As Sarah sees it

Lip service from YSL

2012-01-10T16:01:00.009Z

The best bit about Saturdays as a teenager was buying a new lipstick. I've mentioned before how this mainly involved hours in Miss Selfridge, stocking up on Running Bare and other pale frosted delights. I may have moved on from Miss Selfridge, but the lipstick obsession has stayed with me, and I stockpile as many different colours, types and textures as I can. Recent standouts are Chanel's Rouge Allure Velvet – wonderful pigments, classic shades – and Guerlain's Rouge G is hard to beat, in its bullet-shaped silver case with integral mirror. And this month, exclusively at Selfridges, and Brown Thomas Dublin, a great new lip line has landed: YSL Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain (£22.50). I'm pretty fussy about lipstick, but I reckon this is the best new formula for a fair old while. There are 20 shades, from rich sultry raisin browns to light nudes and beiges – with this fabulous orange (above), a key colour for the season, somewhere in the middle. And they have a unique light texture: not too sticky, not too glossy, but pigment-rich and long-lasting. One coat gives a subtle stain, the second a richer finish and sheen. So they're both glam and easily wearable – love the chic little square bottle, too. Creative director Lloyd Simmonds is bringing a dynamic edge to YSL beauty right now, with fabulous colours and the latest technology: these, for example, harness polymers usually used to make food look glossy! While you're at the counter, check out YSL's newest skincare range, Forever Youth Liberator, which includes an excellent serum and a rich day cream that's ideal for winter months. Though you may not necessarily associate YSL with luxe, efficacious skincare, this could change that perception. Just launched this month, also in Selfridges and Brown Thomas exclusively.

Gary Graham

2011-12-07T19:36:00.006Z

In Dover Street Market, after a coffee in the petite and charming Rose Bakery on the top floor, I was drawn to a collection by Gary Graham, a New York-based designer I haven't come across before. Beautiful, quirky, reconditioned and seriously wearable fabrics and elegant shapes make the label stand out in an intimidatingly stylish crowd. I had my eye on a muted dove grey dress made of cashmere-soft jersey – one of those items you'd have and love for ever. Love the fact that DSM stock Labour & Wait homewares – their enamel milk pans and chunky dustpan and brushes have a strange allure.

Shoe time

2011-10-03T15:20:00.011+01:00

All the boyish looks on the catwalk for this season make me crave a pair of brogues. But not a flimsy, girly, fake-leather pair – a solid, chunky man's shoe. Paul Smith, of course, always has this look sussed, and the Church's shoes on Net-a-Porter are beautifully made and will last for years. I spotted these ones by Irish designer Maud O'Keefe – who's worked for Jimmy Choo and Patrick Cox – and reckon they're spot-on. Handmade in Italy, they are stocked in the small but beautifully formed 91b, the Margaret Howell boutique in Rathgar, Dublin. There are only men's sizes in at present, with smaller sizes coming soon. Distribution is limited, as the label only launched this year, but the two London stockists are Hostem in E2 and Joseph in SW3. The O'Keefe website is not madly helpful, with no prices, but it's clear that something this well-made and enduring is not going to clock in cheap (think £300 and up). They are, though, a wardrobe staple that kicks all those ungainly wedge shoes into touch.

Church's brogues, net-a-porter, £235

Beauty picks...

2011-09-30T14:38:00.010+01:00

Even in a market as competitive as skincare, some ranges just stand out from the crowd. It's especially exciting when a smaller independent brand delivers brilliant results - even without the vast budgets of the big companies, with their whopping resources for sourcing ingredients, R&D, advertising and so on. Some of the small guys deserve a great deal of attention. Emma Hardie, for example. A top facialist who's worked with Sophie Dahl (and did you see her skin on tv the other night?), Emma's skincare range, Amazing Face, is really up there in terms of efficacy as well as being an utter pleasure to use. Her Natural Lift and Sculpt Moringa Cleansing Balm (100ml, £34) is silky and rich in essential oils yet not greasy, and smells divine (that'll be the orange, neroli, rose and jasmine). While I'm not going to say it has either lifted or sculpted my face – think that would take rather more than a cleansing balm, however luscious – it's certainly one of the few cleansers I've tried that rival the brilliant Eve Lom. Remove with a microfibre cloths (£10 for pack of three) for best results. It can also double up as a lip balm or face mask. The night cream (£56) is brilliant, too. I'm not madly keen on the packaging, personally – but then, I'd rather have something that works like this on my shelf than a swanky pot of something useless.

Another small and singular range that's going places is Pai. A Soil Association-accredited organic range (used by Natalie Portman, if you care about such details), it was created for sensitive and reactive skin. It's incredibly gentle and free from synthetics/parabens, chemicals etc. I especially rate the Chamomile & Rosehip Organic Moisturiser (£24) and the Rosehip BioRegenerate (£20), a really concentrated form of rosehip oil which is not only a great moisturiser but can be very effective on soothing and healing skin, even on scarring. In simple, unpretentious bottles, this range is set to become as popular as 'clean' skincare range REN, I reckon. Visit www.paiskincare to learn more about the brand - you can even get free samples sent to you to give it a road-test.

Emma Hardie Amazing Face Night Cream

This is not an umbrella...

2011-07-25T17:15:00.007+01:00

I know this looks like an umbrella. But it has a "designer-stamped" silver skeleton at the end of the handle, and it's by fashion house Alexander McQueen. It's "the edgiest way to stay dry in the city".

And it costs £355. Seriously - how hacked off would you be if you left this little number on the bus? Is it just me, or is this beyond silly....?

Back to black

2011-05-25T14:22:00.009+01:00

Sorry for the long absence - I started a new job a month or so ago and have been adjusting to the new balance... and to being inhouse again after many years of freelancing. I have lots of new things to enthuse about, the first being these neat little ballerina pumps from Gap. My last post was also about shoes, and how easy they were compared to super-high heels. Well, low-heeled they might be, but after a day walking round a city in them, they may as well have been those drag queen-style Louboutins. These City Flats will now be a permanent fixture in my bag for emergency foot relief. Brilliantly, they fold in half, so are great for travelling, too. And they come in great shades, from shiny silver to copper and pewter. There are alot of metallic make-up shades around right now, and going into autumn, so these make a cute accompaniment. I can't find them on asos but they are available on Gap.com (£19.95). Gap stores themselves can be a bit depressing; I always see great items in magazine features but once instore, everything looks rather brown and doesn't fit well. My local one feels more like an outlet store than anything. But they've always been smart on accessories, and this season's no exception.

I was in a city in heels at the launch of YSL's new autumn/winter beauty collections, the first full range by their international make-up artist Lloyd Simmonds, who took the helm last year and is clearly set to take the brand to ever-more glamorous and creative heights. More on this later – there are some really dazzling products to come in September. As an international launch it drew together beauty editors from Canada to Australia – and ALL of them were wearing black. In fact, at every beauty launch I've been to, anywhere, pretty well everyone wears head-to-toe black. The NARS people. The Chanel people. The Tom Ford people. The YSL people. So when you read all those magazine articles praising 'colour blocking' and how colour is 'it' and 'must-have' for this season, it's worth knowing that the people putting those magazines together are all wearing black. The lovely PR girl I was with was the exception to the rule, wearing the most shocking of shocking-pink jackets – a truly YSL shade. The French PRs – all incredibly stunning and effortlessly stylish, and called ridiculously gorgeous names like Emmanuelle – nearly passed out in shock when they saw it; although they work with dazzling colour day in, day out, they would never consider actually wearing it.... It's just interesting that black has become an unspoken uniform in industries such as fashion and beauty, when colour is such a vital part of these industries. I've worn predominantly black since I was a teenager (I remember a friend's mother asking me why I always wore black and was I a goth?), and still now I'd rather wear a dash of the brightest lipstick, or a thin line of, say, YSL's Absinthe Green eye pencil – surprisingly gorgeous on – than colourful clothes. Lloyd Simmonds told me that the modern way to wear bright, bold colour in make-up is not to go full-on with everything (lips, eyes, cheeks, the works), but just to add a touch of it on eyes or lips. Coloured mascaras are big again this season, for example, adding just a touch of unexpected colour. This, for me is why black is so much more than just a safe uniform, something we wear to blend in and not get it 'wrong'. I love the way black is a classic base for accessories and dashes of bright colour elsewhere – to make great shoes, or great lipstick, the focus instead. Yves Saint Laurent considered black a vital, affirming colour in itself – and that's something that really comes to life in the YSL make-up collection for the coming season.....

Shoe time

2011-04-02T19:43:00.007+01:00

Being pathetic at walking well in heels, I'm relieved that there are more mid-heels around just now. Silver Converse are great, but sometimes they just don't cut it, and you need just a bit of a lift to make trousers look smarter and legs a little longer. I came across these courts by Sam Edelman – an American brand launched five years ago – in Harvey Nichols (£120), though they're also available at Matches and asos.com, and are about to launch onto net-a-porter.com. Every other shoe in HN's was around the £300 mark, whereas these aren't much more than you'd pay for a run-of-the-mill pair in Office. This nude, or 'truffle', colour is perfect for summer, and they're also available in black patent and other shades on the Sam Edelman website. They're set to go like hot cakes, I reckon....

RE goes to London

2011-03-14T12:26:00.004Z

Liberty always have an eye for the brightest and best in everything from fashion to perfume, so it's great to hear that they've picked up on the North East's finest, RE. A perfect partnership. If you're in London over the next few months, nip in to Liberty and discover the RE pop-up shop (from 6 April to 17 August). We've raved about RE's products before - from their sell-out paper Christmas decorations (see post Star in the North, 24 November) to their gorgeous homewares. I love their chunky American green glass bowls, jugs and cakestands (now also in pink) in particular, but you'll also find everything from traditional wooden deckchairs in fresh candy stripes to photographic print vegetable bags, from £16, bearing graphic pictures of courgettes or asparagus. Everything manages to be both beautiful and useful, and the store itself (in a village outside Newcastle) is always quirky and appealing without being twee. If you can't wait til April look at www.re-foundobjects.com.

Swan song

2011-02-15T11:37:00.019Z

Florence Welch in Givenchy at the Grammys, February 2011

Bjork wearing Marjan Pejoski, 2001

All the buzz about Black Swan has put ballet centre-stage this season. But beyond the leg-warmers and ballerina pinks, the swan itself is taking flight as a motif. Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine stole the show in this Givenchy swan dress at the Grammys the other night; though dramatic, it's certainly a more subtle look than the infamous Marjan Pejoski version that Bjork sported to the 2001 Oscars, which is more Rod Hull and Emu than Swan Lake.

