Dazzling Diamonds

I am wearing a vintage dress, and a Mulberry leather jacket. Belt by Escada, glasses by Bvlgari, bag by Michael Kors, tights by MaxMara and shoes from Kurt Geiger

The Talisman Crown has 974 diamonds, including a 73 carat rough diamond. I went to see this astounding piece at De Beers in Westfield London. The crown has been created to celebrate the Queen`s Diamond Jubilee.

Looking at it, I remembered paying a visit to De Beers HQ, almost a decade ago, and being greeted by my host, who asked me to hold two pieces of uneven rock, each containing a murky looking slice of glass. To my astonishment, he explained I was holding rough diamonds worth 1.5million. 

  

Fake Names at the Door

Champagne flown easily at the launch of the Mayfair`s newest events space, The Clubhouse. It was served in beautiful wide-rimmed glasses, which brought back sweet childhood memories of my parents drinking their bubbly from a similar looking goblets.

 

The Clubhouse is a specious, well-designed business club, lounge, and meeting space.

My friend and I decided to give false, ridiculously sounding names at the door and watched a gorgeous girl frantically scanning her tablet for non-existing names on her guest list. We couldn`t keep up a straight face and started laughing only seconds into her fruitless search, so had to admit our prank.
  

How Do You Window-Shop?

At Selfridges, wearing a fur jacket from Jitrois, and a bag from Michael Kors

According to the British Retail Consortium, which conducted a research with Google, we are becoming virtual window shoppers. Retail searches on tablets, touchscreen devices and smartphones rose by 198% in the first three months of this year, compared to a year previously. The interesting fact is – as revealed by this research – consumers prefer to complete their transactions on PCs as they are seen to provide better access and security than tablets.  

Personally, I believe that nothing bits the thrill of shopping in a real world.

One World – Many Choices

At Bicester Village, in a Michael Kors dress, Anne Klein merino wool and fox jacket, a MaxMara tights, shoes by Kurt Geiger, bag by Michael Kors, and glasses by Marc Jacobs

Last week I volunteered at a charity shop in North London where my remit on the day included moving clothes from one rail to another, to create space for new items, which came in big bags, and after being sorted and steamed by other volunteers, went onto a shop floor.  I also get to sell, and chat to customers. Many came looking for a bargain but not all left with a purchase despite keen prices and friendliness of the shop assistants. It was a truly enjoyable experience, and my heart was still with the charity when my husband and I visited Bicester Village a few days later.

Smart looking designer outlets, ranging from Gucci, Furla, Vivienne Westwood, DVF, and other empresses and sultans of style, were not – as one might expect - a world apart from a charity store. Yes, Valentino was selling a gorgeous lace and fur coat, reduced from £17,000 to £3,500 which couldn`t be compared with pre-loved Jaeger skirt which went for £4.50 in North London, but both shops  were manned by friendly sales teams who were knowledgeable about their stock and eager to please their customers. And as a patron of both, I was equally happy to purchase a blue, snakeskin- pattern blouse for £2.50 at a charity shop, as well as a chic Missoni coat at Bicester Village, priced accordingly to its quality and desirability. Cool colours make snakeskin design look contemporary, and I shall team it up with leather. As for my newly-acquired Missoni, it will provide a suave cover on cool summer mornings.

Bicester Village is a popular destination for many foreign visitors, but – similarly to what I observed at the charity shop – not many customers were partying with their cash. All were searching for bargains. My husband found an exquisite Versace suit (he is a perfect Italian size 50!) and we went to a well know American designer`s retailer to buy some cute little tops, as presents for forthcoming birthdays of two little `Ralph Lauren boys`.

Harrods Pays Homage to Dior

I am wearing a Michael Kors dress and a Gucci handbag

Last week I was taken on a private tour of a truly inspirational `So Dior` exhibition in Harrods. My guide, a dashing Dior`s male model, shared interesting stories about the origin of Dior`s silhouette, which resembles figure `8`- apparently Dior believed it to be a lucky number. The master couturier started his working life as a gallery owner. He liked two-tonal garments, and used bows and flowers in many designs.

A snow dome, which can be yours for £300

Dior`s retrospective at Harrods marks a 60-year relationship between the two luxury brands, and celebrates a unique craftsmanship of designers, from Dior himself through Galliano and its current  creative director Raf Simons, who has been trained as an architect, and now skilfully engineers pockets on cocktail dresses. On display are original design sketches, examples of iconic dresses (a sparkly one which was worn by Audrey Hepburn is my favourite), a scaled-down replica of the façade of 30 Avenue Montaigne (brand`s Parisian headquarters), and a giant model of the label`s signature grey chair. A series of Lady Dior bags, and miniature mannequins dressed in couture designs fight for attention with glistering array of perfume bottles and  Harrods` window displays, which showcase the couturier`s affinity for Britain.