We are thrilled to announce that Precious One, the fragrance created exclusively for us by perfumer Angela Flanders, has been shortlisted for Best Independent Perfume by the Fragrance Foundation

The four finalists are:

The winner will be announced at the FiFi Awards ceremony on 17th May.

It’s not always easy to be inspired – and apologies to you all for the lack of Pearls of Wisdom over the past two months. All I can say in my defence is that other things caught up with me – exciting and positive projects – more news to follow soon. We should always endeavour to be inspired, even by the simple things in life, and particularly by the arrival of Spring.

At the weekend I was lucky enough to see Bill Cunningham The Movie. If you can catch it do. The man is a total inspiration. At 82 Bill is still out researching his weekly column for the New York Times, On The Street. He is totally inspiring, and devoted to what he does. Don’t only see the movie. I suggest that you start looking at Bill’s weekly column on line here 

OK so this week Bill says it’s all about shoes – flat shoes which signify the beginning of Spring in New York. Boots are out now and Ballet flats are in and to be seen everywhere – which means maybe it’t time to lighten up, get into the Spring mood and treat your self to a new pair of Bloch flats!

Bloch classic flat £120

Screenings of Bill Cunningham The Movie can be found here

Mrs Thatcher at the Conservative Party Conference (guardian.co.uk)

Now Margaret Thatcher may be an unlikely style icon for us to select, but with the recent release of the Thatcher biopic, The Iron Lady only last week, it seems there is a surge of interest in her sartorial style.  Now I am not suggesting that there is suddenly going to be a trend to don, bright blue jackets and skirts, have a bouffant hair do and carry a lady like handbag (although I do rather like the idea of that) but it has been clear for some time now, since buying the SS12 collections last year, that shall we call it “Thatcher Blue” was making a comeback.

Several of our favourite collections, here at Precious, including Carven, Moschino Cheap & Chic, and DVF all championed brighter shades of blue. It is a clear trend this season, and one we thought was perfect for working the look.

Thatcher blue on the Carven Runway

and again with this cute peplum dress from Moschino Cheap & Chic

You get the idea, take the colour trend and make it your own, rather that copy the style. Interestingly enough, at the time Mrs T was never considered a style icon, and I think it’s because she adopted her own way of dressing, and stuck to a formula that really did work for her. Something we can all think about, especially when choosing clothes for work or business.

Meryl Streep as Mrs Thatcher (eveningstandard.com)

Meryl Streep’s performance is strongly tipped for Oscar success, I was lucky enough to see a pre screening of The Iron Lady back in December and can highly recommend the film, really for Ms Streep’s fantastic portrayal.

Maybe the January blues aren’t so bad after all!

Filed under: Human Pearls Tagged: Blue, bouffant hair, Carven, conservative party conference, Margaret Thatcher, Meryl Streep, Moschino Cheap & Chic, mrs thatcher, oscar success, The Iron Lady, Tory Blue ]]> http://preciouspearlsofwisdom.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/style-icon-margaret-thatcher/feed/ 0 precious thatcher guardian 05-Carven-3 copie P1070847 maggie-415 eve std http://preciouspearlsofwisdom.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/elizabeth-taylors-jewels/ http://preciouspearlsofwisdom.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/elizabeth-taylors-jewels/#comments Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:00:50 +0000 precious http://preciouspearlsofwisdom.wordpress.com/?p=608 ]]>

Elizabeth Taylor is one of our Style Icons here at Precious.

Earlier in September I was invited along to a Private Viewing of some of Elizabeth Taylor’s amazing jewellery collection at Christies in London. Can you imagine my excitement! This was  a very special invitation and not to be missed.

The Taylor Diamond – all 33 carats of it -wow!

Not only could we see about 58 lots of some of the most famous jewels in Hollywood, including the now famous 33ct Taylor diamond, and the beautiful engraved heart shaped diamond pendant from Richard Burton, we could try on and hold these wonderfully famous pieces. Jewellery always seems to carry a story with it, and these iconic pieces still seem to hold the resonance of the Taylor/Burton romance all these years later.

Beautiful diamond earrings in an 18th century design

“I never, never thought of my jewellery as trophies,” Elizabeth Taylor, wrote. “I’m here to take care of them and to love them. When I die and they go off to auction I hope whoever buys them gives them a really good home.”

The evening auction on the 13th December, in New York, is for the finest 80 pieces of jewellery, with an ongoing on line auction of memorabilia, jewellery and fashion accessories running from the 3rd to 17th December.

Well girls – you could always add it onto your wishlist for Santa – it’s just in time for Christmas and well, you never know!

Samantha Cameron, looked as chic as ever at last night’s British Fashion Awards, but has in today’s press been critcised for wearing a pair of shoes that cost £595. Mrs Cameron, was sporting these rather lovely Charlotte Olympia red satin platform court shoes. Here at Precious, we’ve long been a fan of a pair of red shoes to complement a black dress – it’s a great way to add a pop of colour and can be a great talking point too.

