Cheer up! Look, here are some pretty pictures…

January 12, 2015 ~ juliabegbie ~ Leave a comment

January is a difficult month: cash-strapped, cold, a bit overweight, and generally deprived of daylight. So hooray for the frivolous fashion explosion that is the Golden Globes. Perfect timing – thank you, Hollywood!

Star billing this year went to someone who is perhaps not technically our demographic, but who is nonetheless an embodiment of the classic, elegant grace that we aspire to at InnerMutton. His wife scrubs up pretty well too – even if she is a bit too young to be an official Role Model.

That Dior dress was the big winner of the night, along with the gloves, which spawned many column inches this morning.

Here… have some more tonic:

Two lovely redheads in beautifully constructed dresses: Amy Adams and Jessica Chastain both chose colours which emphasised the warmth of their striking natural colouring.

And Helen Mirren looked positively joyous: brim-full of confidence. Well, why not? As usual, she was an inspiration.

And finally, another imposter – practically a child. I do love Lupita’s style: it’s just a little bit barmy, but tasteful at the same time. What fun!

One At A Time, Please!

January 6, 2015 ~ juliabegbie ~ Leave a comment

If I were asked to design a bathroom (or any other room involving brassware: taps, traps, towel rails, etc.) I would not dream of mixing my metals. You don’t want brass? Okay, well then nickel or chrome, perhaps? Certainly not the two together!

There are some aspects of interior design that are non-negotiable. Good grief, I can’t sleep in a room where the hinges don’t match the door handles!

The same rule applies to personal presentation.

I am not just referring to jewellery: this is a multi-layered problem.

Here is something that makes me very happy: the buckles on my Fiorentini & Baker boots match the clasp (and other metal parts) of my Mulberry handbag:

I regard these as outer wrapping: I am not so pernickety that I would never wear white metal jewellery as part of this outfit. But as a rule I try to match my shoe metal to my bag, and similarly any jewellery I wear always comes from one metal family only.

My current favourite day wear includes a combination of white-coloured metal in the form of a steel watch and Hermes chaine d’ancre silver bracelet worn on the same wrist:

Between you and me, the Rolex is actually a bit of a fantasy (hint to Editor) and I am pretty happy with the Sekonda that is currently standing in for the part of lead watch:

I hope the point is clear. No gold rings, necklaces or earrings worn as part of this ensemble.

Non-negotiable.

Pretty Woman!

January 1, 2015 ~ juliabegbie ~ Leave a comment

Showing my age here, but I am still a little bit hung up on Julia Robert’s wardrobe in the film Pretty Woman.

If you’re like me the words ‘Polo Dress’ will instantly bring a certain scene to mind:

If you have never seen Pretty Woman, then I suggest you stop reading now and watch it immediately.

True, the hat and gloves were a bit 1990 (yes, we’re reaching back 25 years here!) but I think that Julia’s look has aged better than Richard’s, and that that dress is still a winner.

I was reminded of it this morning when LK Bennett pinged me some of their new season product which includes this navy/white dress (with pockets, and fuller in the skirt in keeping with the current trend):

If you have ankles like Naomi Watts (I’m now thinking Painted Veil) this would make a great ‘day’ look teamed with Hobbs white brogues (or see these from M&S) Toast handbag, Dorothy Perkins skinny tan belt, and Pure cashmere cardigan. I’ve thrown a Panama Hat Mall fedora in for the full Julia Roberts effect. But I could also be persuaded to go all Grace Kelly with a long, floaty scarf.

Sadly, Santa didn’t bring me chiselled ankles, so until I’ve saved the money for the ankleplasty, I’ll stick to boots until the weather warms up – this is a transitional dress that will take me right through until the summer. So the adjusted look is:

with Boden boots, Van-Dal Dylan clutch, and Maison Boinet leather bow belt.

Kate Reardon – A Very British Entry

December 29, 2014December 30, 2014 ~ juliabegbie ~ Leave a comment

Despite taking pride in being an increasingly inclusive and non-judgmental society, it seems we Brits have an obsession with class – yes, still.

It’s one that the BBC has gratuitously exploited this autumn with a series of fascinating documentaries about the inner workings of The Tatler: a magazine which serves the gilded upper strata of British society and chronicles their comings-and-goings (Posh People: Inside Tatler, BBC2).

The star of this show is the polished and fresh-faced editor Kate Reardon (46) who by sleight of career gives the impression that custodianship of an iconic British magazine has just dropped in her lap while she sits on and stifles a powerhouse CV that includes a number of ‘youngest-evers’ at Conde Nast both in NY and London. A veritable broiling crucible from which to have popped out on top. Hello!

Always impeccably turned out, she makes an interesting study, Ms Reardon. If you are currently slobbing around in your jim-jams, waiting on New Year and looking for a sartorial shove I’d recommend you catch up with Kate on the iPlayer!

Break the Internet Monica Bellucci!

