5 A P R I L 20 2 0

RENAISSANCE
WOMAN
KILLING EVE
CALL THE MIDWIFE
THE CROWN
NEXT STOP: HOLLYWOOD
MEET
EMERALD FENNELL
THE BRIT WITH
THE GOLDEN TOUCH

NIGELLA’S GO-TO
GADGET (IT’S NOTHING
TO DO WITH COOKING)
BEAUTY
SELF-ISOLATION SOS
WORRIED ABOUT
YOUR ROOTS AND
BROWS? WE’VE
GOT YOU COVERED
WHAT TO WEAR
TO WALK THE DOG
 Rock the KAFTAN Editor-in-chief

EDITOR’S
BUYS
These are for my new WFH
alter ego — rose-tinted
Sunglasses, £315;
ferragamo.com
Help fund education for
women and girls worldwide
with this lovely bracelet
sold in aid of the charity
Theirworld £95;
astleyclarke.com
VICTORIA ADAMSON
M
y working from home fashion alter ego, Gloria, has taken
quite some crafting I can tell you. She is loosely based on
Margo Leadbetter from The Good Life. Margo’s glamorous
and colourful lounge-to-bedroom wardrobe is a style hole
you need to go down if you are in any way impressed by a silk
kimono or a kaftan. Her glorious 1970s vibe (very much a trend for spring-
summer) is a wonderful distraction from my mundane drudgery of wrangling
four children and a needy dog into some form of routine in these testing times.
There is much to be said for having a WFH look that is wildly different
from your normal day-to-day style. It has perked me right up and entertains
the Style team during our Google Hangouts meetings while putting this
magazine together remotely. On one occasion I wore huge sunnies and a
peach silk Jimmy Choo turban. (Who knew I even had such a wonderful
thing? That’s what endless hours of sorting stuff out unearths. So Ab Fab.)
My two adolescent girls frown upon my continuing devotion to fashion
during the days when I am unlikely to see anyone other than them, but I edit
a fashion magazine, it’s in my DNA, and if you are reading this, then I hope
you’ll appreciate it too and have created your own WFH alter ego. Gloria
sometimes wears pale pink lipstick, she’s wondering if she could learn
ballroom dancing online and she’s very worried about her roots. She’s a little
too devil-may-care when it comes to chocolate snacks, possibly judges people
by their Zoom backdrops and is really looking forward to being able to wear
some of her more outlandish looks for cocktails when life returns to normal.
Looking forward to things is crucial during this time, it’s a marker of intent,
which is a positive on negative days. On the down days we all go through, the
idea of what could happen next is cheering, I think; looking at lovely things
you may one day purchase or wear can lift the spirits. If it’s not your thing,
then this is not the magazine for you, but if it is, then we’ll keep featuring
fashion and beauty to look forward to. And you can also follow our experts on
Instagram, where we’re posting lots of useful stay-at-home tips, tricks and
lists of things to read, listen to and watch. Keeping people entertained is our
job; it doesn’t mean we aren’t taking the situation seriously or misjudging the
mood, rather we are trying to lift it. And remember, we go to press nine days
before we come out, and times do change, which is out of our control.
As I have said before: fashion is a joyous and creative part of the world we ON THE COVER
live in, your clothes tell your story, they’re part of who you are and it’s OK to Emerald Fennell
delight in that part of life with the right perspective, which hopefully we will Photograph
Linda Brownlee
all have more of going forward. So we’re here to raise a smile, deliver some

Some TLC for
well-washed hands
Crabtree & Evelyn Evelyn
Rose Satin Hand Cream, £9
Styling
beautiful writing and help you style it out as the days go on. Beatriz de Cossio
Coat, £2,830, Hermès.
@SundayTimesLC @theststyle Ring, Emerald’s own

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LORRAINE CANDY CREATIVE DIRECTOR SUZANNE SYKES DEPUTY EDITOR LAURA ATKINSON ACTING DEPUTY EDITOR HANNAH SWERLING FASHION DIRECTOR JANE McFARLAND
BEAUTY DIRECTOR SARAH JOSSEL FEATURES EDITOR LOUISA McGILLICUDDY ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR SCARLETT RUSSELL JEWELLERY DIRECTOR JESSICA DIAMOND
DIGITAL EDITORIAL DIRECTOR TOM MILLER DIGITAL DIRECTOR ANNA SBUTTONI DIGITAL ASSISTANT ALICE KEMP-HABIB ART DIRECTOR ANDREW BARLOW DESIGNER ABIGAIL ROGERS
PICTURE EDITOR CATHERINE PYKETT-COMBES ASSISTANT EDITOR FLEUR BRITTEN ASSOCIATE FASHION DIRECTOR VERITY PARKER FASHION AND MERCHANDISE EDITOR FLOSSIE SAUNDERS
CONTRIBUTING FASHION EDITOR BEATRIZ DE COSSIO BOOKINGS DIRECTOR AND CREATIVE PRODUCER LEILA HARTLEY FASHION FEATURES ASSISTANT HENRIK LISCHKE
FASHION ASSISTANT PHOEBE SCHURINGS DEPUTY BEAUTY EDITOR AVA WELSING-KITCHER BEAUTY ASSISTANT SHEILLA MAMONA CONTRIBUTING BEAUTY EDITOR LAURA KENNEDY
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT ROISIN KELLY CHIEF SUB-EDITOR SOPHIE FAVELL SENIOR SUB-EDITOR JANE McDONALD

© Times Newspapers Ltd, 2020. Published and licensed by Times Newspapers Ltd, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF (020 7782 5000).
Printed by Prinovis UK Ltd, Liverpool. Not to be sold separately

The Sunday Times Style 3

 By Louisa McGillicuddy Barometer
● Call green-screening
● ‘But we move’ Virtual backdrops for your
Teen saying to end any conference call. Why yes,
sentence of frustration: Karen, let’s discuss Q3
‘I wanted oat milk, they only from the beach
had almond, but we move!’
Gen Z does Blitz spirit

But we move!

● Kiddy Smile
Parisian DJ behind
every fashion party
● The capescape soundtrack and joyous
Hunker down for autumn now: red-carpet star.
fashion month was a blur More of this, please
of CCCs (cosy cape coats)

● Coffee
ASMR
Soothing ●Crockery rental
internet trend Tablescape envy, begone!
for slow-pouring Hire the goods instead.
coffee (look up See Lay London for place
Dalgona). We’ll settings to go
take anything at
HEATING UP
IMAXTREE, GETTY, @REBECCAS.LEBEN.EBEN,@JUSTINBIEBER, ALAMY, @LAYLONDONLTD, EMOJIPEDIA, @TINTER_CO, COSMIC VALERIA, @NOWLOVEKATE

this stage

COOLING DOWN

●DIY MUA
●‘Cascade Aka attempting at-home
down’ glam. Threading our
Corporate eyebrows from a YouTube
jargon for tutorial = chaos
‘Can you pass
the message ● TikTwonks
along’. Really Enough of the choreographed
●Backbands reaching family TikTok dances now
Hairbands but… breaking
backwards. point with this
Unconvinced nonsense tbh

●Pottery
workshops ●Bookshelf porn
New hipster Insta bragging right is now a 1990s
hobby du jour: DVD library, preferably filled with
pressing flowers. retro Jane Fonda workouts. Knew
Twee, but cute they’d come in useful

The Sunday Times Style 5

 HOW TO WEAR

WEEKEND DRESSING
Work and home life are increasingly blurred, so layer up with
a few casual power pieces come Saturday – mood-boosting walk
around the block sorted, says Jane McFarland

@jane_mcfarland

T-shirt, £50; michaelstars.com. Cardigan, £790, Connolly; matchesfashion.com. Vegan leather blazer, £460,
Nanushka; libertylondon.com. Jeans and ring, Jane’s own. Mules, £32; topshop.com

Photograph Trisha Ward

6 The Sunday Times Style

 Wardrobe Mistress

SHOP
THE
OUTFIT
HAIR: YUSUKE MORIOKA AT COFFIN-INC USING BUMBLE AND BUMBLE. MAKE-UP: JOANNA BANACH
USING CHANEL EYE COLLECTION 2020 AND CHANEL HYDRA BEAUTY CAMELLIA REPAIR MASK.

Left from top Bandana, £3, Lipodo; hatshopping.co.uk. Leather jacket, £225; weekday.com. Cardigan, £325; and-daughter.com.
NAILS: JOANNA NEWBOLD AT TERRI MANDUCA USING CHANEL LE VERNIS IN ROUGE NOIR

Jeans, £40; riverisland.com. Shearling ballet flats, £380, Fur Deluxe; matchesfashion.com. Middle Cardigan, £79, and
T-shirt, £35; arket.com. Wide-leg trousers, £75; stories.com. Sandals, £415; joseph-fashion.com. Right Mismatched earrings,
£85, Sandralexandra; dodathestore.com. Cardigan, £67; whistles.com. Skirt, £26; zara.com. Basket bag, £22.50;
marksandspencer.com. Trainers, £155; russellandbromley.com

WHAT If you’re currently struggling to differentiate your
work life and home life, I’ve found a couple of ways to
psychologically switch off the weekday grind — and it
starts with your wardrobe. Come Saturday, you want to
commemorate a work-free 48 hours, while looking casual
and feeling comfortable, but still requiring the hit of self-
esteem that comes with wearing a “good” outfit.
HOW TO WEAR Layering up is easy and the perfect solu-
tion when you’re only leaving the house once a day for
fresh air. I’m relying heavily on chunky cardigans, which
instantly disguise an old T-shirt or the loungewear I’m
currently wedded to, while adding a necessary hit of
warmth. For extra cosiness, add a leather jacket or cropped
fleece: they’re smarter than the usual park fodder. Opt
for cheerful colours — lilac, forest green or red (universally
flattering for all) — for a much needed nod to spring.
A bandana or neck scarf is an easy finishing touch.
ANYTHING ELSE? Simple but jolly accessories such as a
statement pair of earrings have the power to pick
you up too and will transform the most basic of outfits.
Also, are socks the new shoes? Don’t forget to make
yours count. ▪

