Still eating avocados on toast and filling your home with pale Norwegian wood? Keep up, the style crowd has already moved on
“There’s a harder mood around in hair,” says the scissor supremo Premlee Ramasamy of London salon Hershesons. “The blunt bob is back with a vengeance. It’s really wearable, shorter at the back taken up to the hairline, coming down longer to the front.” Take inspiration from the autumn/winter 2017 Chloé catwalk.
3 Embrace your Sour HeartJenny Zhang’s book Sour Heart, which was published this month (Bloomsbury, 16.99), is the first title from Lena Dunham’s publishing imprint, Lenny. Focusing on a community of Chinese and Taiwanese artists who have immigrated to New York city in the 1990s, Zhang’s book has been lauded by every cool girl across the Pond from Miranda July to Tavi Gevinson and, of course, Dunham. Relegate anything else you’re 6 Sup a Seedlip
“The world’s first non-alcoholic spirits” are botanicals that taste better than their boozy counterparts. Seedlip’s Garden and Spice varieties go splendidly with tonic or in cocktails, as the bar at Claridge’s can testify – both have found their way on to its distinguished cocktail menu. Two further top-secret infusions are launching in the next year. Best of all, you can drive home afterwards. seedlipdrinks.com
4 Drink your greens
Finding it hard to switch off this summer? Head over to Farmacy restaurant in Notting Hill, London, to sup one of their “CBD specials”. CBD is short for cannabidiol, one of the active compounds in marijuana. If you decide to look for a cannabis dispensary, you will see that the products are legally available in powder and oil form, and promises most of the benefits of cannabis without the “stoned” feeling. CBD has now been legalized for use in many different countries, for example, you’re even able to find cbd oil online Canada as well as other online stores in other countries too! Cannabidiol has been shown to improve moods, pains, better sleep, and a lot more. The folks at Farmacy mix it into juices and cocktails. It’s said to boost the brain and help with inflammation and pain relief. Grass Me Up ( 8) contains fresh coconut water, pineapple juice, acai and hemp seeds. farmacylondon.com
5 Find a rug dealer
Rugs have long been status symbols for the world’s elite, but recently a desire has grown among the style set for the It rug, whether that’s one of Liberty’s prestigious hand-knotted antique Qashqai carpets, a vintage Berber rug sourced by new kids on the block Edit 58, or mass-produced pieces such as La Redoute’s Afaw Shaggy rug (so popular it has its own Instagram hashtag, #lrug). “In west London, it’s not unusual to have your own rug dealer who searches for the perfect piece,” a well-connected friend says. “They’re kept on a very tight leash, there’s a huge air of competition around sourcing the best.”
7 Fly fantastically
No, not a budget flight on Ryanair. Flying fantastic are the must-do exercise classes of the summer. Advocates of the aerial workout – everything from hoops to silks to straps and trapeze – claim there is nothing like it to lengthen the limbs and strengthen the core. Don’t. Look. Down.
8 Revisit Covent Garden
While it may be a favourite haunt of pesky street performers, Covent Garden is finding another lease of life with a slew of new bars, restaurants and stores. Two New York restaurants are opening – the trendy vegan food chain By Chloe arrives this autumn and, next door to Balthazar, the West Village’s modern Chinese restaurant Red Farm is coming soon. Lara Boglione’s huge new Petersham Nurseries site (the first outside Richmond) opened in part at the beginning of this month. With a deli, two restaurants, a florist, wine cellar, homeware store and bar, the 16,000 sq ft building (complete with open-air interior courtyard for alfresco dining) will be the place to meet come autumn.
9 See red
From coats to boots to dresses, this autumn is all about red. Seen everywhere from Prada to Alexander McQueen, the most-wanted piece is Balenciaga’s pointed red sock boots. If your budget doesn’t stretch to them, Zara has an excellent version.
10 Take it to the bridge
Get in line for the new Bridge Theatre, which opens with Young Marx. Previews start on October 18. Founded by Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr, this purpose-built space near Tower Bridge in London promises to shake up the established West End theatre scene. bridgetheatre.co.uk
11 Holiday on Corsica
Forget the south of France or the busy shores of Ibiza, chic holidays in the Med are all about the rugged northern coastline of Corsica. British Vogue has anointed it the place to go in the Med, while model and actress Laetitia Casta tied the knot with the film star Louis Garrel on the beach at Lumio this summer. In the north of the island, the area from Bastia to Calvi (home to the fashion crowd’s favourite festival, Calvi on the Rocks) and from Calvi inland to Corte is especially chic. Stay at the divine La Signoria near Calvi, eat at Matahari (down a dirt track around the bay) and go wild swimming inland in the numerous swimming holes of the Restonica river near Corte. Go anytime except August.
