Stuff a sunhat in your bag and head to the park – this one comes with tie in case it’s windy. £17.99 at
Guaranteed to put a smile on your face now and for years to come. The crown has the iconic striped colours too. Missoni straw hat £380 at
A fabulous grungy Ganni washed denim bucket hat £130 at
We love this range (10 in total) of colours it’s available in; although this ‘honey’ colour is sublime. Leirum sunglasses. £125 at
Scarves are huge this summer, especially from French designers. has some wonderful designs, like this 60’s design, €31.50
Parisian label Leon & Harper has good prints. Elvis scarf £41 at
We love the new collection from M.A.B.E. This tote bag £67 and many other goodies from The Cross Shop boutique. DM Instagram @thecrossshop to buy direct
Whisk yourself away mentally to the South of France with this Soeur Vendredi bag £95 at
We have lusted after the Dragon Diffusion Nantucket bag since first spotting it in Merci lifestyle store in Paris. It was briefly in stock this week at Harvey Nichols but has already sold out. You can Add to Wishlist to be the first to hear when it’s in stock, or find a good selection of their other woven designs via .
Give your bulky trainers a break and slip on these easy Bensimon cotton trainers £26 at
We also love Novesta for spring/summer days, in an assortment of colours at , £49
A cross between an espadrille and a Birkenstock and all the better for the combination.
Cavalry Buckle slide £169 at
Put on a cocktail ring to lift your mood like this statement Lapis ring £40 at
Tie back your wild hair with these handmade hair scrunchies. Sets of 3, £15. Choose from this Boho mix; Indian block prints, Liberty and vintage selections. Buy via Instagram @lucky4finds
Friendship bracelets are making a come-back. Personalise and send to a friend, £12.49 for 2 by
Protect against the sun with Invisible Shield daily sunscreen SPF 30 £20 at
And don’t forget your lips without forgoing a bit of colour. Butterstick lip treatment SPF30 £19.50 at
We’ve fallen in love with bobbin (or spindle) furniture. First made in the late eighteenth century when legs or other parts were lathe-turned to make them more ornamental and then gaining popularity again during the arts and crafts movement, many of these modern versions below are made to order and bespoke. Happy shopping!
We’re lamenting the lack of Chelsea Flower Show this week but the upside is that a few of our favourite florist’s are showing us how it’s done, virtually:
Last summer Jam Jar were commissioned to create the spectacular London Gate at the entrance to the Flower Show (left). Afterwards, they moved all the plants to a community garden in South London to feed the bees: how lovely to see them all in bloom again in this video. Watch and learn how to choose the right flowers to press, and follow a step-by-step guide with florist, Amy. The flower pressing workshops at their studio are usually highly coveted so this is a treat.
Catch florist, Nikki Tibbles at home in her orchard showing you how to pull together a beautiful Wild at Heart-style bouquet. Here she uses Sarah Bernhardt peonies, pale lemon peonies, delphinium, guelder rose, clematis, scabious and garden roses – but you could use anything you have in the garden and follow her technique of conditioning your stems, and then adding each at a right angle, twisting all the time. The dogs from her Wild at Heart foundation also make an appearance.
We like this tutorial from top florist Moyses Stevens (royal warrant HRH Prince of Wales). It’s practical for lockdown, showing you how to mix shop bought flowers with things you’ve foraged on your walk like grasses and even using a piece of trailing ivy and some newspaper to wrap the bouquet as a gift.
Virtual Chelsea is being shown daily on the BBC – Nicki Chapman is on BBC One at 3.45pm and Monty Don and Joe Swift are on BBC Two at 8pm, you can see daily highlights here. Look out for flower-grower Sarah Raven giving a tour of her East Sussex garden on Thursday 21 May, and florist Shane Connolly demonstrating how to set an outdoor dining table with flowers from the garden, on Friday 22 May
Online savings to help you pep up your home and garden:
Discount Sales:
Cox & Cox – 25% off when you buy 5 or more items, 24% off when you buy 4, 23% with 3, 22% with 2 and 21% off one item. Applies to full-price stock only, like this Ends midnight 25 May 2020.