The Sunday Times Style 7

 STYLE
Fashion director Jane McFarland’s antennae

SWEET JUSTICE
Planning a revenge
purchase? Add Louis
Vuitton’s signature
Capucines handbag — now
with a cute Plexiglas handle
— to your wish list. From
£3,000; louisvuitton.com

FULL-ON FABULOUS
FENDI’S LATEST ARM CANDY — THE
APTLY NAMED FENDI FAB — FEELS
EQUAL PARTS VINTAGE AND COOL. SIGN
US UP FOR THE CRYSTAL-BUCKLE
VERSION. FROM £1,450; FENDI.COM

SUSTAINABLE STYLE
John Lewis has tapped the Mother
of Pearl designer and all-round
sustainability guru, Amy Powney,
for an exclusive capsule collection.
The 33-piece range, with polka-dot
shirtdresses and wide-leg trousers,
will see you through the next few months
and beyond. Available from April 22.
From £59; johnlewis.com

8 The Sunday Times Style

 FROCKS AROUND THE CLOCK
Seven Days, Seven Dresses is the latest
brainchild of Brit knit brand & Daughter.
Designed following its no-waste ethos,
using excess fabrics, the seven-piece dress
edit will bring a joyful variety to everyday
dressing. From £325; anddaughter.com

LITE FANTASTIC
PRINCESS DIANA’S FAVOURITE
BAG, THE LADY DIOR, NOW COMES
IN EMBROIDERED CANNAGE
CANVAS AND CARRIES THE NAME
LADY D-LITE. AVAILABLE IN VARIOUS
COLOURS, THE QUINTESSENTIAL
IT-BAG CAN BE PERSONALISED
IN STORE TOO. FROM £3,300; ODE TO THE ICONS
DIOR.COM WITH A NOD TO TIMELESS
STYLE RATHER THAN
FICKLE FADS, EMPORIO
ARMANI’S ICON
COLLECTION, FEATURING
THE BRAND’S CLASSIC
TAILORING AND SEPARATES,
IS EXACTLY HOW WE WANT
TO DRESS NOW. FROM £320;
ARMANI.COM

SUNBEAMS THE INFLUENTIAL AMERICAN FEMINIST ARTIST FLORINE STETTHEIMER

NOT ONLY HAS A PRESENCE AT THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, NEW
YORK, BUT HER 1931 SUN ARTWORK HAS INSPIRED THE FIFTH ANNIVERSARY
EDITION OF MAX MARA’S WHITNEY BAG. HOW ARTFUL! FROM £800; MAXMARA.COM

The Sunday Times Style 9

 Style Jewellery

4
5

1 Jeux de Liens necklace,

£6,300; chaumet.com.
2 Le Paris Russe de Chanel
Folklore earrings, POA,
CANDY CRUSH 6
Chanel Fine Jewellery. 3 Dior Enamel is having a moment, as
et Moi double ring, POA,
Dior Joaillerie. 4 Petite hoop
jewellers use its rainbow shades to add
earrings, £2,363, Alison Lou; colour and cheer. Jessica Diamond
farfetch.com. 5 Memphis
Jacket and Dot rings, rounds up the best examples
£10,800; alicecicolini.com

Colour in jewellery doesn’t come from gems alone.

Enamel is one of the best ways to add shiny, saturated
12 pops of pigment, while also being a good foil to the sparkle
of stones. However, full disclosure, there is more than one 7
kind of enamel. Cold enamel, or resin, is painted onto
metal in a fairly simple process and jewellery that uses this
method often comes at more accessible prices. Hot
or vitreous enamel is where the real skill lies. Using a
technique that dates back at least to ancient Egypt,
coloured glass powder is baked at high temperatures onto
the metal. The effects are beautifully vivid: see Chanel’s
Folklore earrings or Alice Cicolini’s work, made in the
traditional workshops of Jaipur, India. This jewellery is
brilliantly multicoloured, a cheery hit of sunshine that feels
11 most welcome now. ▪ @thediamondedit

6 Enamel pendant,
£1,965, Andrea Fohrman;
8
brownsfashion.com.
10 9 7 Grand Bleu earrings,
£2,850; litofinejewelry.com.
8 Blue enamel ring, £315;
samanthatea.com. 9 Bespoke
Sahasrara pendant, £16,996,
Noor Fares. 10 Animal
Kingdom Snake ring,
£4,895, Diane Kordas;
matchesfashion.com.
11 Lacerta earrings,
£15,650; shojewellery.com.
12 Skull Sunday ring, £5,775,
Holly Dyment; farfetch.com

The Sunday Times Style 11

 The
NEW
BRANDS
TO BUY
ONLINE
NOW HANNA FIEDLER

Supporting small businesses has

never felt more important and there’s
no better place to start than with your
HANNA FIEDLER
wardrobe. Jane McFarland reveals WHAT A bespoke tailor trained
the brands to bookmark in Berlin and former London
College of Fashion student,
Fiedler launched her
eponymous brand after working
for the likes of Mary Katrantzou
MY812 and Gabriela Hearst.
WHAT The Russian-based USP Menswear-inspired pieces
brand trades in tailored with a feminine twist.
outerwear and polished dresses. WE LOVE Its made-to-order
USP Grown-up luxury for less. model, using a small-scale
WE LOVE The floaty frocks are network of UK manufacturers.
perfect for summer evenings.
Skirt, £695, blazer, £1,495, and
Red dress, £385; my812.ru top, £595; hannafiedler.com
@my8i2 @hanna.fiedler

THE LEVEL
WHAT This vintage e-commerce
site is based in Portugal.
USP An expertly curated edit of
the sort of second-hand pieces
everyone is shopping for now.
WE LOVE The affordable prices
— items start at £24.

Leather jacket, £91,

and trousers, £45;
thelevelstore.com.
Next drop, April 6
@thelevelstore

12 The Sunday Times Style

 Style Fashion

LESYANEBO LVIR
WHAT Founded by designer WHAT The Seoul-based
Olesya Shipovskaya and husband-and-wife duo started
designed and made in Moscow. in menswear, before launching
USP Its oversized suiting went their own label in Paris
viral last season — short, skirt last summer.
or trouser suits. USP Utilitarian, tailored
WE LOVE The new trench silhouettes in a spectrum of
coats, available in a selection of neutral hues. It’s also available
neutral colours. to shop at Net-a-porter.
WE LOVE The ivory double-
Blazer, £465, and trousers, waist dress could work as a
£288; lesyanebo.com low-key wedding look — it
@lesyanebo.brand drops this season. lvirdtla.com

Jumpsuit, £330, and blazer,

£445, LVIR; brownsfashion.com
LOW CLASSIC @lvir_official
WHAT The brainchild of
designer Lee Myung-Shin, Low
Classic is the name to know
at Seoul fashion week.
USP Classic pieces with
a twist. Now on Net-a-porter
and set to go mainstream.
TRAVE DENIM WE LOVE The minimal
WHAT Founder IJ Kim takes accessories are worth a
a geeky approach towards look too. lowclassic.com
producing and designing denim.
USP Different cuts and shades Jacket, £290, Low Classic;
of denim, of course, but plenty brownsfashion.com
of wear-with staples too. @lowclassic_seoul
WE LOVE Its straight-cut Kai
SWEETHEARTS jeans — universally flattering!
OF THE RODEO
WHAT London label founded Vivienne jeans, £220;
by former Vogue fashion travedenim.com
editors Charlotte Pilcher and @travedenim
Vanessa Gillingham.
USP Cool, modern boots
TRAVE DENIM

handmade in Tuscany.
WE LOVE The Portobello
boots — perfect for, well,
a day at Portobello.

Portobello boots, £1,025,

and Quaker boots,£725;
sweetheartsoftherodeo.co.uk
@sweetheartsoftherodeohq

The Sunday Times Style 13

 DOGGY

STYLE
Taking the pooch out used to be so simple, but now that it’s one of the
few things you need to get dressed for, it’s anything but a walk in the park.
Stacey Duguid, proud ‘mum’ to Bo, decodes which tribe is best in show

IT’S MY DOG’S BIRTHDAY TODAY. He is 13, which in
dog years equates to 74. If he were human, he would
be in isolation, like my mother, like so many
mothers, fathers, neighbours, strangers. My dog may
be 13, but he can still walk, which for now affords
me the freedom to pop to the park. Did I mention
I am a) working from home and b) home-schooling
the children on a rota with my husband? *Canned
laughter* The dog has never had so much exercise.
What on earth to wear at home? Not a style
conundrum I have ever really cared about, and yet
here we all are, dressed in something socially
acceptable from the waist up, wearing hummus-
stained joggers on the bottom. Only one week
into WFH and I’m trying to stay sane by sticking
to my usual routines. Waking hour (6.15am),
shower (7am), wash hair, apply a stupid amount of
mascara, drink vast quantities of coffee, channel
the Proclaimers and walk 500 miles (with the dog).
It’s weird that it’s only since spending more time in
the park and not at my desk that I’ve spotted all the
different doggie tribes out there. They’re all here,
right on my doorstep. How come I never noticed other
dog owners calling me “Bo’s mum” before? How come
I never thought to ask their names either? Maybe it’s to
do with the fact they look so much like their dogs —
same attitude, same outfits, same walk. My dog is
a proper scruffy mutt from a dog shelter, a half-
unknown, half-angsty Jack Russell. A bit like his
owner. Half-unknown, half-angsty — and desperate
for her next walk. And if this goes beyond two months,
I’ll be walking the dog in a ballgown. Festooned in
feathers and sequins is the only way to get through
this. As for me and my new pals — the Dog Walking
Massive, aka my new colleagues — we’re all in this
barking mad mess together.

