PARIS-BORN Leia Sfez is a Creative Consultant and Director for brands in real life, but her Instagram page, @leiasfez, is like a dream. Like many enviable Parisiennes, the self-described "Creative Mind Mum of two" has that certain je ne sais quoi that comes through in everything. Whether she's traipsing about the streets of Paris in little summer dresses and wicker bags or belted tops and blue jeans, everything looks effortless...
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DANIELA IS GOING TO Provence on holiday in August, a time when it is typically hot in the south of France. She's excited for the trip, but does not do well in the heat and does not wear dresses, and asked for advice on what to wear? The first piece of advice would be to keep to natural, breathable fabrics such as cottons and linens. Loose-fitting linen pants with white cotton or linen blouses (this scallop collar linen shirt is perfect) and singlets look chic while still keeping things cool. Here is some style inspiration that includes pleated trousers and ruffly blouses, city shorts and more...
THIS WEEKEND WE watched the Wimbledon finals, and Sunday’s match, between Federer and Djokovic, was especially exhilarating and ultimately heartbreaking (Federer forever). The weather has finally turned summery and I’m all billowy white dresses and espadrilles these days. The roses in all the English gardens have begun to fade, but everything is lush and green as it always is at this time of year, the height of summertime, when the days are hazy and you can almost hear the clouds float by. We still have so much to tell about these past few months of change and renewal, but for now, it’s nice to step back a little from everything, safe in the cosiness of the cottage and breathe. Also began a new book, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari, which has provided much to think about…
LATELY WE HAVE BEEN drawn to soft lines and organic shapes, the kind often found in the cosy, sun-drenched homes in Greece or the Italian countryside. There is something very soothing and relaxing about their forms, their swooping ceilings and archways, and sunken living rooms. Here are a few favourite spaces, from the Perivolas Hotel in Santorini, Greece to Masseria Critabianca in Cutrofiano, Italy, and even a cabin in Norway...
There was a time when a mixtape was clearly defined in opposition to an actual album. It was a free, low-key, interstitial release that enabled the artist in question – usually from the fields of hip-hop and R&B – to work without worrying unduly about the troublesome business of sample clearance. But that definition went out of the window some time ago.
Call it cream, fawn, or unbleached silk, Tuscan, buff, camel, khaki, desert sand, French beige or ecru―BEIGE IS BACK and it's fashion's new favourite shade. And despite its reputation, this pared-back hue is anything but boring. Sophisticated, classic, understated, and elegant, it was first spotted on the streets at Paris Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2019 and we can't get enough of this the versatile and timeless colour. Here are a few ways to wear this chic shade...
THE NEW ROUTER ARRIVED at the end of last week, and it was in the form of an AI Cube (despite being cylindrical) with Alexa installed. We have since been both mildly amused at the antics of new thing in our midst, and a little suspicious that it may be listening in all of our conversations. Also somehow picked up an horrendous summer cold somewhere at the beginning of last week that has progressively gotten worse...
IT'S SUMMERTIME, which means bare arms and shoulders, sunshine on golden skin and the humble singlet (or tank top) is suddenly finding its way back into fashion, and not as an undershirt or with pyjamas pants for bed, but in a starring role worn all on its own on city streets everywhere.
ONCE READ AN ARTICLE about over-tourism in Thailand, and about how entire beaches had to be closed to give them time to recuperate due to the fact that their coral reefs were on the brink of dying. And a contributor to this problem is sunscreen, (along with above-average sea water temperatures caused by global warming and other factions)...
THE THING ABOUT MOVING in to a new place is that if you get it just right, it far too cosy to leave. This weekend, we ordered in a perfectly spicy curry from the best Indian restaurant in the area and stayed in, enveloped in the cosy-ness of the cottage.
PARIS IS HAVING A HEATWAVE and it’s only 13°C here in the English countryside. We call it a British Summer, but London is fine and is nearly as warm as Paris (but not quite). The locals here seem content to wear light jackets even in late June, for everything is lush and green and everywhere there is a fury of roses (our Instagram Stories is filled with them)...
OFFICIALLY SUMMERTIME and from ruffled mules in summer's favourite colour to natural rattan cane serving trays for drinks en plein air; linen wrap mini dresses and drop earrings made of the most romantic South Sea pearls; broderie anglaise and layers of tulle in a pleated day skirt, here are a few things on our shopping list lately...
WE PAINTED THE LIVING this weekend, Farrow & Ball’s Middleton Pink, and it turned out to be rather disastrous. We ended up having to pick up new paint the next day and repaint everything, despite all my research pointing to the colour being pale powdery perfection, the prettiest and most delicate pink. We’re not certain what went wrong, but perhaps a combination of the wall texture and room lighting were to blame in making the colour appear a vivid candy floss pink that somehow even managed to clash with the fireplace mantle, which is cream. Décor misadventures aside, everything else was rather perfect, with sunset walks and Spanish wine in the last golden light of day; old stone houses and English roses and roaring fires and the feeling of being really very happy.
IT’S FUNNY HOW one can see the humour in a debacle after it is over. On Monday, after a comedy of errors, managed to lock us out of the cottage after having only been there for three days. Neither of us had our keys, wallets and phones, but at least had the the rental car, so all was not completely lost…