As featured in UK Marie Claire, April 2011

{words & images via Marie Claire}
on self-image: “I was an insecure young girl and I didn’t think I was pretty. I didn’t like my body. I really looked in the mirror and thought I was ugly because I didn’t look like the normal girl. I wanted braces, stick-straight hair and a tan. But I wouldn’t go to the tanning booth and I had trouble getting up early enough to be able to straighten my hair. It would take forever so my arms would hurt.”
on her break-up with Dominic Cooper: “I’m not going to talk about everything but because we had such a public relationship, to those who cared, I don’t mind talking about him. It was a really great part of my life. (But) never date somebody who doesn’t live in your country. It’s heartbreaking and confusing and it makes you go a bit nuts. You don’t know where they sleep at night. You start second-guessing everything.”
on her current relationship status: “I am finally OK with being alone. I think it’s important for a woman who’s been in several relationships, and who’s working a lot and is very career-driven, to be happy and content with being alone. It’s a really empowering feeling to know that you can be happy without a significant other or without a man or a woman, whoever you prefer, to count on. I’ve had a hard time with that.”
on reaching the level of Twilight fame: “Kristen Stewart is uncomfortable with it… but also, it’s like, she’s only being noticed for that and she’s been working for so long. There’s hype but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t just a little bit annoyed at the Twilight comparisons. I don’t think (Stewart’s fame) will happen to me. I don’t think about it. What if it doesn’t do well? Then I won’t have to deal with it. If it does do well? It’s different from Twilight.”

I am writing this to you completely stuffed to the gills with pancakes… I loaded on every sweet topping known to man and thus the reason I must very shortly roll to bed. I hope that you all enjoyed Pancake Day! (and you know full well that the flour you bought specially will be hidden away in the cupboard gathering dust until you throw it out this time next year – just me?)
So onto today’s post, and I’m bringing you a trend that is never very far from the catwalks, and in turn the high street; but it is one that, like Demi Moore, never ages. The new take on stripes for this season is bold colours and statement prints, and as ‘Prada-meets-Jil Sander’ (ooh, that rhymes) as they may be, I will always be fond of a Breton stripe. It is the timid French relation to this new breed of colour-blocking stripe, but one that was born to be paired with huge sunglasses and ballet flats… and a look that French Connection in particular does so well. A word of warning though: keep the stripy garments on the feminine side. You don’t want to look like you’ve taken a wrong turn on the way to the Rugby Club.

{images via pinterest, tumblr, A Touch of Luxe, Runaway Coast, Creamy Life, Made by Mowbrays & Inside the Paper Box}

1. Topshop stripe pencil skirt – £32
2. Jigsaw cotton stripe scarf – £45
3. Monsoon Fusion candy stripe maxi dress – £75
4. Office Mena bow sandals – £80
5. Warehouse brushstroke stripe tee – £25
6. Fashion Union stripe bangles – £8
7. French Connection Somerset stripe dress – £42
8. Diane von Furstenberg striped canvas tote – £65
9. Kookai striped sweater – £55
10. Warehouse half sleeve stripe dress – £35
11. Topshop Laney patent sandals – £75
12. Accessorize stripe socks – £3.50
13. Warehouse stripe tunic dress – £65

It’s easy to see why butterflies continue to be a hot trend in the world of interiors… they’re delicate, ethereal and remind you of lazy summer days. There’s also a sense of freedom and fantasy about them, and just look incredible pretty on porcelin, fabrics or even on shell door knobs (my personal favourite from this collection of all things butterfly). And they’re also another indication that winter is truly on its way out! What do you think of this trend?

{1. Cox & Cox butterfly paperweights – £14.50 (for pair) / 2. Graham & Green engraved butterfly hooks – £6 / 3. Cox & Cox magnetic butterflies – £7.50 (for set of 12) / 4. Graham & Green shell butterfly door knobs – £1.98 / 5. Portmeirion Dawn Chorus jug – £20 / 6. Cavallini & Co butterfly stamp set – £20 / 7. Lolita Social Butterfly wine glass £17 / 8. Jenny Arnott butterfly cushion – £55 / 9. Graham & Green butterfly print – £19.95 / 10. Graham & Green butterfly tealights – £6 / 11. Graham & Green Farfalla drum lamp shade – from £39 / 12. Anthropologie butterfly towels – from £8 / 13. Anthropologie picture frame – £24 / 14. These Charming Things butterfly tea cosy – £22.50 / 15. John Lewis butterfly shower curtain – £28}

Blue will forever be a favourite, and it doesn’t have to mean denim. It’s elegant, versatile and oh-so-ladylike. Just dive in:

{Mulberry oversized Bayswater tote / Chloé strapless silk-chiffon dress / Rupert Sanderson Jupiter suede shoe boots}

Is it just me or has it actually been the longest week in existence? I feel like I’m approaching the finishing line in a marathon… but maybe that’s to do with the cocktails I had last night at the very glamorous, brand-spanking-new and “about time too” W Hotel in London. Go for the Watermelon Martini and you won’t regret it. Anyway, I digress. Truly TGIF, and I’m looking forward to meeting up with family this weekend at one of Jamie Oliver’s restaurants, and meandering around Covent Garden (which is where I work, but have no time during the week to make the most of it). And I’ll make sure I get to the cinema to watch The King’s Speech, no excuses this time.

{images via Donna Wilson, Biscuiteers & General Pattern}
The Royal Wedding is next month! As I was merely a month old for Charles and Diana’s wedding, I’m fully on board with Wills and Kate’s big day… in fact I’d love to go to a public occasion with the wedding showing on a big screen (is this happening anywhere? I need to find out). As a bit of a wedding nut myself, I can’t wait to see all the details: her dress, her hair, the flowers. I get the sense that I’m not alone in this excitement… in female circles mostly, I suspect. The Royal Wedding bandwagon shows no signs of slowing, as the amount of memorabilia cropping up left right and centre is evidence of. Tacky? Pah! I literally want it all.

{images via H&M, Jimmy Choo, Matches, French Connection & Kurt Geiger}
What’s not to like about wedges? They’re the member of the heel family that you can wear all day without being crippled, they have the power to make your legs look gazelle-like, and, well, they’re just so purdy. I can almost smell the Ambre Solaire.

{images via pinterest}
January and February are over, and there’s no better way to celebrate their exit than to buy a bunch of fresh flowers. My kitchen now looks and smells delicious thanks to a cheery vase of tulips – Spring has sprung, and I couldn’t be happier.

As far as I’m concerned you can keep your weird Bang & Olufsen phones – they don’t even look like phones. I’m currently lusting after this vintage model that would add class to any desk.

Supergirl had the ability to fly, She-ra had He-man… and Wonder Woman had the style. So MAC cosmetics have come up with the ingenious idea to collaborate with the fictitious heroine and bring out a Pop Art-esque range of make-up. Now, I’m not the biggest make-up connoisseur, but I love the packaging. Pow! It’s so fierce.

To wrap up the week we have Rosie Huntington-Whiteley at an Oscars party wearing a spectacular Valentino gown that looks like it has been painted on her… the colour and the cut couldn’t be better, making Ms H-W another Brit bringing a touch of class to the Academy Awards. And those stairs, absolutely to die for… not a room as such, but I couldn’t resist.
I hope you have a beautiful weekend whatever you’re doing and wherever you may be…