The swan is prettier than the bright fruit and loud flowers going around. I've mentioned Tucker's fabulous swan-print blouses and dresses, below, in a previous post (22 Jan). Other takes on the trend include Markus Lupfer's beaded and sequinned swan T-shirt dress (£195) and Emma Cook's Sea Swan print T (£155), both at asos (Cook's swan dresses are available at Harvey Nichols). Aurelie Biderman's swan feather earrings are as delicate as they are pricey (£780); a cheaper alternative is Ridley & Dowse's stainless steel necklace (£38.50) from notonthehighstreet.com. And Tory Burch's swan wedges have a quirky charm about them for summer.

Swan-print blouse, £239, by Tucker

Markus Lupfer embellished swan dress, £195, asos

Swan-print wedges, £155, Tory Burch

Sea Swan print T-shirt, £95, Emma Cook at asos

Dilys swan necklaces, £38.50 each, Ridley & Dowse

Gold-dipped swan feather earrings, £780, Aurelie Biderman

Edition at Debenhams

2011-02-15T10:56:00.009Z

Black spot-print mini dress, £45, Jonathan Saunders/Edition at Debenhams

Debenhams gives its image a right old dust-off this week as a shower of young British talent bursts into its stores. Edition is their just-launched collaboration with the brightest of fashion names, including Preen, Jonathan Saunders and Jonathan Kelsey (with Roksanda Ilincic, her best-selling Whistles line already under her belt, joining in the autumn). The collection is available instore, online and, for a limited time, at a pop-up shop in London's Newburgh Street (just behind Liberty).

High fashion/high street collaborations are so common now, and although surely reached a peak with Lanvin for H&M, are still hugely welcome. H&M's coups are certainly hard to beat – as well as Lanvin, big guns have included Stella and Jimmy Choo – but Debenhams have been bold and streetwise poaching Saunders and the rest to pep up their spring offering. Kelsey's shoes, from flats to sexy courts and wedges, look more catwalk than high-street, but it's Saunders' range that really stands out, particularly the bold floral maxi dress at £85 and the sassy 1960s-style print minis.

Edition is well worth keeping an eye on over the following months, as the designers are involved for a minimum four seasons. What a welcome change from the rather tired Matthew Williamson range and its endless butterflies and peacocks. In Debenhams' home range, the Lisa Stickley homeware is worth a look; her cups and plates have a retro, Orla Kiely-type appeal and quirkiness, at a fair price.

You can get 20% off on fashion until tomorrow (although the downside is that you have to buy a copy of the Daily Mail. On second thoughts, it's really not worth it).

Dark grey skinny jeans, £38, Preen/Edition at Debenhams

Shoes by Jonathan Kelsey/Edition at Debenhams

Flower power

2011-02-11T11:39:00.023Z

Erdem spring/summer 2011

Lanvin

Turquoise floral shirt, £85, Liberty

Floral Letters cotton shirt, £250, Paul Smith

This season, florals are not just confined to usual suspects such as Monsoon and Laura Ashley. From Chanel to Jil Sander and Marni, Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders (see below) to Etro and, of course, Erdem, the catwalks simply sang with colourful blooms, a bright welcome to a new season after a long cold winter.

Once you hit a certain age, florals start to sound like a rather dodgy proposition. A floral dress might look young and fresh on a 20-something, but does it become a little grannyish rather than breezy and bright as you get older? I think the answer is that a little flower power goes a long way. Liberty is always a good place to start for a well-cut floral shirt. Topshop's one-piece vintage floral swimsuit (£30) is fun, and their cream floral dress (£38) has an appealingly simple cut and would have a great vintage feel teamed with a little cardigan. Flowers are everywhere from brooches (see Lanvin's, above) to hats (at Reiss). Soon to be copied on a high street near you are Dolce & Gabbana's floral canvas shoes (as beautifully shot in this month's Red magazine, styled by Nicola Rose). I'm also drawn to the loud Paul Smith floral shirt in that shoot, above; a statement shirt for sure, and wearing it has to be uplifting. Red's tip is to team busy florals with cool Breton stripes – they seem to complement each other nicely.

Alongside florals are some seriously bold fruit prints, such as Stella McCartney's acid brights. And what's with those Miuccia Prada banana earrings? Priced £150. I had an identical pair in the '80s, wooden, bought no doubt in Miss Selfridge for a quid or two. How ageing it is to have worn something the last time they were around! I'm really not sure what makes them say 'high fashion' as opposed to 'Pat Butcher' now. I guess simply that Ms Prada has decreed it. Well, it has to be a good thing to be able to turn to fashion for some fun and frivolity – and, yes, a touch of the ridiculous – in times of such greyness and wintery moroseness.

Floral swimsuit, £30, Topshop

Floral print stretch-silk gown, £1,350, Jonathan Saunders

Erdem

2011-02-02T10:13:00.008Z

Sarah Murray, owner of Edinburgh boutique Jane Davidson, sure stole a march on Harvey Nichols by stocking one of the very hottest designer names of the moment, Erdem. Although available online and at Browns in London, with Erdem's stunning prints and sumptuous fabrics you really want to see them in the flesh. The even better news is that Jane Davidson is currently holding a fairly dramatic sale – but not for much longer, so be quick – including discounts of up to 80 per cent. The nude lace Lavinia dress by Erdem above is £517 down from a stonking £1,725, while the Angelica swallow-print dress, hot off the autumn/winter 2010 catwalk, is £274, also 70 per cent off. There are also silk Tucker blouses (see post 22 January) from around £70 and some leather-look J Brand Agnes cropped jeans for £88 instead of the hefty usual price of £295. When's the next train north?...

Too cool for school

2011-01-25T11:57:00.006Z

For a touch of nostalgia, the newly re-released Dr Martens leather satchel is hard to beat. The fact that it's so Alexa Chung may or may not put you off, but one thing's for sure, it's a whole lot cheaper (£125) than the Mulberry bag named after her, as well as being rather refreshingly old-school. There are only 350 made across five colours – cherry-red (above), black, white, green and navy. If you buy online, next-day delivery is free (over £50). Practical, roomy and even better when battered around a bit. Stickers and graffiti optional.

I admit to having a soft spot for DMs that goes back to my stomping-around teenage years. The chunkier versions in bright reds and yellows may be a bit strong on attitude for those of us over, say, 20 – but then, eye-wateringly bright colours are big on the radar for spring. And there are plenty of less in-your-face alternatives, such as the Pascal boot in grey (£75), below, that look pretty good with a maxi skirt and come into their own when there are inches of snow/mud/rain en route.

Tucker

2011-01-22T11:37:00.025Z

King of Kings Dress, €169, tuckerwebshop.com

Story of Passion Tie Neck Dress, €169 (was €222), shopbop.com

Purple dress, £81 (down from £270), theoutnet

Blouse, £265, Net-a-porter

Back in 2005, Gaby Basora realised that all the compliments she received about the silk blouses she made herself could kickstart a whole new career. A year later, her blouses were flying off the rails at Barneys New York, and by 2010 she was being stocked in more than 200 top stores around the world. Last September she collaborated with retail giant Target, one of the biggest retailers in the States; previous designers to be involved include Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier, Anna Sui and Mulberry.

Now stocked everywhere from Net-a-porter to Harvey Nichols, Tucker is clearly one of those labels that's quietly going from strength to strength. So what's all the fuss about?

I first saw Basora's silk blouses and shirt dresses in Seagreen boutique, Dublin, standing out from choice pieces by Paul & Joe, APC and J Brand. It's no surprise to read that Basora admires the prints and textures of Dries van Noten – the vibrancy of her prints, from antique-style florals to bold plaids, brings the brilliant Belgian designer to mind. The light yet sensuous silk blouses and tunic dresses have a simple elegance and insouciance, and seem right in tune with the Isabel Marant/L'Agence/Acne mood of the moment. Because the silk is the perfect weight and texture, each dress is neither flimsy nor transparent but has an unfussy effortlessness about it.

Her collections are pared down, consisting of a few carefully edited shapes that work, described simply as the tunic; the dress; the camisole. The prints, on the other hand, have romantic, rather florid titles such as Elodie's Grand Mere and Winnie's Flapper Floral Dress, hinting at the inspiration behind them. If, like me, you struggle to find the perfect summer dress – something that's light and cool yet ageless (not too girly or revealing), I reckon Basora's are right on the money. They convey an instant relaxed chic, and this cool wearability is what's making this label so desirable right now.

Check out Basora's website – www.tuckerbygabybasora.com – to see more of her collections, with star sale buys including the Vintage Tucker Long tie Dress (€274) in vermillion silk, a bold and brilliant shade that will see you through spring/summer 2011's block colour trend, something that even the most committed black-wearers among us are going to find it hard to resist.

Going Underground

2011-01-12T11:54:00.017Z

Espresso cups and saucers, £32.99, London Transport Museum shop

I got a perfect Christmas present this year: my very thoughtful brother bought me a huge bag of Colombian coffee beans from Monmouth Coffee Stores, together with this box of espresso cups and saucers. I was seriously chuffed, and am happily spending January wired to the moon while everyone around me detoxes. The cups are from the London Transport Museum shop, which is full of great quirky gifts.

It's a weirdly compelling shop. You can order a sofa covered in the fabric used on Underground trains – they look better than they sound – or buy a striking London Underground film map, which has the usual station names replaced by film titles (below, £9.95). There's also everything from mugs bearing the name of your favourite Underground station – should you have one – to a shopping bag (£9.99) designed by Ella Doran which pays tribute to the number 38 bus.

Love 38 bag by Ella Doran, £9.99

Apart from the coffee stakes, here are some other good things about 2011 so far...

Reading Skippy Dies, and Justine Picardie's biography of Chanel. Watching The King's Speech and looking forward to Black Swan.

Booking ahead: to see Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss star in Children's Hour at The Comedy Theatre, London. Then there's Derek Jacobi in the Donmar Warehouse production of King Lear, and Frankenstein, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller. Both Lear and Frank are courtesy of the magnificent National Theatre Live, which brings London's best theatre productions to your local cinema. I know, I sound like their PR person, but I think it's brilliant the way they are making theatre accessible like this.

Staying (in my dreams): at the brand-new St Pancras Renaissance, with its Marcus Wareing dining room; and Fergus Henderson's new hotel in London's Chinatown.

Trying out: sailing in Dun Laoghaire harbour; baking at the brilliant Cake Cafe in Dublin, probably the best cafe in the city.

Great coats

2011-01-11T12:32:00.019Z

Steve McQueen in The Great Escape

Military felt double-breasted coat, £486 (was £695)

Burberry a/w 2010 campaign

Sales time is when we all go completely TK Maxx, and buy a whole load of stuff we wouldn't normally look twice at, because it's reduced. From designer jeans a size too small (to diet into) and brightly coloured satin dresses for a party (though you'll inevitably leave it in the wardrobe in favour of something black), there are a million mistakes on hangers just waiting to happen. Far better to avoid the over-crowded rails entirely and invest in a great coat, for now, for next winter and for many years beyond.

