What was immediately apparent were the “winners and losers” in the fashion stakes. Ahead by a furlong were those dressed in exquisitely tailored knee length coats over similarly well-cut dresses or those in equally beautiful tailored, suits. The losers were those that had been blinded by fashion.

Rachel Trevor-Morgan,Astley Clarke Couture,Astley Clarke,Valentino,Valentino,Hobbs,Lanvin,Lela Rose,Tabitha Simmons,Elie Tahari,Valentino,Paula Ka,Rupert Sanderson

There was something so off-putting about the woman teetering along in the vibrant turquoise and pink floral silk coat and dress accessorised by shocking pink satin shoes, which matched her identically coloured handbag and feathered fascinator.

The outfit screamed, “look at me”, which you couldn’t fail to do, but afterwards wish you hadn’t. The female companion walking alongside her in her ivory coat with a faint trim of black piping and the co-ordinating dress worn with a delightful miniature ivory straw beret with black quills and feathers looked chic and beautiful.

Because there are times and occasions when it is enough to be dressed in a way that is classic, stylish and elegant with only perhaps a passing nod to the whimsical trends of the fashion industry. Subdued elegance will always triumph over brash and extravagant. Cocktail dresses should live up to their name and only venture out once the sun has set. The same goes for mini skirts, suitable only for teenagers and holidays.
Even the Royal Enclosure at Royal Ascot has introduced a new stringent dress code for this summer’s event publishing it’s own “Style Guide”. The new rules, which are really the old rules that have long been ignored, are as follows.

Formal daywear is a requirement, with dresses and skirts of a modest length, falling just above the knee. Dresses and tops should have straps over one inch or greater. Dresses that are strapless, off-the-shoulder, halter neck or have spaghetti straps are not permitted. Neither are fascinators. Hurrah for good taste, at last.

And even if you never venture near a racecourse, the Royal Ascot style rules should perhaps be used as a benchmark of what is the correct attire for any formal daytime event.

I have just realised that this may sound a little too dictatorial, but as one close friend told me, the only time she used a personal shopper to advise her on dressing for a very important wedding, was the first time that she could forget about what she was wearing, certain that she was dressed stylishly and appropriately and enjoy herself.

I hope the outfits that feature on this fashion page satisfy everyone’s needs for dressing smartly this summer. It is easily possible to put an outfit together from shops like L.K.Bennett, Hobbs, Maxmara, Phase Eight, Reiss and French Connection without spending a mortgage-able amount of money. Just as it is possible to throw caution to the wind and spend a months salary on a designer label. The choice is yours.
Rachel Trevor-Morgan, Marie-Helene de Taillac,Robinson Pelham,Manhattan Pearls,Nigel Rayment,Erdem,Valentino,Phase Eight,Ted Baker,Paule Ka,Rupert Sanderson,Casadei,Salvatore Ferragamo,Casadei,Lucy Choi

Rachel Trevor-Morgan,Nigel Rayment,Manhattan Pearls,Manhattan Pearls,Annoushka,Annoushka,Hobbs,Hobbs,Hobbs,Marc by Marc Jacobs,Lucy Choi,Marc by Marc Jacob,L.K.Bennett,Valentino,Reed Krakoff,Armani Collezione, Armani Collezione

Rachel Trevor Morgan,Manhattan Pearls,Nigel Rayment,Astley Clarke,Robinson Pelham,Mikimoto,Rachel Trevor-Morgan,Reiss,Anya Hindmarch, Reiss,DKNY,Valentino,Givenchy,Oscar de la Renta,Hobbs,L.K.Bennett,Rupert Sanderson,Tabitha Simmons,Casadei,
Rachel Trevor Morgan,Manhattan Pearls,Philip Treacy,Robinson Pelham,Manhattan Pearls,Roksanda Ilincic,Phase Eight,Hobbs,Lucy Choi,Tabitha Simmons, Tabitha Simmons,Paula Ka,French Connection

Xen-tan (£24.99) doesn’t streak, doesn’tt turn your legs orange, doesn’t leave your skin feeling dry and you can gradually build up your tan.

It’s easy to apply, gives you a natural tanned look, smells delicious and leaves your legs feeling well creamed. It goes without saying that all fake tans are best applied to a well exfoliated skin and we are great fans of This Works Exfoliator.  A tip worth remembering use baby oil if you shave your legs rather than stealing someone’s shaving foam!

It is super easy to make and can be thrown together in 5 minutes. It makes a great starter, alternatively it marries well with some simple barbequed chicken. As with most things relating to food, try and buy the best mozzarella you can find and ripest nectarines. If you are lucky enough to be near a good Italian delicatessen try using the breathtakingly divine burratta.

NECTARINE, MOZARELLA and ROCKET SALAD with SWEET CHILLI and LIME dressing

Serves 6

4 ripe nectarines

2 balls of the best mozzarella you can buy (if in Italy buy Burratta instead)

1 bag of freshly washed rocket

1 handful of fresh mint

1 handful of green pistachios freshly chopped

Sweet chilli and lime dressing

You can either make your own or alternatively for a quick fix:

100 ml of sweet chilli sauce

50 ml of fresh lime juice and zest of 1 lime

2 lime leaves finely slivered (optional)

50ml of mild olive oil

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together.

Wash the nectarines and cut each one into 8 segments.

