A man’s shoes are as crucial as his suit September 12, 2011 THERE’S an old saying that if you want to know if a man’s well-dressed, look down. It’s absolutely true: good shoes make an outfit and bad ones stand out terribly, and that’s especially true of the City. So what should you be looking for in a good pair of English lace-ups? First, if you’re going [...]
OUT OF OFFICE September 12, 2011 DEGAS AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY The great French Impressionist artist (though he rejected the term) is the latest Master to receive a retrospective at the Royal Academy. Opening this weekend, the exhibition focuses on Degas’ most famous subject matter: ballet dancers. In pastels, drawings and paintings, Degas explored the capacity for movement and expression of the [...]
Minimalism meets France’s Ancien Regime this autumn September 12, 2011 1. Brows If your eyes are the windows to your soul, then your brows are the curtains. This season eyebrows are big and bold, which apart from lending a more masculine look, also defines your eyes. Blinc do a wonderful Brow Mousse that not only defines them and builds body, but holds their shape wherever [...]
Episode 27: What to wear for the awards dinner? September 12, 2011 HOW about this one?” asks Noel, hauling a capacious green item into view. It resembles a hefty tarpaulin from my boy scout days. Emma looks at me. I’m idly fingering a rail of backless, ivory silk dresses. “Well?” she asks. “Darling, I don’t know why you want to come. I mean, I’d love you to [...]
Get inspired by Bloomberg’s City relay race September 12, 2011 FITNESS & DIET EXPERT TTHIS Thursday, the fifth annual Bloomberg Square Mile Relay is happening. This race is a little bit unique in that you get to race against rival businesses, in relay, right on your doorstep. I love the combination of the competitive edge with the fitness bit with this event. And the fact [...]
Dukes: it’s no longer just for martinis September 12, 2011 Thirty Six Dukes Hotel, St James’s Place, SW1A 1NY 020 7491 4840 www.dukeshotel.com FOOD **** SERVICE ***** ATMOSPHERE ** Cost per person without wine: £60 DUKES Hotel, which lies in one of those impossibly cute courtyards off St James’s street, has for aeons been famous for one thing: martinis. Its bar, a cosy nest of [...]
THREE OTHER ST JAMES’S RESTAURANTS September 12, 2011 AVENUE A huge, bright place with tables as far as the eye can see – you can tell this used to be a Conran gaff. The Finnish chef does pretty decent things with classic, ultra-fresh British ingredients. 7-9 St James’s St, SW1A 1EE. www.avenue-restaurant.co.uk WHEELER’S OF ST JAMES’S A darkly sumptuous place with some rather [...]
Rugby and wine: NZ’s state of play September 12, 2011 QUAFFER’S CORNER IT’S Rugby World Cup time so let’s cast an eye over the state of play in host country New Zealand – also my home nation. I’m confident in predicting that the winning country will be a wine producer but I won’t tempt fate by going any further. It’s been a tough couple of [...]
Passengers through Heathrow on the up September 12, 2011 A RECORD number of passengers flew from Heathrow airport last month despite the impact of Hurricane Irene, which disrupted flights to the east coast of the US. Heathrow’s owner BAA said 6.6m travellers passed through London’s biggest airport last month, up 0.7 per cent on the previous year. Much of the growth in passenger flights [...]
Rising copper prices hit commuters as thieves steal cables September 12, 2011 LONDON commuters yesterday suffered severe delays on the train network following the theft of copper-based signal cables in Guildford, Surrey. The incident, believed to have taken place on Sunday night, disrupted the journeys of hundreds of thousands of rail customers travelling on South West Trains between Hampshire and London Waterloo. There have been three further [...]