Jason Wu. I heart YOU!

I've just been dribbling over the new Jason Wu collection. Oh my god, it's just breathtaking. So many pieces that I'd love to have. I cant remember the last time I felt so in love with a whole collection. Just have a look.

the perfect cigarette pants



the perfect laser cut leather pinafore



the perfect laser cut leather skirt





the perfect black tie dress



the perfect LBD



the perfect navy outfit



the perfect prom dress



the "OMG i just died this is so beauitful" dress.



Wardrobe Editor

Ok so regular visitors know my love of overhauling wardrobes right? Well as it turns out, whilst I may well love cleaning out other people's closets, sometimes it's my own closet which cries out for attention. And this was the case last weekend.

So I did what any self-respecting closet cleaner (who actually bought a domain name to start a business about cleaning out closets) does and I got to work.

My hanging space was fine, it was my three accessories shelves which required the most TLC. In these three nooks I store everything from cuffs, jewellery, scarves, sunglasses, earrings, watches, bangles, and bracelets to wallets gloves, hats and handbags.

I think it's a fairly simple process. A set of shelves the size of my three requires about 45 minutes. But stay focused people. DO NOT I repeat DO NOT allow yourself to sit yourself down on the side of your bed pouring over through your old Italian leather bracelets, one for every town visited, whilst reminiscing about how much you love Italy. You need to stay on task people. You can always come back to the leather wrist bands.

The starting point is to take everything out and place on a large, cleared even surface. I recommend a flat, neatly made bed. Then comes the sorting phase. So put all your bracelets together, then your cuffs, necklaces, headbands, jewelery boxes, earrings, cuff links, small yet strong collection of international stick pins etc, together in piles.

Next comes the edit. While I usually advocate a ruthless "if you haven't worn it in 12 months approach" I suggest a far more gentle approach in the accessories department and this is for two reasons.  Firstly, many of these items have sentimental value to you. Like Carrie and her Carrie necklace purchased at the markets with the girls all those years ago, you will unearth many a trinket that you actually don't wear. But this doesn't render it useless. It's still special to you (unless it really isn't) so keep it.  Secondly, with accessories I think they tend to come back into style more easily than clothes so you may find that polka dotted Miu Miu headband is just about ready to make it's second round appearance this summer coming.

A good rule of thumb is to firstly confirm that you either still like/love the item and if you don't that you still need (I of course use this term loosely) it. If you do then keep it. If you don't then it should be thrown away, given away to charity or passed on to a friend who you think will wear it better than you. Sometimes you'll remember that one of your BFFs loves that particular piece and she may still love it so follow that up before throwing away. (PFG, remember me if one day you may get sick of the YSL bone-handled bag or the new Willow black shearling jacket for that matter).

After the edit phase it's time to consider your desired layout. You want to have taller things at the back and smaller, everyday items at the front. You want to be able to see most things or at least know where they are so that you don't end up reverting to the same old pieces every day. You want that lovely moment in the morning before work where you spot that fabulous turquoise Dinosaur Designs choker your lovely pal gave you a few years back. Otherwise you fall in the trap of rotating the same three neck pieces.

Also, it's very worthwhile to hang onto all your old boxes from watches, wallets and necklaces because they of course become your containers to store all your lovelies in.

Now's the time to also consider content for each shelf. This time round I removed scarves from the bottom shelf and gave them their own shelf with handbags/clutches. Scarves are a favourite accessory of mine so I have a decent sized collection. I think they deserve their own space where they can be displayed in all their glory (or as the case may be, where they can be stacked in a semi neat manner).

OK so once you've planned it out start assembling the pieces of the puzzle together. You want minimal overlap again so that you see as many options as possible. And then, it's done. Easy peasy lemon sqeasy and well worth your precious time.

Another thing you may know about me is that I truly love a before and after shot. So here's the before shot of my bottom shelf.

Bottom shelf BEFORE I launched my assault.

Yes so as you can see, it was a little chaotic. However, you will be as thrilled as I am to learn that it now looks like this:

The middle shelf used to be an outstandingly disorganised collection of stuff. 

Middle Shelf BEFORE.

Middle and Top shelves AFTER

All 3 shelves AFTER

TIme to Look at Watches.

Trudes (featured above, centre of photo on her wedding day) has requested that I do a watch post. Which is a splendid idea really for several reasons. Firstly, because I love watches, secondly because I don't think a person can ever have too many watches and thirdly because I was in need of a good blog topic. So let's get to it then.

I am obsessed with vintage, large-faced man-style watches and if I had a lazy $30k lying around, this is what I'd be spending it on. The grand dame of watches. The gold Rolex. No need for ellaborate emellishment. The chicest of Rolexes in my view are the plainest. Let that big old chunk of gold speak elegantly and proudly for itself. I think yellow gold works best with pink toned skin.

Rolex Lady Date Just in Yellow Gold

And then there's the rose gold option, nice if your skin is has a yellow tone:

And for understated 007 style, you cant go past a classic man size and man-style silver watch. Omega does it best. I'm a Seamaster girl myself. It's a great range.

Seamaster Professional Chromometer

My sentimental favourite, the classic Hermes Cape Cod in tan leather never goes out of style. It's also a bit fabulous in other colours... like orange.

I also quite like a pop of colour for a playful wrist adornment. Wear this one when you exercise, hang out on the weekend or for a punky night on the town. The TOY watches are reasonably priced and really fun. I particularly like them in cobalt blue, yellow and orange.


I don't love the current Tag Heuer watches as much as the classic early 90's ranges, but I do like the Carerra. Visit the site to see them at Here

Michael Kors does some nice watches. If you want the Rolex look but cant afford one, check out the hunky plain gold man style watches Michael Kors does. Or the new mens 'Dylan' watch is hot don't you think?