– 50% off homewares including velvet cinema chairs, sofas, beds, china, lighting and stripy House pool towels. Set of four , now £32
– 50% off all Berber rugs and pillows, with free shipping. We like the children’s selection particularly, like , €205
– Up to 40% off garden furniture including rattan benches, deck chairs and these classic Adirondack’s, now £84
John Lewis – 20% off home, kitchen, and picnic-ware including this , £9.60
– 20% off outdoor cooking as part of a Chelsea Flower Show special offer until 2nd June. Use code CHELSEA20+ for 20% off this
– up to 50% off fashion, accessories and Liberty products including an edit of fabrics (instead of £25 per metre)
Online Outlets:
– up to 50% off furniture, accessories and lighting, including garden furniture like this Bridgehampton set, sofa £695 and :
– up to 75% off furniture, lighting and lifestyle. This would be good to take into the garden, £48.76
– there are often good prices (up to 60% off) and they are currently running an extra 20% off the Outlet with the code 20PEONY. Find now £38, and also cotton bedlinen like this
Newsletters to sign up to
Matilda Goad runs a Secret Flea market via her monthly mailer, The Dispatch. You have to be signed up to access the stock which could be vintage linen to antique furniture to prints.
have launched homewares. Sign up to their newsletter to hear when the next collection drops as it sells out quickly. Their signature is currently back in stock to pre-order, £40/roll
When I think of Spring, I think of Hellebores, lambs and birdsong. Of pink ceilinged, dusky days, longer days, which make you start to forget the bleak of winter. It’s filled with possibility.
The scents that are redolent of that green promise to me, and that you should know about, are the following:
Cristalle by Chanel: Should be worn by a boyish, sexy gym teacher who drinks gin and tonics. There’s something oddly enigmatic about Cristalle, I’ve worn it on and off for years, always in spring- time.
Eau de Soir by Sisley: Citrus, amber and musk, this is for women and not for girls. It has a ghost of one of the Guerlain greats. The poster girl would be Parisian and complicated.
Joseph Parfum de Jour by Joseph: I wore it as a teenager. It crackles with hyacinths, lily of the valley, rose, amber and ylang ylang. Will forever remind me of wearing Mac Spice lip liner, black bomber jackets and white jeans that were too tight, and fancying boys called Tristan. A classic.
Ysatis by Givenchy, in honour of Daisy, who wore it for years: Ysatis is something I remember stealing from my grandmother’s dressing table. It’s bold and mysterious; a musky floral that is just the right side of trampy. It speaks of borrowing your sister’s favourite dress and putting it back in her cupboard without telling her you ever took it in the first place.
In days often filled with home schooling, washing and cooking, we don’t mind admitting that we find a world of distraction in Instagram. Here are our top accounts for lockdown escapism:
@therealgracecoddington – whether it’s her cats or snapshots of past shoots (see left with Tim Walker from May 2014), there is always something witty and whimsical about Ms Coddington’s feed.
@newyorkercartoons The New Yorker Magazine cartoons are so good they even have their own account with almost 3 million followers. Always droll and always on point.
@milliproust Milli is a florist who often photographs her beautiful garden in Sussex – pure floral dreaminess.
@celestebarber If you haven’t discovered the Australian comic, then do go back through her past feed as she hilariously sends up people who take their IG feed too seriously. One of our favourites is the Victoria Secret’s Christmas Model special.
@svenskttenn It might just be us going back to our Swedish roots, but we find the bright florals of this Scandinavian design company extremely uplifting.
@connellschain Missing Normal People? Then here’s a whole account dedicated to Connell Waldron’s chain. Crazy but true.
@humansofny These are incredibly human, mostly good news stories about the small connections in our lives as told through the inhabitants of NY. Sounds mushy but actually rather wonderful.
