Category Archives: Girl About Town

Concrete, Pure, Chelsea & Temperley

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Ciao bellas. I thought I’d do a round up of the last week and what I’ve been up to….It’s been a busy and mostly London-based week, so I’ve been torn away from my beloved fields and mud and thrown back into the Metropolis.

Concrete

Last week I went for business drinks in London, and decided to check out the fairly new ‘Concrete‘ bar at the Hayward Gallery on the Southbank. Finally! A building on the Southbank that is delightfully self-referential…By day, a cafe, by night a bar. Despite it being a Thursday night, it wasn’t particularly busy, but had a nice enough atmosphere. The service was decent, not especially chatty or engaging, but the bar was rather cool inside, and had a very fetching cement mixer outside.

On the plus side, we got two for one on our wine, and the lychee martini was absolutely delish, but I found the place to be a little soulless; not what I was expecting from the usually buzzy and cheerful venues on the Southbank. Dishoom Chowpatty Beach Bar, you are sadly missed. I wandered the Southbank afterwards to soak up some atmosphere. Oh – the other plus point was seeing Philip Glenister, aka Gene Hunt, near Waterloo. I got a bit overexcited.

 

Pure Fashion Trade Show

I went to Pure for a bit of networking, both for Lady M Presents and for my new fashion project, Jean et Jupe. I’d been there once before, when I was working in fashion buying, and found the whole thing quite an ordeal. As it’s a trade show aimed at buyers, it’s really hard to push past the initial ‘are you in buying?’ ‘no…but I do work in fashion!’ conversation. One guy literally just went back to taking a phone call the second I said ‘no, I’m not a buyer’. Rude!

I actually found it more judgemental and closed off than London Fashion Week. At Fashion Week, everyone’s actually pretty friendly, and it feels like no one has a point to prove. It’s more easy going, in my opinion! Anyway, I did speak to a few friendly people – shouldn’t give the impression it was all ghastly, but it certainly isn’t for me. The best bit by far was hearing talks on social media by Liberty London Girl and Warren Knight of Gloople. I found the tips really interesting, and the speakers were really insightful and knew their fields inside out. You can read the tips in full on our company blog for Jean et Jupe here.

Chelsea

After Pure on Monday, I went along to the Chelsea Day Spa to  a Hydropeptide Facial and New York Pedicure for Lady M Presents. Oh my goodness. I haven’t been so relaxed in…well, a very long time. Usually when I  have facials I just lie there thinking of everything I’ve got to do, and feeling even more stressed because I can’t actually get up and do them. But I’d strongly recommend the Spa, as I had a fantastic beauty therapist named Elize who really looked after me, and the whole experience was lovely. They also do heaps of really good deals, so the prices are surprisingly reasonable.

Alice Temperley for John Lewis Preview

I got to go to the preview for the very exciting new diffusion range from Alice Temperley for John Lewis, again to cover for Lady M last night. A small crowd of fashion bloggers and writers (I wonder what the collective noun for that is?!) descended on The Golden Bee in Shoreditch, really close to Old Street tube. It was a fab venue, and we quickly claimed a comfy sofa on the roof terrace, and started the cocktail drink in earnest. I know! On a school night as well…We had mojitos, Strawberry Collins, and Passionfruit Collins. I was also childishly delighted by the special goviral packs of Smarties on the tables.

I’ll be reporting on it in full for Lady M, but it was a really lovely night. The girls from the goviral team were lovely, and I also met people from Catwalk Queen and Styloko, as well as the founder of the Aussie equivalent of ASOS, Musstard. After the experience at Pure, I definitely got my networking mojo back. It’s going to be a beautiful collection, and will drop in stores from 4th September.

Haven’t really had too much time to write lately, life has got very hectic lately! Will check in again soon.

Sensible Shoe Day

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I’d been plotting it for a while. I’d done my research, I’d made decisions, I knew what I was doing. It was finally the day to purchase my first pair of Hunter wellies. I’d been putting it off for ages, despite working my way through a few pairs of disastrously bad cheap wellies, and covetously eyeing up everyone else’s at Latitude last year. I think crisis point came when my friend India had dry and warm feet in her Hunters, while my cheap pair split in a few places on the second day, meaning I spent the majority of the time with miserable wet socks and wet feet. Splits aside, they were also heavy, bulky and uncomfortable.

Another big factor in my decision was my gradual turnaround of embracing living in the country. I grew up in Ascot in a house with a huge garden and an Anderson shelter that I used to explore. We also retained our house in Sussex, which is where I live now, and for years I was in denial. Despite a childhood of muddy walks on the downs, riding lessons, and holidays to Cornwall, I was resolutely NOT a country girl. I filled my wardrobe with ridiculous heels and silly dresses, turned up to country pubs in white jeans and silk peplum tops, and carved a reputation for always being overdressed and having no practical clothing whatsoever.

