Monday 2 January 2012

The Connaught, Christmas and a very happy New Year

Hello all, I know i am late to the party but what a fab break i cannot believe it is all over tomorrow.  Xmas was mad, the nephews, brothers in law, sister in law and in laws - a lot of in law but it was fun - the kids were happy, Mr dressed as Santa, Franky pulled a sled of tinsel, and much jollyment all round.  We had a bit of a break thereafter with a long walk at Birling Gap, telly and far too much food - i feel like i will pop.  Then off to London for 3 days at New Year - which was truly fab, this is what i wore to drinks at the Connaught, a trip to the tailors, were we nabbered more than did any work, a fab walk on Frankies fave route round Chelsea and Knightsbridge, oysters at Bibendum and the best NYE at Cheyne Walk - a table of italians, more food, jazz band and far too much champagne culminating in us being accosted by a rowdy group of teenagers who we all had pics with - surreal and a very good start to the year and on that note i wish you all the very very best for 2012 may you be happy, healthy and your dreams come true xx


I have a love affair with the maxi but i like to be able to wear it dress down and a big cardi and boots is one of my fave ways of feeling special but not overdone


I got the maxi in the Lanvin sale preview and it is soo gorgeous all bare shoulders and special 


Got the boots in the sale too - how bloody fab are they - had to share xx

Maxi Lanvin PreFall, Boots Lanvin, Cardi very old Stella 

67 comments:

  1. Hi lovely, beautiful Maxi dress!!! I love your style, always!!
    Very good start to the year!!!

    Besos, desde España, Marcela♥♥♥

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  2. Oh you looked wonderful! I generally have some mixed feelings with the maxi given that if work the wrong way it can look disastrous. But you pulled it off just the right way with those boots!

    Happy New Year Claire!

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  3. You look wonderful. The pictures are great. Nice light. Overall a fantastic look. Looking forward to more of your fabulousness in 2012. Xxxx

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  4. Thank you Marcela and you x

    Happy New Year to you to Paola - looking forward to seeing all your fab new designs x

    Thanks PaPP x

    Thanks so much Dvora - very much appreciated and looking forward to all your blogging fabulous piccies too x

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  5. WOow AND this (so insolently multi-faceted) "70's(icious)" inspiration shall never cease to suit you like a glove I can't help BUT say (§ widely approve) Dear !
    ps: With all my Best Wishes for the New Year ("Cyber § sincere wink from a kind aesthete") !

    à Bientôt, Antoine

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  6. You look absolutely fabulous, Claire! The dress and boots are stunning! A true lesson of how brown can compete with black for the most elegant colour. I can not wait to see your new year eve's recreated hair style and the pic of Franky too. :)
    Happy New Year! May it be filled with health, happiness, great opportunities! I know we'll have plenty to learn on style from you in 2012. xo
    Ada

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  7. Just found your blog and I love it. LOVE your style. Following you on bloglovin'.

    www.wayoutsidelookingin.blogspot.com

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  8. It really was a wonderful break! A part of me would love to continue, but the other part is looking forward to reality. :) So so so glad you enjoyed your trip to London and everything went well. You look stunning!
    xxxx

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  9. Thank you Antoine your comments always make me smile x

    Ada will have to get on to it - a very happy new year to you too x

    thank you OLI x

    I know Natalia - i wish it wasnt ending but i also want to get back to normality esp food and sleep wise! x

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  10. Happy New Year Claire. You look amazing as usual. Love the maxi dress; it's color is gorgeous. The boots are amazing too. Great combo.

    www.justpatience.com

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  11. mademoiselle, you look superb in that get-up. i just love the colour scheme here. happy new year to you. hope to see you again around somerset house in mid-feb?

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  12. wowo look stunning!
    happy new years!
    konshon

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  13. I too, love maxi's!!!!!
    I also, wear them with a cardi and boots...
    I love the way your hair looks in one of the photo's really flowing...
    The boots are beyond amazing...

    I wish you much in this next year along with some wonderful fashion finds, and love to Frank as well..

    xoo
    m

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  14. so fab !!!
    i love the shoes!! amazing !!!

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  15. absolutely amazing dear! love your blog <3
    xoxo Sienna
    http://fashion-sienna.blogspot.com/

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  16. David it would be great to see you again - a very good new year to you too x

    Thanks M flowing and my hair is always what it does best - up and neat - not so much - a very fab new year to you too x

    Thank you all and a very good new year x

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  17. I have to pay a visit to Lanvin! That dress and those boots are to die for! And your hair??? You know how much I'd love to have my hair like yours???

