Shopping

Best buy: The Hanro vest



Vogue-Kate-Moss-Corrine-Day-Hanro Vogue-Kate-Moss-Corrine-Day-Hanro 2

Trending for spring: boyfriend shorts, sheer-panelled skirts, barely-there bandeau tops… Um, not in my world they’re not. On rotation in my wardrobe right now is the same thing I’ve been wearing since last September – an endless cycle of jumbo cardigans and polo necks, underpinned by a lifetime’s supply of Hanro vests. Where would I be without my Hanros?

My go-to Hanro is the ‘1601‘ in black or white, made famous by Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut, but otherwise worn by thousands as a pretty spaghetti-strapped vest that works under any weight or sheerness of top. I wear mine under T-shirts, jumpers, silk shirts and sheer blouses. And if it does get properly balmy, you can wear one on its own too.

The adjustable-strapped V-neck vests (and short sleeve tops, my other Hanro addiction – seen on Kate Moss, above) are made in Switzerland from mercerised cotton, wool and silk. Some are trimmed with filigree embroidery still produced in Swiss factories. They’re not cheap – the 1601 costs £29 for the cotton version – but they’re beautifully made and absolutely last. Cost-per-wear wise, they’re a very good investment.

Hanro-1601-vest

[Images: Kate Moss by Corrine Day for Vogue]



A ToyWatch for the festival season



ToyWatch-Maya-friendship-bracelet

Here’s something different from ToyWatch and I like it a lot. It’s a watch-friendship bracelet hybrid and all I can think is, why hasn’t this been done before?

The watch face is clean and classic, a nice contrast to the busy South American-inspired patterns of the woven friendship bracelet. These are pitched ‘for the festival season’ but I can’t imagine them going anywhere near a muddy field, can you? Much more suited for lazy days in the park with a Pimms, or a clubby long weekend in Ibiza.

Anyway, they sell for £125 and are stocked at Selfridges, Harrods, Harvey Nichols and ToyWatch(more…)



Beauty snippets: The Bling Ring, Jean-Louis Sebagh, Lisa Eldridge, Pinterest, YSL Baby Doll, Cosmetics A La Carte, Charlotte Tilbury, Into The Gloss, Bourjois



Cosmetics-a-la-Carte

COSMETICS A LA CARTE COLOUR AND CULTURE EXHIBITION
This is turning out to be an exciting month for beauty. I would love to make it to the Chanel no5 exhibition in Paris but frankly, that ain’t gonna happen. More achievable is the Cosmetics A La Carte ‘Colour And Culture’ exhibition next week at 50 Redchurch Street E2. Celebrating forty years of the specialist cosmetics company (I’ve always wanted one of their custom-made foundations), the exhibition is only on for five days (22-26 May, 10-6pm) so rearrange that diary and schedule it in! (more…)



Buy it now: luxe comfort shoes



celine-fur-birkenstock

It’s not just the catwalk getting in on the comfort shoe act (hello Celine Fur-Kenstock), die-hard comfort shoe brands have been drastically upping their game in design. While I’ve never understood the appeal of Ugg boots, I can’t fault the designs of some of Ugg Australia’s recent offers (like its men’s sheepskin-lined trainers) and aspirational advertising imagery. (more…)