Tear up the mozzarella, tear up the mint leaves.

Layer the salad up in a large bowl in this order: rocket, nectarines, mint, mozzarella – dress, salt and pepper and then repeat the process till you have several layers of the salad, sprinkle the chopped pistachios over the top.

Sometimes at night I just lie there and listen to him breathing in the darkness, dreading the time when his half of the bed might be silent, empty and cold.  If he is lying on his back I sometimes wait for that rasping intake of breath that signals a tense and breathless quiet.   I give him some time to start breathing again of his own accord, so it is at least fifteen seconds before I pluck up the courage to deliver a sharp, but loving, kick to the shins.

The explosion from his bursting lungs rouses him violently and he is, naturally, dazed and irritable.   He doesn’t understand that I am lovingly delaying the already perceptible (only to me) decline of his little grey cells through oxygen starvation and the now fully compos-mentis husband delivers a muffled broadside of fury, turns over on his side (that’s better) and goes straight back to sleep.

It may be a miracle that I found the man of my dreams in my mid forties (and that neither of us was married to anyone else at the time and that on only our fourth date he suggested we get married and that was before we had even kissed… Really).  Well all right then it is a miracle and I’m grateful. Believe me, I am.   But I also know that good fortune is rarely deserved by me and impossible to accept and enjoy freely.  There must always be a catch.   To make matters worse this was a whopping great piece of good fortune at a point when I was about to “run out of puff”, as my Husband so sweetly and accurately puts it.   Which means that the Big Someone upstairs cannot have been concentrating at that crucial time and any minute now is going to look down, spot me and my happy circumstances, and say “Hang on a minute….”

I found Him by advertising in the The Spectator magazine in the days when you just put something discreet in the Personal Classifieds.   I was just forty four years old and had been married three times already.   I know that sounds bad but I promise you it isn’t.  After all my Mother had brought me up to get married, so I was always grateful when someone, however unsuitable, proposed. Unfortunately Cosmopolitan Magazine and my education had also told me that I should have an independent and worthwhile life of my own, so it never took me long to realise my mistake and rectify it; just in time to make the next one.

My advertisement – a perfect example of niche marketing – produced four frightfully well educated letters in the form of one QC, one retired Lt. Colonel designing gardens in France, one obviously gay barrister looking for a front woman to organise his social life; and Him.   His enclosed photograph showed a film star standing in front of a mountain stream (I ignored this worrying outdoorsy ambience). I know that looks aren’t everything, especially if he’s an axe murderer, but they help.

Anyway, we met, fell in love and were married within a few months.  Our friends were horrified.  When his lot heard that I was three times divorced, they assumed that I was a fortune seeking bolter (and who could blame them?).  My lot knew that he was far too good looking, civilised and solvent to be truly bona fide and that something ghastly would ooze out of the inlaid walnut closet when it was all, yet again, far too late.  Luckily everyone was wrong.    Except us.

Savour the flavours of fresh, delectable seasonal fare in the Summer Food Hall and find the perfect ingredients to host the ultimate summer soiree. From French charcuteries offering foie gras to to prized Scottish beef, there is fine selection of gourmet food and drink on show. Experience the most exquisite flavours from artisan producers new to the Fair in the Great Taste Awards Theatre. Experts are on hand to offer specialist advice on the best ways to appreciate all of these finest delicacies including the’New Nigella’ Xanthe Milton from Cookie Girl who be demonstrating how to make the ultimate diamond jubliee cupcake and Laurent-Perrier celebrating its Bicentenary with the release of a limited edition Jeroboam.

Visitors can also discover stunning garden and interior decor including emerging creative talent in the Designers Gallery featuring interior bespoke pieces and limited editions, in addition beautiful fashion, children’s clothing, accessories and lifestyle brands are all showing their premium products for those with a passion for shopping.

Take part in an interactive lifestyle workshop and pick up advice from leading experts including Laurent-Perrier, Jo Malone , Rabi Hage James Rylands and the Society of Garden designers in the Interior and Garden Theatre before dining at Mosimann’s Summer Restaurant.

For information and to book tickets click here and enter the code ST8E or call 0844 412 4623

To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee, the Queen’s Gallery has mounted the largest exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci’s anatomical studies – a must for any budding artists (or doctors!)

For polo lovers, book your tickets for Mint Polo in the Park, held over three days in Hurlingham Park. It has all of the glamour of Smith’s Lawn, without the M4 journey!

If you’re looking for a little style, why not do to the Hermes Exhibition - Leather Forever 6 Burlington Gardens, London W1 S3ET. It’s free entry and runs from 8th-27th May, opening between 10am-6pm.

To celebrate the reopening of the Fashion Galleries, the V&A are putting on Ballgowns:British Glamour Since 1950. The exhibition starts on 19th May and will be on until 6th January.

There is more glamour going on at Chris Beetles Gallery as Magnum Photos are mounting an exhibition of the most memorable images of the past six decades – Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson to name but a few.

The South Bank is full of wonderful entertainments – this stretch of river next to the National Theatre is fast becoming London’s most exciting place to visit. We particularly like the idea of Cantina - a circus cabaret mix which is edgy, stylish and scary all at the same time.

Now they’ve opened up their latest branch at 341 Fulham Road and they’re well worth a try for Artisan Loves, croissants and a whole stack of delicious cakes and pastries. For a list of all their branches, click here