Electric Prisms and Coloured Rhythms

... are titles of works by the multi-talented Sonia Delaunay, whose career spanned much of the 20th century. She was a pioneer of paint; a mistress of the applied arts; and ace collaborator with some of the most progressive poets and choreographers of her day - and she was crazy about clothes! This first UK retrospective at Tate Modern has warranted several visits and I shall probably return for one more helping of Delaunay before the exhibition closes on August 9. On this particular visit, I opted for a charming 1920s-style silk shift, but actually a modern piece by Sarah Spencer, in washed sea-green and soft peach, colours which, I think, take their reference from the Bloomsbury Set. My daughter's glamorous gilet, by Lederer, is a jazzy miz of suede and fur, and has abstract patterns cut into it. My trusty canvas bag was bought in Cornwall and the French plimsolls are by Bensimon. A deliciously decadent string of milky-white beads, punctuated by a jade flower, and a pink quartz ring and bracelet, are by my jeweller of choice, Jessica Walker.

Bring on 2015!

January is the corridor month into a new year and how you approach it is often indicative of the year to come. It is also when one takes a brief backward look over one's shoulder at the previous year and then one looks firmly forward into the new one, ideally from the comfort of home, precisely my living room.

Last year had so many highlights: unforgettable art exhibitions such as the Matisse: Cutouts at Tate Modern which I returned to again and again, for those dazzling displays of colour and form from a master scissorhands and the ground-breaking show at the Royal Academy with Sensing Spaces bringing architecture up close, personal and to the rafters in Picadilly. Also at Tate Modern, the Paul Klee and Malevich shows were both absorbing and inspiring whilst the RA's Summer Exhibition is always a fixture in my calendar.

At the V&A, each exhibition seemed to outdo the next in the glamour stakes: from the peerless Pearls show to the Glamour of Italian Fashion and those Bulgari jewels, owned by Elizabeth Taylor, to the more recent Horst show.

In south London, I enjoy my thrice yearly trips to Battersea, with the Decorative Art Fair to make a purchase and discover what exactly is taking the interior designer's fancy at the moment, as well the two weekends in May which celebrate  Artists' Open House. On the street is certainly where I help take fashion from local boutique, Paraphernalia, from CroftFest to Croftmas. It is my only opportunity to dress up in totally different looks, without having to buy the clothes but I inevitably fall for that one piece!  My local gallery, the Dulwich Picture Gallery, always has interesting shows, notably 2014's Hockney: Printmaker and Art & Life and currently has brought Emily Carr to the capital and sparked fresh interest in one of Canda's best-loved artists. And in the shadow of Tower Bridge, the Design Museum showed off the endlessly inventive talents of Paul Smith in a memorable exhibition.

Further afield, we had a grand weekend at Knepp Castle (not as guests I might add) but helping friends with their vintage stall at The Floral Fringe; and a couple of trips to Chichester to visit a favourite, the Pallant, to see the Pauline Boty and J.D. Fergusson exhibitions. The Pallant House Gallery also re-affirms that small is not only beautiful but always fulfilling and a trip to Margate in late summer showed that the Kent seaside town has a showcase gallery in the form of the Turner Contemporary. And for all the above events and excursions, I continue to wear clothes from my wardrobe: old, new, vintage, repaired, reconstituted and reinvented, but always with aplomb. That's really the only accessory required. And a little Dior lipstick!

Tate Modern

Tate Modern is always good for a stroll through its magnificent Turbine Hall: Richard Tuttle's 'I Don't Know'. The Weave of Textile Language is the largest installation by this renowned American sculptor, and the newly commissioned piece thoroughly suits the space. Its arrival coincides with a retrospective of the artist's work at the Whitechapel Gallery. I couldn't resist the chrome yellow walls on the second floor - a sharp contrast to all the black and white I'm wearing - top by Jesiré with sequinned collar and cuffs; Italian trousers by Massimo Rebecchi, with more sequins; and silk sling-backs by Dolce & Gabbana. The vintage fur is from the '70s and the velvet bag, with cane handle, is even older. Up on the second floor at Tate Modern, a retrospective, Alibis: Sigmar Polke 1963-2010 highlights the work of one of the most radical and original artists of the past 50 years, who used an unlikely array of materials and media to work with - from soot and bubble wrap, to potatoes and python, as well as ground dust from a Chilean meteor! This true astronaut of the experimental was also given to wearing his own art - note the image at the entrance to the show - of Polke draped in a litany of archaic German insults called: 'The Large Cloth of Abuse'.

Good Friday

Yesterday was a roller-coaster Good Friday, beginning in Bermondsey, at the Fashion and Textile Museum for the Artist Textiles: Picasso to Warhol exhibition. After a burst of mid-century prints, time for a snack, and where else better to go than Borough Market. To finish the day with a view of The Shard, I called in on Tate Modern, for the magnificent Matisse show: The Cut-Outs. I opted for a statement Karl Donoghue gilet, a new Chloé knit, black InWear trousers, some old biker boots from Harrods, a pair of Chanel sunnies, and a vintage Louis Vuitton bag. All in all, a very Good Friday!

Tate date

Waiting for my Tate date at the river entrance to Tate Modern at the weekend. It turned out to be a colourful evening - even on the plate! I'm wearing my favourite Max Mara dress, with a vintage bolero of swansdown, an oversized patent clutch (a laptop case!), a pair of Russell & Bromley platforms, Gucci sunglasses and vintage jewellery. Tate Modern's restaurant -  with one of the best views in town, on level 6 - has a positively mouth-watering menu, and wines to match. My outfit complemented the fabulous Yayoi Kusama's distinctively dotty mural! The gallery held an extensive exhibition of the octogenarian Japanese artist's work last year.

http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern
http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern/eat-drink-and-shop/level-6-restaurant
http://www.maxmara.com/it/Pagina-Iniziale
http://www.russellandbromley.co.uk/
http://www.gucci.com/uk/home
http://www.yayoi-kusama.jp/e/information/index.html
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/yayoi-kusama