Where I do my own Q&A...
I was really stuck for something to blog today so two of my friends suggested I take my own Q&A and share some of my bargains with you. I buy most of my clothes from Ebay. I never pay full price for anything, I couldn't afford to anyway. I look for well made, interesting things in fabrics I know will work. I look out for things for friends too. I've saved myself a lot. I've also incorporated some of my favourite things of 2009.
In my closet
How do you describe your style?
I'm always late so I wear a lot of black as it's easier to throw something together. I like old-school glamour. In the evening I usually go for a dress and stilettos and often some sort of stole or marabou cape, I don't really do dressing down too well. I'm much safer buying my clothes on Ebay. I get too carried away in a shop! and I don't have any credit cards anymore.
Who are your style icons?
Catherine Deneuve, Talitha Getty, Marlene Dietrich, Lauren Bacall, Holly Golightly, Siouxsie Sioux, Christopher Biggins
Catherine Deneuve
Paul and Talitha Getty by Patrick Lichfield
Marlene Dietrich
Lauren Bacall
Siouxsie Sioux
Which person's wardrobe would you most like to own?
Coco Chanel's, I'd like her Paris apartment too and Katie Grand's - her wardrobe and shoe collection are amazing!
Do you have any beauty secrets?
Have as much fun as possible, laugh a lot and always put a serum on under your moisturiser. My best recommendation is to drink lots of vegetable juice! (but not too much carrot, beetroot or fruit) See my blog Just Juice
Fennel, celery, apple, ginger and lime juice
Do you exercise?
Hmm... I walk to the corner shop and I occasionally do yoga... hardly brilliant! I took up water aerobics with my friend for two months but that came to an end after her son lost the car keys looking for a piece of lego under the sofa with the torch on the keyring. They were never seen again. They've bought a new car now!
Which products do you love?
Best products this year: No. 7 Protect and Perfect Intense and Body Shop Vitamin E and Vitamin C range both serums and creams - fantastic and they work. Guerlain Midnight Secret - a miracle in a bottle but expensive so I save it for when I really need it, Eve Lom Cleanser and Kiss Mix (the best lip balm in the world and I've tried them all), I've just discovered Vitamin E sink-in moisture mask which is brilliant. See my blog Credit crunch skincare by clicking here
Which make up do you love?
Lancome Amplicils Mascara and Lancome Cils Booster XL undercoat make your eyelashes really long, Chanel eyebrow pencil in blonde and Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser and of course Eve Lom Kiss Mix which is addictive.
Is there anything about your body you dislike?
Put it this way, I don't have a flat stomach any longer but I also do nothing about it! I plan to get fitter in 2010
Who does your hair?
Lori Duffy for colour and Matthew Wade a session stylist for blow dries when I can afford it. Luckily I can do a lot with a a set of Carmen rollers!
What is your current favourite outfit?
A vintage Nicole Farhi for Stephen Marks cream suit (bought for £8 on Ebay), worn with killer heels. Can be seen in the next issue of LOVE magazine. I'd take a picture but I haven't had it back yet - and a £5 black jumpsuit from Ebay which looks os much more expensive
Which item do you turn to in a wardrobe crisis?
A black Giles or Prada cocktail dress and stilettos or Terry de Havilland wedges which are surprisingly comfortable
What is the oldest thing in your wardrobe?
A collection of 1930's gowns and silk nightdresses
1930's hand painted parrot tulip silk dress
What is the one item of clothing you couldn't live without?
My dressing gown (I also have a collection...) or god forbid... my cream Uggs! I love them!
What is your most successful party outfit?
A gold sequin shift dress above (bought for a tenner on Ebay) or a gold short kaftan from a charity shop my friend Jo Butler bought for £5 (see below)
Which vintage items do you own?
Lots of 1930's stuff, a gold sequin jacket, white marabou shrug, a 1970's Halston one-shouldered grecian evening dress in a tomato red lurex
Giles and I at his 40th Birthday party
Who are your favourite designers?
Favourite shows of 2009: Giles and I love what Phoebe Philo has done at Celine. Favourite designers are Giles, John Galliano/Dior, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Thierry Mugler, Prada, Stella McCartney
What are your favourite high street shops?
I really don't have a favourite, I don't go in them enough but I hear good things about Cos
What is the most expensive item in your wardrobe?
Not much really, probably my Giles for Christian Louboutin shoes given to me as a present by him
What is your best bargain?
An Ossie Clark 70's black silk jersey evening dress I got on Ebay for £150 (above) which is super flattering, a 100% cashmere cream coat for £25 (below) and some silk pyjamas for 99p that are marvellous to sit around in
What is your favourite handbag?
Stuart Vevers (now at Loewe) designs really good bags - I love the Calle bag in python. It's skip-like enough for me. I like my Mulberry Bayswater in champagne leather
What are your favourite shoes?
Giles for Christian Louboutin White and black patent six inch stilettoes with crystal straps, Terry de Havilland gold wedges and some Gina green python stiletto boots bought donkeys years ago from one of Owen Gaster's shows for £100
Do you wear jewellery?
I wear crystal and blue topaz rings and a necklace with two hearts and amethyst, citrine and aquamarine crystals and I have another big quartz crystal in my belly button
What are your favourite sunglasses?
I haven't found them yet. My perfect glasses would be big and frameless with light brown graduated lenses. I had a great amethyst colour Versace pair about ten years ago which I loved but they snapped in half
What is your fashion must have this season?
