Celebrity Sightings: London Dec.2012

I love my celebrity sightings and in London it is par for the course....

I have had a conversation with Angelina Jolie at Adhoc on the King's road after she got her Oscar for her role in "Girl Interrupted", I have come face to face with the diminuative Pink in Harvey Nichols with clothes in her hands to try on , I've seen  the hansome,smiling Paul Bettany and his scowling wife Jennifer Connolly riding the escalators there too...Adele in Waitrose last year as well as seeing the lovely Bill Nighy trying on an overcoat in Selfridges and looking fabulous last month. Dare I also mention Amy Childs from TOWIE looking out of her comfort zone in the Harrods food all. We were having lunch at the Bentleys seafood counter and she came with 2 other people,sat down for lunch too. Too much make up and a diet coke is all I remember...then again why bother?

So who did I see last week in London?

Why Sam Mendes as we were leaving the Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbride after a lovely dinner there with friends. So excited was I to have recognised ,let alone spotted Mr Mendes that I quickly jumped and pounded my friend Philippe's chest with glee: "Sam Mendes! Behind you!!"
"Where? Where?" he replied intrigued as my sister,her husband, Philippe's wife( and my dear friend) Janet looked on with amusement at all the fuss I was creating (did I mention the lateness of the hour and all the wine we drank?)
Once safely tucked into our taxi did Philippe add;
"Honestly Reem all that fuss for nothing...Big Deal!!"
"What happened to "where? where??"!! I replied not wanting to be the only one left feeling childish!!

A few days later as we were waiting for our table at Scotts in Mayfair, Charles Saatchi and his lovely wife Nigella Lawson breezed in.
 Now they looked particularly dishevelled, both with unbrushed hair,large flapping overcoats ... had I not been paying attention,they would have walked passed me unnoticed...
Who am I kidding my Celeb-dar is highly tuned and never lets me down.

NB: How could I forget spotting Flabio Briatori sitting down for a meal at the fabulous Novikov in Mayfair....
I mean Flavio!!! Oops.

What's in a Name....?

Thanks to an overrated reality show on British TV...my name has been propelled into the limelight and is now very much a "noun"....

Thanks to TOWIE:The Only Way Is Essex..."Reem": a middle eastern name that means little gazelle has had a makeover and has been liberally used by Joey Essex to describe an:

" incredibly sexy and physically talented individual. A “reem” is always envied and desired by others who are not able to reach “reem status”. 

Luckily it means THAT to him...imagine if it meant something truly hideous.Still,the whole thing makes me roll my eyes and quite frankly...I never gave it a second thought
..... until......

I was in "Office" a shoe shop chain in King's road trying on a pair of Nike High Dunk's...which they didn't have in the colour I wanted.

"Would you like me to ring round to one of our other shops?..."
"Yes please."
And he located a pair in Selfridges:
"Can I have your name please?"
"Reem...."

He cocked his head to one side and a bizarre grin appeared on his lips...as though to say:"You are joking?!"...And then it hit me,like a skillet to the head...that bloody TV show has its followers right here.

"Yessss..that is my name:REEM! Would you like to see some ID as proof?"
"Wow, how funny..." he replied stifling a giggle.
"Only to you" I whispered. "Go On!! Look at my Passport for the hell of it!!"I added for effect.

Not that it would have made a blind bit of difference to this young,pimply individual at Office...I had just made his day and everybody else's who happened to answer his phone calls.

Trapped Within a Gilded Gucci Cage

Saturday afternoon in Knightsbridge is never a dull moment: The anti Fur protesters come out in droves chanting :" Shame on you! Gucci....Harrods....Cavalli...."whoever they are targetting....Fur is Murder!"

So the reason for this photo? I am in fact trapped behind the solid doors of Gucci...I wish you could see me...hilarious!
As I attempted to leave I am faced with the closed doors,the chanting crowds outside with banners and pamphlets. I look at the 3 burly guards and say:

"Can I leave? I'm wearing wool and viscose?!!"

"Madam,...no problem" says Burly Guard as I approach the door...hesitant 'cos to be honest it was rather overwhelming:

"Ermmmm...Are you coming with me?"

Luckily the Police were by the door,the crowd didn't fly at me...and there was my sister and her husband in hysterics watching me emerge.
This photo was their gift to me...to immortalise the moment I was trapped within Gucci.

Let it Snow ! MYKITA & MONCLER AW 2012/13

The folks at MYKITA have continued their match made in heaven with MONCLER for AW 2012/13....

It began with an homage to mountains and all those who love to ski them and has evolved into a new collection : LIONEL ...an inspiration drawn from 1950s alpine glacier goggles.

It is an edgy,modern collection with all the extras that MYKITA are famous for...and above all,they offer unmitigated protection against the sun's harmful rays. 

To be added to the Christmas gift list asap.....

Many thanks to the MYKITA team.

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2012 - The Journey

For all you softies out there...watch this lovely ad for John Lewis dept.store plus, the song is hauntingly beautiful....

A Touch of Classy

Brrrrrr....winter is truly here and the coats have come out.
This one caught my eye: ultra feminine, this coat gives good "hourglass" and is beautifully tailored: 
Coat by Stella McCartney £3,740 
The hat is by Alberta Ferretti £393....the look is minimalist chic and I love it.

Now for some classy fun: silk top(£1,000) and wool trousers(£783) are both by Celine. I know...I did say as the adage goes "No white after labour day"...but frankly white looks fabulous in winter (NOT SHOES!!) paired with tawny skin ,a chunky sweater and a navy  pea coat....Fabulous....Fun...my kind of wardrobe.

Moving on to the Amish like skull cap on her head...for the shoot, it is fabulous and fun. In reality it is freakish and funny and at the almighty sum of £735.... Marios Schwab must be having a laugh.
...but is it at us, or with us.....???

More fashion observations soon...

A Prickly Pair ....

Now that's more like it ...Kurt Geiger!

These stiletto booties have all this season's required "accoutrement's":a heel that is thin and high,counter balanced by the white platform with a hint of a blue streak(didn't come out in scan! grrrr...) and of course....the silver spikes,de rigueur since Christian Louboutin took to adorning his hightop sneakers and velvet slippers.
Obviously since...everyone has dipped a toe in those waters:
"Imitation is the highest form of flattery..." and all that jazz.

Sexy in your face and tongue in cheek chic...you have to have fun with fashion. Take it too seriously and it will take you over and turn you into :
a) a slave to fashion
b) a monster.