Just because you are a decorator in Architectural Digest...

David Collins is quite an established name in the decorating world.

He has the usual coterie of billionaires and 
five star hotels that form his clientele.  

He has decorated some of my favourite London spots.

The Connaught Hotel Bar is relaxing whilst being elegant. 

Great place for a drink.

The Wolseley, London's best all day eatery.  

Consistently good food and great atmosphere.

Blue Bar at the Berkeley Hotel - one of the original bars in London that one could go to for a drink without having to go to the pub.

Fashion and models for all ages

I adore the weekly feature in the Guardian newspaper called Fashion for all ages.

When I first read it ages ago - I walked away thinking something was different but couldn't articulate what it was.  

Then I came back to analyze the photo-spread to realize that the models were not teenagers nor even in their twenties - 

they were probably nearing sixty years old.  

Yet they looked fabulous - and not just "for their age".  

Simply fabulous.

For me, Pam, featured above is a model that should be on

first name recognition basis. 

Doesn't she look like the sort of woman that 

Picasso would have loved to paint?

 Lisskula - the model above, just looks so chic and cute.  

She is so refreshing to look at.  

Not just younger girls, but women in general need to see more beautiful older women in the media.

I love how the feature shows that older women don't have to disappear and "be polite" and can be bold in their fashion.

There are no mutton / lamb analogies here.

This look is so age appropriate and yet so clean and stylish.  

I love how she hasn't even fully dyed her hair.

I may not be a fashionista hound per se but this does give me some semblance of hope that there is a possibility of getting older and looking good.  

Sophia Loren and Raquel Welch can't do this on their own.

Here's hoping there are more fashion shoots featuring the likes of Pam, Liza, and Lisskula!

Mad about Mad men

Do you remember that guy you used to have a huge crush on at school?

He was a few years older than you, going out with the prettiest girl with a perfect ponytail and you thought about him all summer long and you couldn't wait for the first day of school just so you could see him again?

Not that you would ever have a chance in hell of going out with him - even after the nose job you were going to get for your 16th birthday present.

Well, this is how I feel right now. 

I introduce to you my crush that will never eventualise and not just because he is a fictional character.

Don Draper - the Don.

Well, Helloooo.

Seamus Heaney on an off day perhaps.

One of the magazines I look forward to is Intelligent Life produced bimonthly by the Economist magazine.

It is available free on the iPad and iPhone -  temporarily through sponsorship of Credit Suisse Bank.

Cover for Jan/Feb 2013

The archives are also available at the moment so I would read up before they start charging... Thanks Credit Suisse.

Anyway, I made myself a Pukka three fennel tea that tastes so delicious and suits the falling snow.

I shall spare you a picture of me in a dressing gown.

I was ready to be blown away by Seamus on his views about the seven wonders of the world.

Shoe compromise? Not really.

I have been wanting to scratch the new shoe 

in the form of velvet slipper itch.

I craved these Kitty flats by Charlotte Olympia at Xmas.

I will meow for you all day long for almost £500.

Then I discovered these slippers that you could customize slippers in this post.

Bespoke slippers at Myslippers.co.uk

Rather adorable but at that price I would rather go on holiday and see real wildlife than on my feet.

As I could not justify the prices for flat shoes - 

yes, there is a different rationale and economic formula for high heels - I just put this idea on the backburner.

Valentino Exhibit and Couture discussion - Part 2

I hope you managed to vicariously enjoy the Valentino show and had a look around Valentino's cyber museum.

Sometimes, the sideshow around the occasion is just as amusing.

I wish I could have taken pictures of the crowd because the demographic was quite distinct.

One group was what you would naturally expect - fashion students.  There were very conspicuously dressed; making fashion statements. I guess every week is fashion week for them.  But believe me, I am not being harsh on fashion students - some of my best friends are...

Not the same fashion students - but you get the idea.

Then there was the off shoot which were the very serious, postgraduate fashion students who were wearing pre-revolutionary black outfits.
 Karl Lagerfeld and / or Daphne Guinness wannabes.

I can rarely tell them apart.

Valentino Exhibition at Somerset House - Part 1

Hello all, I am going to do a two part post regarding the Valentino exhibit currently held at Somerset House in London.  I took a lot of photos for those of you who may not be able to see the exhibition here in London themselves. The Valentino exhibit will be at the Somerset House until the 3rd of March 2013 so if you are in London, do try and get there before it ends.  The exhibit is well worth a visit and the venue is a pure bonus.  It made me wonder why I don't go there every week. 

Hopefully tomorrow in Part 2, I will post some photos and video footage from a talk I went to at Somerset House after I saw the exhibit related to the Valentino show, couture, and some extra bits.  It was called, very simply, Valentino: Italian Couture discussed.  The speakers were Alistair O'Neil who is a lecturer at Central St Martins and also one of the curators of the exhibit.  The other speaker was Sonnet Stanfill who is the curator of 20th century and contemporary fashion at the V & A museum. 

So come and join me...

I walked part of my journey and walked past the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

I normally don't walk by this part of the building and this dancer pirouetting caught my eye.

Please excuse the pictures - I will try harder next time but it was freezing and I am still mastering my camera.

Bloggers' blogs - who is reading who?

I found this article in House Beautiful and through it found some blogs I hadn't heard of before.

I do love discovering new blogs and thought you might discover your new favourite.

One of the ones listed is already on my Google reader where I automatically receive any updates - it's called Bloomsbury Life and I always look forward to her posts.

Here is the chain of each bloggers' favourite blogs.

It starts with the Accessorator and goes forward from there as seen below.

                                                           What's your favourite blog?

Handbag carrying analysis

I just read this so wanted to share this with you just in case you missed it.

It's a bit of fun - well for some, and for others - well they wrote a book about it!

Patti Wood wrote some book about making snap decisions.  It kind of looks like - Blink by Malcolm Gladwell -  but for Republicans.





So if you happen to walk by her, just know that she is going to judge you by the way you hold your bag.

So just in case several Human Resources of corporations decide to take this seriously - you should know what the way you hold your bag says about you!

I am a bit of a schlepper...

But also a bit of a thumb-to 'pitter.

  



Which one are you??

For further reading, here is the link.

 http://www.refinery29.com/bag-holding-style