14 The Sunday Times Style


THE COUNTRY NOT-SO-CASUALS
There is always someone barking
their bloody head off as they train
their gundog as if it were going
into armed combat. On Sue’s
belt hangs a plethora of dog
whistles, and in her rucksack is
an array of training dummies. It
was her starting pistol that scared the living daylights
out of us. Bang! went the training gun, ricocheting
off the windows of the houses surrounding the park.
That and the fact that she wore a khaki training vest
and a game bag had me fumbling for my hip flask.
I left the park in a military crawl, 74-year-old dog
strapped to my back. Calm down, Sue love. You’re not
in the wilds of Dartmoor, this is Queen’s Park. Loving
your fisherman’s knit, midiskirt and wellies, though.
Super next season…
■ What they’re wearing Gundogs don’t wear clothes.
Sue’s holding out for her great-grandmother’s Barbour.
■ Overheard saying “Kill the squirrel!”
THE THREE BEARS
The miniature shih tzu-pekinese
crosses Darcy and Dolly may
be micro, but don’t let their
diminutive stature fool you.
Darcy and Dolly have the
swagger of their muscle-bound
dad — a big lad, who in gay scene
subculture might be referred to as a “bear”. (I hope
that’s not offensive — it’s a true story. I ain’t making
this up.) You should see the three of them as they
saunter into the park, causing quite the scene as they
step out in matching dog collars and tight tees. If the
park is the new catwalk, believe me, babes, it was
made for Darcy, Dolly, their dad and sparkly, tight
dog tees. I’ve spied this kind of doggie tribe before —
in Glasgow. Nice beard.
■ What they’re wearing Bear-themed T-shirts from
Paws Couture. Dad wears Diesel.
■ Overheard saying “I’m too sexy for this park.”
THE SPOILT SAUSAGE
“Come back here right now, you
naughty little girl, or you won’t
have home-cooked steak
tonight,” was something I never
thought I’d hear someone say to
a sausage dog. But Sophie goes
everywhere with her dachshund,
ARTHUR BELEBEAU/TRUNK ARCHIVE, ALAMY
Sydney, and loves nothing more
than an arduous trek in the countryside at the
weekend (the gravel path at Soho Farmhouse).
Sydney the sausage wants for nothing and has the
best wardrobe of any dog (or human) on the planet.
I once watched from my bedroom window as Sophie
wrangled Sydney into a Louis Vuitton dog carrier,
before whizzing them both off in her e-Golf.
Style Scene
Sophie goes everywhere with her
dachshund Sydney, and loves
nothing more than an arduous
trek in the countryside (the gravel
path at Soho Farmhouse)
■ What they’re wearing Dog, Louis Vuitton; mum,
head-to-toe Bottega.
■ Overheard saying “Darling Sydney, of course you
can sleep on my Bottega pouch.”
THE PINT AND A
PACKET OF CRISPS
Roxy the Staffordshire bull terrier
has three siblings, all grey Staffs,
none of them wearing a collar or
lead. They patrol the streets like
menacingly stocky gangsters, as
does their owner, Gangsta Gran
(not her real name), who walks the dogs in slippers at
noon. (Speaking of gangster grans, for some proper
belly laughs during this awful time, tune into Grime
Gran on IGTV.) Roxy’s “nan” has purple hair and
vapes excessively while shouting into her mobile
phone, oblivious to the fact that French mothers are
throwing their Breton-wearing toddlers over garden
walls to avoid having to pass three off-lead Staffies.
“F****** liberty,” as Grime Gran would say.
■ What they’re wearing Both in dressing gowns and
slippers at 3pm.
■ Overheard saying “There’s a good girl, Roxy.”
(Staffs might seem menacing, but it turns out most
are not. Roxy is a pussycat.)
THE SALAD WITH
DRESSING ON THE SIDE
Even as a puppy my dog refused
to walk any faster than a
one-year-old child, so the sight of
Cookie the cockapoo running
alongside her Lululemon-clad
owner always has me reaching for
the tissues. The fact they only make it once around
the park and then to Gail’s to pick up an oat-milk flat
white is irrelevant. Cookie wears a collar that says
“Posh dog” in little multicoloured Swarovski crystals.
Mummy wears head-to-toe SoulCycle merch and
Celine sunnies. I’ve seen this type of duo all over the
country, particularly in Oxfordshire, where matching
dog/owner Moncler coats are a must. I long to be
them. They look so clean, so pure.
■ What they’re wearing Moncler in winter, Chewy
Vuitton in summer.
■ Overheard saying “One more lap and we can both
have an organic doggie treat at Daylesford!” ▪
@staceyduguid
The Sunday Times Style 15
 Photographs Linda Brownlee Styling Beatriz de Cossio

HEART OF

DARKNESS
She took the reins from Phoebe Waller-Bridge on
Killing Eve and is the scene-stealing star of The Crown.
Now Emerald Fennell has written and directed Promising
Young Woman, a twisted new feminist film that will
have everyone talking. Lotte Jeffs meets the self-described
good girl behind some of our favourite bad girls
 This page Silk top, £725,
Loewe; libertylondon.com.
Trench coat, £380,
Marella, from Fenwick.
Pleated skirt, £1,610, Jil
Sander. Slingbacks, £685,
Manolo Blahnik. Rings,
throughout, Emerald’s own.
Opposite Stripy dress,
£595, Vivienne Westwood
Anglomania, from Fenwick

The Sunday Times Style 17

 Shirt, £1,071, and
matching trousers,
£1,071, Chloé

18 The Sunday Times Style


F
inally, thanks to Promising Young Woman,
we have the ultimate coda to those
fist-clenchingly frustrating conversations
with people who believe the ♯MeToo move-
ment has gone too far, who worry for the
poor family men whose lives are ruined by
historic accusations of sexual assault, and who might — clutching
a large glass of wine themselves — whisper across the fattoush at
dinner parties: “Well… apparently she was very drunk, and
wearing an outfit like that, what did she expect?” Emerald Fennell
has written and directed a film to sit these people in front of
and say: “This!”
Promising Young Woman stars Carey Mulligan as Cassie, a
woman still deeply troubled by her best friend’s experience of
sexual assault at university. The repercussions of the case had
profound, long-lasting effects, and now Cassie is on a mission,
seeking vengeance against predatory men.
The film harnesses a powerful crew of collaborators, including
American co-stars in the shape of the Emmy-nominated actress
Laverne Cox and the comedian and director Bo Burnham, as
well as a producing credit for Margot Robbie. How did Fennell
get such a crack team involved? “I wanted to make a film that
was going to be thrilling and romantic and funny and difficult,
and I think that, first, it’s very low-budget. We shot it in a short
period of time, so people were really happy to take a risk.
I pitched it with a mood board of the styling and the music [think
cartoony, hyperreal colour aesthetic and an all-female sound-
track, including some ironic Paris Hilton], saying, ‘I know the
script reads like this, but this is what I want the experience to
look and feel like.’ People were either like ‘Yes, please’ or categor-
ically ‘No, thank you’, so it meant I ended up working with really
lovely people in every department.”
Originally scheduled for release next week, the film has been
pushed back due to the global health crisis, with a new date yet
to be set. When it is released, however, it is likely to be the project
that changes things for Fennell. You might know the 34-year-old
as a sexy young Camilla in The Crown, or for taking the reins from
Phoebe Waller-Bridge and writing the second series of Killing Eve,
or maybe for her performance as Patsy Mount, everyone’s
favourite chain-smoking lesbian nurse in Call the Midwife, or even
the darkly comic YA books she has published, but it’s her first
feature film that will cement her status as one of Britain’s most
multitalented and prolific new voices.
Fennell is painfully aware, to the ‘THERE’S AN
point of embarrassment, of her privi- EMPATHY GAP
lege and the head start it gave her in THAT IS AT ITS
life. She went to Marlborough College
WIDEST WHEN
and studied English at Oxford. Her
father, Theo Fennell, is a famous
WE’RE LOOKING AT
jewellery designer, her mother a writer SEDUCTION.
and her sister a fashion designer. HOW DO YOU GET
“My mother did the best bit of WHAT YOU WANT
parenting ever when I was 12 and WITHOUT HURTING
wanted to get a belly-button piercing SOMEONE?’
Style Interview
like Britney Spears. She said, ‘OK, perfect,
when you get one, I’ll get one too and I’ll come
and pick you up from school in a crop top.’ And
I was, like, ‘Well, OK, you f ****** evil genius, I’m
never going to do it now.’ My parents have
always been much cooler than my sister and
me.” She describes her relationship with her
parents as “an Edina/Saffy situation”. (Both
mum and dad are Eddy.)
“What has happened in the past couple of
years has been incredible, but it has also been a
colossal amount of physical work,” she tells me,
adding that seven months ago she had a baby
with her partner, the film producer/director
Chris Vernon, but she would prefer not to reveal
anything more about them. There are more
urgent topics to be discussed. Not least the
previous day’s news that Harvey Weinstein had
been found guilty of rape. “It took so long. All
of it is so terrible and thank God he is going
down for it, but it still ruined so many people’s
lives and livelihoods. The loss is so huge in
general,” she says.
We meet in the lobby of a London hotel and
she invites me up to her room to talk. It is
perhaps too soon for a Weinstein hotel-room
joke, and when I raise an eyebrow at her inno-
cent suggestion, she’s flustered in a charmingly
English way, all “Oh gosh, that hadn’t even
occurred to me. We can do it down here if you’d
prefer?” She’s terribly well spoken, wide-eyed,
earnest and relentlessly self-deprecating. She
laughs often. Settled on a sofa in her suite, the
remnants of a club sandwich swept to the side,
she kicks off her Chloé brogues and settles in.
“I definitely do not want to insert myself into
the narrative of the #MeToo movement, which
is so much more important than my film. I’m
not trying to skirt the issue, I’m happy to talk
about all the themes, but I made something
that was as close to an examination as I could
make about a subject, and that is more useful
than anything I could say about it.”
The film is forensic in its examination of the
nuances of human relationships. “There’s an
empathy gap that is at its widest when we’re
looking at seduction. How we seduce, how we
treat the objects of our seduction. It’s that
moment of: how do you get what you want
without hurting someone?” Her interest in this
subject can also be felt in the second series of
Killing Eve, the cat-and-mouse drama exploring
a serial killer and an MI5 agent’s dangerous
obsession with each other. Having taken over
writing duties from Waller-Bridge, she has
now passed the baton to fellow Brit Suzanne
Heathcote for series three. She says: “[The
producers] decided after Phoebe left that it was
The Sunday Times Style 19
Style Interview

