It’s a Tod’s (and Miu Miu and Margaret Howell) Girl Summer



With Nothing Underneath seersucker shirt

Confession: For the last few years I’ve avoided buying ’summer’ clothes. It’s not worth it; it’s never consistently warm in the UK, so the effusive enthusiasm with which you might buy shorts, sleeveless dresses and sporty tanks in April dissipates into a tragic puddle as the weeks sail by.

There’s a middle way though. This year I’ve discovered my inner (city) beach goddess. It’s one part Tod’s wealthy Milanese nonna, one part Miu Miu SS24 Gen Z Yacht Girl Summer (below) and one part Margaret Howell-clad beachcomber (think more Cornwall than Capri). (more…)



In defence of muted majesty at the Met



Imaan Hammam Met Gala

Had to hard disagree with Bonnie Morrison (on Fashion People) who asserted that the less ‘colourful’ looks at last week’s Met Gala didn’t meet the brief.

Au contraire!

My favourite looks included Imaan Hammam’s zoot suit-esque realness (by Magda Butrym, above) (more…)



The gel moisturisers I’ve tried and love



Skin Rocks The Light Moisturiser - a lightweight gel moisturiser

It’s gel moisturiser season and I’m into it.

When the heat rises, gel creams are quick to apply, light to wear and sometimes cooling on the skin. Despite being lightweight, the ones I recommend offer a good level of hydration with their added vitamins, ceramides and hyaluronic acid. (more…)



Quote of the day: Phoebe Philo for HTSI



Phoebe Philo guest editor How To Spend It

“With so much of our collective experience and social interaction reliant on a digital culture, clothes, for me, represent almost the polar opposite. Clothes are tactile, emotionally resonant, personal and, on so many levels, anything but remote. The person wearing the clothes wears them against their skin. The person designing them is proposing garments that may be life-enhancing, protective, revealing, seductive – arousing many different feelings, both inwardly and outwardly.”
Phoebe Philo, How To Spend It (more…)