Autumn Decorative Fair 2015

This year marks The Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair's 30th Birthday, launched by Patricia Harvey, and which has made Battersea Park its home since 1997. We are relatively new converts but it is a fixture in our calendar along with every discerning interior designer and collector around the capital. The thrice-yearly event opened its doors for autumn purchases on Tuesday and runs until the end of the weekend. On our walkabout we noticed delicious pieces of art, an amazing pair of mid-century Czech bookshelves and a ravishingly-red Chinese console table. I wore a favourite vintage velvet jacket, last seen in 'Red on Red', a pair of  Armani navy pinstripes (previous outing: The only real adventure is me...) with a simple white linen shirt, neon-pink Miss Sixty belt, satin wedges by Castañer, and an Italian leather bag from Brixton Village Market.

The only real adventure is me...

... so says the solipsist in me. For Tracey Emin, whose new show is currently at Bermondsey's White Cube, 'The Last Great Adventure Is You' brings together sculptures, gouaches, paintings, embroideries and signature neon bon-mots. All eminently... Tracey. This solo exhibition, her first in five years, runs until November 16.  Bermondsey is always good for a Sunday stroll to take in great art and... certainly some art in the knitwear, to be found at the Fashion and Textile Museum's latest exhibition, Knitwear: from Chanel to Westwood. Fine work from the likes of Biba, Ossie Clark, Comme des Garçons, Courrèges, Julien MacDonald, Sister by Sibling, Matthew Williamson and some nostalgic Fair Isle. I wore my Armani pinstripes, an asymetrical Comme des Garçons knit, Dior sunnies and a couple of scarves, in fur and Caledonian mohair. My vintage bag is chic whilst the 'Here's winking at you' '60s earrings are fun. The modern hand-made Porcelain Bling necklace (by Schneider) is a distinct one-off. My Ras boots are back out for winter!

The Years of La Dolce Vita

Caught the last day of The Years of La Dolce Vita at The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, celebrating in mono-magic, the heyday of Italian cinema. The pictures, from the '50s and '60s, captured glamour and fashion in equal measure as well as the emerging phenomenon of the 'paparazzo' here exemplified by the snapshots taken by the prolific photojournalist, Marcello Geppetti, who notched up more than a million images. A winning shot: the blonde and voluptuous Anita Ekberg, Swedish star of Fellini's La Dolce Vita, immaculate in sheath dress and... stockinged feet, bow and arrow in hand, ready to ward off approaching paparazzi!
In homage, I wore a pretty, floral-sprigged vintage corset, with a great label, Roulette. It gives me a head-turning 'profile' which could rival any '50s starlet and I brought it into the next century with a pair of impeccably Italian navy pinstriped trousers by Emporio Armani. The little Indian basket was bought at Gabriel's Wharf, the '80s earrings are by Erickson Beamon, the sunnies are vintage and the wedges are by Topshop. And my lipstick, for the day, Dior's Dolce Vita, naturalmente!

Divine Trinity

 

Dinner on a plate yesterday evening at Trinity, in Clapham Old Town. Cool, black silk in the form of an Armani jumpsuit - with a hint of the harem about it. Accessories come courtesy of my daughter's Chanel collection, but the antique rings are mine: Georgian onyx with seed pearls and a nine-diamond Victorian wonder. The simple black fringed bag, from the '60s, finishes off the look. Adam Byatt's restaurant, at 4 The Polygon, gets full marks. Amazing food, excellent service...

A personal thank you to: https://twitter.com/HippyfromthCity

http://www.trinityrestaurant.co.uk/

https://twitter.com/TrinityLondon

http://www.bistrounion.co.uk/

https://twitter.com/BistroUnion

http://www.armani.com/gb

http://www.chanel.com/en_GB/