I've written about Burberry's coats before (see post of 7 June 2010: http://assarahseesit.blogspot.com/2010/06/its-hard-to-beat-burberry.html), because this last season's collection has been such a stormer. Military is a look that returns time and time again as autumn approaches, either in subtle details or, as in Burberry's case, with a full-on battle cry.

Watching The Great Escape in the quiet days after Christmas was like seeing Burberry's autumn/winter collection in action, from the felt greatcoats to the aviator jackets (see film still, below) and, of course, the classic pea coat that looks so dashing on Steve McQueen (as do most things, to be fair).

There are some good reductions in the sale online, such as this greatcoat at £525 down from £750. Still a hefty investment, then, but one that will endure from this winter on.

Wool military coat, £525 (was £750)

Stills from The Great Escape

Jean genies

2010-12-22T16:09:00.009Z

There are some good sales on already, and best of all you don't need to trudge out in the snow to browse them. Trilogy (great website by the way) has some top jeans on sale – usually in sales you'll only find the really duff shapes and odd colours discounted, but here you'll find the best J Brand skinnies (for example, black skinny jeans, above, at £125 down from £170). My-wardrobe also has some good jeans discounts, and so does Matches (eg high-rise grey skinny jeans, below, £135 down from £195).

Maybe you're keen to follow trends and go with flares in the new year. J Brand tend to lead the way in jeans shapes right now, and the word is that their Love Story flares are the look of the summer. For me, flares are a flash in the pan trend that won't last more than a few months. They might look cool on, say, the Olsen twins, a flattering, laidback look paired with a white T-shirt and a Starbucks – but they live in sunny LA. But here, who who wants trousers that drag through the rain/mud/snow? I've tried Hudson flares and the truth is that all that fabric flapping around is kind of annoying. They absorb all sorts of stuff from the pavement, but you can't roll them up out of the way. They only look good with a very neat silhouette on the top, such as a fitted T-shirt or top – otherwise everything just looks too big. And they make cycling positively dangerous. Skinny jeans have taken the high street by storm as they not only look slick and neat, but they don't trail and get ripped round the edges like long bootcuts or looser styles. Besides, the only reason flares are being plugged is that designers always head for the direct opposite, and for seasons now it's been about the rock-chick, sprayed-on trousers, thanks to labels like Balenciaga and Isabel Marant with her bold red biker numbers. Maybe it's just that they're too 70s for me, bringing back lurid memories of maroon, cord and velour.

What do you reckon? Skinnies all the way, or are flares worth a go?

Coming in from the cold: Reiss

2010-12-07T10:28:00.009Z

Reiss has been looking a little tired for a while now, to me. The clothes are a bit officey, and the prices a bit high, especially when compared with the store's hipper high-street neighbour, Whistles. For winter, though, there are a few pieces that stand out and I reckon it might be time for another look.

For Wang-esque stripes, there's a black and grey jersey dress at £71, reduced from £89. The white crochet lace dress (£195) gives a nod to Erdem (though, it has to be said, not many people can carry off a dinky little white dress like this without looking like an overgrown cake decoration). More sophisticated is the Katerina silk dress, above (£195), available in black or a ravishing 'pacific blue', an elegant and flattering floor-length gown that would look super-glam for a New Year's Eve party, maybe paired with a tuxedo jacket or a dramatic choker. The sleek Cristal (£159) fitted dress and the Elizabeth fisherman rib jumper (£125) stand out too as chic wardrobe additions. There is 20% off certain lines online at the moment.

Craving cashmere

2010-11-29T10:51:00.021Z

Cashmere dress, £315, Chinti and Parker at Net-a-porter

Cashmere v-neck, £159, Celtic Sheepskin

Long cashmere socks, £35, Celtic Sheepskin

When there's a thick layer of snow on the ground, cashmere comes into its own. Whether it's a long pair of gloves (preferably by Brora) or a full-on cashmere dress, cashmere adds a little style to your layers and makes you feel less like an overgrown yeti. It's a wardrobe staple that will look good year after year if you look after it (and don't shrink it in the wash like I have...).

On the high street, Cos are doing a great cashmere hat for £25 and matching scarf for £50. Marks and Spencer are always a safe bet for decent cashmere. Their cashmere harem trousers make for fun lounging gear (£99), and they also have good value V-necks (search the men's section as they tend to be larger), an attractive beaded top and some good scarves too including this striped one at £29.50.

Cashmere crew-neck, £243 (was £541), Rick Owens at theOutnet

At the higher end, theOutnet has a pile of reduced-price cashmere by names like Rick Owens and Vanessa Bruno, such as the crew-neck cashmere jumper above.

Check out Net-a-porter for an exclusive range designed by Chinti and Parker, the masters of stylish cashmere, including a very wearable cashmere dress and an oatmeal-coloured cape. I am slightly obsessed with their elbow-patched jumpers (as pictured right, £285): they are the last word in luxury, with an attention to detail that lifts them out of the ordinary. The Breton-stripe cashmere jumpers and striped dress are deeply covetable too.

I also rate Izzy Lane's UK-made cashmere as I've mentioned before – their slouchy V-neck in oatmeal (£175) constantly sells out; it's available in other colours too. Celtic Sheepskin also do a good version, as well as some cheerful long cashmere socks.

Crumpet have a bit of a sale on right now so you can snap up a rather Christmassy sparkly cashmere cardi from £100 (less than half price). Love the over-the-knee socks, too.

Sparkly cashmere cardi, £180 (was £432), Crumpet

Star in the North

2010-11-24T11:47:00.006Z

The December edition of pretty well every magazine I've seen features these paper decorations from RE. Cheap, cheerful and re-usable, they're available in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours, from balls to bells and white snowflakes, and make a stylish alternative to tinsel and plastic decorations. Sending them out to stylists must be keeping the lovely people at RE seriously busy. This gem of a shop is hidden away behind a petrol station in the depths of Northumberland (well, Corbridge to be exact). It's a fabulous, friendly place to visit, and stunningly presented, but if you can't get there have a look on their website, which is packed with all manner of original, intriguing and inspiring bits and pieces, from vintage furniture, chandeliers and eiderdowns to American glass cake stands. A true one-off that really shines.

All photographs by Ray Main for RE

Whistles

2010-11-11T10:22:00.011Z

Millie hook and eye leather jacket, £200 (was £275)

I was going to write about Bath's spa, but got distracted by Whistles. Whistles is hard to ignore these days. Ever since Jane Shepherdson took over, the label has garnered huge amounts of press coverage; the Observer in particular nearly always has something from Whistles on its fashion pages. I remember Whistles when it stocked designers such as Dries van Noten alongside its pretty tea dresses. It has an edgier, more urban feel now, though I've found that many of the designs look great on the page but not so great in the dressing room. Though maybe that's my own fault for trying on jersey harem trousers in the first place....

One problem for Whistles is that their turnaround is so fast now, and their sales so regular, that you feel rather cheated if you buy anything full-price. And now designers such as Alexander Wang are making luxe utility wear more accessible, Whistles often feels pricey. However, they've currently got some good deals online and in store, such as this Millie leather jacket (above) and a military-style leather jacket both £200, down from £275 – pretty good for leather of this quality. For everyday, this Drew dress (below) is a flattering fit and can be dressed up or down.

Drew Animal Utility Dress, £135

Today Whistles launches one of the big guns in its armoury – the latest (and final) Roksanda Ilincic collection. The Serbian designer will continue to wow the high street with this stunning clutch of jewel-coloured satin sheaths that are set to dance out of the shop and into every Christmas party. Stand-outs include Adenium, in a beautifully subtle shade of mink, and the Nettle dress (below) in vibrant emerald satin, both £325. Ilincic's mainline dresses start from £800 and go up, up, up.

Nettle dress, £325, Roksanda Ilincic for Whistles

The beauties of Bath part I

2010-11-08T10:30:00.017Z

A weekend in Bath. Good friends, lots of coffee, great food, a visit to the spa and some sunshine. What a treat. I'm going to do a post about the brilliant Thermae Bath Spa, but first things first. Amid the rather lovely sedate shops of Bath – White Company, Toast, Cath Kidston, Jigsaw (this is real Cabbages & Roses country) – there are some real gems.

We all went a bit mad over Comptoir des Cotonniers. This label, established in 1995, really nails that timeless French chic look, combining excellent quality with Gallic flair. From masculine-cut tweed overcoats and trenches to silk Japanese-print shift dresses and a brilliant red silk-satin dress that would sing out at any party, these clothes epitomise effortless chic that will endure season after season. With my Yorkshire roots, I can't help preferring clothes that last.

My favourite piece, among many, was this striped jumper in the softest cashmere. It is impossible to capture how very RED the red is – it's that almost-fluorescent red that really jumps out at you. It was paired with a khaki shirt to great effect by the girl in the shop. As Laura said, you could never feel miserable wearing this top; it would cheer you up instantly on a dark day.

Cashmere striped jumper, £156, Comptoir des Cotonniers

The staff in the Bath store are seriously good-looking (almost off-puttingly so, in that you don't have a hope of looking half as good in the clothes as they do!), on the ball and helpful without being pushy. Many pieces are on sale at the moment so it's well worth a scout. Great accessories too – this appealingly soft and squishy 'school bag' is very Mulberry Alexa-ish but considerably less expensive. I loved the limited-edition Doc Martens that Comptoir did a few seasons ago: the toughness and durability of Docs is beautifully tempered by the soft charcoal-grey leather.

For accessories that also add a certain je ne said quoi, head to VintagetoVogue, a superlative vintage store hidden just off Milsom Street. I could have spent hours rummaging in here, trying on original Lock & Co. bowler hats (£150) – very Paul Smith/Hermes a/w 2010 – and fabulous military coats, the inspiration for this season's entire bestselling Burberry collection. From trilbies to leather gloves, vintage handbags that could be Louis Vuitton's latest and rails full of one-off dresses from years gone by, the items here are high-quality rather than cheap secondhand tat. Again the staff here are brilliant – full of enthusiasm and with great rapport for their customers.

A new store specialising in jeans plus luxe labels such as Chinti and Parker (for the very finest cashmere) and Elizabeth Lau opened this weekend: Mimi Noor. Mimi stocks the very best jeans labels, from J Brand to Dylan George. And Chinti and Parker's Breton stripe jumper and super-soft caramel-coloured V-neck with pockets are the last word in luxury (around £265). Mimi knows her stuff on the best styles and shades to suit you. Clearly, in Bath, shopping is as it should be.

Capital prints

2010-11-04T10:59:00.005Z

House of Holland's new wool jumpers (£250) featuring capital cities, including this Paris knit and the London Big Ben, are eye-catching, fun and cool – just what's needed as the days grow darker. They've just landed at Selfridges, but expect to see a heap of high-street versions any day soon; Henry Holland's irreverent and playful approach to fashion is refreshing but easily imitated.