an opportunity to let a new female showrunner have their series,

learn and bring a different flavour to it. You still have the same
world, but each writer takes it in a different direction.”
Working on the show is “exhausting”, but thrilling. She can’t get
over the fact that she wrote “a man has a knitting needle stabbed
in his neck on a stairlift”, and then Julian Barratt, one of her idols,
“is suddenly sitting dead on a stairlift. It was impossible to compre-
hend how amazing that would be, how truly life-changing.”
Waller-Bridge is a close friend of Fennell’s. They met when both
were acting in the 2011 Glenn Close movie Albert Nobbs and a
shared dark sense of humour, razor-sharp wit and intelligence
meant they hit it off spectacularly. I ask whether, having watched
her friend go from successful to famous post-Fleabag, she feels
that she’s on a similar trajectory. “It’s so different because Phoebe
was in her show, she was the star. Personally I spend all my time
doing the work, so I can hide behind that a little bit.” As for fame,
she says: “I don’t like anything unquantifiable. So anything in the
future that I can’t visualise or control or make decisions about
makes me frightened.”
I ask how she juggles all of her projects and the demands of
being a new parent. “I have been working night and day nonstop
for two years and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it, but it has

20 The Sunday Times Style

This page Shirt, £1,071,
and matching trousers,
£1,071, Chloé. Coat,
£3,035, Bottega Veneta.
Loafers, £480, Church’s.
Opposite Body, £250, and
trousers, £820, Michael
Kors Collection. Shirt,
£420, Holland & Holland.
Loafers, £850, Hermès

Hair Nao Kawakami at

the Wall Group. Make-up
Verity Cumming using
By Terry. Nails Saffron
Goddard at Saint Luke
Artists using Dior Vernis
and Miss Dior Hand Cream

The Sunday Times Style 21

Style Interview
also been the most creatively fulfilling time of my life. So the main
thing, I’d say, is to have a lie-down occasionally.”
She is currently finishing filming series 4 of The Crown, and
I wonder if between takes as Camilla, she was beavering away
on her other work. “No, when I’m there, I’m there. Actually, this
is some useful advice: compartmentalise, focus. Concentrate on
the thing you are doing. Even if that is talking to your friends or
going on Net-a-porter to see if those Malone Souliers shoes have
finally gone on sale. If I was writing while also doing The Crown,
it wouldn’t be fair. The least I can do is properly show up.”
She adds: “Working hard has become more of a mania prob-
ably, but I’ve never really slept, which has given me more time to
do stuff. Or to think of cataclysmic events and worry, which has
led to lots of the stuff that I do. Anxious, crippling, dark nights of
the soul that, arguably, have made me a better writer.”
It’s hard to reconcile the person who tells me she hates being
told off by anyone ever, even now — “If anyone was even remotely
cross… I can’t break any rules. Pathetic” — with the person who
can contrive damaged, badass, morally complex female charac-
ters such as Cassie and Killing Eve’s Villanelle. She claims to
have little idea where these dark imaginings come from. Perhaps,
she wonders, it’s a response to her lifelong need to be a good girl.
“The reasons I’ve always worked so hard are the wrong reasons.
I wanted people to think that I was clever and that I wore nice
jumpers. I’m a people-pleaser and I can’t really say no to things.
So all I really want, as Taylor Swift says so perfectly in her docu-
mentary, is a pat on the head.”
She has just written a musical version of Cinderella for the West
End with Andrew Lloyd Webber. Scheduled at the moment to
start in October, it will star fellow polymath Carrie Hope Fletcher,
an author/singer/actress/YouTube star. “Imagine the most perfect
hyper fairy-tale world, and Cinderella is a normal woman living
in it. For me the thing that’s icky is that it’s a makeover story, it’s
saying you’ll get your prince if you look gorgeous. But we ask: is a
transformation a good thing? What do
‘I’VE NEVER you gain and what do you lose by
REALLY SLEPT, changing yourself?”
WHICH HAS GIVEN Fennell is part of a powerful group
of female writer/actor/directors, such
ME MORE TIME TO
as Lena Dunham, Desiree Akhavan,
DO STUFF. ANXIOUS
Lena Waithe and Greta Gerwig, who
DARK NIGHTS OF she respects but doesn’t hang out with
THE SOUL THAT, often (much as I love the idea of being
ARGUABLY, HAVE invited on a night out with them all).
MADE ME A “I have lots of friends in this industry,
BETTER WRITER’ but most of my friends aren’t. I like to
22 The Sunday Times Style
From left Fennell
in Call the Midwife;
Carey Mulligan in
Promising Young
Woman; Fennell as
Camilla Shand in
The Crown
be surrounded by people who are very proud
of me in a nebulous way, but who kind of
don’t care about my work.”
She made a decision a while ago not to do
the film premiere party scene: “I’m not on
Instagram, I try to keep away.” The thing is,
she says, “I am addicted to clothes. Completely
addicted. So I shouldn’t get involved with
parties and promo, because the second I do,
I will sell my soul for a Chanel handbag. You’ve
no idea the depths that I would plumb. It’s so
shaming, I’d do anything, so I’m protecting
myself from the inevitable moral corruption.”
She would much rather stay in and furiously
WhatsApp her friend the writer Amanda
Rosenberg while watching Love Is Blind on
Netflix. Rosenberg, who has written power-
fully about being slut shamed at 27, when her
affair with Google CEO Sergey Brin became
public knowledge, has sent Fennell a diagram,
“demonstrating the pure perfection of the
show”. It’s easy to see why the premise appeals
to Fennell, who in her writing explores the
idea of people not being as they seem.
“One thing that fills me with horror is how
little we all really know about ourselves. How
far away our idea of ourselves is from what
other people are thinking. And what we might
be capable of,” she says.
Promising Young Woman was a chance for
her to interrogate this further. “I said to every
actor when I was making it, ‘You wake up, go
to work as a good person. How do you feel
when someone comes into your life and says
you’re not a good person, with irrefutable
proof, and you realise for the first time you’re
not. How does that feel?’”
NEAL STREET PRODUCTIONS/SOPHIE MUTEVELIAN
Fennell says: “Hell must be having to go
through your life again, but being in the room
when everyone is talking about you.” Once
Promising Young Woman is released, I fear that
hell may be closer than she thinks. ▪ @lottejeffs
Promising Young Woman is released later
this year. Cinderella opens at the Gillian Lynne
Theatre, London WC2, on October 9
MY GRANDFATHER ASKED my grandmother out on a
date and she told him she couldn’t go because she had
just washed her hair.
I was obsessed with that part. “You turned him down
because you’d just washed your hair?”
And my grandmother would explain, as if she hadn’t
done so countless times before, that back then they
didn’t have hairdryers and a woman simply didn’t go
out of the house with wet hair.
She would continue: “So, he said, ‘Put a scarf on it.
We’ll sit in the back of the movie theatre where no one
can see you.’”
“What did you do?” I would ask, breathless.
“I put a scarf on it.”
They were married for 56 years.
It was the perfect “how we met” story. I was completely
besotted. And I desperately wanted one of my own.
I had a hypothesis: if you had a good “how we met”
story, you would have a happy relationship.
My cousin Jeff was living in Manhattan when he
met Robin. Whenever Robin mentioned going to
Philadelphia, Jeff would say: “Bring me back a cheese-
steak!” This banter continued for a while, until Robin
decided that she wanted a date. She had a plan: she
would bring him a cheesesteak. Only, steak and cheese
don’t travel well, so she settled on a turkey hoagie. She
got a “pity date” for her trouble (a turkey sandwich is no
cheesesteak), and no return phone call. But weeks later,
when they saw each other again, Jeff asked her out on a
real date. They went out, and then again the night after
that. And then the night after that.
Their 25th anniversary was last June.
My childhood friend Kim hated set-ups. So did
my friend Kerri’s brother. But Kerri and I had a
sneaking suspicion that they should be together, so we
invited them to my Halloween party and then casually
introduced them.
They’ve been married for 16½ years.
My theory was correct: good “how we met” story, good
relationship. It was all I could think about, how one
seemingly innocuous event could change your life. Wet
hair in curlers. A Philly cheesesteak. A Halloween party.
So where was mine?
I put my theory into practice. I’d put on make-up for

MY QUEST FOR
WE ARE THE RHOADS/
TRUNK ARCHIVE

THE PERFECT

meet cute
 Style Essay

The ‘meet cute’ conceit is the ideal story of a couple’s

romcom-style first encounter. But does it equate to movie-
standard enduring love? Brenda Janowitz reflects on whether
she has the ultimate first-date story to tell her children

