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Dial M for Murder spellbinds at The Rep
Can a perfect murder ever be committed, or do human frailties mean we miss tiny details that would inevitably get us caught? That is the premise for ‘Dial M for Murder’, a claustrophobic thriller by Frederick Knott that was most famously bought to life by the genius of Alfred Hitchcock and the beauty of Grace Kelly. A new production by Lucy Bailey is currently playing at The Rep theatre in Birmingham, and I went along to see how the suspense holds up 60 years after it was originally written. The story is many layered. The glamorous Kelly Hotten plays Sheila Wendice, a once adulterous, now devoted wife of ex- tennis…
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Eagerly awaited – Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly
The publicity stills and on-set photographs have got people pretty excited about a film set for release in March. ‘Grace of Monaco’ is a film about Princess Grace, formally Grace Kelly, and is set during the early 1960s, a period when the Princess considered returning to Hollywood filming in Hitchcock’s Marnie. This was not a happy period in time for Princess Grace, and by focusing on this particular time, we get to see the not-so-happy ever after behind the fairytale wedding. In the film Grace is played by a modern Hollywood goddess and style icon, Nicole Kidman. I’m a huge fan of Nicole for both her acting and sense of…
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Harvey Nichols, Paula Reed and Autumn style
I was invited to a special event this week that had me super excited. Harvey Nichols fashion surpremo Paula Reed was heading to Birmingham! Specially invited guests were invited to hear her thoughts on the new season collections. As a huge fan of Paula and her impeccable style, this was one event that I could not miss. This was Paula Reed previously of Grazia and the lady who had commentated on the Royal Wedding. I needed to hear what Paula had to say. To add to the proceedings, Harvey Nichols head of menswear Darren Skey was also attending the event. This was going to be a seriously splendid fashion event!…
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New season dresses – Are you a Grace or a Marilyn?
In my view, the 1950s were the golden era of the dress. In those days, before jeans became a major part of the wardrobe, dresses were worn for every occasion, from neat shirtwaisters in cotton that were the form of most day dresses, to the full on glamour of the evening gowns worn for all post cocktail hour events. No adding a glittering top to a pair of jeans for our grandmother’s generation – these ladies fully understood the art of dressing up. This spring, Phase Eight have produced their usual range of beautiful dresses and I have noticed a definite 1950s Hollywood slant to the designs. In fact, I…
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Charlotte Casiraghi – The new campaign for Gucci
Gucci’s new campaign again stars the beautiful Charlotte Casiraghi, the daughter of Princess Caroline and the granddaughter of the legendary Grace Kelly. Again, rather than full on glamour, it allows Charlotte’s earthy beauty to shine through whilst wearing a simple wardrobe of plain white shirt, cigarette pants and horsebit loafers. The campaign is entitled ‘Forever Now’ and is a showcase for design classics. I love the whole relaxed feel of this campaign, and the beautiful black and white shots taken by Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Many have already noted the similarity to her grandmother’s dressed down, casual look, but I think that the shots are totally modern, showing…