The thing is, I have loved growing up in the country. I’ve loved riding lessons, walks on the Ashdown forest, houses filled with dogs, cross country running, visiting National Trust properties. But during my teenager years I watched a bit too much Gossip Girl, and desperately wanted to be a city dweller. I spent heaps of time wandering along the South Bank, seeing French films at the BFI, buying art supplies in Soho. Then suddenly, something clicked. I wanted to walk through muddy fields, to sit in country pubs not wearing ludicrous clothes. I wanted wellies, I wanted a Barbour, I wanted to walk dogs. I renewed my National Trust membership.

So that’s the story of my love affair with the countryside. I may have left it alone for a few years, but I’ve come running back with my arms outstretched. My footwear had to follow suit, and I began to dream about the Hunters. I thought long and hard about colours, finishes, styles, and knew I wanted something subtle and classic. I knew the minute I stepped into Selfridges – matte black, stupidly comfortable, flattering, perfect for country walks. Sold. I’m madly in love with them, if a little worried about my new sensible shoe habit. And next, the Barbour.

My main purpose for being in London was to pop along to the Mizuno Performance Centre in the ginormous Centre Point building, for a seminar on their new ‘Be’ minimalist trainers. We were very kindly given free trainers; the Wave Rider 15 model. I’m currently training to run 10k, but have been doing it in the ratty old Nikes I’ve had since Year 10 at school. Yep, it’s a disgrace. The Wave Riders make it feel like I’m running on clouds. They’re wonderfully comfy, supportive, and also have these ace little breathable bits at the front, so when you run your feet feel really cool! I love them. My feet are bemused.

So that was my sensible shoe day! It feels a bit like going back to school and having to buy new kit for the term. Anyway, I’m off to try and find some puddles to jump in. Hooray!

Olympics: Cycling Time Trials

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While this might be my first blog post on the Olympics, rest assured that I’ve been absolutely glued to the screen. I’m completely swept up in Olympics fever and I’m not ashamed to admit it! I spend most of the day balancing my work schedule around hopping between the Olympics channels in a way that maximises my viewing. Every night before bed, I sit down with my Olympics app and schedule reminders for every event I’m planning on watching for the next day.

Whilst I’m very much enjoying watching it from my sofa, I can’t help wishing I could get involved a little more. My dad has been volunteering, and has endless stories about what’s going on at the park, how close he’s been sitting to David Cameron, and all the intricate rules of handball. So it was determination that my friend India and I made plans to find a live site in Surrey and watch the cycling time trials in easy reach of both the road and a big screen.

We headed to the village green at Esher, armed with wellies and macs and Waitrose picnics. Yes, that sentence was pure middle class porn. We got there quite early, desperate to stake our place at the front of the barriers. We were in luck – we arrived just in enough time to secure a perfect place, right next to the road and still with a great view of the screen.

The atmosphere was incredible. The green soon filled up; people waved flags and homemade banners, popped champagne corks, set up folding chairs. We struck up a conversation with some friendly Aussies (I’ve never actually met an unfriendly Aussie, I have to say…) We all cheered as the British women earned us our first gold medal, and then we got in place to watch the cyclists.

Unlike the road cycling at the weekend, the time trials meant that we saw a single rider every couple of minutes, instead of watching the whole pack go by in a matter of seconds. Every rider got a big cheer, but obviously Pooley, Armitstead, Froome and Wiggins sent the crowd into paroxysms of applause.  After we’d seen the last of the riders, we settled down to see the race finish on the big screen.

I loved every second of it. The tension in the crowd, the enthusiastic cheering, the gasps of horror as the signal went on the TV, the flag-waving, the fake sideburns in honour of Wiggo, the boos that echoed round the crowd when some lunatic switched Jamie Oliver on instead…It made me proud to be British.

Roughly a year ago, I sat up most of the night, watching on TV and refreshing Twitter as the riots tore through our beautiful capital. I’d never felt so ashamed of the young people in this country, or so certain that this was it – Britain was tearing itself apart, and I wasn’t sure if we could even hope to recover. Now, in 2012, I’m unbelievably proud of this country. Rising up to stand for the national anthem in a group of people who were singing along, as Wiggins was presented with his gold, made me feel certain that things were more than alright. They were good. Once again, I’m proud to call England my home, and the Olympics is hugely to thank for that.

Next Christmas Press Day 2012

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Cold and continual rain, flooding and slate skies, bitter winds and dark afternoons. When we had a few sunny days towards the end of May, I made the idiotic decision to swap in my Winter wardrobe for my Summer one, a choice I regretted hugely until the beginning of this week. I’ve spent most of July fishing at the back of my cupboard for jumpers, coats and scarves. So with that in mind, it wasn’t exactly a stretch to attend the Next Christmas 2012 press day one Wednesday morning to review for LadyMPresents.co.uk.

