Sure, the new Mulberry Tillie is a beauty… but is she special enough to dethrone the Bayswater?

{Chloé tall leather boots / Mulberry Tillie Tote / 3.1 Phillip Lim ruffled wool sweater-dress}

As featured in US InStyle magazine, January 2011

{words & images via InStyle}
on her role as a country singer in Country Strong: “I’ve never prepared for anything more in my life. It was a big responsibility. There was studying with an accent coach, learning to play guitar, and of course the singing. My voice didn’t have any power or strength to it at all, and I wanted to try to sing properly. And I was so nervous about performing live scenes in the film because that’s so foreign to me.”
on performing with Jay-Z: “I got onstage with him at the Royal Albert Hall. I stood in the back and sang with him. That was the night of my 34th birthday, and I drank a bunch of Champagne before going on just to get through it. It was also before I had any singing lessons or training. I was so nervous, but that was just for fun. But I’m glad I did it.”
on her comfort zone: “Film for me feels most like my job because I’ve been doing movies for 20 years. I’m good at it, and I love it. When something is artistically challenging, it’s incredibly satisfying. But I think I feel the most exhilarated by the newer stuff.”
on a typical Saturday night: “Last Saturday night I made turkey meatballs and we all had dinner together, then put the kids to bed and watched a movie on Apple TV. We always go out one night of the weekend because it’s nice for me to get out of the house. I cook so much during the week, it’s nice for me to have a break and eat something that I don’t make, like sashimi or Indian food.”

White’s a tricky one. In the past it’s been avoided for fear of: a) upstaging the bride; b) being overzealous with a ketchup bottle; or c) not having compatible underwear. But you’re going to have to bite the bullet if you want to embrace this season’s most stark trend, and go for crisp tailoring with minimal fuss. And we’re not talking about one white item to keep you in vogue – we’re talking total white-out, head-to-toe. Nude or tan accessories can be added as subtle extras, but if in doubt think ‘Lawn Tennis Association Rules’ and you’ll be on the right track. As much as I’m all for brightening up my wardrobe, I can’t help but re-run an incident last year involving white jeans, a glass of red wine and a wasp. You get the picture.

1. Topshop chiffon shift dress – £35
2. Karen Millen lace t-shirt – £99
3. All Saints Lelex dress – £50
4. Paul by Paul Smith crop white jean – £108
5. Reiss Layli leather bracelet – £35
6. Leighton Denny nail polish in natural white – £11
7. Fiorelli Marty handbag – £31.50
8. Uniqlo Cut&Sewn jacket – £49.99
9. Preen Harness dress – £1,015
10. D&G Vlada shopper – £595
11. Joseph high-waisted wide-legged pants – £240
12. Stella McCartney silk bubble dress – £507

If you’re a regular on the style blog “circuit” then you’ll no doubt be familiar with ‘Made By Girl’… and if you’re not, allow me to introduce you. Created by Jen Ramos to compliment her online shop MadeByGirl (which sells a range of typography cards and prints – take a look), her blog has built up an impressive and loyal community, eager to infuse some of her distinctive style into their lives. Jen covers such topics as, “interior design, art, food, fashion and pieces of my own life”, complimented by vivid imagery, and with her friendliness and enthusiasm always shining through in her writing.
Since there’s nothing I like better than peaking into other people’s houses (as demonstrated here, here and here), I was thrilled to find that Jen has considerately posted pictures of her tasteful home, which displays a number of her own works of art. I admire how the decor is minimalist (no clutter, my dream!) without looking bleak. Even though it has a primarily monocrome palette, the splash of colour is just enough to inject a vibrancy. Enjoy… and take notes:

{images by Jen Ramos via Made By Girl}

{1. love candy lemon print / 2. love languages print / 3. green apple wedding print / 4. skull pattern print / 5. flags pattern card / 6. blogs and coffee print}

As well as coveting every single thing she designs, hearing the name Kate Spade always makes me smile. Many years ago, during a summer that my friends and I worked at a country club in Connecticut, we were in NYC one weekend looking for *cough* fake designer bags to take to a wedding. There was a beautiful stripy no-named clutch, which my friend picked up and sighed, “I wish this was Kate Spade”. Quick as a flash the street vendor swooped in with, “You want it Kate Spade? I make it Kate Spade”, and slapped on a material label which declared it was the Real Thing (Kate – “earmuffs”). I can’t say that the label stayed on for very long, but I don’t think we were fooling anyone anyway.

{Kate Spade’s flagship store on 5th Avenue}
Kate Spade may be synonymous with incredible bags (especially for us Brits), however a visit to her gorgeous website throws open a can of very stylish worms. As I mentioned here, I recently purchased a KS iphone cover to brighten up these dark months, and it’s so tempting to order many many more items:

See what I mean?!
{1. 2011 wall calendar / 2. crystal trellis bracelet / 3. belle boulevard cylinder vase / 4. ticker tape tidbit plate / 5. twirl larabee dot fete mini saucers / 6. go to town idiom bangle / 7. blackberry pouch / 8. twirl eau de parfum / 9. hopper dot rose bowl / 10. putting on the ritz ring / 11. cherry blossom thank you notes / 12. tarrytown laptop janine / 13. daycation large flat pouch}