Jane | The Womens Room

Out & AboutMay 15, 2013

Stoke Newington Literary Festival

By Jane

If you haven’t already realised, Stoke Newington is really the only place to live in London. A vibrant, creative community on the edges of Islington and Dalston in the borough of Hackney, it’s like living in a village in the… Read More

Things We LoveMay 14, 2013

J Crew statement trews

By Jane

Embroidered neon floral trousers in shocking pink (although they look orange to me (but what do I know, I’m just a colour consultant) or neon lemon. What’s not to love? LOVE them, but they are £256.79 (Top Shop will probably… Read More

Food, We Are ReadingMay 14, 2013

Modern Art Desserts by Caitlin Williams Freeman

By Jane

There’s nothing like a bit of cakespiration for a Monday morning. I love this video about pastry chef pastry chef Caitlin Williams Freeman and the work she is doing at The Blue Bottom Cafe, at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern… Read More

Home & GardenMay 12, 2013

Modern Art Desserts

By Jane

There’s nothing like a bit of cakespiration for a Monday morning. I love this video about pastry chef pastry chef Caitlin Williams Freeman and the work she is doing at The Blue Bottom Cafe, at San Francisco’s Museum of Modern… Read More

Art & Culture, Fashion & BeautyMay 10, 2013

Punk: Chaos to Couture

By Jane

I have to admit to spending a lot of time on Tuesday on the SCOS (more than the usual couple of hours? – I hear you ask), as I simply couldn’t stop trawling though the endless images of celebrity after… Read More

Out & AboutMay 7, 2013

Simple Pleasures: The British seaside

By Jane

Sunshine, friends, children and dogs and a huge sandy beach are just about all you need for the perfect weekend. Throw in a few portable BBQ’s, a beach hut, ice cream and fish and chips and I could stay forever!… Read More

Middle Aged MumMay 3, 2013

Middleagedmum.com: pencil cases and other things of neatness

By Jane

When Amanda asked me to send her a picture of my pencil case for her post last week, I have to admit I was a bit thrown. What pencil case, was my initial reaction. She said it so matter of… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMay 1, 2013

It’s all about the cat eye!

By Jane

So it’s time to start thinking about sunglasses as the sun seems to be shining at last. Here in London, sunglasses appear to have taken on a whole new level of importance for stylish folk, as we have adopted the… Read More

Fashion & Beauty, Out & AboutApril 29, 2013

The Vogue Festival

By Jane

This weekend I spent some time at the Vogue festival on the Southbank. It promised to be an interesting two days with an impressive line up of speakers from the media and fashion industry. The founder of Net-a-Porter Natalie Massenet… Read More

Out & AboutApril 25, 2013

Ruby’s and Black Pig with White Pearls

By Jane

Over the last couple of years, Dalston has transformed from interestingly creative and slightly down at heel to an achingly hip, centre of cool. Just a few yards from my house, new underground bars, quirky cafes and interesting restaurants pop… Read More

Fashion & BeautyApril 23, 2013

Julia Lundsten for Nokian – nice wellies!

By Jane

It may be a strange time to be talking about wellies, but anyone who owns a dog knows we are not quite out of the mud yet when it comes to appropriate footwear for a walk in the park/marshes/hills. Over… Read More

Home & GardenApril 18, 2013

Hanging vases

By Jane

I love these hanging vases as a way of decorating outside for a special occasion. If the weather every gets sunny, I will be trying this look out in my tiny back garden. It’ll drive the cats and MAD insane,… Read More

Home & GardenApril 16, 2013

Trend alert: house plants

By Jane

The English love for indoor plants caught on in Victorian times, when the fashion for indoor plants meant conservatories became popular as places to take tea and grow the delicate and rare plants, popular at the time. Growing up in… Read More

Fashion & BeautyApril 12, 2013

Hasbeens pop up (it’s time to start thinking about sandals)

By Jane

WIth the weather rumoured to be nice at the weekend (we’ll believe it when we see it TBH), it might be time to start thinking about summer sandals. We just can’t get enough of our Hasbeens and have I worn… Read More

Fashion & BeautyApril 10, 2013

Style Icon: Lily Pulitzer

By Jane

Lily Pulitzer was famous for creating brightly coloured print shift dresses, after she opened a juice stand in 1959 in Palm Beach and discovered she needed a dress that would camouflage the stains of orange and grapefruit stains. She had… Read More