Lola Cruz shoes £145

So this rather reminded us of our lovely Lola Cruz pony skin pointed courts which look just as stunning with a little black dress, a pair of jeans or a red dress for that matter and only cost a mere £145.

Perfect for playing Santa in!

Photo of Samantha Cameron courtesy of the Daily Telegraph Rex

Well they say you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your Prince….and maybe that’s true. I think that you have to believe that it will be worth it in the end.  One of our favourite new blogs on the block is The Plankton, a very well written and often wry blog with a daily post about the trials and tribulations of a single divorced mum, with kids, in the dating game. It’s wry, funny and often heart-warming.

Anyway to help you practise on your quest for the Prince, we have tracked down these cute frog rings from Paris. They look suprisingly good on the finger, and come in quite handy for kissing practise….until you find your Prince that is.

As for me…no comment just yet…we’ll wait and see if the frog kissing works!

As for The Plankton – maybe we should send her a frog ring?

Frog rings from Precious £29

The Plankton Blog 

With the clocks going back, and winter nights really drawing in now, we are more than a little in love with our newest find – Lucza.

Finding ourselves more inclined to cosy up indoors with a great DVD, supper a deux, or maybe even Saturday night Strictly & X Factor – how’s a girl to add that extra “wow” factor? We think we have the answer for you – why not slip into something chic, elegant and comfortable at the end of a long day. Why not come and discover Lucza.

Karen Scofield

Style savvy, New Yorker, Karen Scofield launched Lucza in April 2011 after searching unsuccessfully for pieces she could “throw on without thinking and look instantly chic yet completely comfortable” whether for entertaining or dinner at home with her family.

Lucza is a luxury lifestyle brand specializing in timeless, elegant and truly effortless wardrobe essentials made with the finest fabrics and the highest quality finish. Designed for modern, sophisticated women with demanding lifestyles, Lucza’s capsule collections can be dressed up or down, providing endless styling options whatever the occasion or mood.

Lucza Tunic and Skinny Pants

The label specialises in classic essentials in high quality fabrics that are suited to women looking to strike a balance between practicality and style; pieces that last a lifetime, travel well and offer multiple wardrobe solutions.   The new A/W collection includes the perfect black trousers in two flattering easy to wear styles, luxuriously soft cashmere sweaters, silk trousers to be dressed up or down and gorgeous alpaca/wool gilets that are hand knit in the UK.

Not surprising then that Samantha Cameron, Mariella Fostrup and Erin O’Connor are already fans!

www.lucza.com

For three days only from November 30th to December 2nd Precious will be host to Lucza Pop Up Shop – usually only sold on line – this is an exclusive opportunity to come in and try these easy pieces on for yourself, and better still come in on the evening of Wednesday 30th November and meet Karen in person.

At last we have our own fragrance for Precious – developed exclusivly for us by perfumer Angela Flanders we are thrilled to have this new addition…it’s actually quite addictive!

Rich in exotic fleurs de nuit, tuberose and jasmine lend their seductive perfume to the top notes of this fascinating fragrance. Floating on a base of softest green chypre, oak moss lends it’s warm distinctive scent and beautiful colour to the heart, whilst deep in the base echos of intriguing smoky depth of vetiver, and other magic ingredients reveal themselves. As comforting and warm as a length of precious, green cashmere gauze.

She has discovered treasure in the Attic, a jewel box overflowing with things that sparkle and shimmer, Precious jewels, and chunky treasures from Nicholas King with which to adorn her simply understated Diane von Furstenberg tunic dress which already looks scattered with stardust.

The dark and powerful atmosphere of this special room is enhanced with Angela Flanders’ Figue Noire. A rich, fruity fragrance, exotic and delicious, with notes reminiscent of noux de coco and tuberose, in which the initial richness of the ripe purple figs rests upon the wonderfully dark, sexy base notes.

Photography Riccardo Cellottini

Hair by Hair and Jerome

Claire is getting ready to start the day. She is angelic, soft, yet fiercely independent and somewhat eccentric. What we could call an English Rose.

She wears playful patterns in silk from Tucker whose individual prints, she loves and knows she will not find anywhere else. She likes to play with mixing patterns, textures and just loves accessories. Her chunky knit cardigan is slightly retro by Danish designer Malene Birger, she has layered it over her polka dot Tucker dress, and then piled on the pearls in a twist on the twinset and pearls look.

The gentle aroma of Angela Flanders’ Mr Severs warms the bedroom. Made exclusively for the house, it’s a unique spicy fragrance, stylish and elegant. Orange, rose and bergamot yield to a warm spicy heart of cinnamon, black pepper and clove. The long lasting base notes a compound of rare woods and balsams.