Jane | The Womens Room

Things We LoveSeptember 20, 2012

John Masters Organics

By Jane

I discovered the John Masters Organics range when staying at Rushemyers Hotel in the summer. I fell in love with the Blood Orange and Vanilla Body Wash and Lavender Rosemary Shampoo and tried to cram as many of the mini… Read More

Art, Culture & Craft, We Are ReadingSeptember 20, 2012

Gifts from the Garden: 100 Gorgeous Homegrown Presents by Debora Robertson

By Jane

Warning: this is a completely biased review, Debora Robertson the author of this gorgeous new book is a friend of mine. Last year Debora gave up her job as a food editor for Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall to write her first… Read More

Fashion & Beauty, UncategorizedSeptember 20, 2012

Dear COS………..a word of warning!

By Jane

This week the weather has changed, there’s a nip in the air, it’s getting darker in the morning and we’ve started thinking about new winter clothes. Every season, you are our first port of call when it comes to shopping… Read More

Fashion & BeautySeptember 18, 2012

Respect Your Elders by Alex Petch

By Jane

Thanks to the lovely Running in Heels ladies for drawing our atttention to the work of Alex Petch. A recent graduate from the London College of Fashion, he looks at how the perception of glamour has evolved, why this has… Read More

Fashion & Beauty, Middle Aged Mum, UncategorizedSeptember 16, 2012

Middleagedmum: where are all the innovators?

By Jane

This weekend we’ve been out and about at London fashion week, which has been both inspiring and slightly irritating. When I have my work/designer/blogger/fashion head on, I love it. There is nothing like the thrill and glamour of a runway… Read More

Fashion & Beauty, UncategorizedSeptember 14, 2012

Scandi love: Samiju

By Jane

It’s not easy to create a range of affordable simple clothes that are stylish and aspirational, but Finnish brand Samiju have totally nailed it. Doesn’t their video for Autumn/Winter make you want to try out that effortless Scandi style? Excellent… Read More

Art & Culture, Out & AboutSeptember 12, 2012

See this: Jumpy with Tamsin Greig and Doon Mackichan

By Jane

First seen at the Royal Court last Autumn, Jumpy is quite simply one of the funniest, most poignant plays I have seen in a long time. Written by April De Angelis, it features Hilary, a middle class 50 year old… Read More

Home & GardenSeptember 10, 2012

Blog love: The Forest Feast

By Jane

Just when we thought we couldn’t take another fabulous food/lifestyle blog (sometimes all that perfection gets a little wearing!), I came across The Forest Feast. Written by Erin Gleeson an illustrator and food photographer who moved From New York to… Read More

Fashion & BeautySeptember 8, 2012

Iris Apfel: the film

By Jane

I have been a fan of Iris Apfel for years now and referenced her as a major inspiration for a macro trend at WGSN five years ago, when she was relatively unknown. I both love and hate that she has… Read More

Home & Garden, We Are ReadingSeptember 6, 2012

Recycled Home by Rebecca Proctor

By Jane

A guide to making really useful things from your home using salvaged materials, by Rebecca Proctor who also write the Futuristic blog. Recycled Home provides step-by-step illustrations guide you through each project, and no special skills are needed.… Read More

Home & GardenSeptember 6, 2012

Blog love: Donna Wilson’s Leaves and Twigs and Futurustic

By Jane

Donna Wilson set up her company in 2003 after making knitted creatures for her final show at the Royal College of Art. The creatures sold out and since then she has built her business designing and making a collection of… Read More

Fashion & Beauty, UncategorizedSeptember 4, 2012

We love: Toast again!

By Jane

The Toast range hasn’t really done it for us for the last couple of seasons. We desperately wanted to like it, but once we had got past the aspirational lifestyle shots and quirky styling, there just wasn’t anything we wanted… Read More

Health & HappinessSeptember 2, 2012

Agespiration US style

By Jane

Watching old people, observing how they dress, interact with their friends and family and fit into society has become something of a hobby of mine. The older one gets the more you notice old people and how they live, as… Read More

Fashion & BeautyAugust 31, 2012

Atterley Road: what do we think?

