The circus is in town...

It's London Fashion week and the company where I am consulting has reached fever pitch.  Luckily I don't have to be based in the office full time and come and go without getting embroiled in 'fashion politics'.  I occasionally get (understandably) withering looks from the creative types, since I thought it better just to 'opt-out' rather than try and fail in the fashion stakes.  

But this week sees them in all their modish glory, as they divvy up the tickets to the shows.  The hierarchy is clear this is how it goes; every one scorns the bloggers, who they consider to be merely 'playing' at working, or worse, pedestrians who shouldn't be there in the first place, the juniors get the 'standing room' only seats, and the top bods get to sit, ideally of course front row, if it's not front row, they will often leave rather than suffer the ignominy of anywhere further back.  And the really mean girls use this week to assert their authority and leave anyone who 'needs to know their place' trailing outside of the show spaces while they press the flesh inside.  I find it all a bit cruel and ego-driven.
In a previous role, I worked with designers, who, although often quite well-known, struggled to fund their shows, I would help them to find the last £30k or so that they needed to pay for the extravaganza, some put everything on the line in the hope that it would pay dividends.  We simply don't have the fashion culture of Paris, Milan or New York, being 'commercial' is almost a dirty word.  Instead the designers are expected to entertain the ungrateful hoards, they have often sold the family silver and are then scorned mercilessly if they show anything that people might actually want to wear, unless of course you are already a massive name and the hottest ticket in town, then you can be as commercial as you please and everyone will say that you are marvellous.
Despite all of this, I still like to see the street style pics and get lost in the fantasy.  Do you suspend your disbelief and enjoy the spectacle or are the fashion weeks something that pass you by without notice?

Ibiza bath

We are due another week of rain and storms, and sometime, it feels that the only way to get warm (really warm to the bone, with a warmth that stays with you)  is in a piping hot bath.
One day I was looking at my bathroom array of bottles and lotions and potions that I have been gifted over the years, and rather than just throw them into storage boxes, I have come up with some themed 'baths', which feel like the ultimate indulgence when the rain is battering down.
I turn on the heater in the bathroom, put the tap on to full throttle and wait for that lovely fug to descend.

One of my favourites is 'The Ibiza Bath' and this is what I use (although any variant will do)...

I used to go to Ibiza every year in the 70s, and my over-riding memory is the smell of the pine...

So turn down off the lights and light up a great scented candle (avoid Glade et al, or the pine is the acrid smell of detergent, not the aromatic smell of the real thing)
My favourites are Neom, as it is Diptyque quality made in the UK without the price tag..

Although Diptyque is pretty special....

Load your ipod or CD with some Ibiza chill out sounds...

Drop a few drops of Huile Prodigieuse into the bath, it is full of pure gold and smells like floral heaven, it's meant as a body oil, but is lovely in a hot bath....

Wash your hair with Faith in Nature Neem shampoo, pure Ibiza scent with an under tone of citrus..

Finish with a more of the body oil above and a generous covering of fake tan (you have to look in the mirror and 'feel' the Ibiza vibe)

If you haven't shaken off your Winter blues, after this treatment, only a ticket to the Caribbean will do!

Spring memories....

It's such a beautiful day, and I hope that even those who have been flooded, can see some light at the end of the tunnel.
It made me think back to Spring days from years ago and enjoy them all over again....
The first year that we moved into the cottage...

 The annual pilgrimage for the mammoth Easter egg hunt...

Enjoying the spoils....

Impromptu parties in the garden....

The March trip to the South coast, where there is lots of exercise...

Of all varieties...

Beautiful regency architecture that sparkles in the sunshine

It makes you happy just to be alive...

What are your favourite Spring memories?

My Spring Summer 14.....

It's been a while since I have seen a 'look' that has really appealed to me in fashion.  I know that I am out of date, but was finding it pretty hard to relate to all the sharp lines and masculine looks that have been around lately, and then I saw this ad shot by Matches and just loved it immediately.

 The coat is Sonia Rykiel (over £1500) and the dress doesn't seem to be online yet, I know it is Dolce e Gabanna and probably costs near £1000 if not more.

However I have improvised and found this great dress for 50 quid.....

 And this one (pure silk) for £70....

This coat £60.....