As I say in my article, I’ve always eschewed Next with a firm hand. I have no idea why, but I took against it in my callow youth, and didn’t revisit for many a year. And neither would I have done, had I not entered a world of adorable boucle jackets laced with silver, of heritage tweeds, flat riding style boots, Fair Isle knits, and military style coats.

The actual event was spectacular. We stepped off a plain grey Bloomsbury street into an underground…well, grotto, I’d have to call it. Except in a chic, rustic sense – not like a third rate garden centre grotto. Huge verdant Christmas trees stood proudly all around the room, fairy lights twinkled, and delicious canapés and drinks were perched on a long wooden table replete with pine cones.

The lucky attendees were given the chance to peek at the men’s, women’s, children’s, beauty and home collections for Christmas 2012, and I was delighted to spot so many beautiful items. The collection couldn’t have been more up my street, inspired by the idea of a ‘country house weekend’ and boasting various Russian (fake) fur hats, chunky knits, embellished dresses and coats with dramatically upturned collars. Some of my favourite pieces included silky smooth shirts with pearls or studs at the collar, and the 60s style miniskirt suits.

I’m annoyed that I missed out on Next and their amazing ranges for such a long time. That said, I’ve never felt that my local branch is particularly well merchandised, and I’ve been rather put off by it. That said, I’ll be making a pilgrimage to a much larger branch – either when the Christmas drop happens, or most likely…before!

Also, the goodie bags were AWESOME. I am now the delighted owner of a grey scarf-y wrap cape-y thing (technical term) with a fur trim, some black leather look gloves, a rather darling checked blanket, and an enchanting stuffed owl. I put them all on at once because I am achingly cool. Oh yes.

Pantiles Fashion Festival

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First post in absolutely ages. I’m sure any bloggers will know the ghastly, niggling feeling when you suddenly lose your blogging impulse. I just lost the will to blog for ages, and when that happens I usually opt to leave it alone as opposed to cluttering up the site with half-hearted posts that I’ve dashed off in an afternoon. I’ve got ideas for a few posts yet to come, lying half written on my computer. By the way, I’m now the proud owner of a Mac, and I couldn’t be happier!

I’ve got some exciting ‘news’ to share hopefully in the next few weeks, but in the meantime this is a little post about what I got up to at the weekend. Rachel Montague-Ebbs, my editor over at Lady M Presents, has organised a weekend-long fashion festival on The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells for the past two years now. I walked in it last year and had an absolute ball, so was delighted to get involved again.

One of the designers involved was Latvian-born Anita Anna Benko, who had created extraordinary dresses that felt incredible to wear. Some of the things we wore were high street clothes, but it was very exciting to wear something a little different, a little elevated, and very striking. The weather was a little dodge, but luckily Tunbridge Wells came out in force to support us (and lots of women came down to see the rugby boys modelling!) I had a quick browse of the stalls and spotted an amazing jewellery collection called Rosewreck. Great prices for beautiful pieces, definitely worth a check out.

Anyway, thought you’d like to know a little about what I’ve been up to, and I promise to write more! Usually once I break the freeze, I’m good at catching up. Lots of love!

Week in Photos

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Lazy Sunday post to cheer me up as I’m lying on the sofa feeling sorry for myself. After a couple of weeks of tearing around, far too much alcohol, way too much exercise, not enough clothing to combat the cold weather and heaps of late nights, I’ve unsurprisingly got a bit ill. For the first time in my entire life, I’ve lost my voice. Yesterday evening it went completely and utterly. So I’ve been lolling around watching Gossip Girl, writing my To Do list, and drinking many cups of lemon and honey. I was hoping to do a micro-project today, and create an inspiration board (‘real life Pinterest’ as I’m dubbing it.)

It’s another exciting week coming up, so hopefully I’ll be able to talk again by Tuesday, although not all my friends agree, the meanies. I think they’re quite enjoying me not being able to talk. On Tuesday I’m off to the launch of a new ‘cocktail initiative’. Yeah, that’s a thing. Dubbed ‘Skinny Sippers vs Huge Hitters’, it’s this new concept in the drinks world, being launched at Apres London. I’ve seen a list of some of the cocktail, and they sound AMAZING. I’m a cocktail freak anyway, so I’m really excited to be going to the press launch. Then Wednesday I’m off to the Nelly.com launch party in London, more info on that later in the week. Nelly.com is like the Nordic equivalent of ASOS, now being launched for the UK. Apparently the first 300 girls to turn up get free shoes, so…elbows at the ready. Then the rest of the week will be spent writing and working. Also got something very interesting coming up with ace jewellery website MyFlashTrash.com, who have the most beautiful selection of jewels, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

In the meantime, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to Gossip Girl and my sofa. Even blogging has really taken it out of me!