[booked-calendar]
Spent a relaxing three days at the delightful @billesleymanor Long walks, copious food, hours of reading, lounging and winding down. Here are a couple of outfits I wore for dinner and drinks. Plus shots of the house and gardens. It’s a beautiful spot outside Stratford Upon Avon. If you scroll through you can see the room where Shakespeare wrote his 20th play, As you Like It! Original 16th century panelling adorns the walls on the ground floor and in the great hall - now the bar - there is a minstrels gallery with intricate carvings in pear and walnut ( a great friend of mine actually got married here in that special room). Huge fireplaces dominate the Stuart dining room oh, and and there’s more panelling. It oozes history and charm. I’m constantly touching the panels, imagining secret passages, wondering who else may have laid their hands on those English oak walls. The house has been added to and extended over the centuries ( as was often the case with English manor houses) but it’s an absolute gem. Can’t wait to come back x
Wonderful shopping day with one of my regulars yesterday. The brief was ‘ fun with a bit of sparkle’ so I had a blast rounding it all up. We chose tonnes of colour; pinks, reds, dark greens plus two pairs of glittering earrings and a two tone chain to finish it off. As you can see I’ve kept this magic printed skirt from Sportmax ( from my unboxing on stories). I fell in love with the delicious colour mix. Art Deco meets old Marni. What do you think? X
Walked around Virginia Water this weekend. What a beauty! A majestic lake to gaze across. The leaves turning red, gold and rich amber. The sun emerging after a misty start. Marni diving in and out of the undergrowth hunting squirrels and dodging brambles. Sam and Jesse did refuse to walk the extra half mile to look at the Roman ruins ( Steve and I went anyway), but all in all a successful tramp. Feel fully restored ( especially after a pub burger and a nap in the car on the way home) X
Pick up @telegraphstella today to see how I helped @lucydenyer out of her style rut. This feeling of being stuck is so common. Sometimes it hits you around a milestone birthday, other times it’s brought on by a new job, a promotion or a shift in lifestyle. Lockdown certainly made me reassess what I wanted from my wardrobe. Our style should evolve, develop and change over time. Clearing out your wardrobe or dressing room/rail should be a cathartic and cleansing experience. Afterwards you feel lighter and excited about your clothes. Some people are great at doing this themselves whereas most of us need a little help. An objective eye can enable you to finally get rid of pieces you’ve clung onto for many years. I have a few slots left this year if you’d like to book in! X
Quick re-cap on smarter looks with those combats. Changing up the shoe makes a world of difference. Could be a strappy sandal, mule, heeled court - whatever you fancy. And once it’s chillier adding a sock to the sandal ( go on, try it), a long sleeve jersey under the waistcoat, throwing a blazer over the slim knit and wearing a shirt or jumper under the sleeveless coat dress will keep you warm. X
TBT last weekend’s drinks and BBQ at a friend’s house. So good to still be tights free! Then again, I only managed an hour in this look before I had to cocoon myself in a blanket and change into some jeans. I like to keep my legs out as long as humanly possible in the autumn. Let’s see if I can make it to October xx
On Tuesday I went to my first fashion ‘party’ in over 18 months. A celebration to launch Marfa Stance’s fashion week pop-up in Soho ( on today and tomorrow - do go and check it out!)
I had thought that the mornings biblical rain might have made people stay away but no, it was packed. In a good way. In a pre-pandemic way (don’t worry, the doors were wide open). And something wonderful was happening in there. United in our love for this special brand and it’s brilliant founder, Georgia; everyone was smiling and laughing whilst eagerly leafing through the rails of Marfa goodies. Everyone was asking everyone else what their favourite pieces were ( whilst feverishly working out how many Marfa Stance coats they can fit in their wardrobe). I got to talk to some amazing women (pictured here with the lovely Jayne Pickering) and had a strong sense of all the female support surging around that room.
To top it all off, this year’s campaign, filmed in Cornwall with Sandy Bleakley (who’s not a model, but looks incredible by the way) is so refreshing. Sandy is powerful, strong and fit (and I got to meet her too!) If only more brands could shoot campaigns with older women. Not just as a token, or as a one off, but as a message that they believe in older women being SEEN in fashion. X
Cheltenham Literary Festival is back! Come along for some high quality fashion chat from @annagmurphy and yours truly. Thank you to Anna Murphy and @timesfashiondesk for asking me back. Hard to believe it’s been 2 years since the last one. We will be talking about how to develop and evolve your style. Tickets on sale now. See you there! x