A little bit of Chanel

2010-10-15T17:38:00.005+01:00

A blast of colour at the end of a long week: here are Chanel's new range of coin purses, wallets and clutches (from £230) in patent calfskin. A fun and frivolous touch of Chanel style to brighten up the day.

Jumper dresses

2010-10-05T11:55:00.018+01:00

Chanel spring/summer 2011. Photo by Giovanni Giannoni on wwd.com

Wool/cashmere jumper dress, £475, Stella McCartney

In the Sunday Times Style this weekend, Agent Provocateur founder Joe Corre was sounding off about jeans: ‘I can’t stand jeans…. I wear them for what they should be used for: painting and decorating, or digging in the garden. But … everybody wears jeans; they look like a robotic army.’ This season there so many options for relaxed daywear that denims can be left on the shelf. More of us are considering ditching jeans, thanks the popularity of cool and casual jersey skirts and dresses on offer, with leggings and skinny trousers on hand to go with them.

For winter – and beyond into next spring, according to Chanel's (madly beautiful) s/s 2011 catwalk – the jersey dress gives way to the knitted dress. Yes, the classic 1980s jumper dress is well and truly back, bringing with it (for many of us) memories of burgundy Topshop numbers paired with matching suede pixie boots. Looking back at photos, you'd never guess that the rather frumpy, itchy, woolly dresses would become a fashion statement here in 2010. But these modern versions are somewhat more sophisticated, in fine cashmere blends to make them more elegant and easy to wear. Everywhere from Net-a-porter to Warehouse has stripey, chunky, ribbed or woolly jumper dresses on their rails right now. Get the length right and they look great with boots or pumps. Here's a round-up of some of the best:

At the top end, there's APC's cute navy and white striped version, Sonia Rykiel's school uniform-style jumper with skirt (£270) and Stella McCartney's stripey jumper dress in wool/cashmere (£475). Vanessa Bruno’s sweater dress is reduced at theoutnet.com (£138 down from £230); or you could wear a black jersey top underneath Bella Freud's Last Poets top, reduced from £215 to £88, for a jumper-dress effect. French brand American Vintage (stocked in Fenwick, Selfridges and online) does a great round-neck sweater dress, £85.

On the high street, Warehouse is doing knitted dresses in maxi, mini and midi lengths, from £45, in greys and black, while Topshop has a more jazzy cotton Love Heart sweater dress at £35. I also really like Hush’s Amy dress (£40), and Toast/Hush-inspired catalogue Wrap has an embroidered merino-wool version for £99 in elegant colours such as washed blue and – oh yes – deep burgundy.

Sweater dress, £138 (down from £230), Vanessa Bruno at theoutnet.com

Grey midi jumper dress, £45, Warehouse

Round-neck sweater dress, £85, American Vintage at Matches.com

Down with camel

2010-09-30T15:57:00.002+01:00

Fuchsia wrap dress, £170, Acne

Here's a spash of colour from Acne as an antidote to all the camel sludging around the place just now. Despite the hundreds of magazine pages and shop displays dedicated to insisting that camel is THE colour to wear this season, camel is – let’s be honest here – a bland shade of brown that suits about one per cent of the population (that's the one per cent who can afford to buy Chloe). It will be out on its colourless backside come January. And then you’ll be stuck wearing your unflattering trousers/coat/jumper – or, worst of all, cape – while everyone else breathes a sigh of relief as they thankfully pull on their black and grey (or pretty well any other colour at all). Most of us, sadly, do not look like Ali McGraw or Lauren Hutton when wearing high-waisted camel trousers. I know black is commonplace, and navy can be boring, but camel feels like fashion's scraping the barrel.

RE

2010-09-28T10:26:00.004+01:00

The December edition of pretty well every magazine I've seen features these paper decorations. Cheap, very cheerful and re-usable, they're available in a variety of shapes, from the balls above to giant bells and white stars. Hang them from your ceiling for a stylish alternative to tinsel and plastic decorations. Sending them out to stylists must be keeping the lovely people at RE seriously busy. RE is a gem of a shop hidden away behind a petrol station in the depths of Northumberland (well, Corbridge to be exact). It's a fabulous, friendly place to visit, and stunningly presented, but if you can't quite get there have a look on their website, which is packed with all manner of original, intriguing and inspiring bits and pieces, from vintage furniture and eiderdowns to American glass cake stands.

REN's coming up roses

2010-09-27T12:16:00.014+01:00

Rose Otto Ultra-Moisture Serum, £40, REN

You know you’re in a super-cool, on-the-ball boutique hotel when you find REN in the bathroom (the Boundary, for example: see post dated 13 May). If you haven't come across REN before, let me introduce you. REN launched in 2000, with a USP of producing beauty products that do not contain synthetics, parabens or petrochemicals, yet are still both beautiful to use and efficacious (an approach that has been adopted by a host of other companies in their wake). They are ‘clean’ products, but don’t have that ‘worthy’ feel to them – they look and smell great and they feel luxurious to use. No wonder its fans (including me) are ardent, bordering on obsessive.

REN’s rose products are their strongest line. The Moroccan Rose Otto Bath Oil is beautifully decadent and non-greasy, and is gorgeous used as a skin oil, too. There’s also Rose Otto Body Wash and a lusciously rich Body Cream (£24.50 and it lasts for ages) that leaves your skin petal-soft and scented. All of them make great gifts. The Rose Centrifolia Cleansing Gel is a cooling face wash that cleans and gently hydrates the skin, and the Rose Ultra-Moisture Serum (£40), worn under moisturiser, uses rice germ, jojoba, coconut, camellia and lemon oils along with rose damascene oil to really lock in moisture. Many people are wary of layering oil onto their face, thinking it will leave a greasy shine, but an oil containing high-quality ingredients like this actually sinks into the skin and gives it a radiance and hydration you just don’t get with a cream. The Rose Otto Body Scub has been much raved-about in magazines, and it does give your skin a buffed sheen, though I reckon the creams and oils are better investments – most of this ends up down the plughole.

I also recommend the Keep Young and Beautiful Serum (£45). Yes, it costs rather more than Protect & Perfect, the bargain Boots serum that everyone went mad over for a while – but for my money it’s way more effective, and genuinely feels like it makes your skin look better. And there aren’t many products, especially costing less than 50 quid, that truly make your skin look better (with the fine exception of Dr Hauschka’s Rose Cream). Also worth a try is Omega 3 Night Repair Serum; it takes takes longer to absorb into the skin so use only a small amount for the best effects.

REN’s website is as good-looking and effective as its products (and that's not always the case). You can search by product or, most usefully, by skin type. And there are some good offers too, including free trial sizes, plus a free £20 Mayday Rescue Balm when you spend over £30. Look out for their kits to try out five different trial sizes before you splash out on a full-size one.

Manolo at Liberty

2010-09-11T17:27:00.015+01:00

Campari court shoes, Manolo Blahnik for Liberty

Liberty was recently voted best shop in London by Time Out magazine. It’s always been a favourite; even back in 2002, when I was editing Time Out’s shopping and fashion section, it was raking in the awards for its shoe and beauty departments. Liberty continues to go from strength to strength because it has never rested on its laurels – and it could so easily sit back and rely on its history (135 years of it) and location to pull in the punters. Instead Liberty is constantly reinventing itself, bringing in the coolest, most desirable labels and developing their own exclusive ranges to boot. It’s wonderfully un-snooty as a store, and really feels like the heart of shopping London. Whether it’s tea, rare perfume, edgy designer label, madly expensive lingerie or even a sewing school you’re looking for, you’ll find it in the elegant surroundings of Liberty... and find huge pleasure in looking.

At the moment they have an exclusive range by Manolo Blahnik instore (and online, for accessories but not shoes). With everything from cute shoe-print lavender bags at £6.95 (great for gifts) to satin court shoes in brilliant yellow and lipstick red (around £420), the range brings a bit of Blahnik a little closer to us mere mortals… though the saner among us might balk at paying just shy of 100 quid for an umbrella, however pretty it is. Oh, and the knee-length Arctic goat-hair boots (£925) are surely just ludicrous, in so many ways. There are plenty of sleek and wearable court shoes, though, and the shoe-print fabric has great charm. And the velvet boots in sugar pink and midnight blue are straight out of a fairytale: The Elves and The Shoemaker, perhaps.

Coffee and shopping in Dublin

2010-08-22T11:19:00.013+01:00

The Cake Cafe, Dublin

Sorry for the delay in posting... it has proved inordinately tricky to set up broadband here in the new house – even getting a landline has taken a fortnight. But on all other fronts it is great, and really energising, to be in Dublin.

I’m glad to report that the coffee situation here is looking seriously good. The Cake Café, off Camden Street, lives up to its excellent reputation. Hidden away in an unpromising alleyway, about five minutes’ walk from St Stephen’s Green, it’s pretty small but – in a spirit of optimism – has plenty of seats outside, sheltered by bamboo. You reach it by walking to the back of a stationery shop, Daintree’s, and then out through a tunnel of bamboo, like something out of a grown-up Harry Potter. With its home-baked bread, mis-matched crockery, black-and-white-tiled floor and shelves stacked with packets of flour, the cafe has the laidback, effortlessly cool vibe of Jones Dairy in Columbia Road. There are pretty fairy cakes in silver cases, huge slabs of brownie, great (double shot) coffees and a small selection of things you really want to eat for lunch: the day’s soup, tart or salad, plus a host of chunky sandwiches and hearty platefuls of Portugese sardines on toast, and hotpot. Well worth searching out.

Smock boutique continues to stock a fabulous edit, from Veronique Branquinho to Acne. The latter's short Pistol boots are a great staple for autumn/winter (the Acne online store is offering free postage this week), and the Zorah black dress epitomises the label's much-hyped wearable chic. There's a rail-load of Acne at Brown Thomas too, Dublin's finest, most glamorous department store. For many seasons now BT has catered purely for the super-rich, it seems – Lanvin, Gucci, Balmain – but new additions such as L'Agence, Thakoon, Isobel Marant Etoile, T by Alexander Wang (such gorgeous fabrics, such easy style, at Whistles prices!) and Carven offer a new layer of edge and wearability. Wang's current bag, the Darcy slouch hobo, is the best he's done yet, I reckon ($850 at shopbop.com, or around £547).

The stand-out collection in store right now, for me, is Paul & Joe. This label goes from strength to strength. Now healthy enough to advertise even in the most glossy of glossies, Paul & Joe have a strong a/w 2010 collection featuring the perfect little black dress in jersey, accentuated with a silver leaf (£465), a chic wool/cashmere coat, eccentric swan-print tops and a beautiful kimono-sleeved black and white print silk mini dress that makes a striking statement. They have teamed up with Pierre Cardin for a few pieces too.

