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Home & GardenMay 31, 2009

We Love: sheds

By The Womens Room

Over the last few years the humble garden shed has been re-invented. Not only is it a place to store bikes and garden equipment, it's now a spare room, office or a garden retreat. Middleaged dad has always yearned for his very own shed… Read More

Health & HappinessMay 30, 2009

Buy this: Burt’s Bees Beeswax Hand Creme

By The Womens Room

Some of our readers, clearly itching to start shopping again after months of frugality, have asked if we would start a Buy This feature, where each week they could be directed to something we’ve seen and approved of. This week… Read More

Home & GardenMay 29, 2009

Simple Pleasures: cake decorating

By The Womens Room

Peggy Porschen is more of an artist than a mere baker and decorator of cakes. We love her attention to detail and amazing colour combinations. After moving to London in 1998 and graduating top of her class at the prestigious… Read More

Health & HappinessMay 28, 2009

We love: The Red Hat Society

By The Womens Room

Since Boomer women (born between 1945 and 1964) make up great swathes of the population in the US as well as Europe, we are not surprised to hear that our sisters in the States have started some great communities… Read More

Home & Garden, Out & AboutMay 27, 2009

We love: Caravan

By The Womens Room

Photograph by Debbie Treloar Caravan is a treasure trove of a shop that never fails to delight us. Filled with an unique mix of new and vintage homeware and one off clothing sourced from far and wide, large items such… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMay 26, 2009

Shopping with experts: Jack Wills

By The Womens Room

Buying clothes for teenage boys is much harder work than buying for teenage girls because there just isn't as much on offer. Somewhere between 12 and 15 years old, teenage boys become very fashion aware and morph from being… Read More

Health & Happiness, Home & GardenMay 25, 2009

Simple Pleasures: Beach Huts

By The Womens Room

Everyone seems to be taking holidays in the UK this year. Somehow it just feels right to be planning two weeks in a cottage in Cornwall or a camping holiday in Suffolk. We've never had so many requests to stay… Read More

Home & GardenMay 24, 2009

Something for the weekend: Banana Bread, Caribbean style

By The Womens Room

Recipes made with ingredients that are grown locally often mean that the cook has a real understanding of what goes into the mix. So it is with banana bread, according to Grace, the Women's Room's own Caribbean connection who, being… Read More

Fashion, We Are ReadingMay 23, 2009

Bad Girls Go Everywhere: The Life of Helen Gurley Brown

By The Womens Room

Magazine editors are like fashion directors, fascinating, but often more than a little bit scary (see our previous post on Anna Wintour). We have encountered many high powered women in our careers that make Miranda Priestley in ‘The Devil Wears… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMay 22, 2009

Style Icon: Carol Klein

By The Womens Room

In complete contrast to yesterday’s Anna Wintour piece (is it us or is Ms Wintour now smiling a lot more? Nothing to do with surgery, we’re sure), today we’re admiring the more down to earth –literally- Carol Klein. Chelsea Flower… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMay 21, 2009

We are completely fascinated by: Anna Wintour

By The Womens Room

Anna Wintour editor of American Vogue is said to be the inspiration behind scary character Miranda Priestley in 'The Devil Wears Prada.' We have long been fascinated by Anna Wintour (sometimes known as nuclear Wintour) as her reputation for being… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMay 20, 2009

Big pants get sexy at Marks & Spencer

By The Womens Room

Bridget Jones gave big knickers a bad name when she wore them for support in BJ’s Diary and most shapewear such as Spanx and Magic Pants concentrate on function rather than appearance. Support knickers, until now, have not been… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMay 19, 2009

We Love: Ooh La La Vintage

By The Womens Room

Do you love Paris, vintage clothes and the idea of a weekend away with the girls? Then the Ooh La La! Vintage experience could be just what you are looking for. Owner Tara Munro is a vintage clothing enthusiast who offers vintage shopping weekends, Soirees, Hen… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMay 18, 2009

Shopping with experts: My Sugarland

By The Womens Room

It is with great sadness we have to tell you this shop has now closed. Zoe can still be reached on the website Zoelem As a fashion retail journalist I am often asked what my check list is for… Read More

Out & AboutMay 17, 2009

We absoloutely love and adore: Grey Gardens

By The Womens Room

Drew Barry More and Jessica Lange star as Big Edie and Little Edie Beale in the recently released re-make of the iconic Grey Gardens. The high society mother and daughter and reclusive cousins of Jackie O, live together amid the… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMay 16, 2009

Something for the weekend (and the next two weeks): bargain shopping

By The Womens Room

We’ve been talking about changing our spending habits since the beginning of the year here on The Women’s Room, not just cutting back, which we’ve all had to do either because we’ve got no money or because it feels totally… Read More

Middle Aged MumMay 15, 2009

Middleagedmum.com; where are my shoulder pads?

