Jane | The Womens Room

Art & CultureJanuary 2, 2012

Books for the new year: Spitalfields Life and Advanced Style

By Jane

One of my New Years resolutions is not to buy new books until I have finished reading the ones I have mounting up on the book pile of shame! Internet shopping has made buying books impossibly easy and the Amazon… Read More

Middle Aged MumDecember 25, 2011

A Christmas birthday!

By Jane

As far as I am aware, there are absolutely no advantages to being born on the same day as the most famous baby in history. Everyone might remember Jesus’s birthday, but if you are unfortunate enough to have a birthday… Read More

Middle Aged MumDecember 23, 2011

The perfect Christmas present for Middleagedmum

By Jane

If you are struggling for a last minute present for any of your female relatives, can I suggest this little gem. It may be small, but it has maximum impact and I can guarantee it will become a vital accessory… Read More

Art, Culture & Craft, We Are ReadingDecember 21, 2011

Clarence House: The Art of the Textile by Kazumi Yoshida and Sabine Rothman

By Jane

This gorgeous coffee table book takes a look at the work of the renowned interior textile designers, Clarence House. Founded by Robin Roberts in 1961, they have been creating inspiring, luxurious textiles for interiors for the last fifty years. Kazumi… Read More

Home & GardenDecember 21, 2011

Try this: lavender hot chocolate

By Jane

The Christmas holidays are all about lighting fires, watching films, curling up on the sofa and eating comfort food. And what could be more comforting than a steaming mug of hot chocolate? I’m not a fan of instant or shop… Read More

Fashion & BeautyDecember 19, 2011

Iris Apfel for MAC

By Jane

You are never to old to wear red lipstick and our favourite 90 year old style icon, Iris Apfel, proves just, that with her latest collaboration with beauty brand MAC. She has created a 20 piece collection, which perfectly sums… Read More

Health & HappinessDecember 17, 2011

And another thing Santa!

By Jane

Dear Santa, While you are sorting out Amanda’s new gay son and private jet, I’d like you to consider consider a few fantasy gifts I have on my list? Mrs Doubtfire Not only would she cook and clean and nag… Read More

Fashion & BeautyDecember 15, 2011

Christmas sweaters: it’s a trend!

By Jane

A couple of weeks ago I noticed not one, but two rails of rather worrying tops in my local Beyond Retro. The tasteless bright red and green jumpers and sweats were decorated with tacky festive graphics, Christmas themed applique and… Read More

Art, Culture & Craft, We Are ReadingDecember 14, 2011

Handcrafted Modern: At Home With Mid-Century Designers by Leslie Williamson

By Jane

This book is a must have for lovers of mid century interiors. This collection of newly commissioned photographs are studies of domestic modernism at it’s most creative. The iconic images of the homes of influential mid-century designers, such as Russel… Read More

Health & HappinessDecember 13, 2011

Are women are born to be bitchy?

By Jane

A recent academic study has found that women can feel threatened by an attractive peer and as a result their reaction towards a woman they consider a threat, can range from a simple sneer and eyebrow raise, to horrible comments. … Read More

Fashion & Beauty, Out & AboutDecember 11, 2011

The grown up guide to Dalston

By Jane

E8 isn’t a London postcode usually associated with exciting retail, but ever since the Guardian declared Dalston to be the coolest place in Britain, there has been a growing number of uber fashionable shops and venues popping up. You have… Read More

Middle Aged MumDecember 9, 2011

Middleagedmum.com: early riser

By Jane

It’s ironic that as parents we spend a great deal of our children’s early lives wishing they would either go to sleep or stay asleep and spend their teenage years wishing they would wake up! I have to admit I… Read More

Things We LoveDecember 7, 2011

Christmas candles

By Jane

There really is nothing nicer at this time of year, than making a real fire, switching on the Christmas tree lights and lighting a scented candle. Within minutes the house is filled with festive scent and Christmas cheer. It’s worth… Read More

Fashion & BeautyDecember 7, 2011

Kate Bush: 50 Words for Snow

By Jane

Kate Bush wrote The Kick Inside when she was just 19 years old and I was 17. I thought she had written it just for me and listened to it pretty much every day throughout my late teens. Along with… Read More