The Sunday Times Style 25

 trips to the dry cleaner’s: maybe my shirts would get Yet it didn’t last. It was a relationship that burnt hot
tangled with his suits? While my friends rolled out of and fizzled out just as quickly. He broke my heart after
bed for casual Sunday brunches, I’d carefully curate my people at our law firm found out we were secretly dating.
outfit — you never knew who might be at the diner. He broke my heart after he met my parents. He broke my
I’d even blow-dry my hair for casual nights at friends’ heart so badly, I didn’t think it would ever be fixed.
apartments. One minute you’re walking through your I dated in Manhattan for nine years and more evidence
friend’s lobby, and the next you’re pressing the button piled up. There was the childhood friend who I’d always
for the 11th floor at the same time as your future had a crush on; the man I met when we both opened cab
husband. This could be it, I’d think, as I stepped out doors on opposite sides, at the same time; the friend who
of my front door. This could be my moment, my brought me to my ex-boyfriend’s wedding. All delicious
own story. “how we met” stories. All unsuccessful relationships.
My mother had other ideas. She didn’t care how I met Nine years of dating in Manhattan taught me something
my future husband, only that I get married already. She about how couples meet: it doesn’t mean a thing. I got
advocated online dating. Where was the magic in that? myself onto three different dating websites.
Then I met someone. He was a lawyer at my firm, who Then I met Doug.
told me about our romantic “how we met” story The story of how we met is simple: we were fixed up.
— one that began more than six years previously. He said But this wasn’t just any old blind date. Remember my
he knew me from college, but I didn’t remember him. childhood friend Kim? Her mother gave Doug’s mother
He explained: he saw me from afar, one night at his my phone number. (I suppose she owed me one from the
fraternity. “You were dressed as a baby.” Halloween party setup.) Doug grew up in the same town
“That wasn’t me.” I dressed in leather for a “pimps and I did, five blocks away from my house, but we never met.
prostitutes” party. I dressed in pinstripes We attended the same elementary
for a cross-dressing social, and I even school, junior high and high school,
dressed in a sheet for a toga soiree. But My theory was and never once spoke. The boy next
a baby? Unless it was a “sexy baby” correct: good door, 20 years later.
party, there was no way the Greek It was the “meet cute” I’d always
system would allow it. Then it hit me:
‘how we met’ story, wanted, only I didn’t want it any more.
instead of repurposing our hooker good relationship. These stories didn’t mean anything.
outfits, my friend and I dressed up for a It was all I could They didn’t matter. I acted accordingly.
“lingerie” party in flannel pyjamas and Doug was just like any other guy I had
pigtails, carrying baby bottles filled
think about, met before. None of them worked out.
with white zinfandel. It was the “how how one seemingly Why should this one be any different?
LUKASZ WIERZBOWSKI

we met” story I’d always wanted: your innocuous event I almost stopped seeing Doug on our
grandfather saw me from afar one third date, when he confessed he didn’t
night in college and only years later did could change eat condiments. No ketchup on his
we finally meet! your life hamburgers, no mustard on his hot

26 The Sunday Times Style


dogs and certainly no syrup on his pancakes. There was,
strangely, an allowance for barbecue sauce. I found it
so odd, this limited ban on condiments, and I told him
so. He then confessed that he also didn’t eat vegetables:
a paediatric cardiologist who didn’t eat vegetables.
“Does he make you laugh?” my mother asked.
“Yes.”
“Is he nice?”
I told my mother that, yes, he was nice. But nine years
of living and dating in Manhattan had proved that just
because a guy seems nice doesn’t mean that he really
is. If it looks like a duck and acts like a duck, it may
actually be a lion, ready to tear your heart out and rip it
into a million pieces.
On my fourth date with Doug, I was churlish and rude.
I rolled my eyes when he told the waiter he’d forgo the
condiments. I made a point of ordering extra vegetables.
After dinner I decided that I wouldn’t see him again. Our
cute story was only that: a cute story. A relationship
couldn’t be made out of one.
The following day, I went to a baby naming. It was
a room filled with happy couples, many of whom
had babies of their own. There were women who had
met their spouses online. There were women who
had met their spouses at work. There were women who
had met their spouses through crazy, fun “how we met”
stories and there were women who had not. The only
thing these happy couples had in common was that they
had given each other a chance. They didn’t care about
how they had met, they cared about whether or not they
had found a good person, someone who wanted a rela-
tionship. They took a chance and they were happy.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Doug. He was a good
person. He wanted a relationship. He was smart and he
was cute and he made me laugh. A lot. Why wouldn’t
I take a chance on him? Just because we had a cute “how
we met” story didn’t mean that the relationship wouldn’t
work out, any more than it meant that it would. Dating is
a giant coin toss. You can’t control the way you meet
someone. You can’t control what another person is really
like, if they are who they appear to be. But you can
control yourself — you can worry less about whether or
not you’ve met that mythical one and concentrate more
on having a fun date. Getting to know another person
whose company you really enjoy.
I went home, called Doug, and apologised for the way
I had acted. As I was about to ask him if he would give
me another chance, he asked me out again.
Three months after first dating, he proposed. Now,
12 years after that fix-up, I have a husband, two children
and the thing that always eluded me: a happy relation-
ship. I still like hearing about how couples met, but
I no longer think that a “meet cute” portends a happy
relationship. But in my case, it certainly hasn’t hurt. ▪
@BrendaJanowitz
The Grace Kelly Dress by Brenda Janowitz is out now
(Graydon House)
Style Essay
TRUE STORY
Five Sunday Times writers
share their own tales of chance
encounters and real love
JONATHAN DEAN, SENIOR WRITER, CULTURE
I met my wife at the Cannes Film Festival, at a champagne
party on a roof overlooking the sea. We really liked each
other, but the problem was we were both seeing
other people. So nearly two years, some tears and bad
relationships, a strange walk on Hampstead Heath and
God knows how much texting later, we finally got together.
Has it been as glamorous as that rooftop since? No — we
have two kids. But what a relief I went to that bash, rather
than the other thing in my diary that night: an arduous
Serbian drama about farming.
LORRAINE CANDY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, STYLE
My husband and I met at an Oktoberfest beer festival
in the East End of London after being set up on a blind date
by a newspaper colleague. Neither of us drink beer or have
Germanic roots. It was a fluke of timing and location. We’ve
been together for 26 years and married for 20 this year.
We have nothing, absolutely nothing, in common.
ROSIE KINCHEN, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NEWS REVIEW
I met my partner thanks to Style — sort of. I’d written a
column about my house rabbit, which my landlord read and
promptly gave me an ultimatum: the rabbit or the flat. I
chose the rabbit and started to pack up. That night I went to
the pub to drown my sorrows with a girlfriend. My partner,
a friend of hers, joined us later and tried to keep a straight
face as I told him that I had been evicted over a small,
grumpy pet. The rabbit still lives with us by the way — as
well as two children.
HANNAH SWERLING, ACTING DEPUTY EDITOR, STYLE
I met him during the first week of university and we quickly
became friends, bonding over late-night 1980s films and
Joni Mitchell records. He ended up sleeping in my room (on
the floor, purely platonically) because he hated his remote
halls of residence, and for months we co-habited in the kind
of infuriating ignorance/denial that makes you scream at the
telly when you’re watching a will-they-won’t-they romcom.
Then one night out we drank way too much and, of course,
we kissed… and everything changed. We’ve been together
for 17 years, married for nine and have two daughters.
ANNA SBUTTONI, DIGITAL DIRECTOR, STYLE
I rushed into work late after a week off and found the new
guy at the desk next to mine. “Hi, I’m Anna,” I said. That was
the moment I met my husband. I was in a relationship with
someone else at the time. We were desk buddies for two
years and built up the kind of closeness that you only get
when you spend that much time together. I advised him
on his love life and we passed (mainly bitchy) notes written
in shorthand — which he later read out on our wedding day.
I never get Fomo when I’m with Alex — he brings the party —
but he’s also kind and way more romantic than I am. Ten years
and two kids later, we’re still together and still having fun.
The Sunday Times Style 27
 ...is the #BeautyBOSS
E ssential oils are seeing me through the working day.
I was a yo-yoing emotional mess when I started
working from home. The day went something
like this:
9.15am Dad sends me his daily corona meme.
9.45am Sister sends me the same corona meme my
dad sent me.
11am I have a video call with my three-year-old
nephew. Boyfriend in next room asks why I am
speaking to a colleague in a baby voice.
12.01pm I watch my boyfriend make himself an
elaborate three-course meal, with matching cutlery,
place mats and posh napkins (never kitchen roll).
1.30pm Boyfriend watches me grab anything I can
find in the fridge that is edible with one hand, so
the other is free to keep typing.
3pm Afternoon slump. Turn on the news.
3.05pm Too stressful. Turn off the news.
6.30pm Am forced to walk around the block, as
I can’t get my head around finishing work and
getting ready for bed.
7pm Auntie in South Africa sends the same corona
meme my mum and sister sent in the morning.
My day is completely out of sync, out of sorts,
out of whack. One moment I’m booming with
energy and the next I’m in a deep, dark, anxious
slump. Exercise is key — I know it is. Endorphins
and so on. But you know what else is a godsend?
Scent. I don’t mean just spritzing an everyday
fragrance, I’m talking about essential oils and the
way they can affect your mental outlook. “They
help transform our moods, moving us from one
state of mind to another,” says Christina Salcedas,
education and wellbeing director at Aromatherapy
Associates.
Let’s start with morning. This is when you need
to feel like you can take on the world — and the
485 unread emails. “Peppermint fights fatigue of
the mind and body, and wakes you up. Basil oil
energises naturally, by stimulating the adrenal
glands, to reduce sluggishness and clear mental
fog,” says Annee de Mamiel, the facialist and
aromatherapy expert. Rub de Mamiel Botaniques
Sleep Series Rise rollerball (1 £37) onto palms,
bring them together and take three deep breaths.
Next stop, your workstation: whether that’s
ROBERT HARPER
your kitchen table, living room sofa or bed (we’ve
all been there). “Frankincense, camomile and
petitgrain are known to calm and help focus,”
Tweet or Instagram your beauty questions @SARAHJOSSEL
Salcedas says. Head to the Holland & Barrett
website, which has a huge selection of single- 1
ingredient oils, such as Miaroma Frankincense
Comforting 100% Pure Essential Oil (3 £20).
For concentration, de Mamiel says: “Eucalyptus 2
is like a powerful breath of fresh air to pull you out
of drowsiness and motivate you to get things
done.” Try the Neal’s Yard Remedies bestseller
Organic Essential Oil Eucalyptus (2 £6), known
for clearing stuffy heads.
Oh, that afternoon slump, when you get stuck 3
in a lethargic stare at the walls? “Go for a sprig
of rosemary in some hot water,” says de Mamiel.
“Rosemary or sage oil in the afternoon will give 4
a boost in concentration or, if combined with some
lemon oil, will create an environment of energised
focus.” Many experts also turn to Tisserand Aroma-
therapy Rosemary Organic Pure Essential Oil
(4 £7.50) during times of increased workload.
Sleep is a slightly more complex issue. “To work 5
out what is keeping you awake, you need to know
what is causing your insomnia,” de Mamiel says. “If
you’re anxious, then sandalwood is good. If you
wake in the night and can’t go back to sleep, then
try vetiver. Lavender and jasmine are good all-
rounders.” My advice? Take a bath with Aroma-
therapy Associates Deep Relax Bath and Shower
6
Oil (5 £49), which has sedating vetiver, calming
camomile and grounding sandalwood. Or, if you
don’t have the luxury of time, then pop Votary Sleep
Aromatherapy Drift Roll-on (6 £45) onto pulse
points once you’re in bed and breathe deeply.
For days when you’re feeling low and stuck in a
rut, try Ilapothecary Beat the Blues Room Spray
(7 £29), adored by the likes of Demi Moore.
(Random fact, I know.) Fans describe it as a trans-
7
formational start to the day. The key ingredient is
clary sage, one of nature’s happiness-inducing oils.
It also contains rose geranium, which brings peace,
and tuberose for calming the mind.
Essential oils can really change the mood of the
room when added to a diffuser or an oil burner.
So, for those now spending lots of time at home —
scrap that, all of us could do with one — my
favourite is the Muji Aroma Diffuser (8 £60). You
add your essential oil of choice and it disperses as a
dry, fragrant mist out of a warm, ambient light.
8
As I said, godsends — or godscents. ▪
The Sunday Times Style 29
 THE EXFOLIATORS
Resurfacing skin that has seen no sign
of a scrub or gentle acid for months
requires good-quality products and
patience. Avoid aggressively gritty
scrubs. According to Lesley Reynolds,
co-founder of the Harley Street Skin
Clinic, “gentle, regular cleansing and
exfoliating is important after the
winter months in order to clear
surface debris and encourage your
skin to glow and take in moisture”.
Overexfoliation is an increasing
problem, so approach your scrub or
acid with moderation, but whether
you go physical or chemical, you
can slough away that grey hue for
a smooth-girl spring.