Novels & Biogs, We Are ReadingApril 9, 2013

Maggie and Me by Damian Barr

By Jane

Working class and gay, the founder of the Shoreditch Literary Salon, Damian Barr confesses that Maggie Thatcher is his guilty pleasure in his touching and darkly witty memoir Maggie and Me. The book tells of surviving Thatcher’s Britain, of growing… Read More

Art & CultureApril 8, 2013

Superstripe: A Cultural Festival of Pattern Exploration

By Jane

Patternity is a inspiring blog founded by Anna Murray and Grace Winteringham, dedicated to the exploration and application of pattern and cited by The Telegraph as one of the world’s ‘Top 10 Most Influential Style Blogs. For the month of… Read More

Health & HappinessApril 6, 2013

Simple Pleasures: Afternoon Tea

By Jane

When I was a child we regularly had afternoon tea. Either at home on a Sunday after a big lunch or out at a posh department store as a treat. It was different to high tea (a Scottish thing) and… Read More

Fashion & BeautyApril 4, 2013

Trend Alert: Costume jewellery

By Jane

Who’s old enough to remember the 80’s trend involving large jewelled brooches attached to the lapel of an oversize blazer with huge shoulder pads (think Melanie Griffith in Working Girl), or attached to the top button of a poly viscose… Read More

Out & AboutApril 2, 2013

Nana’s Cafe

By Jane

High on my list of local places to visit is Nana’s Cafe in Elderfield Road, Clapton. Run by local women who are all over 60, the cafe was set up by Katie Harris, who has always worked with older people… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 31, 2013

Style Icon: Ali

By Jane

It was great to see yesterday’s Guardian feature The 50 best dressed over 50’s. As Jess Cartner Morely pointed out, best dressed lists usually feature the youngest, thinnest and most beautiful people and are hardly a reflection of true style.… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 29, 2013

The Womens Room Fantasy Spring range

By Jane

With spring just around the corner (if we say it enough, it might actually happen), its time for the launch of the first two hits of the Women’s Room fantasy shop. We start with a neutral range featuring lots of… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 27, 2013

Best boyfriend jeans

By Jane

Shopping for jeans has never been one of my favourite things – all that weird sizing, hot changing rooms and uninterested shop assistants. But as I’ve got older it’s become positively painful. I’m not one for fashionable cuts or the… Read More

UncategorizedMarch 25, 2013

The Girls Network: can you help?

By Jane

A couple of years ago I went to a parents meeting at my kids school on “how to understand your teenager”. I wasn’t having particularly bad time with the teens, but thought it might be interesting. It was, and the… Read More

Things We LoveMarch 24, 2013

Aromatherapy Associates Inner Strength Bath & Shower Gel

By Jane

Aromatherapy Associates have recently launched Inner Strength after the companies founder Geraldine Howard created it during her treatment for cancer. She looked to the essential oils clary sage, frankincense, cardamon, rosemary, rose, vetivert and geranium to give her strength, courage, … Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 23, 2013

More Jenna love: Shiny Ponies

By Jane

“I think inspiration comes from everywhere. It can be an old movie you saw, it can be something you feel like you’re missing in your closet. Sometimes that design inspiration is a little bit like a river, picking up things… Read More

Home & GardenMarch 21, 2013

Lubna Chowdary update

By Jane

Remember we told you about Lubna Chowdary back in 2010 (no – I didn’t think you would!). She makes beautiful hand crafted tiles for interior and exterior spaces. As well as working in collaboration with architects and interior designers on… Read More

Art & CultureMarch 18, 2013

Watch these: Nashville and Parks and Recreation

By Jane

Remember the days when everyone used to sit round the TV to watch the same programme and then went to work the next day ready to discuss in great detail. You really felt like you’d missed out if you hadn’t… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 17, 2013

Yet another reason why I love Lena Dunham

By Jane

It was only a matter of time before Lena Dunham made a fashion film and it makes sense that she would work with designer Rachel Antonoff , as she is dating the designer’s brother.. Shot in a Wes Anderson-esque style,… Read More

Fashion & Beauty, Health & HappinessMarch 15, 2013

Real beauty isn’t re-touched and ageing isn’t SO bad

By Jane

In the trends world we have been talking a lot recently about real beauty and the notion of celebrating imperfection. The idea of what is beautiful in cosmetic terms has been re-defined dramatically over the last twenty years and in… Read More