Everyone needs a 1960s evening coat. Right?

Yes, I’ve been at it again, accidentally purchasing utterly impractical pieces of vintage clothing.  What can I say, I just can’t help myself. It’s an addiction…an illness…and I fear it’s terminal.  This time I found myself buying this rather fabulous 1960s pink and gold lame evening coat (I say coat, but really it’s more of a coatlet as it isn’t lined, only has ¾ length sleeves and the only fastening is a neck tie) in Portabello market.  I was only meant to be out for a stroll.  No, it’s not the most practical of pieces; however what it lacks in practicality it more than makes up for in flamboyance and style, and at £40 I just couldn’t say no.  So there                                    

Sun, sand and San Pelligrino...

Ciao ciao, bella, bello…..erm….I’ve just got back from Italy innit! Apart from a slight sunburnt-eyes incident (no, I didn't know it was possible, but apparently it is...and it hurts!) it was glorious week of sun, sand and San Pelligrino. For me holidays are all about sunning, reading, eating and sleeping, and this one ticked all the boxes;

Sunbathed – 10 – 1; 3 -7 daily, for 7 days
Read – Grass stains by Kirsty Robinson (fabulous, touching, thought-provoking) and Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis (witty, funny, fucking terrifying – now living in the freezer Joey from Friends stylee)
Ate – Too much. Honey filled (or integrated as the hotel translated it) wholemeal croissants, at least one custard-filled doughnut per day, pasta with meat, pasta with veg, pasta with fish, mammoth plates of salad, incredibly moreish fried herbs in batter and ice creams the size of my head (no word of a lie)
Slept – endlessly…


See - not lying! Dark chocolate and peach sorbet - best combo in the world (and trust me, I've tried a few)!


Mummy and Daddy G - how cool do they look! I only had to get them a little tipsy to agree to pose on this Disney-esque bench outside an arcade. Fave photo of the holiday though!


Style inspiration...

Italians are known for their style, which I think is somewhat debatable, as if you ask me, the average Italian has no better idea of how to dress than the average anyone else. Having said that the over 60's are glamorous, stylish and sophisticated, so I decided to look to them for a style masterclass...

Va-va-voom indeed (or whatever the Italian equivalent is)! What's not to love here? '60's fluro-floral dress, loads of beads and bangles, leopard print trolley and crazy red hair (both of which I already posses), and tiny pooch...stop me if I'm wrong, but this is a good look!


So maybe my mum and I stalked this lady on the beach for 4 days....does that make us bad people?! It's no excuse, but she looked so good we just couldn't help it. There I was, beach wreck - looking like I may have been washed up in the last storm, and there she was, (in what I really really hope was) an original 1960's quilted yellow velour cut-out detail kaftan with white piping, looking like she'd stepped of the set off Mad Men! Inspirational - must work on that whole groomed thing...


Possibly my favourite Granny however was this lady - partly because she reminded me of my Nana Golda - always my ultimate style icon. Floral midi-length (v on-trend) dress, turquoise turban, blue drop earrings and massive blue cocktail ring - forget Liz (makes me want to) Hurl-ey - this lady has beach glamour locked down.


The nearest you'll get to a Playboy style beach shot of me (unless some serious air-brushing's involved). Despite the fact I packed half-a-ton of glitzy kaftans, it was just too hot for me to contemplate anything that had to go over my head, so I ended up resuscitating this old wrap. Fave new Marc Jacobs bag or arm, and new I-couldn't-afford-the-Karen-Walker-pair-so-had-to-settle-for-Hennes sunnies on, I hit the beach and hoped I didn't bump into anyone I knew/ the most gorgeous man in the world. I didn't.


Poor old LA - always getting shtick for being the most ridiculous place on earth, when here on a little strip of Italian beach on the Adriatic coast a couple pulled out a bamboo mat and bowl filled with premium mineral water for their devil little dog....god help us all!

Yum yum yum - I sacrificed one beach morning to go to the market. How good do these pumpkin tomatoes look? I had to laugh because the first time I ever saw one was in Wholefoods a few years back, and I got all excited and brought one, and a clove of smoked garlic (which later rotted in the back of a cupboard) and paid over a fiver for the two of them! Here in Italy they're almost giving them away. Typical!


Right at the end of the market (which was filled with plastic shoes, non-sensical lycra tops, rip-off bags and kitchen ware) we found this stall selling vintage clothes for basically nothing! Needless to say Mum and I nose-dived in, and dad spent the next hour telling us how nice we looked in stale smelling 2nd hand bargains!


Speaking of which here I am airing out on of my finds. Hand-made, 1970's mini-dress - cute, no? And mummy, also in a market buy - not too shabby, eh?

Tom Phwoard!

Today is a good day for fashion. The BAFTA nominations have been announced (oh yes my lovelies, only a month to wait for more A-list red carpet frolics), and Coco before Chanel and Tom Ford’s directional debut A Single Man have 7 nominations between them (both are obvs up for best Costume Design).

Coco before Chanel was fantastic (if you haven't yet seen it do....don't tackle the book though, it's a bore!), but it’s A Single Man’s impending release which has really got my fashion juices flowing (check out the trailer if you haven't already). Set in the 1960’s the film has been described as being visually like one Italian Vogue editorial after another (shiver down spine). Not only is it directed by Ford – i.e. THE most stylish man currently walking the earth, but the sets are by the team behind Mad Men – i.e. THE most stylish programme on TV. All in all it is a visual feast....a study in perfectionism and beauty...a veritable style-fest! As well as Costume Design A Single man is also up for Best Actor for Colin Firth, and Rising Star for Nicholas Hoult. Tom Ford definitely seems to agree with the latter as he’s cast Nicholas as the Face of his Spring/ Summer 2010 campaign – a great gig for a boy who’s best known for his roles in About a boy and Skins, eh! Not that I’m complaining; as usual the ads are oozing with that very special brand of Tom Ford style and sex which just makes you, well, lust – whether it be for his latest sunglasses, suit, fragrance, or, erm, Face. Ooh, I’ve just come over all Sam Taylor-Wood...

Great film, shame about the premiere!

I went to the premiere of An Education last night. The film as it happens was really thoroughly enjoyable; it had a great pace, was well acted, funny and touching. Carey Mulligan was captivating as the lead Jenny, and reminded me of a young Katie Holmes – all dimples, eager eyes and naivety. The costumes were fantastic – and made me long for the demure glamour of the 1960’s, when sexy was a well fitting A-line dress and a kitten heel. The premiere itself however was absolutely ghastly. All in all I was stood around for over an hour. This time was divided between standing in Leicester Square (a place I try not even to pass through – let alone loiter in) waiting to be let onto the red carpet by a deep-fried doughnut of a bouncer, and standing in the lobby of the Vue (yuck yuck yuck) waiting for screen 7 to be ready! Why anyone chooses to have their premiere in that hell hole I’ll never know – it’s hard to imagine a place with less charm or character. The motley crew of staff looked like they’d wandered in to see a film one day, and just never worked out how to get out again. One of them wasn’t even wearing shoes. And sadly the guests weren’t much better. A mixed bunch of scantily-sequin-clad over-baked Northern lasses on a big night out in London; posh girls in ’90’s dresses looking like they’d come straight off the set of Four Weddings, and a handful arty film types with frizzy curls and boring shoes. There was even a woman in a floor-length crushed velvet coat – now when was the last time you saw one of those?!

In retrospect I really should have made the effort to go to the after party. With this lot by way of competition I could easily have begun the day as the new Miss Dominic Cooper!