Silk jumpsuits and good ankle boots
What would you save if your house was on fire?
My boyfriend
Q&A
What's in your pocket/handbag right now?
My bag is like a skip! A huge make up bag, keys, a Blackberry and a Nokia phone, Celery salt (they never have it when you order a Bloody Mary in the pub!) hair brush, Elnett hairspray, Eve Lom lip balm, three lighters, lots of loose change and filter tips, tobacco, Rizla, debit card, dry shampoo
What keeps you awake at night?
My fabulous friends
Who or what has been the greatest influences on your life?
My fabulous friends
How did your childhood affect the person you are today?
It taught me to be kind and to get on well with people
Which famous person is your all time crush?
Jeff Buckley
What qualities do you look for in a man?
Funny, intelligent and tall - I'm 5'10"
What are your eating habits like?
I eat loads of vegetables, juices and salad then ruin it all with crisps, chocolate and alcohol
If you had to have one last meal what would it be?
It would have to be lobster and spaghetti or fillet steak, peppercorn sauce and fat chips followed by chocolate truffles
What are your favourite restaurant(s)?
Bistrotheque in Bethnal Green - amazing staff and they know how to look after you, Hawksmoor in Spitalfields - the best steak ever, The Wolseley - they never shut, St John in Clerkenwell - I've eaten in Fergus's establishments since he had the restaurant upstairs at the French pub in Soho
The Oak room at Bistrotheque
What are your secret London addresses?
Hawksmoor Restaurant - try it, Space Boudoir in Westbourne Park Road for the most amazing silk quilts and bedspreads, Cop Copine a clothes shop in Upper Street - Japanese designs made in Italy
What would you have on your tombstone?
I had a great time
What's your worst fear?
Anything happening to anyone I love and I also hate hospitals
What's your philosophy?
Be honest with people, they'll thank you for it in the long run
A golden snub nosed monkey
Which animal would you most like to be?
A horse or a monkey
What was the last play you saw?
My boyfriend in a play at Trafalgar Studio
What are your favourite books?
Book of 2009 goes to Nicky Haslam for Redeeming Features. A few of my favourites are The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, Story of My Life by Jay McInerney - it reminds me of my misspent youth and it's so good you'd think a girl had written it, Enid Blyton's The Magic Faraway Tree, Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis and lots of 1930's books by Evelyn Waugh, Kingsley Amis and the Mitfords
What are your favourite albums/the best albums you last bought?
Florence and the Machine - Lungs. The best thing I've heard in a long time and an Ibiza Voice mix of a brilliant DJ from Detroit called Seth Troxler
What are your favourite TV shows?
I like documentaries on BBC4 and Sky Arts, Come Dine with Me, Masterchef, Psychoville and I love period dramas... er and a lot of trash!
What were the last good films you watched?
An Education, The September Issue and Grey Gardens was great - Phoebe Arnold and I joke that'll be us in a few years!
Who are your favourite photographers?
Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Steven Meisel, Nick Knight, Ellen von Unwerth, Terry Richardson, Sølve Sundsbø, Guy Bourdin, Man Ray, Lee Miller, Mert and Marcus, Bruce Weber, (there are more...)
Elizabeth Taylor by Richard Avedon, 1964
By Helmut Newton
By Ellen von Unwerth
Karen Elson by Sølve Sundsbø
Who are your favourite models?
Model of the year has to be Lara Stone - amazing. I like Nadja Auermann, Toni Garnn, Lara Stone, Darya Werbowy, Christy Turlington, Kate Moss, Frankie Rayder, Edita Vilkeviute
Photography by Ellen von Unwerth
Nadja Auermann - The Face 1994
Christy Turlington
Photography by Mert Atlas and Marcus Piggott
Frankie Rayder - The Face 2000
Photography by Mert Atlas and Marcus Piggott
Kate Moss
Edita Vilkeviute by Mariano Vivanco
Toni Garnn by Mert Atlas and Marcus Piggott
What makes you laugh?
My friends
What makes you cry?
Sad films and animal programmes
What irritates you?
Ignorant people. I can't bear IKEA. Buzzy flies that come in the window but are too stupid to find their way back out
What's your biggest indulgence?
Buying bargain antiques on Ebay (I have a particular thing for chairs at the moment) and cabs... My friend says I get a cab to the bathroom!
What are your guilty pleasures?
Come Dine with Me - I think I've Sky plussed every episode, Strictly Come Dancing, I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, staying in bed and having Bistrotheque send Sunday roast round in yet another cab...
Who would play you in the movie of your life?
Tallulah Bankhead if she was alive or maybe Alison Steadman
Who would you have at your dream dinner party?
Kathy Burke, Stephen Fry, Judi Dench, Elton John, Giles Deacon, Richard Harris, Bette Davis, Janet Street Porter, Christopher Biggins, Oliver Reed, Peter O'Toole, Oscar Wilde and Nancy Mitford and a bigger table
I LOVE Biggins!
If you could be anywhere on earth right now, where would it be and who would be with you?
On holiday somewhere sunny with my man would be lovely but really I am so happy in London. I love being at home and I have everything and everyone I could ever want right here.
Best thing about 2009
Apart from all the great times I've had it has to be starting my blog - it's a whole new world - and working for LOVE magazine - Bring on 2010!
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