I’ve had the most marvellous time these last few days. You know, when something just seems to click and everyone is happy and joyful. Monday and Tuesday I was teaching style to a group of trainee image consultants at Aston+Hayes in Holland Park. What a great bunch of people they were. A real joy to teach. Asking the right questions and full of enthusiasm and passion for their new careers. Fabulous. This was followed by an afternoon voluntary workshop at Addenbrokes Hospital for Look Good Feel Better. This is a charity that runs make up workshops for ladies with cancer. All the products each recipient receives, worth well over £200, are well known, high end brands and those of us volunteering either work as freelancers like myself or on one of the cosmetic counters in your local department store. This is always such a great occasion. At the start, everyone is quiet and a bit apprehensive. By the time we’ve made up the whole face, we’re swapping wigs, stories and lipsticks and having a fantastic time. If you work in the cosmetic or beauty industry, I urge you to volunteer. It’s only 4 hours per year but you’ll get such a sense of joy from donating your skills to such a great and worthwhile cause.
The press keeps telling us that money is tight, so sooner or later we will come to believe it. If your purse strings are being challenged at the moment, you might find these websites just what you’re looking for.
www.clothesagency.com - a favourite second hand site for the Royals
www.gumtree.com - unlike eBay, there is no bidding
www.rokit.co.uk www.marymoorevintage.com www.c20vintagefashion.co.uk - vintage bargains
www.secretsamplesale.co.uk – designer discounts
www.handbaghirehq.co.uk www.designerhandbaghire.co.uk a cost effective way to be seen with the latest designer must-have bags
www.bentley-skinner.co.uk the royal jewellers hire out necklaces and tiaras at 1% of the retail price
www.oxfam.org.uk better than it sounds now that Oxfam is opening shops in very rich neighbourhoods where designer cast offs are most likely to be deposited
I’m not a huge fan of M&S but I hear they have brought out a revolutionary (and absolutely necessary) summer accessory – tights in various skin tones, that have no seams at the toe 
and cool down your skin while you wear them. For someonewith 50 year old legs and a lover of winter clothes to boot, this is a God sent breakthrough. To top it all, they retail at about £4 a pair.
I can’t believe it. Twice today, I was accosted by a (different) young and extremely handsome man who gave me a compliment about the way I looked. I took my own advice, once I had got over the shock, and just said “thanks” and then blushed furiously – how annoying is that? Perhaps it was my new Betty Jackson coat? ( mine’s actually dark green, but I couldn’t find a picture).
Some days you wake up and see something that really makes you smile. This morning it had to be the article in the Daily Mail about the little piglet that was too scared of the mud to go and join her brothers and sisters in play. The solution? Her own little pairs of boots. She loves them so much that she races over to her owner every morning for him to put them on her trotters. Fabulous. Just goes to show that all females, whatever their species, have the shoe gene!
I was reading a wonderful book on the train to Nottingham yesterday, titled Forever Young Forever Healthy. The content was well written, inspiring, easy to put into practice and I agreed with everything the author said. What was strange was the book was written in 1955. The author, Indra Devi, was the daughter of a Russian countess, married a Czech diplomat and had a love affair with India. She became a yogini, taught all over the orient and included many famous film stars and celebrities, such as Elizabeth Arden and Greta Garbo, as her pupils. I had to pay £39 for the book second hand, as it was the only copy I could find. Ttwo of her books are due to be reissued later this year in paperback so my name’s already on the Amazon waiting list. Her tips – exercise, drink lots of water, eat fresh fruit and vegetables, meditate and if you need to eat flesh, find it from a good source. She was way ahead of her time.
I am so excited. I have received an exclusive invitation to have a bespoke pair of spectacles designed and made just for me! How wonderful is that? When glasses are your ‘trademark’, they have to look good. These will be unique with my name written on the arms – how decadent! The invitation came from Michelle Beach www.parkvisionnottingham.co.uk and the designer, who I’m about to meet, is the Award winning Tom Davies www.tdtomdavies.com. From what I can gather, photos will be taken of my face wearing my chosen design but with 3 slightly different constructions. I can then ask for ‘votes’ on the favourite. Watch this space if you want to have your say. If you too wear specs, and I’m assuming most of you do if only for reading, you need to be aware that they can alter the entire proportions and shape of your face. If you know what you’re doing, you can shorten a long face, slim a wide face, make wide set eyes appear closer, shorten or lengthen a nose, enhance or detract from your colouring, give the appearance of authority or friendliness – and that’s just for starters. No wonder we often get it so wrong, especially when many retail opticians train their staff to carry out eye tests but not the styling aspects. I LOVE shopping for eyewear with clients as I’m passionate about making someone look fabulous. Your glasses say everything about you – so it pays to get it right.
Great article on 50′s dressing and attitude towards it in today’s Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/main.jhtml?xml=/fashion/2008/06/04/efdame104.xml.
I really loved the quote from Vivienne Westwood about heels making the difference, whatever your age. I am a huge fan of La Westwood and consider myself truly blessed as there is a fabulous boutique, Boheme, just down the road which sells only Red Label. The beautiful owner Dagmar looks like a younger version of the Grande Dame herself. My last purchase was a pair of beautiful shoes which make my legs look long, long, long. As my body is uneven, her assymmetrical designs really suit me, both physically and mentally. If you don’t want to traipse up/down to Peterborough you can shop online www.bohemeclothing.com. Just so you know, the dress I’m wearing in the large photograph on the left is a Vivienne creation and I get lots of lovely comments whenever I wear it.
I do quite a lot of yoga when I’m in the mood (not very yogic I know) but I do have to feel 
that I look the part too. So when my husband suprised me with a top and pants from Sweaty Betty I was thrilled. The garments are so soft, with none of those irritating seams, and they wash well too - blissful. If you love your exercise and you’ve never tried their merchandise, I suggest you go there immediately. www.sweatybetty.com
As we grow older we know what we like, dislike, what we’ll do, not do, try and not try. In my mother’s day, a 50 year old knew her boundaries and lived well within them, never challenging the staus quo. As we know, things can be very different now. Just today, my client spoke about her friend, an 89 year old woman who emigrated to South Africa a few months ago and is having the time of her life – wow. Committed wives and mothers ‘suddenly’ decide to leave their husbands of 20 plus years now their kids have flown the nest. Many, as I did, change their career, swapping a huge salary for a more heartfelt vocation. My comfort zone is being stretched once more. Now I have to step up to the plate as President of the governing body of the UK’s image profession. Some decisions, and the way I communicate them, might cause others to take against me. This is scary, for a woman who has always needed to be liked. A friend, who is just about to turn 40, says her new decade will start with her not worrying about what others think of her. I hope I can take a leaf out of her book. Suggestions on a post card please.
