Queen Bee...

  ....of the fashion industry is a close call for me. There are a few big contenders. Past notables are Coco Chanel and Diana Veerland. Present heavy weights are Miuccia Prada and Anna Wintour.

With the exception of Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino I am always drawn to the female players of the fashion industry, they seem to have all the drive and passion. I know fashion favourites come and go DVF is a good example of a career gone and back again. I admire Phoebe Philo tons and have a soft spot for Stella but Anna is my queen fashion bee.

Am I the only person to love the Devil Wears Prada for all the wrong reasons. As a caricature of Ms Wintour,the book only lead me to admire her more not least because she turned up years later for the film premier wearing Prada. My favourite moment in the September Issue is her meeting with Stefano Pilati and her concern over his collection 'it is a lot of black' and guess who has been proved right!

Such is her precision she steers away from being an obvious fashionista preferring her signature style of hair, dressing and shoes. Yes those Manolo Blahnik's! (Just to remind you Pearl)

I always view the shoe situation as Anna being a bit of a Make Do Style girl at heart. She knows the value of wearing comfy heels and not getting distracted by anything 'it' status.

 

Anyway I love Anna and so when I found out she had specifically requested this necklace for her after its inclusion in Vogue, I jumped for joy as I have one too!

Stella & Dot Bianca Tassel Necklace £120

Psst don't tell Anna

She (Anna) really doesn't like me (Bridget Wintour) wearing tights and if she found out I actually added socks when I wore boots to keep my toes warm I dread to think what would happen.


So don't tell her and don't tell her I haven't been to the dry cleaners yet either, it is hard being a younger sister!

Last night & Day 2 Capsule Wardrobe

Ah Mr MDS and I had such fun last night, so much so petit garcon had to don his Buzz Lightyear dressing gown and join in with 'your valentine meal'. I forgot to take a photo of the wonderful heart shaped environmentally friendly Chinese lantern we let off in to the night.

I know many have concerns about the commercially contrived nature of such a festive occasion but I love any excuse to have a party in the house even if only for two. And in reality as long as you stay at home then the money spent creates a pleasurable experience. I've never forgotten the time Mr MDS and I had been skiing and went out for a Valentine's meal as he'd thoughtfully booked it before we went away. It involved seeing people you'd rather not, many looking quite miserable and whilst you didn't have to do the washing up, it did mean you got subjected to an accordion player, Mr MDS's face was a picture.

Last night I caved in to the usual, a steak. I did lay the table which is my favourite bit.

the arrival of the steak, I made the broccoli and red onion salad

the arrival of the peppercorn sauce (au poivre) for the steak

Loved the Lanson on a school night I was so squiffy

the little plate for the petit garcon who polished off his small portions at the other end of the table whilst chatting away

dessert was homemade almond & orange muffin

I was a softie & bought Mr MDS a cashmere West Ham scarf whilst I'm still earning money

The Tiffany candlestick that were a wedding present

I was rather sluggish this morning after drinking the night before but onwards and upwards with the capsule wardrobe challenge. So today I channelled Bridget Wintour (Anna's naughty hopeless younger sister, of course she doesn't exist anywhere but in my head!). Bridget takes the primness of the dress formula so beloved by La Wintour and makes it more as if Patricia Field had got hold of her.

Bridget felt she really needed braces but made do with the belt. The light grey between boot and skirt is thigh high socks.

The belt is navy and I like how this camera angle makes my waist and hips look smaller, I'm thinking this is the new all out action pose!

Poor Anna

It was great fun to read the bloggers comments on this picture of Anna Wintour in the Style section of The Sunday Times this morning and Liberty London Girl kindly put this picture on her blog.

But, Anna can do no wrong in my eyes. I felt I'd already got a peek at her dressed down side in The September Issue and this image doesn't really deserve a critical response (though the bloggers comments were witty). I think it is an easy 'dress down' (hideous terminology I apologise) chic not an uncommon choice for affluent Americans, British and Europeans, Asians etc. It is reminiscent of images of Jackie Onassis on the streets of NYC in the 70/80s although Anna is of course more structured than Jackie was in this phase of her life.



