Hi-Top Fashion

I can always rely on Net-a-porter to do the hard work for me. I've been on the lookout for a pair of hi-top trainers for ages. My search is over.


Net-a-porter, Converse Hendrix denim sneaker. £80

Don't forget your ankles

I walk past Hoopers (Mount Pleasant Road) all the time but very rarely venture inside. It's just all a bit of an effort navigating a pushchair around the store. Yet every time I walked past the window these boots would catch my eye. So I took a deep breath and went inside.



1. Hooper, KG by Kurt Geiger, Sandbanks ankle boots £150

The actual experience was rather pain free, my daughter played with the shoes on the racks without too much destruction while my son remained asleep for the entire shoe purchasing experience. I even had time to try on another pair of boots, also by KG. I just love the wedge heel.


2. Hooper, KG by Kurt Keiger, Valtina Black Tassled shoe boot £150

The other day my husband was looking for a pair of casual shoe so we dropped into Office (Queen Victoria Place). He brought a pair of Ask the Missus Flapjack Desert Brogues in beige and my daughter got a pair of Converse All Stars 'Rainbow'. As for me, I didn't buy anything but I thought these looked kinda cool.


5. Office, Mickey Kingston, Tan leather ankle boots. £88

And of course my life wouldn't be the same without finding something on Net-a-porter site to get excited about. I am loving these lace-up wedge heeled boots by See By Chloe.


6. Net-a-porter, See By Chloe, lace up leather wedge boots £290

They do them in brown too. My birthday is approaching so with enough hints maybe hubby will indulge me. It's a toss up between the black tassled shoe boots, the brogue-style ankle boots or the Chloe soles. Or maybe I'll convince myself and husband I need all three!

The Great Danes

What I love about having a brother living in Copenhagen is that whenever he and his girlfriend come over to visit they always bring something from the Danish clothing brand Phister & Philina. I adore the bright colours and there's something joyfully psychedelic in their designs. Phister & Philina design for boys and girls from newborn to 10 years old.

Back to Bassike

Every morning I pull on a pair of sweatpants team it with a casual top and head downstairs to fix my daughter's breakfast. I can't even begin to consider what I might wear that day until the children have been fed and watered. You could say that sweatpants are my front line combat uniform for all messy meal times, they are also super stretchy essential when my daughter and son demand I be in two places at once. But this does not mean I have overthrown style for comfort. Sweatpants have come a long way from what was once only worn inside a gym.

Which is why I adore the Australian eco label Bassike (pronounced "basic"). Designers Deborah Sams and Mary Lou Ryan create clothes that offer easy-chic with a twist. http://www.bassike.com/about/about.html. I own these cotton-jersey pants in grey. I adore them so much that this evening I ordered a pair in black.



1. Net-a-porter, Bassike light-gray organic cotton-jersey pants. £130
2. Net-a-porter, Bassikie black organic cotton-jersey pants. £130

Check out the gorgeous Givenchy and Louboutin heels. Unfortunately they are not conducive to running around after a toddler. For that I wear Havaianas, which are far more practical and affordable and there are so many wonderful colours to choose from it makes me want a pair in every colour!

Dotty about Stripes

While pregnant I vowed that this time I would dress my newborn in white babygrows at least for the first few months. It seemed the most sensible thing to do, he’s just going to be feeding and sleeping anyway.

I should have known that like my past New Year's resolutions I was never going to stick to this and as a mother who loves fashion who could resist these striped outfits by Jojo Mamen Bebe and Gapkids

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1. Jojo Mamen Bebe, organic striped bodies £10.00
2. Jojo Mamen Bebe, organic striped sleepsuit £14.00


3. Gapkids, striped bodysuit. £12.50

My favourite children's clothes store in Tunbridge Wells is Gapkids, Westfield Royal Victoria Place. They change their stock every three months and have great sales. I would love it if they stocked the Stella McCartney's GapKids collection as well but you have to head over to Bluewaters for that.


4. Gapkids, reversible trousers 0-3months trousers. £8.00


5. Gapkids, striped trousers 0-3 months £8.00

Other stores worth mentioning are: The White Company, a new addition to the High Street (I brought some fabulous pyjamas for my daughter). And the Childrensalon, no.9 High Street, which sells designer children's fashion: Guess, Dior, Burberry as well as toys including my daughter's favourites: wooden fruits and vegetables and wooden jewellery. But while I can easily justify a Burberry mac for myself I refuse to spend £70 on a Burberry babygrow that will last just two months. Seven babygrows = £490.00. For that I could buy myself this Vanessa Bruno, Crepe de Chine silk jumpsuit and still have change for a latte and a slice of carrot cake!


6. Net-a-porter, Vanessa Bruno, Crepe de Chine silk jumpsuit . £360

My favorite book store in Tunbridge Wells.

32-40 Calverley Road, 01892 535 446

For the simple reason it sells books. These days I tend to spend most of my time on the first floor selecting baby books. Pre-babies I was however, a voracious reader, flying through two or three books a week. Public transport was always a great excuse to escape into a fantasy world or sitting by a pool was another favourite reading place of mine. But life is very much different now. Rarely have I time to read. My husband on the other hand is whizzing through a pile of books on Sartre and Nietzche, it all seems incredibly clever and intelligent and I really should set some time aside... He's also downloaded loads of podcasts of Daniel Coffeen's lectures on Rhetoric at UC Berkeley insisting I should listen to them - but WHEN? WHEN I ASK YOU!!! I do have a valid excuse, I have been writing. Two completed manuscripts and two screenplays down I now have the arduous task of finding an agent.




"HATTORI HACHI: STALKING THE ENEMY" by Jane Prowse. Brought this from Waterstone's today and I'm determined to read it by the end of this month. Her debut "HATTORI HACHI: THE REVENGE OF PRAYING MANTIS" was one of only two books I managed to read last year. Jane is a friend so I was keen to read it and I wasn't disappointed. It's a fantastic action/adventure book with a fifteen-year-old female lead. How often do you get a strong female lead in young books? Hattori Hachi reminds me of Hit Girl in the brilliant film "KICK-ASS" although minus the C-words.

Check out this review.

http://bookzone4boys.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-book-of-month-june.html



"ME CHEETA: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY" by James Lever was the other book I read last year and I can highly recommend it. Remember the chimp from the Tarzan pics well it's his memoirs and it is genius. Very funny and very entertaining.

This year, there's just one book, although can't quite call it a read as such but brilliant all the same. and "THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO PRADA: NURSERY RHYMES FOR THE BLAHNIK BRIGADE" by Amy Allen. It was a gift from a friend who knows me only too well. It's all very tongue-in-cheek, incredibly witty and beautifully illustrated. The book is made up of the old nursery classics but with a spin for the fashion-loving mum and if that wasn't enough at the end of the book it has a section with the original nursery rhymes. Great present idea.

This little piggy went to Prada
This little piggy went to Cannes
This little piggy went to Nobu
And this little piggy, Hakkasan
And this little piggy went "Wee wee wee wee!"
All the way home because she had a fat bottom!