Back on cardigan/coats for autumn (see post 5 August), M&S have come up trumps with a Rick Owens-esque long cardi with alpaca for around £50, plus a long waterfall cashmere cardi in grey or a latte colour for around £150. As usual with M&S these won't be easy to track down; though they're in the Dublin store right now they don't feature on the website. Their cashmere section is always worth a look, though.

Elsewhere, H&M have been doing a simple navy and red-striped Breton top for less than a tenner that nods to Marc Jacobs' bold stripes this season; it's worth rifling their chaotic store for.

Beside the sea

2010-08-17T17:11:00.007+01:00

Last night I swam in the Irish sea in the rain. The sky was silver and the water was completely calm, with just a slight swell as raindrops smattered the surface. It was cold, still and utterly exhilarating.

Living by the sea is even more magical than I imagined. There is always something to look at, from the hardy early morning swimmers first thing in the morning and the kids hunting for crabs and periwinkles to the kite-surfers in the evening and tentative lines of young canoeists having lessons. And yesterday, there were dolphins out in the bay. When the tide’s out we take cups of tea onto the sand and the kids run around; it’s like being permanently on holiday.

The swimmers change and congregate by the Martello tower, and it’s a wonderfully eccentric sight – a bunch of all ages, all shapes, standing in their pants as they contemplate the icy waters. Locals stroll around the streets and squares in their dressing gowns as they head down to the water. It’s like having a giant open-air swimming pool. And boy, it beats paying an awful lot of cash per month to have water kicked in your face for 20 minutes by the Alpha Male doing messy crawl in front as you plough up and down the chlorinated, sweaty pool.

The feeling when you get out of the sea is fantastic – you feel energized, exhilarated, your skin glowing and tingling – and a cup of tea never tasted so good. Yep, I'm a convert – though ask me again come November....

Talking of the sea, there’s a book festival in Dun Laoghaire from 7-12 September and I’ve booked to see John Banville, Booker winner for the wonderfully evocative and moving The Sea. I'm also seeing Jonathan Coe and Ross Raisin (Raisin’s God’s Own Country is a brilliantly dark first novel set in the moors of Yorkshire).

So far, so very good – and I haven't even told you about the Cake Cafe yet... next time.

Knits for now

2010-08-05T20:22:00.020+01:00

Knitted fisherman rib cardigan, £45, Topshop

Knits are big news for autumn/winter, as seen on the catwalks of Michael Kors, Stella McCartney and Marc Jacobs. From chunky sweaters to cashmere cardis, there's a great range of cosy, classy woolies around. It's Val Doonican all the way, with Stella's cardi dress and McQueen's sweater dresses, plus romantic takes like Dior's soft chunky-knit cardigan threaded through with silky blue ribbon. Pair them with silk skirts to great effect, as seen at Louis Vuitton, Dries Van Noten, Marc Jacobs and Richard Nicoll – another take on cosy glam.

This season lots of designers have also come up with 'cardigowns' – a term coined, I think, by Hush, the masters of fine pyjamas and comfortable lounge wear. A cross between a cardigan and a dressing gown, and even a coat if it's fine, these are the home-worker’s ideal piece of clothing – chuck it over pyjamas and it looks like you got dressed. It's warm yet looks good, especially when spun from the softest of cashmere.

Designers like Nicole Farhi and Pringle always do this look especially well. Farhi’s wool/cashmere tops are an elegant and versatile wardrobe staple, useful with both jeans and dresses. This season, the best versions are ruinously expensive: Rick Owens’ black chunky alpaca cardi (£580) is wonderfully decadent, as is Diane von Furstenberg’s long Chung cardigan in 100% cashmere (£367), an investment piece that will last well for years. Also check out Burberry’s chunky cashmere-blend cardigan and Vivienne Westwood's black version (£412), and the rather more reasonable grey open cardigan by Day Birger and Mikkelson (£139). I like Paul & Joe Sister's cable-knit (£145), too. The ultimate throw-ons are the feather-soft cashmere versions by Irish knitwear designer Lainey Keogh – but, yikes, when we say 'investment piece', we're talking life savings/pension/hefty percentage of salary-type investment.

Turning to the high street, look at Topshop’s fisherman rib cardigan (see top, £45) in very of-the-season camel, or black. The jumper version in blue (£42) would look fantastic with a satin skirt, as would the Vuitton-esque cropped cable jumper. I still think camel's a tough colour to wear, though – it's really just a shade of brown, after all, and for me black wins every time. A classic camel coat's all very well, but unless it's by Celine (see Garance Doré's great blog for proof) it's hard to hanker after something that looks like it's been languishing in your granny's wardrobe for the last few decades, whatever the September issues tell us.

Day Birger and Mikkelson, £139, my-wardrobe.com

Dublin calling

2010-08-03T22:25:00.005+01:00

Moving house is always a funny thing. But in less than a week we’re moving not only to a new house but also to a new country – Ireland – which feels a bit of a big one. It feels like we’re about to jump off a cliff. In a good way.

I am really excited about living right next to the sea; there is a Martello tower and a swimming club directly in front of the (rented, rambling) house, and I’m intending to join the hardy old ladies who swim there daily whatever the weather (though in an industrial-strength wetsuit rather than a one-piece and a flowery hat).

Naturally, I have checked out the café situation as a matter of urgency, and it looks very healthy: I am looking forward to hunting out the Bald Barista, who reputedly makes the best coffee in Dublin (according to Time Out), and the Cake Café in Camden Street, which sounds more than promising. And of course there’s always the classic Bewleys, and Café Cagliostro over the bridge, and a clutch of good spots round Smock Alley...

Not that good coffee is the only consideration in moving to a new country – but you have to start somewhere….

Top hats

2010-07-30T12:24:00.009+01:00

Just a quick post to share these fantastic – and not a little eccentric – light shades. How great would they look hanging in a dressing room? Choose from the Jeeves black/champagne Bowler Hat Pendant (£150) or the Wooster black/silver Top Hat Pendant (£170), all by Jake Phipps at Heal's.

Edinburgh

2010-07-25T15:01:00.010+01:00

In Edinburgh yesterday to see my friend Zee. Apart from drinking copious coffees in Valvona & Crolla, we explored Jeffrey Street (just up from the station), where there’s a great retro-style sweet shop, Lickety Splits, and an interiors store called Moleta Munro stocking an eclectic range of lighting, prints, rugs and other textiles by designers such as Donna Wilson, Bestlite and Arne Jacobsen and SCP. Especially liked the Bold & Noble map prints (above, £38) and the Norm lampshades, which add a touch of style to any room.

Harvey Nichols was really lacklustre, though (apart from the Shu Uemura counter which was buzzing as always, mainly due to the enthusiastic, talented girls who run it). The store’s fashion edit increasingly seems to focus on the big bucks rather than cutting-edge style, and it’s looking a bit tired – and more than a bit bling. So instead of introducing current hot labels – Acne, perhaps, or Erdem, or Basso & Brooke, or Rick Owens – a new ‘Beyond MediSpa’ has appeared on the Womenswear floor, so you can buy a new face along with your Lanvin. Just another case of trying to make Botox and other injectables seem like a normal, everyday thing to do.

Other new additions to Womenswear include Project D, the line fronted by Dannii Minogue. Is it just me who finds this depressing? All those struggling, exciting, genuinely talented young labels trying to get a foot in the door – and yet something like this gets hype and prominence in the media (such as a front-page story in the Times fashion supplement) and in stores like HN simply because someone off the telly has put their name to it. It can only be a matter of time before Peter Andre’s jaunty menswear line hits the store, or perhaps Katie Price’s jeans line. It’s a slippery slope, and cheapens all the work, training, skills and toil that designers put in. There’s always bound to be some crossover in our celebrity-obsessed times, but something seems wrong when a store like Harvey Nichols stocks clothes purely because of who’s behind them.

Rant over. I was cheered up slightly by a few rails of Alexander Wang, but irritated by the glitzy Burberry Brit rather than Burberry proper – surely the classic trench coats sell everywhere, as would the peacoats? I do think this is where Net-a-porter is cleaning up: the range of labels on offer is so much more appealing and comprehensive than this tiny, limited, rather patronizing offering. No surprise that, just like the Dublin store, it was dead quiet in here on a Saturday afternoon… while, I'm quite sure, Net-a-porter’s tills were ringing.

On sale online

2010-07-21T14:39:00.009+01:00

Silk shift dress, £32, Holly Fulton at Asos

Online giant Asos contines to buck all trends and flourish in the face of recession (sales are currently up by 54%). A look at its sale helps to reveal how: you can pick up a silk shift dress by rising star designer Holly Fulton for £32 (down from £85), as well as posh Green & Spring bath oils and lotions, as stocked in Liberty, from £12.50 (nearly half-price), and Andrea Garland floral body cream from a tenner. Also standing out in the sale is a navy wool peacoat by Gap at £53 (down from £89.50) – a bargain version of the Burberry a/w 2010 classic – and Andrea Garland floral body cream (from a tenner). The beauty sale features everything from Paul & Joe lipsticks through to Girls Aloud false eyelashes (!) for £2.50. Free delivery and returns is an extra bonus.

Navy peacoat, £53, Gap at Asos

Heartbreaker

2010-07-18T14:51:00.002+01:00

I’m moving house in a few weeks, so in classic head-in-the-sand mode I’m going to the cinema as many nights as I can, leaving the drudgery of packing to the last possible minute. After Breathless (see below) and Greenberg (so dull), I saw Heartbreaker, a French comedy starring Vanessa Paradis. As escapism goes, it doesn’t get much better than this: glamorous locations, fabulous clothes, Dirty Dancing and a truckload of Gallic charm. It’s hard to tell which is the bigger star – Paradis or her Hermès handbag... it’s certainly a close-run thing. Chanel and Celine clothes also co-star (though a Paul Smith suit doesn’t come out of it well – along with Andrew Lincoln as the buttoned-up Brit). Roman Duris is flamboyant and artfully dishevelled, Paradis a tiny, gap-toothed mannequin, and the comedy is wonderfully slapstick. Great fun.

Breathless

2010-07-10T10:58:00.008+01:00

I went to see Breathless last night at the cinema, a super-sharp new print to celebrate the cult classic’s 50th anniversary. Paris looks at its best in black and white and it has never looked prettier than here, with beautiful classic cars lining the streets. Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo as the amoral Michel, all swagger in his too-big suit, are all about beauty too. The real star of the show, though, is Seberg’s elfin haircut – one of the most influential in cinema history, along with Audrey Hepburn’s in Roman Holiday, perhaps? How modern, gamine and young she looks, refreshingly natural, and effortlessly stylish in pumps, stripes and dark glasses. It's all so far from the identikit collagen-plumped, botoxed, airbrushed blandness that's ubiquitous today. It makes you want to march straight to the nearest hairdressers and brave the scissors once and for all. Not to mention jump on the Eurostar, wearing a single-breasted trench coat, to smoke many, many Gauloises.