All in all I'm a team Anna person and have always admired her tenacity and work as editor at Vogue and it is the first time I've seen her with a bag other than the Giles Deacon clutch she took out once. I want to know what bag it is.

Day 5 of Capsule Wardrobe

Before I accost a member of the public again to take a photo of me in today's outfit which I will reveal later, I would like to share what have I learnt enduring the week on a capsule wardrobe. I thought a lot about how much we truly need (yes I know need isn't the rationale de jour) and snippets of advice imparted by fashion bloggers over the years. I discovered what I really like to wear when I'm not being swayed by glorious images that talk to me and compiling never ending wish lists.

• It requires a lot of thought and effort to survive on a little
• It is surprising how liberating less can be
• I realised I truly do love black
  
• Red nails brighten the day when only wearing black
• I can't live without stripes
• My £18 scarf from Accessorise has been the best buy of the season
• My bum does look big in sequin leggings and not in a hot way
• It has made me reappraise my buying strategy and I think a few key quality non mass market pieces truly is the way forward
• I don't need lots of choice to be stylish and have fun with clothes
• I can't bear too many things or over stuffed wardrobes/drawers
  
• I can cycle in any shoes
• I need more than 2 pairs of shoes
• I could have bought a lot of things from Cos if I'd had the money
  
• I'm more Anna Wintour than Carine Roitfeld, I love a cardi
  
• I'm looking forward to wearing my Gap chinos

UPDATED

I managed to grab Mr MDS before he escaped this morning and got him to snap my outfit.
It is a bit like a receptionist at an S&M club, all I need are some piz nez spectacles to go with my flats. I will put on my shrug for my cycle and be grateful for wearing flats to work today as I've got a private client so it will involve tramping around Selfridges and the streets of Mayfair.


Final outfit Bustier dress, H&M white shirt, Topshop jade green coin necklace and Tods loafers

I'm not sure if it really works, but the best thing about being a stylist is even if what you wear is questionable, there is always the element of is it fashion forward/edgy/sartorial style/quirky/tolerated etc. etc. Basically one can get away with it!

Fashion night in London

Mini burgers, champagne, canapés and vodka cocktails, vitamin water, popcorn, manicures, make up and hair styling...oh and chocolates and a gorgeous singer and band in Oasis at Argyll Street, some of the offerings in the places I did manage to get to. And of course the fashion ...

I might have visited a few more establishments to soak up the vibe if I hadn't met up with Disneyrollergirl and Wee Birdy. The night was very SATC. We sat and gossiped in Banana Republic, where I'd managed to get my nails done before greeting Disneyrollergirl with champagne. One of the manicurists had mixed up a polish especially for an Erdem show (not sure if last or forthcoming show at LFW) and it is a bright blue which I couldn't resist.

I also went to the Gap pop up shop in Kingsley Court off Carnaby St before Banana Republic and had a view of the Garance Dore photos which were charming, adorable and perfect street style images and her illustrations. I didn't get a limited edition t-shirt of hers at Gap nor the Vogue one at Oasis - which was a bit silly of me as it was such a lovely night and they would have great momentum's of the evening.

Wee Birdy, Disneyrollergirl and I all agreed that it raised the bar on the shopping experience and made us sigh for good customer service in retailing all the time.

We has a lucky last minute invite to the special screening at Oasis of The September Issue. I didn't manage to see it all properly as I had my usual - the person with the largest head (and hair) in front of me - however it is utterly captivating, my favourite bit was Anna's daughter. The film is insightful, witty, full of tension and you won't be able to get enough of it.

I loved Oasis's makeshift cinema, it was proper old school. And I loved the evening... the company was divine and there's something magical about a space where women are at the fore (All very Bourdieu and habitus).