Thursday 25 April 2013

THE STYLE LIST

THE SUMMER SEASON

Well well style lovelies I am sorry I am a little late with my blog this week I have been busy with my clients getting ready for the Summer Season which is now upon us. Yes it is and to prove it we actually have sun. I cannot get excited about The Season until I have a wee glimpse of sunshine however as you are reading this it is probably reverted to the rainy season once again.
As I have been styling my clients ready for prestigious events I thought this week I would share my favourite and not so favourite events of the summer. Anyone can go to these events you do not have to be formally invited and the prices range from very affordable to downright ludicrous !

IN STYLE............


Me and Hilary Alexander at Royal ascot
Well as I am an Ascot girl I have to start with ROYAL ASCOT races although some aspects of this event can be so not stylish in the main I do enjoy this event . I have been attending for 20 Years in The Royal Enclosure which has a strict dress code and a more refined ambience. Royal Enclosure Badge holders may take guests on Fridays and Saturdays, I always seem to have a lot of 'besties' at this time. Tuesday by far the best day, avoid Ladies Day (thursday)  very uncouth.18th-22nd June 2013
Boodles
Another favourite event is THE BOODLES TENNIS TOURNAMENT+ at The Stoke Park Club. Unfortunately as it is the warm up to Wimbledon it is held the same week as Royal Ascot (18-22 June). But this event is so much better and more intimate than Wimbledon and tickets start from £45 but can increase to £450 to include lunch with the players. The event attracts world class players Djokovic has just confirmed his attendance. I have been going to this event since the launch several years ago. Superstylish day out.
MINT POLO IN THE PARK+ is another event I have been attending since its conception a few years ago. 7,8,9 June. A fabulous day out weather permitting. Mahiki bar and Veuve Clicquot bar, great shopping and the polo is more exciting to watch as they play Hurlingham rules which are quicker and simpler to understand.                                                                           
Me at Hurlingham Polo
A standard ticket without hospitality is only £20 or £5 after 5pm!! Really good day but please style followers DO NOT dress as though you were going to Ascot this is a dress down day. NO Fascinators purleeeeez !!



RUN A MILE....................


Pretty Boys at Henley Regatta
HENLEY REGATTA yawn yawn boring boring lots of standing around. Give this a miss and go to the much more stylish HENLEY FESTIVAL great music and food. Although the men do look stylish at this event the ladies always seem to get it so wrong.
Give it a miss
 WIMBLEDON although I love to play tennis this is an event much better on the television then for real. You miss the running commentary and you can get to see several matches at once. Unless you have Mens Final tickets serve an ace and stay at home with a bowl of strawberries and cream and watch it from your sofa. I have not been to this event for a couple of years but it was infinitely less stylish than I imagined.

There is a whole host  of summer events to attend. Check out my previous blogs for the whole summer calendar 2013. Have fun and come and say hallo if you see me out there I will be taking photographs for best and worst dressed of the season lets hope you make it onto the right list style setters. LOVE YOU LOTS XXXX

Wednesday 10 April 2013

THE STYLE LIST

STYLE SPECIAL-LIVE FROM LA
Did you make the style high club ??

Hi Guys Im on one of my jaunts to LA and I decided it would br fun to share with you some of my coolest hangouts for you to seek out on your next visits. Remember everything on my blog is tried and tested and super stylish !!

IN STYLE
Century Plaza Hotel
Im taking a risk sharing my secret Hotel with you as I probably will never be able to get a room here as it will be overbooked. Many people when they visit LA tend to head for the iconic Hotel i.e Beverley Hills Hotel,Beverley Hilton etc believe me they are iconic for a reason they haven't been updated since the sixties and are a little decrepit and the staff at these Hotels tend to be a little smug and lazy. I always now head to the newly refurbished Hotels like The London or as I did this visit THE HYATT CENTURY PLAZA, Avenue of The Stars, Century City. Fabulous location just off the Santa Monica Boulevard a short walk to Rodeo Drive and a short drive to Santa Monica beaches. Everything tends to feel on top of you in LA but here the location is spacious and light no rooftop pools here ! The pool area one of the largest in LA and also now has a state of the art Fitness Centre and Spa. The Hotel boasts a supercool nightclub The X bar and also the best Breakfast buffet in town. I also genuinely would say the best staff I have encountered in LA to date the Restaurant staff have become my new BFFs seek out Arturro and Freddie you will be glad you did. Whenever i looked in need of help Jose the 'Facility Manager' would appear out of nowhere and ready to assist. It gets better The Hotel is located right next to shoppers heaven WESTFIELD with Louis Vuitton,Michael Kors (as you know my current fave),Tiffanys, Victoria Secrets and the rest ! But the best thing of all is when you get this much style at an amazing price starting at $185 per room substantially cheaper than equivalent Hotels !! All Hotels should come here first to look and learn.But please Shhhhhhh keep it a secret ! Tell no one !

A quick shout out for THE POLO LOUNGE at The Beverley Hills Hotel 9641 Sunset Boulevard as I said previously I would not stay there but you should visit the Polo Lounge which is both a bar and a restaurant and chic and bloc full of celebrities. Much nicer to visit the iconic hotels than stay there. Live very good music nightly,
try the Midnight Lavender cocktail more than once. Haha !



Boa
BOA 9200 Sunset Boulevard i a super cool restaurant at the base of Soho House it has a separate steak menu the filet mignon $42 I can recommend but there is also a very reasonable alternative menu fish tacos beef burgers etc. This restaurant is the stars best kept secret it is supersllek,unfussy and elegant.

I have to confess the only reason I booked VILLA BLANCA Brighton Way Beverley Hills was to catch a glimpse of the owners Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd ( Housewives of Beverley Hills fame ) although no sign of them. This remains one of my favourite spots in LA I love the Lobster and Crab salad. The decor is stylish and of course Spanish and completely white, the atmosphere is relaxed and on our recent visit Brent looked after us so well. Lunch and dinner valet parking. try it for yourself and you might even meet the formidable Lisa apparently they are there most nights just not the ones that I book in for mmmmm I feel a complex forming ..
Villa Blanca
Stains !!
Or Run a Mile...........
Sheraton Universal
I had a meeting at Universal so checked into the SHERATON UNIVERSAL at $240 a night avoid like the plague in fact it was reminiscent of The Plague. Stains on the wall filthy carpets thousands of children running wild one very bad restaurant. I have nothing good to say about this place apart from Max on reception who offered me all sorts of bonuses to stay yet I still chose to keep running for the hills (The Hollywood Hills that is). People listen even if you have children don't let the close proximity to Universal Studios lure you into this pit. Avoid at all costs !

VALET PARKING drives me absolutely nuts. Its great when I really need it but when I just want to park my car all on my own it seems that this is not possible in LA. Although I appreciate it sometimes works out cheaper for Valet more often than not it is much more expensive and sometimes not an option. Space is a premium in LA so by having the keys the Valet can park the cars on top of each other. Waiting for this to come to UK! NO! Would like to have included a piccie of a nice happy Valet but they declined perhaps due to all my moaning while they insisted they park my car. Ooops!

BYE BYE FROM LA LA LAND   XXXXXXXX