJuly 28, 2014

How to dress for summer: Nonna Chic

By Jane

Every time I go on holiday to Europe I am inspired by the way the older women dress, whether it’s the super chic Parisian women, uber tanned bikini wearing Spanish women or the Italian Nonnas sweeping their front steps in… Read More

Home & Garden, We Are ReadingJuly 27, 2014

Tout Hache by Theurry De Vissant, Lucile Gargasson, Ahmed Yahi

By Jane

Lets be honest here, absolutely nobody really needs a new cook book. But sometimes one comes a long that entices you in (with me it’s usually the beautiful design) and Tout Hache has done just that, both with its stylish … Read More

Health & HappinessJuly 26, 2014

Weekend Woman: Elaine Stritch

By Jane

Bold, brash, funny and probably a little bit scary Elaine Strictch the Broadway legend who died last week aged 89, was the kind of woman I hope to have staying in my alternative old peoples home. Often seen by my… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJuly 24, 2014

The power of the beauty Vlogger

By Jane

There is a beauty revolution going on and if you are not a teenager/twenty something (or living with one) you could have absolutely no idea it was happening. For some time my beauty obsessed daughter has been telling me about… Read More

Middle Aged MumJuly 22, 2014

Middleagedmum.com: How to find the perfect holiday companions

By Jane

As a child, I will never forget the feeling of dread when we arrived at a draughty, remote cottage in Scotland for a two week holiday. My brother and I would desperately search for the TV only to be told… Read More

Home & GardenJuly 18, 2014

Garden Inspiration for a sunny weekend

By Jane

Remember Amanda’s post on the wonderful house and gardens at Great Dixter. If like me you still haven’t managed to make the trip there, you might enjoy this lovely film from Nowness. The master of English horticulture, gardener Christopher Lloyd’s… Read More

Out & AboutJuly 16, 2014

See these: Before I Go to Sleep and Gone Girl

By Jane

Two of my favourite ‘did he didn’t he’ novels have been turned into films and despite my dislike of Nicole Kidman (don’t ask why, I don’t know!) I am very excited about the release of Before I Go to Sleep,… Read More

Health & HappinessJuly 14, 2014

Anti Ageing: where we are now

By Jane

There is no doubt there are changes happening in the beauty industry and we like to think we have been instrumental in creating the “anti ageing” backlash. Remember back in 2013 when I wrote about how real beauty isn’t re-touched… Read More

Health & Happiness, Things We LoveJune 26, 2014

Buy this: Olverum Bath Oil

By Jane

First created in Germany around 1929 by Franz O. Klein Olverum bath oil is one of those beauty secrets you wish you had known about years ago. If like me, you are a terrible sleeper who needs a whole host… Read More

Art & Culture, Health & Happiness, We Are ReadingJune 24, 2014

Summer reading: what’s on your list?

By Jane

Amanda and I are about to go on holiday (not together, that would be weird) so will be taking the first two weeks of July off from work and the blog. I am off to Spain on a family holiday… Read More

Middle Aged MumJune 20, 2014

Middleagedmum.com: Schools out forever

By Jane

After months of stress, starting with AS levels, followed by visiting and applying for university, revising and doing A Levels, teen daughter has finally done her last exam and finished school forever. We can ALL breath a sigh of relief… Read More

Health & HappinessJune 18, 2014

All hail Wallace, the Sartorial Schnauzer

By Jane

To mark the launch of its new range of bespoke leather accessories for dogs, Hanson of London has teamed up with Get Müllered and Dance (Robert Francis Müller & Jessica Dance) to produce a fun, tongue-in-cheek short film showcasing Hanson… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJune 16, 2014

Dressing for summer: the sequin skirt

By Jane

A pencil skirt is a thing of great beauty and believe it or not, can suit almost anyone if styled in the right way. As bums are officially now a “thing” (thanks Kim Kardashian – at least you have done… Read More

Health & HappinessJune 12, 2014

See this: The Rebel Menopause

By Jane

85 year old Therese Clerc thinks “Menopause is when a woman’s life begins,” and reveals her thoughts on ageing as a ‘time of complete freedom’ in the new film Rebel Menopause. Therese is a militant feminist whose passion for politics… Read More

Health & HappinessJune 10, 2014

See this: Bright Days Ahead

By Jane

There is something liberating about growing older and shedding some of the responsibilities that have dominated our day to day lives for the last couple of decades. Who knows what exciting adventures lie ahead, both at work and in our… Read More