Fashion |

27 Jan

A Minute with Mirren

12079780_10153090086422124_355767851808785471_o In October I was granted the honour of interviewing Dame Helen Mirren on the red carpet at the European premiere of TRUMBO, directed by Jay Roach. Bryan Cranston gave a cracking performance as Dalton Trumbo, the Hollywood screenwriter who was blacklisted after refusing to testify in the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1947. Mirren is great in the role of Hedda Hopper, the infamous and nasty gossip columnist.

Being one of the reporters on the carpet is sort of mad; desperately trying to get the movie stars to notice you and answer your questions. More than half of these reporters go home empty handed. Before I knew it, I was telling Helen Mirren that it was the first time Icelandic TV had a reporter on the red carpet for a film event of that scale. Her attention was caught, and I asked her whether she thinks films can influence people and send dangerous messages.

04 Aug

Pleasure and Pain

shoes v a Going to a museum in London is obviously very popular among tourists. The National British Museum is amazing and so is the Tate, but the world’s greatest museum of art and design, The Victoria and Albert Museum, is one of my personal favourites.

On the 13th of June, a new and interesting exhibition opened at the V & A. Shoes – Pleasure and pain looks at the extremes of footwear from around the globe. The museum has an unbelievable collection of shoes, around 2,000 pairs spanning more than 3,000 years of history. The exhibition is on until the 31st of January 2016 and I recommend booking your tickets in advance if you’re thinking of going.

If you don’t have a chance to visit the museum, you can always take a look at their fascinating website. Did you know that the Stiletto heel was named after a Sicilian fighting knife? The Shoes Timeline gives you a unique look into the history of shoes.

The museum is on Instagram as well, and to those of you who have unusual pairs of shoes, it tells you that: ‘Whether it’s on #TuesdayShoesday or your favourite daily #Shoefie, we want to see your extreme footwear. Simply take a photo of your favourite shoes and tag it on Instagram with the exhibition hashtag #vamShoes.’

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Photo from the V & A website.

18 Jun

Harper Beckham’s dresses

I quite often buy my clothes from a charity shop in my neighbourhood, Mary’s Living & Giving shop for Save the Children. When some of the posh Hampstead ladies get bored with their dresses, even after a month or two, they donate it to the shop and then women like myself can buy a nice designer dress for £15. Best of all, my money goes to Save the Children.

I was doing my morning stroll when I saw a lot of people waiting outside the shop. When I got closer it was obvious that there was a media craze going on, lots of people armed with cameras. Tiny, adorable dresses in the shop’s window reminded me of news saying that the Beckham’s were selling their daughter’s clothes for charity. Harper, this lovely little girl, is already a fashion icon. I hope she will be alright when she grows up, in spite of all the attention.

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14 Jun

Travelling back in time

Pincurls and Pout If you like vintage clothes and antique, going to a Vintage Pop-Up Fair is time well spent. A bit like travelling back in time. It’s perhaps not as cheap as the markets where you have to go through a lot of rubbish to find a pearl in the sand, but definitely not as expensive as buying from a posh vintage- or antique shop.

More importantly the atmosphere is amazing, live singers performing songs from the past, a tea room with old fashioned baking and a vintage beauty parlour. That’s what they promise on their website:

“All the fairs are choc-a-bloc full of handpicked, quality, vintage traders who offer a wide range of genuine vintage goods. From ladies & menswear, both designer and affordable, to a stunning array of vintage jewellery, fashion accessories, haberdashery, retro furnishings, homeware, vintage posters, antique maps, collectables, curiosities and more, all from the 1920’s – 1980’s.”

Fortunately it’s all true. I’ve gone to so many of those fairs and never been disappointed. I’ve bought gorgeous German 50′ earrings for 6 pounds and beautiful handbags for a10-15 pounds.

You can read more about those fairs on their website Pop Up Vintage Fairs London and check out the amazing Pincurls and Pout as well.

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17 May

Unusual jewellery

Had a lovely day at the annual Primrose Hill Spring Festival. There’s always a variety of tasty street food from different corners of the world, music playing and stalls where artists, designers and antique dealers are selling their products.

Today I spotted quite unusual jewellery and was told it’s made from Vegetable Ivory. It’s a seed produced naturally by the “Phytelephas Macrocarpa” palm tree which only grows in the tropical rainforest of Colombia and a few South American countries.

Vegetable Ivory has become increasingly important as the only natural, ethical and sustainable alternative to elephant ivory, because the texture and colour are almost identical.

I talked to the designer, Martha Lizarazo, who is born and raised in Columbia but has lived in London for a long time. She is passionate about elephant conservation and says the use of this special seed also stimulates the economies in South America and preserves the rain forests. She founded Caliz London some time ago and it is growing fast.

Primrose Hill Spring Festival