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The Hare Ball

What a night it was! London's who's who gathered to raise money for a very special charity. 

GBP 120,00 pounds raised through auction alone for Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity.

A Stella MaCartney painting went for GBP 15,000. Stella was in the room and graciously offered to make a second one for the underbidder - raising GBP 30,000! (Loved the off-shoulder dress she wore!)

Mr Brainwash's iconic canvas went for a whopping GBP 32,000 pounds and the Tracey Emin was a steal at GBP 12,000.

Eastender's star Shane Riche had the audience in splits with his wicked sense of humour - directing most of his jokes at the sporting Nicky Clarke - who bore the verbal assaults with rather charming grace (and the occasional grimance!)

X-Factor's Rebecca Ferguson sang a touching rendition of Amazing Grace - she has spectacular vocal cords! 

The man of the hour was Michael van Clarke - he was delighted that months of preparations paid off!

The Dorchester Hotel was a special venue and the food was pretty good unlike most galas.

Here I am with Michael - it was a special night!

My Style: Gala Glam

Dress: Versace AW 2009

Shoes: Versace

Dressing for a black-tie event is a lot of fun. One gets to indulge theatrical instincts and wear fairytale confections.

No one does glam better than Versace!

For the Harestyling Gala I picked one of my favourites - I confess I have worn this gown several times (thereby justifying the investment in 'pay-per-wear' point of view! 

The one rule I try to follow for such events is never wear black - its cliched and every one right down to the hostesses and staff wear it. A gala is an opportunity to express with colour and bling, so go for it (within the confines of style!)

For makeup - I took my cue from today's leading fashion icon - Duchess Catherine Cambridge herself! Like Kate Middleton - I did my own makeup -which is actually a first - as I don't really wear makeup and am rather hopeless at it!

But after the makeup artist from Dior botched up my face (I looked like a drag queen gone bad!) - I washed it off, applied the Organic Pharmacy serum followed by a couple of pumps of the revolutionary Nubo foundation - used YSL's Touche Elact sparingly on the dark circles and voila - I actually managed to do my own base! 

Eyeshadow, liner, mascara, kajal and lip-gloss followed by a touch of blush and in 5 minutes I was ready. Revolutionary (for me)!!

My latest beauty find is the website Cult Beauty - they have been around for a while but I recently stumbled upon them. They are (for me) the Netaporter of beauty - a carefully curated collection of the latest beauty products with a focus on what really works.

 

 

The 7 day cleanse: Results

The numbers are in. 

I lost 2.1 per cent body fat in 7 days! It was not water or muscle loss - expected results if one were to reduce food intake drastically, but fat loss!

Needless to say, I'm absolutely delighted with the results. My clothes fit differently. I've dropped nearly two sizes in jeans (Now I'm eyeing with longing all the lovely J Brand jeans hanging in the far reaches of my closet that I really want to fit into).

Overall, I'm feeling good (and graciously enjoying the compliments).

Undergoing a rather public detox is a bit daunting, but all in all it was all so worth it.

Losing weight is painful and a matter of sheer commitment. It completely changes your relationship with food. No longer simply something to be enjoyed and savoured, you begin to judge and evaluate each bite. Eating at restaurants is a test of endurance and self-restraint - while the rest of the table is happily munching away on breads and pasta, you politely take a sip of water and a bite of boiled blandness.

Most importantly, its a game of maintenance - losing weight is difficult enough but preventing it from coming back is a whole other challenge. 

Diego has put me on a intensive training routine coupled with a restrictive diet. Until I lose a further 5 per cent body fat, I can pretty much kiss bread, rice, pasta and all such yummy carb fixes a sad goodbye. 

Its going to be tough. But I am praying it won't take forever! 

My daughter's first birthday is just around the corner (which is the reason why I am in such a hurry to shed the kilos). If model/actress types can get back into their pre-baby skinny jeans barely 6 weeks after baby's birth - a year is a reasonable cut-off for the rest of us mere mortals.

The Travel + Leisure Blog: The Gilbert Scott restaurant

This post was published in the Travel + Leisure blog. Link here

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Eat Your Pudding: Chef Marcus Wareing Opens New Restaurant in London

It’s one of the most buzzed-about and eagerly anticipated hotel openings across the pond: London’s iconic St. Pancras railway station has reinvented itself as a sumptuous new Renaissance hotel, and last week unveiled The Gilbert Scott restaurant. Celebrated chef Marcus Wareing (of the Michelin two-starred Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley) derived inspiration for his second restaurant from both the historic building itself, as well as from dishes that are nearly 200 years old, but cooked with modern techniques.