12 Smashed peas ousts avo on toast
Prepare for an insta-meltdown, there’s a new food trend coming to town. Smashed peas on toast is all the rage in Melbourne (the city that gave us the flat white and avocado on toast) meaning it’s only a matter of time until it’s on a brunch table near you – either with or without its regular co-stars halloumi, pea shoots or Parma ham. Chef Sophie Ridding, who runs Loam – a London catering company that makes food for American and British Vogue, Nike, AnOther Magazine and the photographer Tim Walker – is serving it on shoots. She’ll fold it through whipped feta with dukkah and honey, or serve it alone with a poached egg, and a drizzle of olive oil, garnished with pea sprouts and mint.
13 Buy a teddy bear coat
Looking for winter coat inspo already? Atta girl. Why not go for a teddy bear fur? The teddy bear is a key part of fashion’s return to an unashamedly Seventies mood (again). And of course, there’s Miu Miu. For her autumn/winter 2017 show Miuccia Prada showed a collection of oversized furry creations. She said they were about “the madness of glamour in this time, in front of a very uncertain future”. So there you have it. See Topshop for a great high-street version.
14 Pull your pants up
It’s been a while since we showed off our undercrackers (the big-knicker-through-sheer-skirt trend of 2014 perhaps?), but visible pants are back, this time in the form of flaunting your knicker waistband. You’ll need to be sporting a retro undies label – we’re talking Jockey or Hilfiger – although it’s possibly best left to a Hadid or a Jenner.
15 Join Beauty Pie
Marcia Kilgore is a woman with the Midas touch when it comes to the beauty world – founding Bliss, Soap & Glory and FitFlop. Her latest venture, Beauty Pie, is a luxury beauty etailer – sign up (for 10 a month) and you’ll have access to products straight off the production lines of the factories producing high-end goods but at cost price. There’s no fancy packaging or glossy advertising, just good quality products at unbelievably cheap prices (we’re talking a foundation for under a fiver). beautypie.com
16 No more Scandi houses
If you’ve spent years cultivating a collection of blond-wood furniture, I’ve got bad news for you. In line with the national mood, interior designers are forecasting a return to dark wood. Reclaimed and antique mahogany, teak and walnut are commanding higher prices at auction. See the suites of London’s hottest hotel opening of the summer – the Ned – for inspiration for your home.
17 Listen up
Podcasts have been in vogue for some years, but if you’re looking for a fresh listen try Saints of Somewhere. Founded by fashion plate and journalist Kirsty Robinson, SoS features interviews with people such as Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien, the artist George Shaw, rehab pioneer Peter Martin and writer Maria Semple. It’s an anti-authoritarian Desert Island Discs for Generation X. Robinson says: “We get people to tell the story of who they are through their heroes. Guests are so generous and candid when given the opportunity to talk about the things that inspire them. When the world seems to get crazier by the week, listening to these remarkable people seems to be a way to both escape and perhaps make a little sense of it.” saintsofsomewhere.com
18 Pull the cord
Seen at Prada and at Saint Laurent, corduroy, the most geography-teacher look of all, is back. You’re looking for a chunky weight with a Seventies vibe, ideally in tan.
19 Have a ball at Annabel’s
Opening in November two doors from its original Berkeley Square premises, Annabel’s promises to be the club to be seen in after its 55 million refurbishment. Open from 7am for breakfast and until 4am for the wild at heart, London’s most legendary members’ club is shrugging off its fusty image with a younger membership, more relaxed dress codes and a cooler crew in charge. Party here or nowhere.
20 Visit the ‘Mayor of LA’
So-called in a profile in the New Yorker because she knows everyone in Los Angeles, the photographer Catherine Opie has a knack for bagging the sitters everyone wants. Her show at the Thomas Dane Gallery in London celebrates British icons and will feature big-name subjects shot for this project.
