The Women's Room | Daily Life and Style Inspiration

Fashion & BeautyApril 11, 2013

John Rocha’s glasses collection for Specsavers

By Amanda

Specsavers has teamed up with John Rocha to produce a range of 13 glass styles that launch this week on line and in Specsaver stores. I love John Rocha and his recent AW13 show made me – a die-hard neutrals… 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

Things We LoveApril 9, 2013

Citrus stem spray by Quirky

By Amanda

This is genius and I’ve been meaning to write about it for weeks. You stick the spray stem bit into a fresh lemon or orange and you have a perfect spray of citrus, it works brilliantly for spraying avocados to… Read More

Home & GardenApril 9, 2013

Angela Flanders Moth Herbs Workshop…hope for woolly sweaters everywhere

By Amanda

The weather may be warming slightly and there might be a spring in your step as the sun peeks out to cheer us all up, but be on your guard people, BE ON YOUR GUARD…Warm weather means only one thing… 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

Art & CultureApril 7, 2013

We love: singer songwriter Rachel Ries

By Amanda

For the next month we have my friend the American songwriter Rachel Ries staying with us, on and off, as she tours the UK with her Spring in the Isles tour. I absolutely love her gentle, thoughtful songs and I’m… 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

Things We LoveApril 5, 2013

Perfume review: Caligna from L’Artisan Parfumeur

By Amanda

I’ve been wearing this newly launched summery fragrance from L’Artisan Parfumeur all through the appalling weather we’ve been having recently, in an attempt to lift my spirits and pretend I’m in a warm bubble of summer (or spring, at least).… Read More

Middle Aged MumApril 5, 2013

Middleagemum.com: Land Rovers are the new middleagedad’s middleagecrisis car

By Amanda

It used to be a Porsche, didn’t it? the car that all men were supposed to buy or lust after when they reached middleage and realised life was slipping by and still no sign of the career as a Rock… 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

Fashion & BeautyApril 3, 2013

More wish list shopping: Everlane

By Amanda

I’m fascinated by the sudden (mini) surge in brand-launches that look like they are aimed at the quality-appreciating, well styled, grown-up-dressing female. I’m currently hankering after something from American brand Everlane, having been tipped off about it by New York… 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

Things We LoveApril 2, 2013

Racinne skincare from Korea

By Amanda

The Koreans are good at skincare, not least because their government is busy investing in supporting the country’s skin scientists so they become world leaders -particularly in plant stem cell technology. Can you imagine suggesting that to our current government?… Read More

Out & AboutApril 1, 2013

Regent Street, what’s not to love?

By Amanda

One of the slightly more acceptable things about the economic downturn and the rise of internet shopping is the fact that we are going off big box, indoor shopping centres. It might be something to do with Mary Portas… 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

Things We LoveMarch 31, 2013

Jo Malone: Charlotte Stockdale’s Red Roses

By Amanda

Perfume house Jo Malone has taken on super-stylist Charlotte Stockdale to add a bit of youthful, edgy sparkle to the brand. Charlotte’s first collection, which will be available exclusively in Selfridges from 1st April, features this neon-dipped limited-and-numbered edition bottle… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 30, 2013

We love: Sali Hughes’s new beauty website

By Amanda

Oh joy! this is how we like our beauty advice- intelligent, real and stonkingly funny, at least as far as the Caitlin Moran interview, conducted while sat on the loo in her bathroom, is concerned (love her tights drying on… 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

Things We LoveMarch 28, 2013

MoroccanOil

By Amanda

MoroccanOil gave us some samples to trial recently, the first thing I noticed was the smart packaging, I love the medicine-bottle-brown of the treatment oils and the colour coded shampoo and conditioner so you don’t get them muddled in the… Read More

Fashion & BeautyMarch 28, 2013

Wish List shopping: Pièce d’Anarchive

By Amanda

While we are talking about fabulous fabrics, as we were last week, I must mention my addiction to broderie anglais and guipure lace. Both turn up at vintage fairs regularly; broderie anglais in sweet blouses with leg-of-mutton sleeves or as… 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

Home & GardenMarch 26, 2013

Try this at home: lavender infused gin

By Amanda

I’ve gone right off wine, something to do with the menopause, but the good news is I’ve discovered gin, which coincides with something of a revival in artisan gin appreciation. We wrote about the delightful Sipsmith London Gin distillery here… 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

Art & CultureMarch 24, 2013

Listen to this: Neverwhere

By Amanda

Did you all listen to this? Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman, which played everyday on Radio 4 and 4plus this week, over almost six hours. Not only was it a great story about London, but the cast was so starry I… 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

Health & HappinessMarch 22, 2013

Health and happiness with Gok, Activa and me

By Amanda

Oh blimey, now I remember why I don’t put myself in front of the camera much. Here’s the Activia Feel Good Pledge video my fabulous new BF Gok and I did a while back. The Activia campaign encourages us all… 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

Fashion & BeautyMarch 20, 2013

Losing my heart to a fabulous fabric

By Amanda

If you want me to buy something, the quickest way to my heart is to make it in a fabulous fabric. I am a complete sucker for a bit of sumptuous velvet draping seductively over my limbs, or the comforting… Read More