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  18. You are so sweet Francesca - my hair only does what it does it is way thick - any shorter or more controlled and it really does a mad sticking out thing - so i guess i will be the old lady with way too much hair one day - oh well there you go! As for Lanvin it is my not tooo secret guilty pleasure they have a jewellery set at the mo that is to die for and i spotted a drape back beige jacket that i secretly was so glad i had mr with me because i am broke and there is no way i would have walked out without it if i had got it on my back and then there was a suede verushka styley suede jacket/shirt you would love - i shudder to think how much it was !! xx

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  19. You look stunning! The colours of the dress and the boots are fabulous, so warm and rich looking. Best wishes for a very Happy New Year!

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  20. I so love eating at Bibendum!
    Ah, I miss my Chelsea days;-)
    And how radiant you look here too.
    What a wonderful palette of colours.
    Your dress is divine. xx

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  21. I know i love it too and so fabulous for Franky, thank you so much xx

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  22. Those boots are amazing! And I love the way u styled them with that brown dress! Color coordinated and fabulous!

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  23. happy new year dear and I love your maxi dress!:)

    Patchwork à Porter

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  24. That's such a stunning dress, I love your makeup and hair you always look so elegant.

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  25. oh what a beautiful dress darling;) very stylish and stunning start for 2012!!! wish you all the best!
    big kiss,mary

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  26. Wow! You look stunning! Those boots look amazing too. They must be Italian, right?

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  27. Lanvin Lindsay - but definitely made in Italy x

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  28. oh yeaahh can't breath
    love your boots so much
    i'm now following you :D

    allysachais.blogspot.com

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  29. Beyond gorgeous maxi dress. You look amazing in it! Also really enjoying your blog, so now following! Would appreciate it if you followed us too. :)
    x

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  30. Very beautiful and chic. You really have great taste!

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  31. amazing dress and beautiful color!

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  32. My only problem is that Lanvin is in Milan...otherwise I would have had already splurged!!!
    You hair problem is going to be mine too, I have a lot of curly (yes I iron straightening it) hair but there is no way I can get them longer!!! I am blowdrying them to much I guess but I hate to walk around like one of the Jackson 5!

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  33. You so make me laugh Francesca! I love Milan - i hear they have a Celine too - i am so dragging the man when we go to San Remo - i know long old trip but hey it is Milan - we used to go all the time. So miss it - i only went to Rome once but i remember going to Valentino and Alberta Ferreti - my mother in law made a very sarcastic comment about waste when i said we had gone shopping instead of to the colosseum or vatican or something - i looked at her shoes and thought - mmmm? Know where i would rather be - all silently of course!! xxx

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  34. how delicious are your new boots? happy new year, looks like a fabulous time with a fabulous lady at the Connaught in Londontown :-)

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  35. Loving these colors on you!! :)


    xoxo
    Antonia
    FASHION IMPERATIVE

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  36. Stunning photos Claire. That dress is breathtaking. Happy New Year. -xo

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  37. Claire, happy New Year! I'm glad you had such a nice holiday and your NYE sounded a lot of fun! This look is great: I love how you styled the Lanvin dress with a maxi cardigan to have a 'decalage' effect and the brown shade is so chic. Simply a beautiful ensemble.

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  38. Amazing outfit! You look so beautiful! I love your blog! :)
    Xoxo,
    http://mayasfashioncorner.blogspot.com/

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  39. Hello, i am a new follower via GFC although old reader, but i wasn't a part of blogsphere before, i just became part of this amazing world and i also created my first blog yeahhh. but that's not my point.
    My point is that me and my mom we are huge fans of our blog and your style. Especially my mom regularly checks out your outfits and gets inspired by the pieces you wore. Funny thing she got similar pair of jeans to the ones you wear into a older post of yours.
    We too love fashion and our little doggie which we got when it was really small, her name is Susie and she is partly blind, when mom saw her she felt so sad for the poor little dog and we got her home. I am so happy that there are people out there who love dogs and fashion as much as we do.
    You are a great inspiration for us as a family and we admire you and your style.
    It's been months i've been checking out this blog (and through me my mom who is not an internet expert in any way) but we never commented before, so i am really happy to be able to do so.
    Thank you for the amazing posts you gave us so far.
    Greetings from Greece.
    P.S Your dress is so nice, i love how you dress it down with casual pieces like the cardigan and boots, i would wear this look too but i am a bit shorty for maxi dresses.
    P.S it would be really amazing if you could pass by my brand new blog, which still is under new and has a lot of work to be done to be nice, maybe you'll get inspired too.
    http://lureofthedarkside.blogspot.com/
    Love,
    Marianne and Leah.

