Trend alert: Animal print
Ok I’m going to come right out and say it – I’ve never like animal print and don’t think, apart from once in about 1983, when I bought a pair of zebra skin (not real) pumps, I have ever owned… Read More
Gudrun Sjodens opens in New York’s SoHo
The influence of Scandinavian design continues its spread across the globe with the opening this month of Swedish designer Gudrun Sjödéns’ new eco-friendly Green Store on SoHo’s Greene Street, New York, the brand’s first in the US…..so this post is… Read More
Wearable luxe from Whistles for Autumn/Winter 13
London Fashion week very clearly split into looks for for Autumn Winter 2013, clothes you very definitely didn’t want to wear and those you loved and wanted to wear right now. The new collection from Whistles was very much in… Read More
Mr Finch and Selvedge magazine at Anthropologie King’s Road
The Anthropologie store in The King’s Road has a six week pop up store with Selvedge Magazine, so that’s two of our favourite stores/magazines combined, what’s not to love?
For the opening, Selvedge arranged for the talented Yorkshireman Mr Finch… Read More
Luxury hotels, with kids? Surely not!
When our kids were little, family weekend breaks involved a lot of research in order to find somewhere that offered kids activities, babysitting and listening services, kids tea and toys and games (for when you wanted an early drink), as… Read More
Perfume review: Eight & Bob
Eight & Bob is a super-smooth cologne that smells like a mix between Palm-beach glamour and Mediterranean sunshine that might smarten up a man you know. It’s not exclusively for men but the back story makes it quite masculine.
Back… Read More
Good things from London Fashion Week: palmer//harding
Just occasionally when you attend London Fashion Week, you come across clothes that could slip right into your wardrobe that day, which you could wear tomorrow and would make everything you already own just a little bit more fabulous. That’s… Read More
London Fashion Week: Streetstyle
So London Fashion week is nearly over bar the shouting and if I’m honest I’m ready to pull on a pair sweatpants and eat a boiled egg and soldiers.
It’s been a funny old season (Autumn/Winter 2013/14 since you’re asking)… Read More
Artangel’s A Room For London, also known as my favourite hotel room in the world
What did you do for Valentine’s Day last week? Ignore it? Do token gesture presents to keep the love alive? I bought middleagedad a Led Zeppelin DVD from Amazon and he took me here, to A Room For London’s boat… Read More
Style Icon: Jenna Lyons
J Crew can do no wrong in our eyes and we are beyond excited that they are to finally open in Regent Street, some time this Spring.
Jenna Lyons is J Crew’s 44 year old creative director and in many… Read More
Chiswick House Camellia Festival with Peter Blake
If you are a gardening type, you might like to know that Chiswick House refurbished it’s historic, 300 ft long, Grade 1 listed camellia glass houses after years rotting in the doldrums in 2010 and is celebrating their 200th birthday… Read More
Eve Ensler’s One Billion Rising
Yesterday may have been Valentines day (is it just me – or did everyone seem to go completely mad this year?), but February the 14th also marked a different kind of V day, founded by by activist and Vagina Monologues… Read More
Yves Saint Laurent Forever Youth Liberating collection
Goodness me, this is good. When the nice people at YSL sent us the Foundation to trial, they also put in a pot of Forever Youth Liberator Night Creme and a jar of Active Serum. Now I’ll be honest with… Read More
Streetstyle: Scoop International and Pure
This week we were at the two London fashion trade shows Pure London and Scoop International. While it’s a great place for us to catch up with what brands have for AW/13, it’s also good to spot what buyers, sellers… Read More
We love: The Beat That My Heart Skipped
For me the best blogs have an authentic, personal approach. a strong aesthetic, friendly tone of voice and lots of personality. Being aspirational, but attainable is also important. I want the the recipes, interior ideas or fashion advice, to be… Read More
Looking for a good chambray shirt
So what are we going to wear with all these printed pencil skirts and trousers that we’ve been talking about? The classic white shirt is an obvious option, or maybe a cashmere block colour sweater, but I’m hankering after a… Read More
Tea and Cakes from Jo Malone (with Sugar & Spice and Earl Grey fragrances)
The Great British Bake Off has much to answer for, not least a this bakery-inspired limited edition fragrance collection from Jo Malone London, just launching for spring. Sugar & Spice consists of five scents, Redcurrant & Cream, Ginger Biscuit, Lemon… Read More
Karen Walker and Advanced Style
Stylish, vintage sunglasses shot on stylish, vintage models – what’s not to love?
New Zealand based designer Karen Walker enlisted the help of the ladies of Advanced Style to showcase her latest eye wear range, saying “What I’ve always loved… Read More
Middleagedmum: more small things that matter
This week, youngest son turned 17. Now, everyone in our house is legally allowed to turn the ignition key in a car, although I am still wondering at what age any of my sons needs to be to voluntarily load… Read More
& Other Stories, by H&M
Clean cut basics, bold brights, sharp tailoring and ‘lasting wardrobe treasures within a wide price range,’ & Other Stories (by H&M) sounds like it could be right up our street.
Coming soon to regent street, as well as Barcelona, Milan,… Read More
Bedsit Disco Queen: How I grew Up and Tried To Be a Popstar by Tracey Thorn
I have always felt if I met Tracey Thorn I could be her friend, as her songs have resonated with me since I heard the Marine Girls, her first band, back in 1982.
Coming from Hatfield, Hertfordshire and feeling like… Read More
Hydrangea and bird prints from Nandinoo at Anthropologie
While we are on the subject of printed items (see yesterday’s ‘printed pencils‘) can I just mention these lovely designs from talented Manchester Met fashion graduate Nadia Izruna? I’ve been meaning to write about them since they launched in Anthropologie… Read More
Lucza loungewear
Young people are so good at lounge-wear aren’t they. Teen daughter has a whole host of tonal, grey marl, soft separates for lolling around the house in. As soon as she comes in from school, on goes the electric blanket,… Read More
David Bowie Is, edited by Victoria Broakes and Geoffrey Marsh
David Bowie, at the V&A from March, join the queue.
For those who aren’t planning to make a pilgrimage, there’s the book, available from the V&A bookshop exclusively, at £20.… Read More
Printed pencil skirts and why you might want one!
The sun is shining (it’s a beautiful day here in London), January is over and we we’ve had pay day, so it might be time to start thinking about Spring. In fashion terms this started months, even years ago and… Read More
Shay & Blue: new own brand perfume brand to cheer up February
One of the offshoots of doing all this fragrance research for the day job is that I get to pass the good stuff I found on to you and I’m going to stick my neck out here and say that… Read More
Something for Valentines day: a trip to the cinema
The back row at The Electric
I don’t know about you, but my days of celebrating Valentines day are long gone. What was once a really important event (remember how excited/nervous you would get as a teenager, when the post… Read More
Valentine chocolates from Hotel Chocolat
Hotel Chocolat is my new favourite place to hang out, the Monmouth Street store in Covent Garden does the best hot chocolate drink I’ve yet to try and while you warm your toes you can watch them making artisan chocolate.… Read More
Blogging from the Tate Tanks for Silver Action with Suzanne Lacy
What an awesome day we had yesterday with Suzanne Lacy and her Silver Action art performance piece at the Tate Modern Tank space, where 400 women of 60 plus came together to have a huge conversation about their lives as… Read More
Trend alert: nan heels
As we all know, finding footwear we like is a challenge. Too old to carry off creepers (much as I’d like to – but one look from teen daughter said it all!) and too stroppy to wear heels, means that… Read More