Sale tip

2010-07-09T14:40:00.004+01:00

Go online quick to Acne Studios for their final sale reductions, with big discounts on items like these leather boots (£136, down from £340) and a cotton/linen trench coat that's good for autumn/winter (£162 down from £405). Much as I love these boots, I guess they're not ideal for autumn's rainy days....

Acne's ironically named 'Admire' boot, however, has got to be one of the ugliest bits of footwear I've ever seen. Or is it just me? Surely they'd make you look like you had something seriously wrong with your feet – which no doubt you would if you attempted to walk anywhere in them.

Books

2010-07-06T14:49:00.010+01:00

I love being given recommendations for books, so I thought I'd do a post on some I've read recently in case they appeal to you:

The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker. Don’t let the cover picture – a couple of cows – put you off: I’m not sure why anyone would pick up a book with this cover (luckily it had a Dublin IMPAC Award Winner sticker on the front, which made it stand out). Subtle, strange and oddly addictive, this quirky read is a study in loneliness yet very, very funny. Loved it.

One Day by David Nicholls. A fun, easy read tracing a ‘Harry met Sally’-type relationship from its beginnings in the 1980s through the decades. But why’s the main character called Dexter? Despite the irritating bits and the moments where the characters don’t ring true, the book's packed with funny scenes (which are just waiting to be made into a film, like Nicholls’ previous novel, Starter for Ten) and plenty of tenderness, very well handled. Will particularly appeal to those who listened to Tracey Chapman in the 1980s and hung out in Soho in the 1990s.

Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan. I first read this years ago but it’s always worth revisiting and only takes an hour or two. Evocative, sun-lit and wonderfully French.

Invisible by Paul Auster. Reminded me of The Magus by John Fowles. Brilliantly structured and darkly compelling, it’s hard to put down. Thanks Laura for the tip.

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin – the story of a young girl’s passage from small town Ireland to Brooklyn in the 1950s. Beautifully detailed and restrained, and brilliantly evocative of place and period.

The Hidden by Tobias Hill. Ambitious and smart, this book grows darker with every page you turn. The characters remain remote and cold, and I found them hard to relate to or empathise with, but it's a good read, with hints of The Secret History and Lord of the Flies, and a nervy, fast-paced finale.

To Reach The Clouds by Philippe Petit, a personal account of his magnificent death-defying tightrope walk between the Twin Towers.

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

A Gate at the Stairs by Lottie Moore

Wang-tastic

2010-07-04T15:57:00.014+01:00

So the maxidress spirit goes on into autumn. This, I reckon, is a good thing. Any day now, in reaction to the long sweeping skirts of the summer, skirts will go micro-mini again – that trend which suits precisely 2% of the population.

Here’s what designer Erdem says about skirts for a/w 2010: ‘I loved the casualness of a boyish jumper and a long satin skirt. It felt modern and right; effortless and utterly chic.' In a season when other options are faux fur, capes and – yawn – the gloomy old parka, this mode of laidback glamour sounds wonderfully appealing. Dries van Noten always gets this look bang on; I have a long satin skirt bought from the Designer Warehouse Sales* in King’s Cross more than ten years ago and it has stood the test of time brilliantly, as all his clothes do (remember when they sold at Whistles?).

Dries van Noten, a/w 2010. Photo: Marcio Madeira / FirstView.com

I’ve always wondered if those websites that enable you to buy direct from the States actually work. I read about Shopbop.com a while ago but have only just got round to trying it out, ordering (purely for research purposes, of course) a T by Alexander Wang asymmetric black jersey dress at $140, the equivalent of £97 (rather than the £140 it costs here). I ordered it online on a Tuesday afternoon – and amazingly, it arrived on the Thursday morning (and international postage is free). The only downside is that you have to pay a customs charge on delivery, which varies according to the cost of the item; for the $140 dress I had to pay £28. But it’s still a little cheaper overall, the service is super-efficient and they have a wide selection of stock on offer. And the dress is fantastic: light enough to wear in the summer, bias-cut to flatter curves and as soft as a second skin. In the winter it’ll be great with a cashmere jumper (see First-class cashmere, below right) and big boots. I’m hooked.

Alexander Wang's effortlessly wearable luxe jersey pieces feel confidently modern without shouting about it. These are clothes that will feel and look good for years (handwashing will help; well, there has to be a downside). In a way, long bias-cut skirts and dresses in a low-key, light fabric are what Ghost did so well for years: in magazine articles about the best clothes to take on holiday, everyone from travel editors to celebs always raved about the ease and beauty of a Ghost dress. No wonder Wang was the only name to escape unblemished from Sex and the City 2 (bar Mr Big, who only gets better with age): his fresh young take on clothes stood out from that grim procession of contrived, unflattering outfits.

* DWS have always been some of London’s very best designer sales. The next sales start on September 17 in a new location near Holloway Rd/Finsbury Park tube, with womenswear and then menswear (including names like Paul Smith, Phillip Treacy and Hamnett) at huge discounts. It was always a trek to get there, but always worth it.

Cafes: the crème de la crème

2010-06-17T14:23:00.004+01:00

Years ago, Bee and I rented a flat above a shop in Clapham. We could climb out of the window onto the flat roof overlooking the Common – it was a fantastic, if slightly precarious, place for a party. Clapham Picture House was round the corner, plus the atmospheric restaurant Gastro with its tumblers of red wine and bowls of mussels. You’d often see Vivienne Westwood’s muse Sara Stockbridge in there or Westwood herself as she lived around the corner. My only regret is that Patisserie Macaron was not there then. As cafes go, this one is pretty well perfect: the counter is piled high with éclairs, freshly made warm croissants, French sweets and jewel-coloured macaroons; the coffee is excellent, and there are views over the Common. The only tricky bit is getting a seat before all the bleary-eyed Sunday morning dads pile in with the kids. Friendly and fabulously French – take the 88 bus from Oxford Street and breakfast in style.

Patisserie Macaron, 22 The Pavement, London SW4

The best beauty stuff for summer

2010-06-15T22:16:00.010+01:00

Don't worry, I'm not going to write about that whole 'preparing your beach body' thing – I hate those smug beauty articles that assume you're off to the Caribbean for a holiday rather than some chilly Irish beach, and go on about all the detoxing/toning/Gwyneth-style pilates you should have been doing for the last year, and the coral lipstick you have to slick on to visit the beach bar. But there are a few products around at the moment that are genuinely good for summer and are worth trying out, whether at home or abroad. Here's a round-up of the best ones I've tested:

The only essential (not just in the summer, but every day) is to wear an SPF cream on your face. Clinique’s City Block Sheer comes in both SPF 25 or 40. The 25 looks tinted but smooths on without any colour or scent and at £15 it’s the best protector I’ve tried; it's very light rather than leaving a thick or shiny layer.

For skin dried out by swimming/sun/or simply the ravages of age, Elemis’ new Skin Nourishing Shower Cream (£22) definitely helps (and they’re doing a deal at the moment where you can get the shower cream plus Nourishing Hand and Body Lotion for £35; see timetospa.com). The shower cream is luscious, creamy enough to really moisturise your skin, and has a light, clean scent. They also do a neat travel set for 15 quid containing mini versions of their best products, including the hugely popular Pro-Collagen Marine Cream, said to work wonders on wrinkles. I really rate their products, even the Body Refining anti-cellulite serum and firming cream, which I tested out for a beauty article when it launched a few years ago. Though I approached it with huge cynicism, it's actually really good... as good as it gets, in fact, without actually having to thunder along a treadmill.

Best of all for summer skin though is the humble wooden body brush – both Elemis and E’SPA do good ones, for around £17; brush morning and evening towards the heart and get the circulation pumping to make your skin look firmer and brighter.

While we’re being this shallow, here are some other fine summer beauty products: Palmer’s Body Butter, one of the best and cheapest moisturisers around (available in most supermarkets), now has added SPF15. For knackered summer hair, dried out in chlorine or the sun and sea, try Aveda’s Hair Detoxifier (not cheap, but lasts a long time). Frederic Fekkai’s range is also effective but wildly expensive, so the cut-price alternative is the James Brown London range at Boots: the Intensive Mask for hair is around seven pounds and goes a long way to rescuing ruined locks and his Scandalous Intensely Glossy Rescue Treatment is a good bet at £8.

For summer scents, it’s hard to beat the fresh, unisex scent of Acqua di Parma, or the fruity and intriguing Le Figuer by Diptyque. I’m still obsessed with Chanel No.5 Eau Premiere, the younger, lighter little sister of Chanel No.5, the mother of all perfumes. Especially now it’s available in a neat handbag size that’s perfect for getting through the airport (40ml spray from £52). It's still unmistakeably No.5, but more wearable, less overpowering for hot days.

The most super-frivolous summer product has to be Huile Prodigeuse Or Amazing Dry Gold Oil by Nuxe, £36, to give skin, hair and body for a light and lustrous golden sheen. The By Terry products stocked in SpaceNK are equally decadent. We’re talking top-end topicals here, and ones that really work; Terry de Gunzberg is the make-up genius behind YSL Touche Eclat concealer, one of the best-selling cult beauty products ever. The rose-scented moisturisers and serums smell amazing and just melt into parched skin.

Sales alert

2010-06-14T09:37:00.010+01:00

Here are a couple of star items on sale right now at Matches and Selfridges online:

Marni denim slingbacks, £259 down from £430, at Selfridges sale online

Marni top, £218 down from £370, at Matches sale online

Atomic dress by Christopher Kane, £115 down from £188 at Matches sale online

Lanvin asymmetric dress, £198 down from £290 at Matches sale online

It's hard to beat Burberry

2010-06-07T13:56:00.020+01:00

Long double-breasted peacoat, £1,195, Burberry

The thing about summer clothes is that a) they tend not to be black and b) they tend to be flimsy, very short and sleeveless. Trying to find a half-decent summer dress can feel like mission impossible unless you want to wear something that's about four inches long, or something from Jigsaw. (Was Jigsaw always so expensive, by the way? Some of their maxidresses are pretty, but most clock in at the £100-150 mark; when bolder brands like Acne and American Vintage, Whistles and Cos are doing something quite a bit cooler, this feels like too much).

Anyway – now the sun's gone again and so I'm looking ahead at the new collections. They look so classy and investable next to the garishly colourful pieces clogging up the rails right now. Wouldn't you rather save up for one fabulous coat than waste cash on dresses from H&M and flimsy sandals that you'll get to wear for just a week or two? It's a rhetorical question, clearly, when you come face to face with the new coats at Burberry. The cut, the shapes, the fabric – these are classic with a capital C and yet completely of the moment, with military-style double-breasted versions (see above). The enduringly cool peacoat (£395) stands out as the hottest shape for autumn/winter for both boys and girls. Designer Christopher Bailey continues to keep Burberry at the very top of its game.

