Fashion

Oh, the glamour! I read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s tragic 1925 tale of decadence, luxury, social upheaval, wealth and unhappiness when I was about twelve but the advent of the film has inspired me to take another look at the book. As a little girl I found it fascinating but there’s no way I ‘got’ all…read more

Big jewellery is hot, and it’s been hot for a while now as the trend for 1980s-style fashion rolls on. I’ve always made my own jewellery, mostly because I’ve never been able to find really big stuff in the shops… or not quite big enough! We’re lucky in Brighton to have two really good bead shops…read more

If you’ve seen Carol Vorderman strutting her stuff on the telly ads you’ll have heard of Isme. It’s a huge online department store with at least 30,000 products on offer, the contemporary version of an old-style high street department store. Where have all the high street department stores gone? When I first moved to Brighton…read more

When I was at junior school we spent endless hours finger-knitting, a pointless exercise if there ever was one! All you’d end up with was a long string of loose wool loops, impossible to sew together into anything resembling a garment. I never learned the fine art of knitting. But on a recent visit with…read more

Today I’m wearing a silver linen shift dress from Monsoon with a plum scoop neck long sleeved cotton top underneath, black opaque tights, over-the-knee maroon and yellow stripy socks (it’s really cold!). Plus flat 1970s leather soled cowboy boots. The dress, top and boots all came from charity shops down London Road in Brighton, always…read more

My husband is hooked on Asos. He buys most of his clothing there because there’s such a vast selection and they deliver in no time, as fast as a fast thing from a very fast place. He’s an inveterate impulse buyer so it’s just as well their prices are pretty keen… or we’d be broke!…read more

I’ve muddled along for years sewing cushion covers, duvet covers, curtains, scarves and other bits and bobs by hand. I learned to use a sewing machine at school several light years ago but never really got the hang of it with all those fiddly little bobbins and complex threading. That, plus the fact that it…read more

On Radio 4 last week I heard a report about a woman who had decided not to buy new clothes… ever again. Wow. That’s impressive. She’s my favourite money-saving lady of the year, no contest. When interviewed she was wearing, amongst other fab things, a blouse from the 1930s, originally worn by (if I remember…read more