On 24 March, just after we went into lockdown Rizzoli published a fashion book, Diana Vreeland: Bon Mots, Words of Wisdom from the Empress of Fashion. Pulled together by her grandson, Alexander Vreeland, it celebrates her distinctive voice and attitudes for life with illustrations by Luke Edward Hall. It’s one of a string of wonderful projects he’s worked on including designing a curtain for the English National Opera, lamps for Svenskt Tenn and swimming shorts for La Sirenuse. We caught up with the artist-of-the-moment:
Can you tell us a bit about the experience of working with Alexander Vreeland on the Bon Mots book?
It was a really enjoyable and inspiring experience. Alexander really pushed me to capture the essence of his grandmother with my drawings. To help with inspiration, he shared some wonderful images of Mrs Vreeland and her NYC apartment with me, and when speaking on the phone throughout the project, he’d always have fascinating little stories or titbits to offer up.
Favourite Diana Vreeland quip?
Oh golly, so many. I love this one: ‘How can life be possible without fantasy?’
What else have you been working on recently?
I’ve been working on the interior design and art direction of a new hotel and bistro in Paris, drawings and paintings for an exhibition in London (postponed!), a couple of new collaborations and my weekly FT column.
Progress at the Bisro in Paris
Where do you do your work?
Usually I work in my studio, which is in Highbury, North London. For the past six or seven weeks however I’ve been working in one of the two spare bedrooms at our cottage in Gloucestershire. This past week I’ve taken to working in the stable opposite the house, as I’ve been making some oil paintings and it’s a messy business.
How have you been spending lockdown and what impact has it had on your creativity?
I have to say that I feel very lucky to be out here in the countryside. The nature here, the good weather and the glorious arrival of spring – these have been fabulous and invigorating for my creativity and imagination. This being said, some of my projects have been postponed or delayed, which is frustrating. It’s a difficult time for everyone, but I’m trying my best to stay positive. I’m an optimistic person anyway.
Have you learnt any new skills?
A real plus for me: I’ve had time to work on personal projects – drawings, painting and so on. Apart from oil painting, I’m taking lots of photographs. (I often buy old cameras and then never get around to using them.) I’m running a few times a week also, which I’ve been really enjoying. Pre-lockdown I used to go on the odd jog, but I’ve been trying much harder!
What are your favourite ways to relax at the moment?
Cooking and gardening. It’s our first spring here in the country and we’re really enjoying experimenting with bulbs, seeds and plants. I built a structure the other day for my sweet peas to clamber up. I’m hoping it’ll work. In the evenings I’m reading a lot. On my bedside table at the moment I have: Box Hill by Adam Mars-Jones, In Your Garden by Vita Sackville-West and Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski.
What’s the first place you’ll go when Lockdown lifts?
Well, I wouldn’t mind a jaunt to Italy. Capri, specifically! I want to see all of my friends, of course. We’re thinking about throwing a summer fete in our garden. If we can. I want to make a bar in the vegetable beds with a billowing pink tablecloth.
Dreaming of Italy
What’s the most treasured possession in your house? And why?
Our new puppy, Merlin. He’s a whippet and he arrived a couple of weeks ago. Aside from him, perhaps it’s our Venetian gilt grotto chair, which has a giant shell for a back. Or the photographic print we have in our dining room of a naked man covering himself with a polar bear rug by George Platt Lynes.
Anything exciting in the pipeline you’d like to share?
I’ve started making unisex jerkins (or waistcoats) using scraps of old interiors fabrics I’ve collected over the years. It’s a very lo-fi project. The ‘label’ is called The Castle of the Forest Sauvage, and I’m selling them via Instagram. I’m only making a few a month. I think the waistcoat is my favourite garment.
Diana Vreeland: Bon Mots, Words of Wisdom from the Empress of Fashion, by Alexander Vreeland with illustrations from Luke Edward Hall. £22 amazon.co.uk
See more of Luke Edward Hall’s work and shop here, and follow him on Instagram @lukeedwardhall.
Fondation Claude Monet will now allow you to tour his house, virtually. We can’t get enough of the yellow dining room with its chequered floor, the copper saucepans lining the tiles in the kitchen, nor the wonderful rattan furniture in his studio. If you want to step outside into the garden, which Monet deemed ‘his greatest work of art’, we like this 3-minute tour with RA curator Ann Dumas too.