Votary Cotton Face Cloth Set, £30 (1)

A great flannel isn’t just for your face.
These 100% cotton cloths are dense
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They are much more hygienic than a
loofah that lives in your shower
growing its own ecosystem — simply
chuck them in the washing machine
at 30C and they are good to go again,
complete with peak fluffiness.

THE BODYCARE Elemis Sea Lavender & Samphire

Salt Scrub, £38 (2)
If you love a rich, fragrant scrub

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It warms on contact with your body
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Whether you’re tackling the effects of Skincity AHA/PHA Clear Skin

Body Resurfacer, £22 (3)
winter neglect or preparing to show some Bacne and buttne (yes, really) are no
joke. You may think adulthood entitles
skin for spring, these are the best products you to a life free of spots anywhere
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leave pigmentation scars. Apply this
SOME OF US ARE BETTER AT BODYCARE THAN OTHERS. One thing is certain, gentle acid resurfacer to affected areas
though — when life becomes stressful or motivation is low, a situation in which daily just as you would with an acid
so many of us find ourselves at the moment, looking after the skin on our bodies toner for the face. It also helps to
is one of the first things to go. It’s so easy during the colder months, when we’re prevent and manage breakouts.
all bundled up and protecting every inch of skin from the raw cold, to simply
forget that we have elbows, or even arms for that matter. The result is that each
year we hit spring and realise that our skin from the neck down is dull, flaky and
maybe even itchy or uncomfortable. However, bodycare is self-care, and as well
2
as being a comforting ritual we should try to find a few minutes for in our day,
it’s important for healthy skin. According to Dr Rishika Sinha, consultant 1
dermatologist at the Private Clinic, if you are “prone to dry skin, then regular
3
moisturising once or twice a day can help the symptoms of discomfort and
itchiness. If your skin is dry, you have a greater tendency to scratch, which can
fuel further inflammation and the problem can snowball.”

30 The Sunday Times Style


4
6
7 Maintaining the skin on your body
5 every single day, says Dr Tiina Meder,
THE WASH
La Roche-Posay Effaclar Micro-Peeling
Purifying Gel, £14.50 (4)
According to La Roche-Posay, skin
on the chest and back can be up to five
times thicker than the skin on your
face. Friction from bras and workout
gear, as well as sweat and sebum,
can contribute to breakouts, but this
wash contains a high concentration
of decongesting salicylic acid.
It respects your skin’s pH to cleanse
without stripping, while zinc
soothes inflammation.
THE OIL
R&R Shea Oil in Lemongrass, £15 (5)
For a rich, cocooning oil for very dry
skin, look no further than this vegan
beauty made with Ghanaian shea.
It also comes in an unscented version,
but this vibrant lemongrass number
gives you an instant pick-me-up after
a morning shower. For baby-soft
skin overnight, apply it before bed and
let it work while you sleep.
THE SERUM
RéVive Supérieur Body Nightly
Renewing Serum, £165 (6)
A body serum isn’t an essential, but,
just like a facial serum, it contains
more active ingredients than a basic
moisturiser. This one combines
niacinamide, to even skintone, with
hyaluronic acid, which instantly
plumps and imparts glow. Glycolic
and lactic acids work on skin
overnight to smooth and exfoliate.
THE LOTION
Soap & Glory Drop in the Lotion
Lightweight Body Lotion, £10 (7)
Tubs and rich textures aren’t
ideal when you are in a rush and don’t
want to have to shimmy into your
trousers. This handy pump lotion
has a light, velvety texture, but
still contains heavyweight
moisturisers such as shea butter and
coconut oil. The summery coconut
ANA CUBA
fragrance, meanwhile, is an added
“winter is over” benefit.
THE CREAMS
doesn’t have to mean moisturising
dermatologist and founder of Meder
Beauty Science. “Not everyone needs
to moisturise their body religiously
— if you are young and have healthy
skin, it will probably stay beautiful
without the need to moisturise every
day.” Meder says that those who are
more likely to need to moisturise daily
include people who suffer from skin
conditions such as psoriasis and
eczema. “And if your skin is already
sun-damaged, if you love hot showers,
baths or the sauna, if you are a woman
during menopause or pregnant or
breastfeeding, and almost everyone
over 60 — for every one of these
groups I’d suggest using body
moisturiser daily.”
For mature skin
Caudalie Vinosculpt Lift & Firm
Body Cream, £27 (8)
With its orange blossom fragrance,
this cream has an expensive French
spa feel, but it’s the super-rich
whipped texture that makes it utterly
luxuriant without any unpleasant
heavy residue. It promises firmer skin
in four weeks, but instantly plumps
and gives glow.
The refillable body cream
Rituals The Ritual of Jing Relax
Soothing Body Cream, £18.50 (9)
Jujube, or Chinese date, is a hero
ingredient widely used in restorative
and anti-ageing skincare. The lotus-
scented cream is as comforting and
softening as you’d expect, but Rituals
also offers refills once you have used
up the tub. When you buy a refill
online or in store instead of a
completely new product, you save up
to 70% on CO2, 65% on energy and
45% on water.
8 in a hot bath, releasing an intensely
10
9
Style Beauty
For stretchmarks
“Stretchmarks happen when your
body grows quickly. For example,
through growth spurts, pregnancy
or weight gain,” Meder says. “Although
the underlying problem of the
fractured collagen cannot be corrected
by a cream, using one when the
stretchmarks are still red will help
to speed up this colour change from
red to faded and silvery, making them
less noticeable.”
Clarins Body Partner
Stretch Mark Expert, £40 (10)
This pregnancy-safe body cream, with
anti-inflammatory ingredients, is
designed to reinforce and deeply
moisturise the skin, while minimising
the colour, width, length and depth
of existing stretchmarks.
11
THE AT-HOME
BODY BEAUTIFIER
Now that we can’t get out of the house
for relaxing body treatments,
recreating them at home is the next
best thing. Look for products that give
you time to yourself and to switch off.
A targeted bath soak is perfect.
Voya Lazy Days Detoxifying
Seaweed Bath, £19 (11)
If you don’t have the energy for hard
work, you can still use a hard-working
treatment at home. This detoxifying
dried Irish seaweed will spring to life
nourishing gel that moisturises,
soothes and plumps, while you take
half an hour away from children,
dogs and Zoom conference calls. It’s
the closest thing you can get to
a professional treatment that allows
you to revel in doing absolutely
nothing. Even better, the net of
seaweed will last for two baths. ▪
@LooraKennedy
The Sunday Times Style 31
 Screen SAVERS
Here’s your must-have make-up kit for a foolproof, low-key FaceTime look
I
find it extraordinarily easy to go fully
feral, and I do think the situation
warrants full ferality. But since we’re
all living part-time on Skype, FaceTime
and Zoom and working remotely, some-
times popping up looking like a deranged
scarecrow is suboptimal. It’s also alarming for
friends, relatives and co-workers, and frankly
this is not the time for additional alarm.
So here’s what to use on a conference call if
you want to look reasonably polished and
normal, with minimal effort. I think minimal
effort is what’s required at this time — using 37
products on your face makes people think
you’ve gone mad.
I should say that none of this is any cop if
you haven’t worked out your video-chat angle.
Some are more flattering than others; some
make you look like a triple-chinned potato,
even if you aren’t panic eating the provisions.
(We’re all going to get so fat. I’m into it.) So
find your angle, raise your laptop on books
so nobody sees you from underneath, which
anyway is a disconcertingly intimate angle,
and then when you’ve sorted that out, put on
some make-up. If you like.
My go-to foundation for instant good skin
remains the creamy, spreadable Hourglass
Vanish Seamless Foundation Skin (1 £42),
which I am making sound like a dairy product,
but which provides a ton of coverage while
looking totally natural. It is highly pigmented
and its old-school texture means that whatever
you were doing the night before — drinking
yourself into oblivion, weeping uncontrollably,
staring wild-eyed into empty space — will not
be detectable on your face. Rather, said face
will be a smooth, poreless, uniformly coloured
vision of reassuring serenity. Hourglass also
does an excellent concealer, but I’ve never used
it in conjunction with this particular founda-
VICTORIA ADAMSON
tion, because there’s no need.
While I’m on foundation: conference calls
aside, I would take the opportunity to go
without, but if you don’t like that thought,
@INDIAKNIGHT
I recommend Youngblood Natural Loose
Mineral Foundation (2 £39), which is a whole-
some, weightless miracle in a pot. Two seconds
to buff in, perfect natural skin, lasts all day.
Then you need a nicely pigmented blush,
obviously, otherwise your face will look like a
wide and doughy expanse, and here my roughly
one-size-fits-all preference is for Bobbi Brown
Blush in Pretty Pink (3 £21). Pink cheeks aren’t
particularly fashionable, but they suit everyone
of whatever skin tone and, more to the point,
MINIMAL they semaphore good health, as though you
EFFORT IS have just come in from a lovely walk.
You can use bronzer for the same effect. My
WHAT’S favourites are Delilah Sunset Matte Bronzer
REQUIRED AT (4 £34). People say to apply bronzer wherever
the sun would naturally hit your face, but I find
THIS TIME — the sun literally hits my whole face. So apply in
USING 37 the shape of a number 3 down from each
temple to chin (lightly), across the cheekbones,
PRODUCTS maybe a tiny bit on the not-centre of your fore-
MAKES PEOPLE head. Keep going until you look like a person
that goes outside several times a day and drinks
THINK YOU’VE gaily in pavement cafes, shooting the breeze.
GONE MAD Next, brows: very important — they frame
your eyes and anchor your face. I’m into Blink
Brow Bar Sculpting Pomade (5 £19), a great
product that fills and pads out, is highly
controllable and stays put. Then eyes (or you
could just wear enormous shades), lips (or wear
a mask) and you’re done. ▪
1
4
3
5
2
The Sunday Times Style 33
 Discover the chart-topping podcast