By Jane

So, is Atterley Road the answer to all our online shopping dreams? Aimed at the “middle market” both in price and fashion terms, the site aims to bring together the best of the British high street and independent designers. So… Read More

Things We LoveAugust 31, 2012

Jo Malone Sweet Almond and Macaroon candle

By Jane

We are loving the Jo Malone range at the moment, not least because their latest products smell good enough to eat – literally! This candle is divine and smells like pudding, so works on every level. It’s sweet, but not… Read More

Fashion & BeautyAugust 29, 2012

Buy this: J Crew

By Jane

It’s very rare these days that I start hyperventilating when I enter a shop, especially a clothes shop. This feeling of excitement is usually reserved for pet shops or the Lakeland catalogue – yes indeed, that’s how truly old and… Read More

Out & AboutAugust 27, 2012

Montauk memories

By Jane

We spent a few days in the Hamptons as part of our summer holiday in the US, mainly because teen daughter and I are a little obsessed with the trashy American drama Revenge. We were disappointed to find that the… Read More

Novels & Biogs, We Are ReadingAugust 25, 2012

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

By Jane

Absolutely everyone I met while on holiday had either read or was reading this book. A page turner that I am right in the middle of, so I can only tell you it’s the story of a wife’s disappearance. It… Read More

Fashion & BeautyAugust 25, 2012

See this: The Eye Has to Travel

By Jane

Released in the UK on the 21st of September as part of the BFC Fash/On Film initiative, we are more than a little bit excited about this new film exploring the life of Diana Vreeland. Sponsered by River Island, Fash/On… Read More

Middle Aged MumAugust 23, 2012

Middleagedmum.com: the Sat Nav that saved my marriage

By Jane

As we all know there are many things that can ignite an argument on a family holiday (too many to list here in my case!) but the one thing guaranteed to set off absolutely everyone I know, without exception, is… Read More

Health & HappinessAugust 8, 2012

Sometimes you’ve just got to go! (on holiday…don’t panic!)

By Jane

Lucille Ball famously said “if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more you do, the more you can do”. Which is very very true and while I love being busy and feel down when… Read More

Fashion & BeautyAugust 5, 2012

What to wear for work in hot weather?

By Jane

Here in London the weather has been *whispers* actually quite pleasant recently. Some lovely warm days, some more breezy and a few scattered showers, perfect for us fair skinned Scottish types. Warm enough to wear what few summer clothes we… Read More

Fashion & BeautyAugust 3, 2012

Diana Vreeland and Swarovski

By Jane

I recently went along to launch of the Swarovski and Diana Vreeland Legacy collection of jewellery, where Vreeland’s grandson Alexander talked to Justine Picadie about his grandmother. The launch is timed to coincide with the release of The Eye has… Read More

Out & AboutAugust 1, 2012

Port Elliot: our kind of festival

By Jane

These days brands are engaging with their consumers on many different levels. Clever retailers are extending the customer experience way beyond simply selling them stuff and creating events and collaborations which resonate with their brand aesthetic and consumer profile. Anthropologie… Read More

Health & HappinessJuly 30, 2012

Colour Changes Everything

By Jane

Here’s something to brighten up the Monday morning blues (and worries about how long it’s g0ing to take you to get to work, if you live in London). Colour Changes Everything launched Targets new Spring collection earlier this year and… Read More

Out & AboutJuly 28, 2012

London we love you

By Jane

Until a few weeks ago, I was a bit indifferent, some could say cynical about the Olympics. Having watched previously ignored Stratford and parts of Hackney transform from run down uninspiring urban wastelands to landscaped, architect designed perfection, certainly made… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJuly 26, 2012

The Womens Room fantasy shop: High summer occasion wear capsule collection

By Jane

We are getting really quite carried away with the whole fantasy shop idea. Not only do we have the perfect shop fit and visual merchandising, we also have pattern cutters and knitwear designers and our favourite stylist (remember those fab… Read More

Home & GardenJuly 24, 2012

The Gourmand: A magazine about food and culture

By Jane

While we love nothing more than the latest copy of the Sainsburys magazine (does that make us dull?) food magazines, like fashion magazines can get stuck in a rut when it comes to layout, features, photgraphy etc and it’s refreshing… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJuly 22, 2012

The Womens Room fantasy shop

By Jane

After all the fuss about M & S this week, how to cater for the older women fashion wise, seems to be front of everyone’s mind – and about time too! As we have said before (and no doubt will… Read More

Fashion & BeautyJuly 20, 2012

The new faces of Lanvin: and they’re 62 and 82

By Jane

After hearing recently how Diana Vreeland left Vogue at 69, to become the driving force of the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute (more of this to come soon) I was inspired to look at the idea of working as one grows… Read More