Buy some squared off shape soaps. I got mine from good old Marks and Spencers – the Magnolia and Lily of the Valley ones smell delicious. Assemble some pretty gift wrap and ribbon. Wrap, and leave in a bowl to brighten up your guest room or put on top of folded guest towels on the bed for next time someone stays. I do realise that it’s utterly ridiculous to wrap up pieces of soap but hey, everyone likes a little surprise!
Remember way back when you used to put multiple photos in a frame on your wall? Guess what? – it’s back in, as decreed by the Nomad Thief’s Mum, who did this one the other day, having decided she was fed up with having individual frames displaying all of us everywhere. The key as I understand it is not to be too OCD about it (not easy if you’re a fusspot fanny like me, I would probably make it into an endless project) – just sort your hard copy photos into eras or groups of people, and literally hack them up and stick them down and frame. We get a bit precious about which photos we display in our homes these days I think, and this somehow, made of reject photos that didn’t make it into the photo albums back then, has real soul.
A good thing to have in your wardrobe, a military coat. This one’s from Whistles.
Classic with a twist. I bought this around 10 years ago and although it seemed super expensive at the time (I think it was around £200, which was a total bargain since it’s JC de Castelbajac) I have worn it so much that cost per wear is minimal. I love the high up pockets and the shape. It fits like it was made for me. That’s what you’re looking for in a tailored coat.
Great jacket. MY great jacket. Spotted by my quite brilliant other half in a vintage / 2nd hand store (Absolute Vintage on Berwick Street) in Soho, London last year. It’s a little too big for me, and also it’s kind of grubby (white deerskin is highly impractical as a jacket material, for future reference) but super cool nonetheless. Never quite sure what to wear it with, but my new camouflage trousers (thank you, Zara) seem to go with anything… or rather they have to go with anything, given I can’t seem to take them off. The ‘love padlocks’ were on a wire fence near Bethnal Green Road. Sweet.
Faux fur and gold trainers, what’s not to love… (Jacket from Miss Selfridge, trousers from Zara, trainers from Russell & Bromley.)