Postcards
from Midlife
with Lorraine Candy and Trish Halpin
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

Tackling everything from hormones, sex, relationships,

fashion, beauty, the menopause and mental health
through to the conundrum of parenting teenagers

SUBSCRIBE and LISTEN at

postcardsfrommidlife.com/listen
34 The Sunday Times Style

What SHE SAID
ORSOLA DE CASTRO
The co-founder and
creative director of
Fashion Revolution is a
key figure in sustainable
fashion. The 53-year-old
lives in London with her
husband and their two
children, aged 20 and 16.
TAMZIN HAUGHTON
She also has two adult
children and two
grandchildren
Do you need a career question answered? Ask @TheSTStyle
using the hashtag #STYLELeadingWomen
Style Leading Women
YOUR WORK DILEMMA ANSWERED
BY A SUCCESSFUL FEMALE LEADER
Now that my team is working from
home, I feel we’ve lost our mojo.
How do we get it back? Angela, 40
WORKING REMOTELY IS SECOND NATURE TO US, and we’ve operated
this way since launching in 2013. There are many benefits: it has been
incredibly rewarding to be able to work around my children, and you don’t
need to worry about bad hair. Sometimes I do my morning meeting in bed,
with Radio 3 playing very low, which keeps me relaxed.
In the beginning we struggled to keep everyone on task — we were
creative, but also chaotic. People were doing insane overtime, with no
boundaries. You have to implement discipline. We now have project managers
to keep us on our critical path. And I’m infinitely more careful — I would never
send a message asking anyone to do anything out of working hours, unless
there was a tacit agreement to do so.
We discovered early on that you need both organisational and emotional
leadership. I see my role as that of a mother hen. But you also need to be
hyper-organised and ensure that the regular meetings happen at the same
time, that the platforms we use are easy to run, that potential frustrations
are minimised. If you’re not that person, make sure someone else can fill that
role so calm is maintained. We have four directors here sharing those roles.
We use tech to keep us connected and to avoid feeling isolated — Zoom
for meetings, Slack to keep everyone informed, WhatsApp for group chats.
We have endless team Skypes, but we use video with caution. We might start
a meeting with video — you need it to say hello — but a meeting in your home
can feel a bit invasive. Video is good for more human issues: if someone has
been ill, if they’re sad, if you are meeting someone new, or if we haven’t seen
each other for a while. It’s less necessary for business matters such as
planning, strategy and brainstorming.
You have to work at being human when using tech. Something written
quickly, especially when you are stressed or overworked, can come across as
rude, and yet you have to be honest and say when it’s not working. I use
emojis all the time because type alone can feel cold, and I try to be mindful of
judging others’ written words.
It’s a constant exercise to remember to give praise and thanks for a job
well done or encouragement when things are difficult, especially as it can
sometimes feel a bit false. But it’s easy to get into the habit of doing — and
it’s important, otherwise people can become demotivated, particularly when
things don’t go well or when there’s so much work that you can’t see an end to
it. But a lack of motivation can also be hard to spot, as you won’t see team
members bent over their bench. This is where those who manage the critical
paths become important — it’s their job to check in with everyone. If people
need motivating or deserve a special thank-you, I might send a bunch of
flowers or a card through the post, or pick up the phone.
Don’t forget to keep your office allies close and maintain that daily ping-
pong of wit and support. Getting remote working right is about trial and
error, so make sure there is the willingness to adapt. Embrace it: you’ll grow
into it. ▪ @orsoladecastro
As told to Fleur Britten
The Sunday Times Style 35
 GREEN ROOM

For his new book, plant stylist Hilton Carter travelled the
world to find the most beautiful home greenery. He shares
what he has learnt about bringing the outside indoors

36 The Sunday Times Style

 Style Interiors

Hilton Carter, below, is a plant stylist,

film-maker and author. He lives in Baltimore,
Maryland, with his wife, dog, cats and more
than 200 house plants, having started his
‘plant journey’ in 2014. For his latest book,
Wild Interiors, he photographed people’s
homes — and plant collections — in cities
across America and Europe

Y
ou remember that feeling you get when
you look up and turn your face to the sun
on the first warm day of spring? That’s
the feeling I get every time I enter a space
with plants. These spaces are what I like
to call wild interiors, and they give me life.
After the release of my first book, Wild at
Home, I went on a book tour so I could meet
people in the green-loving community. I wanted
to see the different types of spaces people were
working with, from the large ones full of light to
the small, cavelike spaces with minimal illumi-
nation. It was in these moments that the idea of
creating another book blossomed. So, I travelled
to cities in Europe and America and met people
who are creating lush spaces. I wanted them to
share their stories, challenges and tips and to
open a little window into their homes. I knew
others would feel inspired.
My own journey in greenery began when
I was working as a freelance film director, with
a passion for creating spaces that tell a story
about the characters who dwell within them.
This made me start thinking about my own

The Sunday Times Style 37

Style Interiors

The perfect spot for house plants is the living room,

where you generally have the largest windows and the
best light. It’s also usually the first room that you or your
guests enter. Set the tone with a ‘statement’ plant

space and what the items and details there said

about me. With that, I started to bring in more
plants. I understood how different I felt when
the environments around me had greenery,
and I knew I needed to have that same feeling
in my home.
I find inspiration for styling plants in so many
different places: social media, books and
magazines, watching style-heavy films, visiting
amazing plant shops or, probably my favourite
pastime, going to botanical gardens and
conservatories around the world. I take note of
where they place their plants and how they
create environments that are natural to those
plants, so they can have better lives. This helps
me understand how to work greenery into my
home. I also use the time I spend in these places
to give myself a moment to take in a fresh breath,
to hide away from the hustle and bustle of the
streets and place myself in a more tranquil
environment. A few moments of mindfulness
and self-care go a long way.
The power that plants have in a living space
is transformative. My goal is to inspire more
people to bring plants into their homes, so every
room can feel like the first warm day of spring. ▪
@hiltoncarter

© Hilton Carter 2020. Extracted from Wild

Interiors: Beautiful Plants in Beautiful Spaces,
which is published on April 14 (Cico Books £16.99)

38 The Sunday Times Style

 THE TOP FIVE ‘IT’ PLANTS

WATERMELON BEGONIA
No fruits, sadly — it’s that the leaves
replicate the colours of the rind.

MONSTROSE APPLE CACTUS

A sculptural, often spiral plant with
friendly short spines.

FABIAN ARALIA
Its thick, burly trunk and pancake-shaped
foliage make it a standout.

MEXICAN TREE FERN

This umbrella-shaped fern is
a real statement.

