Taste of London

Stylogs,

The summer is here. It's cold, grey and that's on the good days when it doesn't poor down as if this is the Europen version of Niagara Falls. In England, when summer steps in, it is the cue for a host of festivals to sprout out, like mushrooms after the rain. and rain there definitely is...

Glastonbury is the famous one for mud, wellies, rain and spending the night in someone elses tent. Oh, also there's music. If Glastonbury's too high brow for you, try Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts, no doubt the low point in the summer festivals' programme.

Thai food decoration at the Taste of London Festival

To set off on the right note, we went to Taste of London, in Regents Park. Under ominous skies of grey, with intermittant showers, thousands of people wandered around dozens of stalls carrying around small disposable plates with tiny portions of fancy dishes such as:

Crab salad with avocado puree, Tuscan melon and toasted hazelnuts - great texture, though the avocaod felt a little too bland, or

Acquerello risotto with 8year-aged organic Parmesan - a bit too rich, I couldn't finish the (small) bowl.

The best way of handling the weather was the British Airways' lounge, which looked like a glass fuselage where you could sit down and enjoy your dish of choice.

1940s are back. The Dresses, the music, the Union Jack

Overall, the food was good, but the crowds made waiting for the best stalls almost not worth the wait. the BBQ and gourmet burger stands seemed to be the most popular, with the ice cream and frozen yogurt gigs feeling the chill (sorry, I couldn't resist the punt).

Pre - Season Collections: Fashion Cycles are Getting Shorter

Stylogs,

Pre-season fashion is confusing the fashion establishment, but does bring in a fresh set of gorgeous designs.

Heavy floods in central Europe may not be your first association with June, but just ask the people the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. However, the fashion world steams ahead with ever shorter design cycles.

What used to be a four season world, has recently turned into a multiple season parade with pre-seasons to add to the mix confuse everybody. These sub-seasons are gaining popularity with some fashion buyers claiming to spend about four fifths of their budget on these bridging collections.

Customers have grown used to the ‘latest’ and ‘new’ stickers on their fashion sites, or dedicating a whole sub-section of their website for the latest collections (http://www.kaleidoscope.co.uk ). Offering a way to get into a new collection early on and before trends take place in the wider public, allows the fashion oriented customers to make an early move, according to sources in the industry.

There are several designs I actually like in the inevitable pre-autumn collections that have crept upon us from these shores and across the pons.

From Barney’s New York a beautiful and yet classy knit sweater by O 2^nd


Knit sweater by O 2^nd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Brown’s London, a chic  sweat shirt

A really clever Missoni multicoloured wool blend jumper that is as intriguing as it is pretty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The best view on this latest development is by Paula Reed, Fashion director at Harvey Nichols who said that she thinks of the catwalk as “the icing, but the pre-collection is the cake”.  She was particularly excited about some promising young British designers such as Peter Pilotto, Roksanda Ilincic, Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders. She also mentioned Nina Ricci, Proenza Schouler and Céline as ones to keep a close eye on.

From the across the water, Tomoko Ogura a Fashion director at Barney’s of New York said that some of their favourite pre-autumn collections are Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Carven, Acne Studios and Regulation by Yohji Yamamoto. She pointed out that animal prints will be noticeably prominent this season, as well as the Manolo Blahnik’s zebra print pump

 

 

 

Birthday Present - Wardrobe Detox

After 365 days- it came again. My birthday that is. I’ve always had a complicated relationship with that day….but here it is again - another year. And with birthdays come presents. I LOVE presents, especially good ones. This year Mr. T got me an extra good pressie. A wardrobe detox. Ok, so it was after super thick hints on my end and some encouragement. But I have to say – he did all the research on his own. Checked and vetted several options – and finally hit the button – which means, he paid.

For those who don’t know- a wardrobe detox is when a well trained professional stylist sorts through all your clothes and stuff you hide in your closets and cleanses it. I.e throws or makes you put away all the - too small, it-might-fit-me-one-day clothes that in reality you know you’ll  never wear. E-V-E-R. And let’s face if you did fit into these clothes again, when, if, you loose all that weight – well then… two words: SPENDING SPREE!

Ok so I digress. For my wardrobe detox – Mr. T, hired Kristina from stylefig. (www.stylefig.com) Kristina’s Danish – Mr. T’s logic was as follows: the Scandinavian have good tastes, they build strong house and are generally attractive, hence Danish origin must be a plus.

Cutting my work day short, I meet Kristina at my house at 2pm. After some niceties and chitchat – we get working. First Kristina figures out my colors and gives me a chart with my best ones.  She asks to see some of my favorite clothes. I bring tons. We then run through a questionnaire to figure out my style.  I come out at as 80% simple 10% classic and 10% frilly. In simple language this means that I like clean cut, non-flashy clothes with a small shot of pizzazz.

Then the hard stuff begins. For nearly 4 hours, Kristina painstakingly takes out all my clothes – stashed across 3 closets around my house, and nicely creates a big pile of nearly a third of my clothes. These are the clothes that, well, I haven’t worn in years – or at least since I gained the weight that just doesn’t want to come off... This pile is soon to be known as the “to be thrown” aka TBT. I manage to salvage a few things from the TBT pile after Kristina agrees I can try them on first. I try them on. And after both of us agree they look alright, they’re spared. 