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  40. Ok i can't recall if i told you to follow me via GFC or not, cause if i did, well i didn't want to.
    well i am not the kind of person that says follow me and i'll follow you back. i don't like that. oufff i can't recall saying something like that . but maybe i did. oufff i can't see my comment, cause you have to approve it so i just can't remember....
    ok end of talking...

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  41. oh no wait i said check out my blog for some kind of inspiration.
    thanks God.

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  42. Marianne you just made me smile will definitely come over and thanks for your lovely comment x

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  43. happy new year hun! totally in love with this outfit :)

    xoxo,

    Fashion Fractions

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  44. WOW thank you so much for following me and for commenting back. i appreciate it. i'll work harder now to make my blog better and better each day. i'll upload a post soon, a post i would be very happy if you checked out since its a post dedicated to all of us who think too much about our flaws and don't appreciate our beauty.
    its a post about how different, how flaws can be beautiful.
    i'll upload it soon enough i would be very happy if u checked it out.
    we should support our own beauty and be confident in our skin.
    http://lureofthedarkside.blogspot.com/

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  45. You look beautiful; wishing you a happy New Year!

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  46. Fab Fab, Happy New Year! Lovin' the boots!

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  47. Oh my gosh you look amazing. Those boots are to die for. (I can't do maxis, don't know why...)The Connaught has really changed it looked nothing like that nine years ago!

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  48. ALW it really would have changed thats my living room in my flat but i am extremely flattered that you think it might be the Connaught - happy new year to you x

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  49. Happy New Year to you and your hubby! Funnily enough, I was in London over the NY period. I had a fleeting thought when I was around Knightsbridge and Kings Rd whether I was going to see a glamorous woman with her teal Gucci hat walking down the street.

    As always, you look fabulous! i don't think you've ever made a sartorial misstep!

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  50. CC&aC - you are so sweet and if ever you do say hello xx

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  51. Happy New Year Claire! I am such a big fan of Lanvin...one of my favorite designers. Just can't get enough of it. When I worked in Paris for Cartier, the Lanvin boutique was just around the corner from my office so I used to go in there all the time. Now I am back in NYC and it's not as close so I never visit the boutique.
    Thanks for your support!! You're the best.

    Nicole
    www.theionfashion.com

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  52. Oh you look so beautiful there, and what a dress. Your NYE sounds like great fun, mine was cursed from start to finish.
    And yes find out who that dress is by, it will be way out of my budget but a girl can dream.

    Wishing you a wonderful 2012!

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  53. You look beautiful! And those boots are to die for! I am so jeally! Well I guess a trip to the tailor is in order for me too--got my first Burberry jacket and the sleeves are almost 2" too short! haha, I thought brits had long arms like me!

    xo Mary Jo

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  54. You complete star! Sleuthed by the most glam, tweed caped fashionista Sherlock Holmes the world has ever seen!

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  55. Well after looking at the photo's and then reading all the wonderful comments there is little I can say that betters them!!! Love the colour of the dress and the style. The boots are amazing and your hair is looking just perfect. The Christmas presents took my breath away. What a super collection from my very special son-in-law. So pleased you had a wonderful Christmas with Adrian and Mimi and family and what sounds like a really fun NYE! Lots of love from a warm and sunny Cape Town. Mum xx

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  56. Tabs if it is a fashion conundrum i am your girl xx

    Thanks Mum xxxx

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  57. You look stunning in the Maxi. I love it and it hangs so beautifully and the boots are also awesome.
    Love the cardigan too. Did every head in the bar turn when you walked in?

    Happy New Year and thank you for your kindness and comments

    Helen x

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  58. Hahaha! I would have done the same!! Have a nice day!

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  59. Oh yes, that's the look! You look absolutely fantastic! I just can't decide whether I loveboots more or the dress!

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  60. Your hair is looking gorgeous here!

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  61. Something I would wear!

    So so pretty.

    Kiss,
    sara

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  62. This is such a sophisticated look, that colour looks amazing on you!

    http://styleservings.blogspot.com/

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  63. Love your dress!! You look gorgeous, as always!! I have the same white round dining table at home!! hehe! And that golden mirror is beautiful too!!
    xoxo
    MY LITTLE SUEDE SHOES

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