CROCODILE FERN
Think glossy, reptilian leaves with
a cute crinkle.
HILTON CARTER © CICO BOOKS

The Sunday Times Style 39

 TAURUS
April 19 – May 19
There’s no denying the power, and magic, of the
events triggered by links between your ruler,
Venus, and both the fortunate Jupiter and
Pluto, the planet of transformation. Actually,
that’s the problem. What arises will be so far
out, unexpected or unfamiliar, you’ll dig in your
heels. Don’t. Terrifying as saying yes is, you’ll
soon wonder why you hesitated at all.
More details from Shelley: 09066 500411*
GEMINI
May 20 – June 19
With your quick mind, you’ve a knack for
summing up the potential of plans, whatever
their nature. However, the current disarray
is overwhelming — even for you, at your
canniest. Slow your pace. Regard this as if you
were playing poker with destiny, and realise
that the outcome isn’t about good fortune,
but keeping your nerve.
More details from Shelley: 09066 500412*
CANCER
June 20 – July 21
Thrilling as recent events were, they’re breaking
patterns and taking you into new territory.
True, relinquishing so much that’s familiar is
worrying. The solution? First, think of past
events when you were equally anxious,
especially about what seems risky. Ironically it’s
those you’re clinging to now. Take the plunge.
You’ll soon realise how wise it was.
More details from Shelley: 09066 500413*
LEO
July 22 – August 21
Little irritates you more than those who
debate options endlessly when, if they’d
simply take action, they’d learn enough to
make lasting decisions. While that’s ideal
during less chaotic periods, with frequent
stunning yet unexpected changes, you’re urged
to live one day at a time. By next week you’ll
realise how wise this strategy was.
More details from Shelley: 09066 500414*
VIRGO
August 22 – September 21
Between your ruler, Mercury, having been
retrograde until March 10 and the resulting
disarray, and more recent unsettling events,
you’re worryingly short of facts. While ordinarily
you’d slowly untangle that confusion, decisions
JASON LLOYD-EVANS
are urgent. The solution? Make them, ensuring
everybody knows they’re more of a trial run.
Final arrangements can wait.
More details from Shelley: 09066 500415*
*Calls cost 65p per minute, plus your telephone company’s network access charge. Maximum call duration: 6 minutes. Over-18s only. You must have the bill payer’s permission. These services are
for entertainment only. Service provider: Spoke, 0333 202 3390. Have a personal consultation with an astrologer! Call 0906 400 1003 now or text SHELLEY (space) followed by your burning
question to 82229. Calls cost £1.50 per minute, plus your telephone company’s network access charge. Calls are recorded for your protection. You must be over 18. Maximum call duration:
19 minutes. Each text message received costs £1.50. You will receive two response messages per question. Total cost: £3. Standard operator rates apply for all messages you send. Service available
8am-10pm, seven days a week. Available only in the UK. Service provider: Spoke, 0333 202 3392 (9am-5pm, Mon-Fri). This service is regulated by Phone-paid Services Authority
To learn more about astrology and order your personal chart, visit shelleyvonstrunckel.com
What’s happening this
week? Our astrologer
Shelley von Strunckel
reveals what the stars
have in store for you
ERMANNO
SCERVINO
ARIES
March 20 – April 18
Viewed from your perspective as a
headstrong Aries, recent events and
those being discussed are as aggravating
as they are unfair. The problem? They’re
forcing you to rethink existing
arrangements or, possibly, venture into
completely unexpected territory.
Disruptive as changes seem in the short
term, soon you’ll wonder why you
questioned them for even a nanosecond.
More details from Shelley:
09066 500410*
LIBRA
September 22 – October 21
Often you’ll struggle for ages to make crucial
decisions, but once they’re made, that’s that.
Now, however, it’s almost as if you’re addicted
to exploring intriguing options, some as
unrealistic as they are appealing. Actually,
these are drawing you into unfamiliar territory.
At the minimum you’ll learn something — you
could just discover a new passion.
More details from Shelley: 09066 500416*
SCORPIO
October 22 – November 20
You’re in the midst of a period of breakthroughs,
if not sheer good fortune. The problem? Events
won’t seem at all promising and, often, will
appear to be undesirable offers or the worst
kind of news. Still, explore everything that
arises. As you’ll soon realise, things aren’t as
worrying as they seem. The more willing you are
to embrace the unexpected, the better.
More details from Shelley: 09066 500417*
SAGITTARIUS
November 21 – December 20
True, mostly you’re a charmer. However,
recent events and certain tricky individuals are
exposing a little-acknowledged side of your
nature — your often irrational stubborn streak.
Allow that to dominate and hard-won victories
will turn into tedious dramas. Sudden changes
are triggering anxieties. Despite that, go with
the flow. You’ll soon learn why.
More details from Shelley: 09066 500418*
CAPRICORN
December 21 – January 19
Everybody dreams about unexpected yet
irresistible offers. While that’s exactly what
the stunning link between Jupiter and Pluto,
actually in Capricorn, promise, you won’t
necessarily recognise those opportunities for
what they are. The solution? Say a tentative
yes to everything — then begin educating
yourself about what actually is on offer.
More details from Shelley: 09066 500419*
AQUARIUS
January 20 – February 18
Everybody envies your inquisitiveness and
far-reaching awareness of what’s next, and the
excitement that surrounds you. Despite that,
you’re remarkably stubborn about certain
arrangements or even habits, so much so that
those who know you well don’t even suggest
changes of a certain nature. Now they will, and
you’re urged to say yes. You’ll soon learn why.
More details from Shelley: 09066 500420*
PISCES
February 19 – March 19
Supporting family, close friends and colleagues
is one thing, but being drawn into their dramas
is another matter. True, they seem so
distressed, you can’t just ignore their struggles.
However, you must. First, these aren’t your
business. But also you’ve less exciting but
equally crucial situations of your own to deal
with and they really must come first.
More details from Shelley: 09066 500421*
@vonStrunckel
The Sunday Times Style 41
Style Voice
NIGELLA LAWSON
WITH COMFORT IN SHORT SUPPLY, OUR COLUMNIST IS
SEEKING SOLACE IN AN ENDLESS SUPPLY OF BOOKS, AND FINDS,
IF ONLY IN A LITERARY SENSE, ILLUMINATION
T
hese are strange times to be
wittering away about the small
things in our lives, and even
more so given the lag between
writing and publication. Who
knows exactly what our world
will feel like by the time this
comes out? Yet however trivial the normal
concerns that eat away at us might seem when
overshadowed by events of cataclysmic magni-
tude, they don’t just disappear. Life continues
(or so we profoundly hope) with all its silliness
and seriousness.
Not long ago I wrote in these pages — not
presciently, as I could have written it at any
time, to be truthful — that I felt enormously
comforted by being banked about by loo roll. To
wit, I confessed, three paltry, innocent months
ago: “It’s not enough for me to have a couple of
rolls of loo paper in the bathroom: I need a huge
basket of them, and that basket comforts me
more than I can say.” I have done no stockpiling,
or not since the virus entered our consciousness
and our lives. It has always been my way — I was
brought up by a mother who was a child in the
war and feared nothing so much as running out
‘There is one of things — but now I feel it would be wrong.
(And, yes, I do know I have the confidence and
area in which I privilege of one with reassuring supplies.) So,
am stockpiling strangely, as a lifetime stocker-upper and
anxious store-cupboard proliferator, I am now
like crazy: shopping on a strictly needs-only footing.
Yet there is one area in which I am stockpiling
in the past like crazy: in the past few weeks I have been
few weeks, buying books desperately. Even in normal times
one of my fears is running out of stuff to read.
I have been (Apparently there is a word for this: abiblio-
phobia.) Of course that could never happen:
buying books I have enough books on my shelves (and floor
desperately’ and just about every surface in the house) to
keep me going for months and months. But
now, when the escape offered by books — a lure
away from terror-scrolling — seems so vitally
important, I can’t see any good reason not to
add to my collection. And on top of all the actual
physical books, my Kindle app, the little library
stashed away in my iPad, is brimming with new
— recently acquired rather than recently written
— material. I find it all extremely comforting.
And when comfort is in such short supply I am
enormously grateful. Not that I am finding it
easy to concentrate on much at the moment.
42 The Sunday Times Style
Actually, before all this, I think the majority of
books I read were digital editions. On the whole
this was because they are so portable; these days
that is sadly irrelevant. Still, there’s a huge draw
in having so many books just there. It seems to
me one of the wonders of the modern age. But
there’s a lot of snobbery about e-reading. So
many people tell me they have to have a “proper
book”, and this sentiment is particularly force-
fully held, I’ve noticed, by those who favour a
display of their literary enthusiasm. But actu-
ally, when the writing’s good, the medium in
which it is conveyed soon becomes immaterial.
There is, however, a drawback: when you read
a real book, you see it constantly; when you read
e-books, it is perfectly easy to forget even the
title, since you actually don’t see it all the time.
A book jacket roots us in some elemental way to
the pages therein. And I wonder if that’s not all
one forgets: sometimes I feel as if every novel
I’ve read in the past year has morphed into one
vast sprawling narrative. I can’t remember
which characters belong to which novel: they all
congregate in the muddled conglomeration of
books in my mind. And so I thought I might
return to the old-fashioned printed paper book.
I needed to equip myself properly. The books
are the easiest part of the operation. But how to
read at night? When I read on my iPad, I have
no lights on in the bedroom, I turn the e-page to
night mode, with white writing on a black back-
ground, and I wear my blue-light-banishing
glasses with their orange sniper’s lenses. It is the
most ridiculous sight, I concede. I can’t read
proper books as the overhead light is too bright
(as are the clip-on ones), and my bedside light is
so piddlingly ineffective that I do my neck in
straining to get the book under its dim pool.
So I allowed myself some emergency shop-
ping. I have bought a reading light that is worn
around the neck, the bulbs trained on the pages
in front of me. I have always believed you can
never have too many fairy lights, so it just feels
that I have taken to adorning myself with them.
It’s not a terrible thing. However, when I went
downstairs for some chocolate the other night,
I’d forgotten I was wearing it and had the strange
sensation of being followed by an eerie spotlight
JASON HETHERINGTON
as I made my way.
Still, books and chocolates are of essential
importance these days — and I’m very happy to
have my path to both so gloriously illuminated. ▪
@NIGELLALAWSON
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