Michael Kors Men's Dylan Chronograph in gunmetal

I'm also kind of liking the new horn and tortoise-shell range from Michael Kors. Take a look. Fun I think and also reasonably priced.

And then there's Chanel. So many watches of theirs I have loved throughout the years. But it's hard to go past the men's black ceramic J12 Automatic. So chic.

Chanel Classic J12 in chrome

Chanel Men's Black Ceramic J12 Automatic

And then of course there's the Cartier tank. Is there a more elegant women's watch? I love them in stainless steel (no gold inserts necessary) in the old straight edged rectangular shape. This watch will never age.

Cartier Ladies Tank Francaise in Stainless Steel

   And the watch-lover's watch has to be the Panarei. The one below is the mens Luminor 1950 but they have a large range. Look for the vintage ones, they're particularly fabulous.

Panarei Black ceramic and leather Luminor 1950

Panarei Luminor Marina with leather alligator strap.

And if all this man style stuff is too much for you, check out the Chanel Premiere Collection. I like this one.

Chanel Premiere Steel Black Lacquer.

And if money were no object, this is what I'd be buying. The Chanel Premiere Toubillion Flying. Phwoar....

Blazers I Like.

Pop! RAG AND BONE. (Netaporter.com)

Pure genius from RICK OWENS (netaporter.com)

Chic. HAIDER ACKERMANN (Luisaviaroma.com)

Exquisite. RICK OWENS (Luisaviaroma.com)

Staple. BALMAIN from (LuisaviaRoma)

Boucle heaven from LANVIN. (Luisaviaroma.com)

Perfect cut. 3.1 PHILLIP LIM. (Luisaviaroma.com)

Modern. A.L.C (Shopbop.com)

Flawless CALVIN KLEIN COLLECTION (shopbop.com)

Minimal fuss. TIBI (shopbop.com)

French Children Don't Throw Food

OK so here's a book worth reading, particularly if you have children (or possibly dogs) who might respond to a bit of discipline in their lives. It's written by a US expat living in France with her British husband and child and it describes (in great detail) the difference between Anglophone and French child rearing techniques and beliefs and it's actually pretty interesting.

Now believe me, I'm not one of those people who spend all their time reading parenting books. And despite the fact I sound like I'm judging these probably very dedicated parents as slightly boring, obsessive and neurotic people, I'm really not. It's just not my bag. I'd prefer a bit of escapism or romance or humour. However I did read Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom after reading the NYT review and after finishing it, I was left slightly embarrassed and entirely shocked that despite her possible insanity, I was a bit of a believer in her strict parenting ideas.

Anyway, this isn't about the tiger mom, this is about the French maman and her seemingly effortless ability to control her child from a very young age. You see, if you believe the book, French kids don't interrupt their parents, eat all their vegetables and happily try all sorts of weird food and they never, ever throw their food.

Now I guess this book just came to me at the right time because I am currently the mother of a fairly inquisitive, creative, vocal and shall we say.... demonstrative 2 1/2 year old boy. He does interrupt his parents, he doesn't eat all his vegetable and he has, on more than 10 occasions been known to throw his food.

So the book became immediately intriguing to me and interestingly, the author does share all the French secrets. Admittedly, in most cases you've got to start young (believe me, I implemented an urgent strategy shift as I was reading) but in many cases it seems to be just about owning the authority within the relationship, staying very consistent in your dealings with said monkeys and being able to administer what is known a la Francais as 'le grand yeux', the big eyes. Which for the record is a sort of scary, owl-like face where you pretty much freak your child out enough to stop them do whatever it is they're doing.

Anyway, so if you're looking for a read and are desperate to find a way to break some of those less civilised habits early on I suggest you check it out. Enjoy!

A REALLY Tasty Treat - Matzo Crunch

The other day I discovered a totally delicious new sweet sensation by the name of Matzo Crunch. It's a Jewish slice type of thing using the matzo crackers as its base. The recipe I've used is from a chef called David Lebovitz and I was given it by a colleague at work, Chelsea. It was 3pm on a Monday afternoon and I was left begging her for another piece. 

It is the easiest thing I've made in a long time, 25 mins tops and so tasty. Mmmmmm, so you wanna make it? Ok here's how. 

Preheat your oven to 190 celsius. Line a flat baking tray with foil so that it comes right up over the edges. Then place a layer of baking parchment on top. Then take some matzo crackers and line them up along the base of tray to form your base.

Layer of matzo crackers.

Take a tightly pressed cup of brown sugar and with 230g of butter combine them in a saucepan on a medium heat, stirring until the mixture comes to the boil. Let it boil for 3 minutes then remove it from the heat. 

What's better than brown sugar and butter on the hob?

Then add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence and good pinch of sea salt. Stir it all together. Pour the sugary, buttery deliciousness all over your matzo crackers.

The glistening matzo crackers with the toffee mixture glazed on top. Mmmmmm.

Put the tray in your oven and bake for 20 minutes. Watch to see that it doesn't burn and if it starts to burn, turn down the heat to 160C. 

The caramel sizzling away in the oven.
Once its cooked get it straight out of the oven and layer a cup (or more like to 2 cups if you do what I did) of dark chocolate bits/buttons on top and let them melt into the the hot toffee. Then smash up some roasted almonds and sprinkle them on top. Sprinkle a good pinch of sea salt on top. Leave to cool then cut up into pieces to serve to those you love. 

Almonds being sprinkled on top.

Ah. Finito! My matzo crunch.