Evocative of a British childhood, the fare is gourmet nursery food for the adult palate. Generations of Brits will come to the magnificent dining room (calling it a restaurant seems oddly sacrilegious) with its gilded, vaulted ceiling to savor the nostalgia. We were a table of six and ended up ordering all 10 puddings on the menu—gluttonous, but what a way to go!

Wareing himself stopped by our table for an extensive chat and, though he declined to choose his best dish (saying it would be like asking him which of his three children is his favorite), for my meal he recommended the delicious Queen Anne’s asparagus tart and Great Garnett’s Farm pork belly. I’m usually not a big fan of pork belly, but this was surprisingly light. I also tasted the Queen’s Pottage, a confection of chicken, mushrooms, and pistachio that had been cooked for 18 hours and was absolutely tender. 

Named for the original architect of the 1873 structure, The Gilbert Scott is a true marriage of food and architecture. Finally, a restaurant where you can eat a British meal and not expire of carb overload!

Priyanka Gill is a London-based blogger and journalist. Visit her website here. 

Photos courtesy of St. Pancras Rennaissance Hotel

The 7 day cleanse: Day 7

Sometimes, a week seems like a very long time!

I can barely remember the last time I sat down to eat a 'proper' meal.

But today is the last day and from tomorrow, I can no longer depend on a sheet of paper to tell me what to eat. I will have to, once again, rely on my judgement and self control.

Dieting evokes very strong reactions from people.

A lot of people were horrified - why do you need to do it??

Some well-meaning friends offered better solutions, a few shook their heads and said I was crazy.

The answer lies in the middle of all this. It is a personal choice, I guess. I wanted to get back into my pre-pregnancy wardrobe and I wanted to do it quickly.

The cleanse is a brilliant way to begin, but it does not mean I can eat that chocolate brownie that currently lies in my kitchen - the fact that it is still uneaten, is a testament to my desire to shed the kilos!

But yesterday when I fit into a size 38, Alexander McQueen dress I bought ages ago - it was a pretty good feeling! I still have a few more kilos to go, but there is something to be said for doing it the quick way - now lets hope the inches stay off!

The 7 day cleanse: Days 3,4,5

I have not eaten anything except boiled green vegetables (and a few spoonfuls of boiled organic brown rice) for 5 days now.

I even sat through a dinner with 10 friends at Dishoom - where they proceeded to order the entire menu, and I ate nothing. They asked me what was good - I ordered for them and asked the waiter for some spinach (my vegetable of the day), there was none in the restaurant - so I sipped water.

If there were awards for will power - I deserve a nomination (now who do I know who runs awards, may be it's time to make that strategic call (lol) - awards are NEVER fixed - they are totally deserved!! )

But surprisingly - I am not hungry. The shakes, the vitamins and the fibre fills you up. My energy levels are good. When I went for my weekly acupuncture session today - Byron told me I had lost a lot of weight (yay) and that my pulse was good and generally said its the healthiest he had ever seen me!

I walked down the high street over the weekend and almost did a double-take at the amount of food that is offered on sale, yummy cakes at Patisserie Valerie, sandwiches and tarts at Paul's, smells of coffee wafting out of Starbucks - we don't really stand a chance. So much of our lives revolve around food - we socialise over a meal, bond over a few drinks couple of drinks, meet up with friends over coffee.

Alongside foodie places are the newsagents selling magazines idolizing skinny women - talk about mixed messages...

At the end of this detox, I am hoping that the scales (and pincers) will show expected results and I can revert to healthy eating and exercise.

The lessons that I am taking away from this week:

1. NEVER go to Dishoom on a diet!

2. It is really about WHAT you eat. I have exercised till I could exercise no more, but the answer to losing weight lies not in the gym but in the kitchen.

3. The only way to do it is slow and steady. A crazy detox may give you a head start, but it is with consistency alone that you can fit into your thin jeans again!

The 7 day cleanse: Day 2

Today is a new day. 

Yesterday was bad.

I really had no idea what I was taking on. After drinking my way through glasses and glasses of seriously yucky stuff and swallowing pills like I was aiming for a world record - I seriously began to question my sanity and my determination.

But since I have made a rather public commitment (and spent a mini-fortune on pills and supplements), I am not giving up just yet. That, and the scales this morning, showed a slight decrease in weight - it may well be water weight - but every single pound counts!!

This got me thinking about weight, food and our complicated relationship with them. 

We have been utterly indoctrinated by the media to think thin is good (tiny is better)- magazines bombard us with images of celebrities popping back into shape weeks after giving birth, the social pressure to shed the inches is enormous.