By The Womens Room

I am sitting in a meeting listening to the fact that next Autumn/Winter we will be wearing Crystal Carrington/Alexis Colby 80's style power dressing. The younger members of the team are drooling over the shoulder pads, tailored jackets with cheeky… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMay 14, 2009

Shopping with experts: Cabbages and Roses

By The Womens Room

Cabbages and Roses is a lifestyle brand that is now part owned by Jigsaw founders John and Belle Robinson and the extra investment is helping them expand. We will shortly see more Cabbages in nine Jigsaw stores this autumn and… Read More

Home & Garden, Out & AboutMay 13, 2009

We love; The Chelsea Flower Show

By The Womens Room

Its almost that time of year again when it’s vital to know your renunculas from your roses. The Chelsea Flower Show starts on the 19th of May and is always a favourite day out for us. Somehow it brings out the best… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMay 12, 2009

Shopping with experts: Barbara Hulanicki for Topshop

By The Womens Room

Do you remember we told you that Topshop was doing a small range of designs by ex Biba founder Barbara Hulanicki? And how excited we were about the possibility of Biba styles being given a new lease of life by… Read More

Health & HappinessMay 11, 2009

We love; Nudo

By The Womens Room

Finding original present ideas for friends and family tends to get more and more difficult with age, especially when it's an important birthday such the big four 0 or even five 0. The pressure is on to buy something thoughtful, unique… Read More

Fashion, We Are ReadingMay 10, 2009

How To Dress for Success by Edith Head

By The Womens Room

One of the Women’s Room’s favourite animated films is The Incredibles, due entirely to the wonderful Edna Mode, the height-challanged, giant glasses wearing fashion maven who gives the ailing Super Heros’ suits a stylish makeover. She has the best lines… Read More

Out & AboutMay 9, 2009

Festival Time: Latitude

By The Womens Room

Usually the idea of a weekend in a tent with our nearest and dearest, surrounded by thousands of other people and loud music,would fill us with utter horror. Our days of drug fueled bad dancing and staying up for days… Read More

Health & HappinessMay 8, 2009

We (possibly) love: Yoga retreats

By The Womens Room

What did you do this Bank Holiday weekend? something different like visit a yoga retreat? Well, The Women's Room reader Lindsay Howell, Interior decorator and yoga enthusiast did just that. She tells us how she got on…. "Yoga has been a constant… Read More

Health & HappinessMay 7, 2009

We Love: The Papered Parlour

By The Womens Room

Clapham isn't really a part of London we associate with the craft community. But artist Claire Heafford and best friends photographer Louise Hall aim to change that with the launch of their creative community venue The Papered Parlour. Converted from a… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMay 6, 2009

Shopping with experts: Jane Shepherdson at Whistles

By The Womens Room

Jane Shepherdson picks the washed leather jacket from Whistles Where’s a girl to go to shop for clothes like a grown up these days? If you don’t want to drown in 80s references (studded jersey batwing mini dress anyone?) but… Read More

Health & HappinessMay 5, 2009

Simple pleasures: bluebells in London

By The Womens Room

We love living in London but sometimes we pine for the simple pleasures of the countryside, especially at this time of year. Chance encounters with nature are everywhere in the country and often taken for granted by those who live… Read More

Home & GardenMay 4, 2009

We love: Jamie Oliver’s Recipease

By The Womens Room

Fish pie at Recipease I am in a designer kitchen surrounded by stylish olive chopping boards and bottles of quality olive oil, where I am carefully scattering grated cheese over my mashed potato and wondering if I should add… Read More

Home & GardenMay 3, 2009

We love: real food

By The Womens Room

If you are passionate about food and would like a chance to meet and sample some of the best quality producers and chefs in the UK. Get your self along to The Real Food Show at Earls Court next weekend.One of the most… Read More

Home & GardenMay 2, 2009

Something for the weekend: Few & Far goes to India

By The Womens Room

Another of our favourite stores is Few & Far, Priscilla Carluccio’s emporium of fab hand picked stuff from around the globe. Starting from today until the end of the summer (or the stock runs out) there is an Indian Summer… Read More