And this coat from Ebay for £15 (I have a dress maker to change the collar for £20)

The only thing I am contemplating splashing out on are these shoes, anything girlie on my feet and would perhaps be a little too princess-like, but a Rockstud (from Bicester) would be just on the rightside of rock and roll....

What looks are you thinking about for SS14? Are you making do? Splashing out? Or a bit of both?

A place for dreaming....

The weather is terrible here in the UK, floods are as bad as they have ever been, and I shouldn't really moan as at least we are not watching water approaching our threshold like the poor souls who are having to abandon their homes in the South West.
At times like this, I like to fantasise about a house in the sun.  I've always been a bit of a coward when it comes to property, I like to be in the best location that I can, for the smallest outlay possible.  I've never been drawn to big impressive houses, I love them to belong to other people (especially my friends who throw great house parties).

But for me, I like to be nimble and unobtrusive.  The idea of a house abroad has always filled me with terror. I watch those 'Holiday Homes from Hell' programs, where the local authorities in Spain or Portugal demolish houses with the poor home-owners standing by helpless.  Or in France where they live in a beautiful multi-million pound villa, only to find out that it never had planning permission and they are going to have to pay hundreds of thousands of Euros to keep it in place.

The unifying thing, seems to be it rarely happens to the locals, it is always the poor foreigner who have invested their life savings that get burnt.  So I have looked endlessly, marvelling at the mansion in Europe that I could buy for the price of a one bed in central London, but without the protection of UK law, it has always remained 'window shopping'.

Until today, a friend who has a bolthole just outside St Tropez is selling up, she can't be bothered to rent it any more and she would like to help her kids to get on the property ladder in the UK.
I have watched the rental cost of our holiday home in Ramatuelle treble in the last 10 years, and I had been wondering for how long our two week August pilgrimage would be viable with the way that prices have been going up.  My memories of the location are the fondest of any, I watched my kids grow up with the background of that turquoise sea, and some of our best friends are those that we met over endless lunches at Club 55.

It all seems to be coming together at the right time, this place is so tiny, it does not even have a proper bedroom, I wouldn't need to borrow much money, so there would be no necessity to rent it out.

The only risk is nutty Hollande and his mad campaign to destroy the French economy, he has successfully turned Paris into a ghost town and housing sales dropped 40% the first year that he was in power.  His next target could be foreign owners in France, and with some kind of insane property tax, in order to complete his destruction of the housing market at both the upper and lower end.

So that is the 'real' concern holding me back from buying, is the instability of the political system more than anything else.

It is safe to say I have a split personality, the practical one above that looks at political and financial risk and the dreamy Sunday afternoon one who seeks out beautiful images of one of my favourite parts of the world, and wonders which elements could be introduced into the shoebox that is for sale.

My favourite hotel room in the world at Villa Marie on Route des Plages...

 The verdant beauty of the South of France...

 Sturdy outdoor dining chairs...

Many years ago, I was going to set up a furniture company with a friend.  We visited a place in Lancashire called 'Coachhouse', it is where pretty much all the decorative furniture that you see online and in boutiques comes from.  It is easy to register as an interior designer, as long as you place an order of about £1k minimum.  The prices are only visible once your have registered, but as a rough guide, they are about half those that you see on Ebay etc.

Here are my picks for making over the tiny house (in the lilac/pink and silver of Villa Marie)...

Where do you dream of on quiet afternoons? And would you ever take the plunge and commit to buying there or do you prefer the flexibility of freedom?

Shopping in Seville

There are a few pics from Seville that I want to save for posterity, just as an aide-memoir for if I return in a few years and can't remember where to go and what to see.

The shopping was fabulous, there is quite a fashion culture in the area, particularly for kid's clothes.

Carolina Herrera goes back to her roots here, and as I understand her daughter was married to a local matador, the CH shop in Seville was beautiful.  I loved the interior design and could easily have moved in.

As it was festival time, all of the streets were covered with red carpet, what a way to shop!

This was a super modern brand with amazing clothes...

I stupidly didn't photograph the sign to this shop, it is a Spanish designer and this is their outlet store, nothing cost more than 100 euros, the trousers below are cashmere as is the top.  I am not showing them to their best, but the quality was lovely.

I bought the dress below, as I got a bit carried away with the whole Seville glamour thing (and it is the first time I have ever had the semblance of a waist)

Ever the internet fiend, I also met a girl in a bar (via Ebay) and bought a 4000 euro dress from her for 400 euros, more on that later...