Backup Wardrobe in the Guest Room...Decimated 

Overall my wardrobe autopsy conclusion is that I have loads of cardigans, all the same type, different colors and some in the same color… just in case.  I have tons of basic Tees, and I’m ok for office clothes. But I do lack a couple of key pieces to really add that chic glamour spark to an outfit. Kristina also checks out my jewelry. She scribes a few selected items that I really need to pull it all together. She then sternly makes me promise that whenever I go shopping I obey some core rules: shop only for my body shape and colors, buy only things that make me feel fabulous and make sure they go with at least three things already in my wardrobe. 

And lastly we tackle my shoes. I think Kristina is horrified to discover I’m not a high-heel shoe girl and all my shoes need to be comfortable first.  This is a big struggle of mine. I’m pretty tall, so I don’t really need 4 inch heels. My ideal heel height is around 2” – but it’s so hard to find decent shoes of this heel height – that in some cases the shoe appearance does suffer. And most of my decent court shoes are hidden underneath my desk at work. The ones at home are not so awe-inspiring. Kristina jots some notes, and recommends some brands that are supposed to be comfy and trendy.

As a final touch Kristina puts together some super cool outfits from the stuff in my wardrobe – in a way I never would. And I love it. She organizes my wardrobe very neatly and somehow it now looks almost as nice as a store rack. She fixes a simple-glam outfit and I am all set for my casual birthday dinner.

I gladly throw in the recycling all the unloved clothes bar a few…. My wardrobe looks detoxed. My wardrobe looks fresh. My wardrobe looks stylish. I can finally flick through all my clothes. I have focus and discipline – and I know the handful of new stuff I need to get…

At dinner, I thank Mr. T for a lovely gift. Mr. T says he was amazed how we managed to spend so much time on clothes…and is stunned to discover a follow-up session is needed….but really it’s so worth while.  Well he has to agree.

Thank you Kristina – it was ace. And I look forward to our next personal shopping experience. Highly recommended.

Family Half Term Holidays - My Spa Experience

Stylogs,

As previously described, the family went on a half term staycation holiday in Hampshire. Staying at Elmers Court Hotel & Resort, I had to test the local Spa.
In between spending time with the kids and husband, I managed to find a few precious seconds to sample life as it should be.
The centre was clean and inviting, with requisite pillows and relaxed atmosphere. The reception was not that comfy, but the lady at the desk was very nice, smiling and friendly.

Hot Stone Message

The message was very relaxing and pleasant. Personally, I don’t like hard messages, so I asked the masseuse (on a pre-filled form) to apply light pressure. The amount and type of pressure was just right. The hot stones were a soothing addition to the traditional message, making the whole experience deeper yet smoother. This was a highlight of the week. The smile stayed on my face until…well the manicure.

 

 

Manicure

I must say that I wasn’t very happy with the manicure. For starters the manicure lady was very quiet and did not want to engage in any chit chat. She was also very slow. The room was poorly lit which did not help with the experience and the atmosphere.

I had to pick a single layer, as I had to keep it short. I asked the manicure lady which colour works with just a single layer, and although she claimed all colours do, she recommended a particular color, which turned out to be inappropriate, as it left streaks on my nails. To make it worse she didn’t apply a top coat. By that point I really had to go (the family was waiting by the pool….), so I left feeling a little deflated. I have to confess that for the amount of money I paid, I should have received a better manicure.

 

...Oh well you can not win them all.

 

 

 

Taking the family on a staycation holiday

Stylogs,

School is out for a week, so we had to do something to retain sanity under pressure. The little creatures need entertainment effectively every waking hour. Staying at home would mean either an irreversible nervous breakdown or an irreversible marriage breakdown. Or both.

We booked Elmers Court Hotel and Resort in the New Forest, Hampshire. Along the way from London we stopped for lunch in Winchester at Jamie Oliver’s Union Jack new chain. I like the look and feel. Rustic and rusty meet 1950s Britannia. The rousted Cornish mackerel was delicious and the minty peas were just minty enough. The soup (vegetable) was somewhat bland. Light lunch and back to the car.

We made a masterstroke stop in Eastleigh Station to visit Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends. This was a real high point for the 4 year old and his 6 year old sister. The fat controller was actually not so fat…

Elmers court is a beautiful stately home (which served as a hospital during World War II), with massive grounds and a stunning view of the Solent.

Our recently renovated room had the killer proposition for any parents on holiday: a separate mini-room for the kids with a bunk bed. Although tiny in size (just enough room for a kids-size bunk bed and a flat screen CBeebies god-send), the kids felt cosy and comfortable in their own space. Mom and dad felt cosy and (almost) alone in the main room as they shut the door.

The in-door pool was a big hit, especially when the weather got wet. At 1.2m depth it is shallow enough to be with the kids at any point in the (reasonable spacious pool). Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to sample the sauna and steam room. My only disappointment here is the Jacuzzi was not hot, but rather (opened to the main pool) was at the same temperature as the swimming pool.

We had dinner in the Scottish Steak Club where we tried the skewers and fish. Both were fine, if not exquisite. The next evening we dined at the Waterford Restaurant (a classier affair where the kids had to behave). Both opting for poached salmon and soup, we enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.

My husband managed to sneak a couple of times to the gym, which he reported back as being sufficient for a holiday with relatively wide range of machinery and space.

I, on the other hand had a sneaky visit (or two, or three) to the spa. More on that later.

We didn’t get to use the outdoor pool (as it is late May, and who would have expected to be in an outdoor pool in late May?). We did however, use the playground and the vast grounds for a little run-around and a game of football.

Overall, a great location for a young family’s holiday, with reasonably priced rooms, good food, indoor pool, gym and beautiful grounds.