December 17, 2014December 26, 2014 ~ juliabegbie ~ Leave a comment

The best news this week – universally welcomed in our household – is that Monica Bellucci will play one of Daniel Craig’s love interests in ‘Spectre’, the next instalment in the Bond franchise.

The lovely Monica holds poll position on the Editor’s freebie list, but I’m still celebrating … because Monica is 50!

Monica Belluci

At 28 years old, the average Bond Girl is 14 years younger than the average Bond, but this time round Craig (46) will have an age-appropriate playmate, so I can’t refuse this new addition to the Role Model page!

Hooray for Helen!

November 14, 2014 ~ juliabegbie ~ 2 Comments

Hooray for the happy news that Dame Helen Mirren is the new face of L’Oreal!

At 69 years old, she says “I am not gorgeous, I never was, but I was always OK-looking and I’m keen to stay that way.” This article in the Guardian describes her as “genuine, intelligent and glamorous, with looks that seem only to improve with the passing of time” and celebrates with a round-up of some of the other over-50s who are promoting cosmetics companies: Julianne Moore and Jane Fonda have worked with L’Oreal, Charlotte Rampling and Tilda Swinton with Nars, Susan Sarandon with Revlon, and Jessica Lange with Marc Jacobs.

Dame Helen isn’t a classic beauty but women like her make being older aspirational. Not long ago even the world’s most beautiful women found themselves becoming invisible at 40. Maybe, just maybe, the tide is finally turning.

‘In Your Prime, Older, Wiser, Happier’

November 13, 2014 ~ juliabegbie ~ Leave a comment

Those of you who don’t venture past The Times Online paywall won’t have seen Anne Ashworth’s review of fellow columnist India Knight‘s new book, which she describes as ‘a route map for the midlifer woman’.

The book attempts to provide long overdue guidance for middle-aged women – a customer segment that has been largely overlooked by an industry which is too busy bestowing advice on their daughters. As Ashworth says, it is positively perverse that this advice dries up just when it’s needed the most.

The breadth of this advice is ambitious, covering health, exercise, beauty, families, menopause – and clothing. The only missing element, in Ashworth’s opinion, is financial guidance on pensions, savings, etc.

I have downloaded a copy and will report back in due course!

The Fall

November 10, 2014 ~ juliabegbie ~ Leave a comment

I can’t wait – DSI Stella Gibson is back! (Thursday, 9pm on BBC2.) Maybe we’ll finally solve the big howdunnit of Season One: how did she get all those silk shirts into that tiny suitcase?

I’m assuming that you have a silk shirt or two? If not, the situation needs remedying. No other garment says ‘woman-to-reckon-with’ quite like a silk shirt: sensuous, tactile, feminine, structured, luxurious. Tantalising and a wee bit intimidating at the same time, and even better with a subtle hint of décolletage as demonstrated by Gillian Anderson who is just gorgeous at 46! Great hair, great figure, great wardrobe, great role.

Season One of The Fall inspired me to re-visit my makeup, with a consultation on ‘smoky eyes’ at my local Bobbi Brown counter.

In anticipation of Season Two, here is my tribute to DSI Stella Gibson – in the form of a selection of some of the best silk shirts on the market at the moment. Get them now, before the Gibson effect kicks in again.

First of all the budget options:

Top left: And Other Stories, top right: And Other Stories

Bottom left: ASOS, bottom right: Zara

There are usually bargains galore at The Outnet, below:

And if your budget is a bit more police commissioner than police constable:

Top left: Net a Porter has pages of silk blouses, top right: Pinstripeandpearls, bottom left: Pure

Hierarchy

November 2, 2014 ~ juliabegbie ~ Leave a comment

As you know, I try to take a scientific approach to dressing, employing the Design Principles (see Rules page) when combining elements to create an outfit. This festive season I am putting the spotlight on the principle of HIERARCHY.

The rule of HIERARCHY says that the parts of an outfit should vary in dominance; the ‘hero’ (most important) item should be differentiated from the subservient (secondary and supporting) pieces.

The supporting pieces help your hero item to stand out and shine more brightly in contrast. And the result is DRAMA.

Here’s the Net-a-Porter image that inspired this thought. So inspired me, I have to confess, that this quite incredible skirt by Malene Birger is already hanging in my wardrobe.

My ankles aren’t my strongest feature (the Editor says I’m only perfect from the knees up) so I’ll be combining the skirt with last season’s Zanotti suede boots

as well as a v-neck cashmere sweater (not unlike the one pictured).

Net-a-Porter’s stylist has left their model (in the picture above) otherwise unadorned. Nothing else is permitted to compete with that glorious skirt. I’ll allow myself a little bit of Elsa Peretti for Tiffany,

or some Georg Jensen. White metal, obviously, to sit quietly with the cool grey hues.

The star in this production is the skirt; the best supporting award is shared by the jumper and the boots. They both have soft matt surfaces that provide the perfect background texture for the glitter of the sparkly sequins.