Explore Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild’s magnificent estate, where Queen Victoria was a favourite guest. A clever new 360-degree virtual tour experience welcomes you into five rooms including the Bachelors’ Wing, Tower Drawing Room, Green Boudoir, Red Drawing room and the Small Library. You can click on certain objects to learn more – a stunning Murano glass chandelier, Meissen porcelain, Gainsborough portraits, Savonnerie carpets etc. There are lots of details you wouldn’t see on a normal visit: the true apple green and pink colour of a cushion fabric in the Tower Drawing room for example. Explore here.
Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House is usually on display at Windsor Castle: now you can view it and all its tiny contents online. Designed by Edward Lutyens’ and built between 1921 and 1924 it’s a microcosm of Edwardian England – complete with running water, electricity and working lifts. Perfect 1:12 scale includes a garden by Gertrude Jekyll and a library containing 170 miniature books by writers of the day: J.M. Barrie, A.A. Milne, Thomas Hardy and Edith Wharton. Contributors were encouraged along with their donations by Lutyens’ regular ‘Dolleluiah Dinners’ at the Savoy – everyone from Berry Bros. to Rolls Royce and Cartier were involved. Explore here.
Walk around Prince Charles’ garden at Highgrove, over 40 years in the making. In fact it’s made up of lots of different and very diverse gardens: there’s the green, fern-filled Stumpery where Prince William and Harry’s old treehouse is nicknamed ‘Holyrood House’, the traditional Old Cottage Garden designed by the late Rosemary Verey OBE, the tranquil Lily Pool Garden with its Borghese gladiator, the colourful Sundial Garden, and it goes on. We particularly like the look of his Sanctuary made with Highgrove clay, and Thyme Walk with yew topiary in the shape of crowns. See it all here.
Imagine yourself as Marie Antoinette, isolating in splendour at Versaille thanks to Google’s Virtual Reality experience. You need a VR headset to get the full immersive experience, but even if you don’t have one you can still explore the empty palace on foot (like using Google street view) walking through the Hall of Mirrors with 257 glinting mirrors and 17 windows, zooming in on details in the Queen’s bedchamber and looking around the Opera House. The online exhibitions are also good, we enjoyed this look at Fashion at Versailles including Marie Antoinette’s style, hair and jewellery.
Just 8 weeks’ ago people were scouring the internet for tiny pots of Carex. Thankfully there are now some luxurious alternatives to help you take care of your hands. Find them here, plus the creams that work:
We love the minty scent of Bramley’s new hand sanitiser, that somehow leaves no residue on the hands. Made and bottled in Wiltshire, the adult gel in rosemary, peppermint and spearmint contains 60% alcohol, whilst the children’s gel is alcohol-free. Hand Sanitiser Gel, £8/100ml at and Little B Hand Cleansing Gel, £8/100ml at
Instead of a gel, Touchland is more of a light zingy spritz. This grapefruit bottle contains over 500+ sprays. £12 at
Some of our favourite brands are now bringing out hand sanitisers, but do look out for the alcohol content and use accordingly. Byredo’s Rinse-Free range (including Rose, Suade, Vetyver and Tulipmania) are just 30% alcohol. Aesop’s alternative is 60% alcohol, and comes in their classic Resurrection fragrance, £7 at
Nursem was created by a paediatric nurse and her husband, in a direct response to always having sore, cracked hands from hand-washing throughout long shifts. Specifically designed to be used little and often, the caring hand cream contains Manuka Honey NPA +15 and feels light and non-greasy. £9.99 at
Augustinus Bader are best known for The Cream, a cult anti-aging moisturiser beloved by celebrities including Carla Bruni, Victoria Beckham, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Yasmin le Bon and Margot Robbie. Their latest launch, The Hand Treatment has been brought forward in response to Covid-19. The hand cream nourishes dry hands, whilst also containing the same key TFC8 blend, a combination of natural amino acids, vitamins and synthesized molecules that work their anti-aging magic. Available for pre-order now, shipping 23 May. £40/50ml tube at .