Burberry autumn/winter 2010. Photo Marcio Madeira / FirstView.com

Expensive, yes, but the cost-per-wear argument stands up to serious scrutiny here – because each of these coats and jackets are made to last and last. It's not like buying into the latest trouser shape, which will change surely and inevitably. Currently, magazines and websites are breathlessly telling us this season's 'must-have' is the Houlihan by J Brand, a cargo pant/skinny jean hybrid with unflattering hip-side pockets (striding in at a hefty £245). It's true that J Brand trousers are beautifully soft to wear and have a flattering cut. And that, thanks to Balmain, skinny trousers are here to stay a while, having ousted anything boot-cut or flared to the dark dustbin of fashion. But I still reckon that anything remotely cargo will be consigned to the sale rail before the year's out, particularly those in GI Jane-style khaki. Just remember how quickly we all went off cargo trousers the first time round. Because they looked rubbish.

A Burberry trenchcoat still looks as good as new a decade, two decades later. Versatile, practical even, it lends the wearer a touch of understated style and elevates the rest of an outfit to its level (or, at the very least, covers it up). Likewise, next season's wool and cashmere coats with their military twist are truly covetable, and there will be a million high-street copies – but none of them will look quite like this...

Three-quarter-length trenchcoat with princess sleeves, £650, Burberry

Birds, chains and Skirt

2010-06-06T14:26:00.013+01:00

Bird necklace, £75, Alice Eden

Skirt boutique is one of the most quirky and original places to shop in Newcastle. As well as stocking some intriguing Scandanavian designers, they always have an interesting selection of jewellery on display. On my last visit, it was necklaces by Alice Eden that stood out. Her themes aren't groundbreaking – stars, birds, hearts, horseshoes – but the pieces have a simple charm. The flock of birds seen on skirts, bags and shoes at Miu Miu this season seem to have migrated into silver and gold: Eden’s sterling silver hoops decorated with bird charms start from £40, and the punky yet pretty long necklace with silver bird charms enamelled in black is £110. In other collections, the jade tusks on a long silver chain have been a big seller, and her long star necklace has a touch of Chanel about it (£77); all are also available in gold. An ex-stylist, Alice Eden is now stocked in shops around the world, from Jess James and Supragirl in London to Smock in Dublin, and online. Also at Skirt you'll find the more affordable Swallow necklaces by Maria Allen, £18.

Silver bird necklace, £75, Alice Eden

With feathered friends as a theme Eden is following in the footsteps of jeweller Alex Monroe, who has been crafting birds and bees, flowers and feathers since he set up in 1986. Now sold everywhere from Liberty to Fenwick, his delicate pieces featuring bumble bees through to buttercups sell like hot cakes to those who want something a bit different and fashionable, yet enduring. Monroe’s latest collection, Eyebright, branches out into precious stones, from citrine to sapphire, held on tiny slim bands. Also check out the Trunk Show pieces on his website to bag one-offs such as this nautical bangle.

Bird necklace, £175, Alex Monroe

The other jeweller ahead of the game is acclaimed designer Scott Wilson, based at Cockpit Arts studios in London. I remember seeing his exquisitely made silver feathers on long chains at the regular studio sales years back (and still kick myself that I didn't buy one). Wilson now designs pieces for designers such as Peter Pilotto, Matthew Williamson and Jaeger (s/s 2010) and his online store opens shortly.

Bargain boutique hotels in London and beyond…

2010-06-05T21:19:00.006+01:00

Town Hall Hotel & Apartments, Bethnal Green

I’ve just come across an excellent travel website, TravelIntelligence.com, which offers good deals on the best hotels around the world. One of the best bargains up for grabs right now is the five-star Town Hall Hotel & Apartments in Bethnal Green, a new super-hip spot in the centre of east London. There are 98 rooms available in this art deco building right in the centre of the east end action. From here you can walk to Columbia Road, Hoxton Square and tons of other ridiculously hip places, plus it’s only one stop to Liverpool Street Station – and there’s a beautiful sleek swimming pool and lively bar on site too. Rates are seriously competitive: taking a June Saturday as an example, there are double rooms available from £130, a luxurious feature room with its own kitchen and all mod cons at £144, and a two-bed apartment sleeping four at £182 (all per room per night). The Town Hall’s rooms usually start from £290, with apartments from £320, so this is really quite a bargain (though it’s worth noting that weekend stays are sometimes available for £99 via the hotel direct; call 020 7871 0460 or email reservations@townhallhotel.com to check; www.townhallhotel.com).

Travel Intelligence also lists rooms at other 5-star hotels including the Boundary (see post dated 13 May) from £211.50 per room, and The Sanctum Soho Hotel – bang in the centre of town with a bar and a jacuzzi on its roof –from £195. In Dublin, book into the brilliant Clarence, right on the River Liffey, from £118, or at the John Rocha-designed Morrison from £93.

Summer face by Chanel

2010-05-28T14:10:00.014+01:00

"There is grey in your hair,

Young men no longer suddenly catch their breath

When you are passing;..."

from Broken Dreams by WB Yeats

I live in an area that's packed with students, and I love seeing how they dress. Although most of them have only recently got out of school uniform, it's clear that conformity is still the norm, and they dress in packs. The current uniform is: denim shorts, opaque tights and huge bags and shades for the girls (as dictated by Grazia/Alexa Chung); and highlighted hair and beanie hats for the boys (however hot it is) plus, as Colin has discussed (How Male Fashion Changes, 26 May), trousers hanging down as low as physically possible. It is really quite an art to suspend your trousers just low enough to show off your pants yet keep them from falling down completely. It kind of defies gravity, and must be extremely unrelaxing, especially when cycling.

One thing that's really noticeable, too, is how much makeup the girls wear to nip in for a lecture: all these 19/20 year olds with their beautiful plump young skin hidden beneath a mask of foundation. As anyone over 35 is only too aware, your skin is fabulously fresh at this age even if you don't realise it at the time – it seems mad to cover it up with slap.

As you get older, however, your skin becomes more lined, patchy and dry (as my friend Lucy pointed out, rather cynically, in a birthday card once, it's all downhill from 21...). So a bit of liquid help comes in handy. I hate the thickness of many foundations and have stuck with Laura Mercier's Tinted Moisturiser as an alternative. But lately I've been trying Chanel's Vitalumiere in Nude, a super-light formulation that doesn't clog or sit heavily on the skin yet has much better coverage, smoothing out blotchy and liney bits. It's moisturising on the skin rather than drying, plus it has SPF 15; vital, as there's no point splashing out on any anti-ageing creams and lotions if you're not going to protect your face with sunscreen. Cheap lipsticks, eyeliners and even serums can be great, but I feel like it's worth investing in something decent to make the best of your skin. Ask the Chanel lady to help you get the right shade – she will test it on your jawline – as there are few things more ageing than the wrong colour. It's around 30 quid, but if it eases a midlife crisis, that seems fair – think of it as liquid Botox....

Kane-ing it in gingham

2010-05-24T13:59:00.015+01:00

Vintage gingham dress, £57, The House of Avalon, York

York’s newest vintage shop, The House of Avalon (01904 622055) is a petite little parlour just round the corner from the City Art Gallery. It’s been open less than a month so the selection of clothes is not massive – but it's a carefully edited collection of choice pieces. Loved this red and white gingham dress (£57) for a rather bargainous nod to Christopher Kane. Silk paisley dressing gowns and kimonos, tea dresses and hats are all in good nick too. You can pick up a unique piece here for around the same price that you’d pay for a Topshop dress (less in many cases). The little tea room at the back is a fine spot for Earl Grey and fairy cakes in a quiet, unhurried atmosphere, and there are old films playing on the wall.

Christopher Kane, s/s 2010. Photo: Marcio Madeira for www.style.com

The gingham dress stood out in particular because Christopher Kane has made this fabric hot again for summer 2010. But gingham can go either way: though cute and sexy and fresh when worn by Brigitte Bardot on the beach at St Tropez (and, let’s face it, in her heyday Bardot could make a binliner look a million dollars), it always reminds me too much of tablecloths. More specifically, the Gingham Kitchen in Doncaster where we’d go for egg and chips and banana milkshakes as kids – it was a riot of red and white check. And even if gingham doesn’t bring to mind your local Italian restaurant, it definitely harks back to unflattering school uniforms. So all credit to Kane for making it sexy and modern this season, with split gingham skirts and dresses (see above) that manage to be both demure and flirty. It’s no surprise that the high street’s taken note; look out for gingham shirts (£55) and bikinis by J Crew (at net-a-porter.com) through to mini skirts at Topshop. Toast has a neat (though pricey at £99) little shift dress, Jaeger has everything from trousers to a wrap dress (on sale for £99), or try a subtle touch of the trend with a gingham scarf by NW3 at Hobbs (£35). Tablecloths ahoy!

Gingham skirt, £698, Christopher Kane

Gingham shift dress, £125, Jaeger

Gingham shift dress, £99, Toast

Acne maxidress

2010-05-23T20:21:00.001+01:00

A note about Acne's extreme stripe maxidress, which I've mentioned before (see post 8 April). The Sunday Times Style featured it today as a 'must-have' item but says that it's sold out everywhere and is selling for 'double on eBay'. Yes, it's all gone from stockists including Liberty, Browns and net-a-porter, but try going direct to Acne's online store: this evening they still have both the black/white and blue/white version in stock in both S and M, price £125 (add on around £7 for p&p). While I don't buy in to some of the other 'wow factor' pieces on the page – leopard-print wedges, leather shorts (!) and a lurid metallic version of the otherwise great Mulberry Alexa bag (at 800 quid) – I do think this is a great dress. It's striking, flattering (no horizontal stripes round your middle), in a super-light yet not-see-through cotton. Being from Yorkshire, I appreciate the fact that you could wear it all year round, making it excellent cost-per-wear value.

Star in the East

2010-05-13T22:03:00.001+01:00

T he rooftop at Boundary, London

The E2 area of London really has become the best place to stay when visiting the capital. With a huge pile of lively and unique markets, shops and bars on your doorstep, it feels cool, laidback and right on the pulse of the city. There's Spitalfields market, Brick Lane and Cheshire Street – with its great independent shops, including the brilliant Labour & Wait – and Columbia Road flower market. Then there are the many cool bars and eateries around Leonard and Great Eastern Streets, and exquisite cafe/delis like Verde, just opposite Spitalfields Market. And the good thing is the scattering of hip affordable hotels in the area, such as the Hoxton Hotel: rooms start from £59, but sign up on their website to hear about their regular sales, when you can book a room for £1 or £29. The next one is tomorrow, 13 May, at 12pm, and they sell out immediately. I managed to bag a room there for £29 last year, and it's the most brilliant bargain: rooms are small but perfectly formed, there's a coffee machine that's free to use, it has a really buzzy bar downstairs and you get Pret a Manger stuff for breakfast. I really can't think of any other hotel that offers so much for so little.