Out & AboutDecember 5, 2011

The characters of Columbia Road

By Jane

Columbia Road is one of my favourite places to go on a Sunday morning and at this time of year it is really special. Not only is it the best place to buy every kind of flora and fauna you… Read More

Fashion & BeautyDecember 3, 2011

Marni and H & M

By Jane

We are beside oursleves with excitement as H&M have announced that Marni will be their next designer collaboration. We love the look of the styling and I have to have that spotty pencil skirt in my life. Is it too… Read More

Fashion, We Are ReadingDecember 2, 2011

Vintage Style by Sarah Kennedy

By Jane

I may be a little biased when it comes to this book, as the author Sarah Kennedy and I have been friends since we were 15 and dressed like Olivia Newton John in Grease! We have been through every hideous… Read More

Fashion & BeautyDecember 1, 2011

Bloggy Twitter: Ab Fab is back!

By Jane

This looks like it may be a little to close to the truth for comfort, but we are excited about it anyway! All of the original cast of Ab Fab will appear in three special episodes written by Jennifer Saunders,… Read More

Things We LoveNovember 29, 2011

Fraser and Parsley: bespoke gift tags

By Jane

If we are not careful this blog is in danger of becoming a stationary site! Just in case you haven’t quite had enough paper porn recently, here is another of our favourite stationary services. Fraser and Parsley pride themselves in… Read More

Fashion & BeautyNovember 29, 2011

Fashimals

By Jane

Todays post is a quiz, see if you can guess who these fashion peeps/animals are? Scroll to the bottom for the answer and check out this hilarious Tumblr, Fashimals. The answers are of course : Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, Valentino,… Read More

Out & AboutNovember 27, 2011

Are Tea Rooms the new Community Centre?

By Jane

Tea Rooms have been popular in the uk for hundreds of years, with Thomas Twinning opening the first one on the Strand, in 1706. In the 18th century they provided a meeting place for well to do ladies (and men)… Read More

Health & HappinessNovember 25, 2011

Scratch and Sniff: Adventures in Olfaction

By Jane

I recently met Odette Toilette, the perfume expert behind the Scratch and Sniff’ salons. She describes them as ‘a blend of literary soirée meets perfume sampling meets social club, and a way to raise our enjoyment of the very underappreciated… Read More

Health & HappinessNovember 24, 2011

Planet alert: Mercury is in retrograde

By Jane

*WARNING – this post may not make you feel good* I am not usually one for taking too much notice of my horoscope and have no time for people who go see mediums and have their tarot cards read. I… Read More

Art & CultureNovember 21, 2011

Pinterest: our new favourite thing!

By Jane

So Twitter is the new Facebook and Tumblr is the new way to blog, are you keeping up? I have lost count of the number of times I have explained the point of Twitter to non believers and quite frankly… Read More

Art, Culture & Craft, We Are ReadingNovember 19, 2011

Londoners by Craig Taylor

By Jane

Londoners: The days and Nights of London Now, As Told by Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live It, Left It and Long for It written by Canadian writer, playwright and journalist, documents the voices of the rich, poor, native… Read More

Home & GardenNovember 19, 2011

Alternative Christmas shopping: Christmas Fairs

By Jane

This year M.A.D and I are attempting to buy all our Christmas presents locally. Hackney is home to more artists than anywhere in Europe and has so many unique and interesting shops and markets popping up all the time, it… Read More

Things We LoveNovember 18, 2011

Vintage style Christmas cards – with glitter!

By Jane

We love these vintage style Christmas cards from Cavallini. Not only do they feature lovely vintage style illustrations of birds and Christmas scenes, they also have real glitter on them – that falls off when you move the card –… Read More

Home & Garden, We Are ReadingNovember 17, 2011

Found, Free, and Flea by Tereasa Surratt

By Jane

A book about collecting written by an advertising creative director with a passion for collecting. Also check out her blog.… Read More

Fashion & BeautyNovember 17, 2011

The perfect red lipstick: Lipstick Queen

By Jane

As a serial red lipstick wearer, I am always on the look out for the perfect shade of red. It’s almost impossible to find the right colour and the right exture and it’s very rare to find one that is… Read More

Home & GardenNovember 15, 2011

Alternative Christmas shopping: give a skill

By Jane

It’s that time of year when one starts to think, ‘this year I am really going to make an effort to find some interesting and unusual Christmas presents, I might even make some’. Then in four weeks time you find… Read More