Rather than a daily hand cream, this salve is a rescue treatment for chapped, red or sore skin. It contains the brand’s hero ingredient, lanolin which is used medically to treat skin irritation. Use overnight. £17.99 at
For those suffering fatigue at the prospect of cooking 7 nights a week, here are some cheats’ options:
A frying pan pizza kit from Pizza Pilgrims is a good weekend treat. Each kit comes with everything you need for 2 Margherita pizzas – dough, marinara sauce, Fior Di Latte, olive oil, fresh basil and Parmesan – add your own toppings as you like. £15 + £5 nationwide delivery.
Asparagus season is here. Order freshly-picked spears direct from Withycombe farm in Somerset. Super popular but do keep checking back as they update the website day-to-day. Sent first class by Royal Mail, £9 one bundle, £15.50 two bundles, with free delivery.
Patty & Bun’s burger kits come with meat from HG Walter, Brioche Buns from Bread Ahead, cheese slices from Neals Yard, plus Smokey Patty & Bun mayo, home-made pickles and smokey onions. Vegan burger kits are now also available. £25, plus £6 delivery within the M25, soon to go nationwide.
Field & flower’s Somerset chefs carefully prepare and , so literally all you have to do is put them in the oven. We tried the lamb rump with rosemary and garlic which took just 15 minutes in the oven emerging perfectly pink and tender, as though you’d spent hours marinating and slow cooking it from scratch. Supporting British farmers, field & flower is a company we really rate: they also stock meat, cheese, deli items, and sustainable . Lamb rump, £11.98 serves 2, Catch of the Day box from £14.95.
Salt beef or pastrami bagels from Monty’s Deli that you can make at home. The bagels arrive frozen and part-baked, taking just 10 minutes to finish off in the oven, so you can have them hot. Be warned that these sell out really fast – fresh stock goes online on Wednesday evenings each week, so you’ll need to order first thing on Thursday morning. £6 for a pack of 6 bagels, with Tuesday-Friday delivery.
Order your favourite dishes from the menu at the Camberwell Arms and cook them in the oven at home. Think beef, ale and bone marrow pie, dauphinoise potatoes or roast San Marzano tomato, chickpeas and smoked ricotta. Sides from £3, mains serving 2 from £18, Wednesday to Sunday only with collection or local delivery within 2.5 miles.
And finally, a cheat’s pudding for Speculoos fans. These new Lotus Biscoff mini ice cream sticks have arrived from Belgium, £4.49 for 8.
Have you exhausted your Apple/Netflix/Amazon film supply? Us to0, so we’ve been searching for some alternative streaming channels – all you need is your tv/computer and a sofa.
Secret Cinema have gone virtual and created Secret Sofa. Every Friday they screen a film (classic or modern), sometimes they tell you, sometimes it is a surprise. This Friday it is Romeo and Juliet. They also give you instructions on how to dress up, which music to play etc to add to the atmosphere.
Also every Friday, Lionsgate Live are streaming some of their classic movies for free – everything from La La Land to Dirty Dancing. This Friday it is Bend it like Beckham. Catch it here or on youtube.
Everyman’s House Party are showing a film every Saturday at 8.30pm. Last Saturday it was The Grand Budapest Hotel. Check in with their Instagram account every Friday and you’ll see which film is going to be shown the next day. Check it out here, on their Instagram live account and also on youtube, Apple TV and Amazon.
Kino Klassika are showing Klassiki – a free weekly streaming of top Russian language films, all ahead of the launch of their online streaming platform. Films change every Tuesday (from cartoons to Hamlet) and you can find them here.
If you’d rather not wait for a whole week, then is for you. They change the films daily and there are always 30 films available to watch. The movies tend to be independent, arty films with an emphasis on European offerings. It costs from £7.99 a month, is free to students and everyone gets the first 7 days for free.
And finally, offers a range of memberships including a members-only collection called Curzon12 or just pay per film you watch. They have a great selection of independent and foreign films, including curated film packages and modern releases such as Bombshell and Parasite.
It’s goodbye for now…
The team at A Little Bird are taking a break to recharge and make some exciting changes behind-the-scenes. We look forward to seeing you again soon.