Nearby, Nick Jones of Soho House recently opened Shoreditch House, where rooms start from £75. This sounds like another great deal – it's bound to be fabulous as everywhere he touches turns to gold, whether it's in Balham or Manhattan.

If you're in the market for style and luxury, Conran's Boundary is a seriously memorable place to stay. Voted Best New Hotel in London by Condé Nast Traveller this year, it is all about attention to detail. Staff are smart yet chilled in Joe Casely-Hayford-designed uniforms. The bright, fresh ground floor shop/café, Albion, has its own bakery, and seats outside to enjoy a coffee or fine breakfast and some prime people-watching. The 12 hotel rooms and five suites are themed by designer or design movement, from Eames and Le Corbusier to Bauhaus, and are immaculately beautiful and luxurious. Plus there’s tons of REN stuff in the bathroom which, shallow as I am, would make me supremely happy all by itself. But the icing on the cake, literally, is the rooftop bar and restaurant, complete with log fires, comfy seating and rugs for when it gets chilly. It’s a great place to eat and an even better place to drink, with magical city views, though it doesn't stay open very late in the evening (as it’s a residential area), which is a terrible shame – it’s such a romantic setting. Rooms start from £140 per night, though you’re looking at £200 for one of the extra-spacious corner rooms on a Saturday night. For a touch of style in the city, it ticks every box.

Spring staples at Uniqlo

2010-05-07T13:46:00.000+01:00

Japanese high-street store Uniqlo doesn’t just pile them high, sell them cheap – like H&M and Topshop, it also has a serious knack of coming up with winning collaborations. Previous 'Designer Invitations' have included Alexander Wang and Philip Lim. Currently worth a look are the pieces designed by New York-based label, Costello Tagliapietro, such as this neat key neck dress (£24.99).

Uniqlo’s next team-up is with LA-based Velvet by Graham & Spencer who, like CT, specialise in easy-to-wear jersey separates. The Velvet collection of 14 pieces hits shops/website from 7 June, with a muted palette of khaki, grey and whites, with nothing over 15 quid (see the harem pants, right). Seeing as Velvet clothes generally start at £60 for a vest, this is a fine deal.

Uniqlo’s major coup has been to bag Jil Sander to create an affordable ongoing collection, +J; check out the cotton jackets for £50 quid and cropped trousers (£39.99) if you're after nifty and surprisingly well-made staples for a spring wardrobe. Uniqlo’s also particularly hot on T-shirt dresses right now; see the striped number by mintdesigns, £19.99, below, created by a couple of St Martin’s graduates.

Uniqlo’s stores are all in London so far – when are they going to head north? Their website is ok, but you only get one view of each piece and have to zoom in to see each piece in full. They do have sales pretty much all the time, though, so it’s worth signing up to their online newsletter; it comes annoyingly often but does mean you get first pick of bargains, which start from just a fiver.

Striped T-shirt dress, £19.99, mintdesigns for Uniqlo

Maxi skirts

2010-05-04T22:17:00.001+01:00

Maxi skirt, £97, Alexander Wang

Long skirts and dresses are starting to sweep across the pavements for spring/summer. At last – a trend that doesn’t appeal to just one per cent of the population. It’s not often that the whims of designers appeal this naturally to anyone aged over 18, but the maxi does not call for good legs/toned arms/tiny waists – or, indeed, anything at all really. And anything to get away from these ‘jeggings’ – the leggings pretending they're jeans. Seriously, what is everyone thinking? Whatever Grazia says, they are appalling. Hideous. There is not a single person that actually looks good in them. They make your legs look like sausages, whatever your shape. Surely in years to come they will be THE item that people are truly mortified to have worn in the belief that they were fashionable.

Maxi dress, £615, Balenciaga

Anyway, back to skirts. While a tiny percentage of the population have the legs to pull off a mini or teeny denim shorts the minute the sun comes out, many more of us, aware of what our legs actually look like in the light of day, look for something less bare, but cooler and low-key.

So it's good news that the maxi's having a moment. Designers from Cavalli to Lanvin, Erdem to Diane von Furstenberg has gone long and luxurious with their skirts this season; check out Balenciaga's silk racer-back maxi dress in black and white print (see above). In the spirit of laidback luxe, all the best labels have done a great maxi skirt or dress this season, including Rick Owens and Acne, Vanessa Bruno and L’Agence (check out their jersey maxi, £169 and dresses online and at Selfridges) and Vanessa Bruno – they've all done a great maxi skirt. Also on this bandwagon are The Row (designed by the Olsen twins), with a gorgeous fitted jersey dress. And one of the best buys has to be the T by Alexander Wang split jersey skirt (see top), a sexy twist on the look. All the best maxi skirts seem to be black, though H&M’s leopard-print maxi (14.99) and Topshop’s 18 quid jersey number in khaki are fun.

I still have a floor-length silk Dries van Noten skirt in black I found at Whistles many years ago (remember when their main stores stocked the odd gem by designers too?). Silky and light as a feather, it can work with everything from a neat leather biker jacket and boots to dressier tops and heels for evening. Versatile, wearable – this trend’s got legs.

There’s another side to it, though. Stella McCartney’s billowing satin floral-print version has inspired a rash of followers and every high-street store seems to have wafty floral halterneck maxidresses in their windows just now. Which is fine if you have a holiday home in Hawaii or spend most of the year drifting around Ibiza, but acres of synthetic fabric is not going to do anyone any favours on the dirty rainy pavements of London/Dublin/Manchester…. It’s one thing to channel Jade Jagger or Talitha Getty, but quite another to end up looking like Nana Mouskouri. And many of these dresses are tiered, which makes things worse. While in Stella McCartney's hands this might look fabulous, in others it can move towards the meringue. And, rather than mask imperfections, a billowing dress will generally make the wearer look at least two dress sizes bigger. So go steady around those floral numbers.

Extraordinary Measures at Belsay Hall

2010-05-02T16:33:00.001+01:00

Just been to the new exhibition at Belsay Hall, Northumberland (until 26 September 2010). Everything about Belsay confounds expectations, and avoids being just another English Heritage house and garden by curating bold and innovative arts events. Previously, fashion designers such as Alexander McQueen, Viktor & Rolf and Stella McCartney have created installations to display here. Stella's stunning crystal horse (see picture, right), Lucky Spot, has been on show twice, to great effect. But now it has left the building to make room for works by a group of artists including Ron Mueck, whose six hyper-real sculptures, displayed throughout Belsay's austere 19th-century hall, are show-stopping. I thought the vast naked Wild Man might be a bit disturbing for young kids, but mine found him hilarious – though I'm not sure running round the room guffawing 'Look at his massive bottom' was quite the reaction Mueck had in mind. In the weird and wonderful Quarry Garden there's a giant window to step through, and stuffed squirrels and knitted robins to discover. Not all of it works, but the whole show (curated by Judith King) is bold, brave and unexpected. The star piece though, for me, is Mat Collishaw's zoetrope, The Garden of Earthly Delights, upstairs in the 14th-century castle. Far bigger than it appears above, it's simply dazzling: there was a gasp from the audience of all ages as it spun into life, like some vivid and dark scene from a Bosch painting. Worth the trip to Belsay in itself.

York's hidden gems

2010-04-27T10:50:00.000+01:00

Mulberry bags seem to be taking over the world. At the Van Gogh exhibition at the Royal Academy earlier this month, I couldn't get over the number of women carrying one: it was like being at a Mulberry bag convention. And they appeal to all ages: in Newcastle, a city notorious for its well-heeled students, it's extraordinary how many 20-year-olds carry their files into university in an oak Bayswater or a Mitzy Hobo, which rings in at a cool £450.

It's clear that Mulberry's designers have really sussed the market, particularly over the last eight years. The leather wears wonderfully well, and that's (partly) what you're paying for. If you're in the market for an investment, and would rather track down something other than the current season's rash of leopard-print Alexa bags in lurid colours – which, let's face it, aren't for everyone – it's worth hunting out one of York's best hidden treasures: the Mulberry factory shop (23/25 Swinegate, 01904 611055). It stocks a wide range of past-season stock, slight seconds and samples all at large discounts, as well as pieces from the current collection. Many of the styles are no longer available from the main Mulberry stores or website. On my last visit, I found some of the best buys in the men's section, including a huge messenger bag in black or Mulberry's distinctive brown oak down from £595 to £178, and a chocolate tote at £293 down from £595. A grey messenger bag was down from £595 to £178. Still not cheap, then, but they will last a lifetime; the luggage and holdalls are especially good investments. There are also wallets, clothes, personal organisers, scarves and more....

Just round the corner, treat yourself to one of the UK's finest vintage stores, Priestley's (11 Grape Lane, 01904 631565). I'm a bit biased, as I was at school in York and we all spent hours rummaging there on Saturdays, buying old men's coats, military badges (like the ones on Balmain's jackets this season) and pinstriped suits, hoping they would lend us a touch of individuality (rather than merely a whiff of mothballs). The look, in retrospect, was more scruffy old man than Balmain, but then, that's the beauty of being 17; it seemed to suit Saturday afternoons in the Wimpey, stubbing out Marlboros on polystyrene cups.... Priestley's is a bright and beautiful shop, with a birdcage, hats, vintage furs and vintage suitcases around the place (and certainly no mothballs). Owner Heidi is wonderfully enthusiastic and will help you pick out the best stuff, whether it's a Burberry mac or a dusty-blue prom dress. I loved this 1950s black silk opera coat (£150), with Marni-esque three-quarter-length sleeves and a great swing to the back (see photo, above right). Priestley's have also just put a load of their best clothes online at www.coggles.com, the website for Sarah Coggles, York's best designer boutique.

Sarah Coggles' website's excellent, with a dangerous number of appealing labels from Paul & Joe and PPQ to Acne. I hadn't seen this Scandanavian label before, Best Behavior, that does this whole 'laidback luxe' look perfectly, with jersey harem trousers, jumpsuits and T-shirt dresses. This linen dress by APC, below, also caught my eye for spring, and a winningly simple silk crepe de chine dress by Elizabeth Lau (£185).

Linen dress, £165, APC

A new vintage shop, The House of Avalon, is opening in York this weekend (High Petergate, near the Minster). I'm going to check it out next weekend with my mate Lucy so will write about it then... I love the idea of combining 1910-1960s clothes and accessories with a cafe and an instore hair stylist to recreate the looks – plus they screen old movies. One last good thing about York is Betty's. I know it's trad and touristy, but the coffee and cakes are great and it's so friendly. Plus how can you fail to like somewhere that sells cakes called Fat Rascals? Still the best place for a treat, I reckon.

Teapot, £49.95, Betty's