And we all play the same game. In any lunch around town, "Oh, you have lost so much weight" is uttered with much admiration and a smidgen of wistfulness.

I've had lunches with friends where just the stuffing of dumplings at Ping Pong have been eaten and tiny pieces of fish have been picked clean off sushi rolls at Nobu. It all takes determination and iron clad self control, but as the questionable saying goes 'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels'.

Seriously, when did carbs become a bad word? I remember a time when I could eat a piece of bread or bowl of pasta without feeling like it was equivalent to committing a major crime, when toast was not a treat but just something you ate for breakfast. Now - eating the same things is guaranteed to induce a major guilt attack. Let's not even talk about desserts! 

There obviously comes a point where all this gets dangerously out of hand.

For me, I would be delighted to be reunited with my pre-baby wardrobe - it waits patiently, unused for over a year. Losing weight would be a much more economical proposition than buying all those clothes all over again.

The 7 day cleanse: Day 1

Losing body fat, post baby number 2 is tough. I have been training hard for months, constantly attempting to diet - lost some weight but it keeps coming back when I slip up.

Three different trainers have suggested I try the Poliquin cleanse. I've been resistant as its pretty hard core.

I call my doctor, and tell him about this - he is skeptical but says it won't do any lasting harm (!) Needs must, desperate situations, desperate measures… Summer is approaching fast along with my birthday, so I decide to take the plunge.

Using callipers Diego (my trainer) measures me in 12 places. The results are not pretty - I need to lose 7 per cent body fat!! While this is not happening in a hurry, the cleanse will give a jump start.

It is a pretty challenging diet. Lots of pills, meals replacements and just one vegetable a day!!

Today is day 1.

The only thing I can eat is steamed Broccolli (no salt, no spices… joy!!) along with a whole pharmacy of pills and shakes - 5 times a day. 

I am not looking forward to this week. Eating out is out of the question, my social life will go for a six. Mild exercise only. But I may drop 1-2 percent of body fat and balance my hormones (or so I am told). 

Here goes...

(disclaimer: all diets etc should be undertaken under medical guidance)

Estylista says… The Pancras Renaissance Hotel is a must see...

I can't do a full blog post right now, but just so you heard it here first - there is a new (well, renovated) hotel in London that is STUNNING! The Pancras Renaissance Hotel is an absolute gem, it redefines London cool.

While you are there - The Gilbert Scott restaurant is superb. Its Marcus Wareing's second restaurant. He is such a dish - a dear friend admitted to 'her knees turning to jelly around him!' Charming too, he stopped by our table and spoke so passionately about the food. He also personally chose what I ate :) Being a blogger has some benefits!

A proper review coming up soon… watch this space… but seriously … you heard it here first!!!

My Style: Art Attack

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Dress: Jay Ahr

Shoes: Alexander McQueen

Often the answer to the perennial 'what do I wear' question begins with a pair of killer shoes. Thats exactly how I arrived at my outfit for the Harestyling preview.

The booties are absolutely gorgeous - interesting shape, studded, with the trademark skull - they define the 'statement shoe.' And McQueen is definitely flavour of the season. (So worth the aching feet and numb toes at the end of the evening.)

My new 'find' is Jay Ahr. Whilst looking for the Matthew Willamson section in Selfridges, I chanced upon his racks and ended up buying a few of his dresses. They epitomise easy style. Ahr has cottoned on to the fact that most (real) women (except for the anorexic, carrot nibbling variety) carry dreaded extra inches around the midriff. His cut drapes intelligently and as a result camouflage the tell-tale bulges admirably.

Invariably, if one is looking for a short dress, it turns out to be a body-con, Herve Leger-esque unforgiving garment that requires a mandatory starvation diet for days before one can even contemplate wearing it.

But not Jay Ahr. He flatters and makes a lots of women very, very happy - he is one designer to watch out for.

Now only if it meant I could stop the punishing visits to the gym...

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The Harestyling Preview - pics and all

What a night it was…

Over 200 people came to the Heartbreak Gallery for the Harestyling preview (that I co-hosted) and for the launch of the beautiful 'polki' Harestyling Pendant by the glamorous Ms Hofit Golan designed by Rakyan's Fine Jewellery of Delhi

With her was the delectable Ms Noelle Reno 

The highlight of the evening (for me) was having my photo clicked with Johnathan Ross :) He was very charming about it and turned up to the preview with his "Bunny X-ray".

Nicky Clarke once kept me waiting 4 (or was it 5) hours for a haircut many many years ago. But I now have it from the horse's mouth that he does not (often) do that anymore.

(He is glad though that I stayed in the family :) )

 
One of my favourite photos from this evening are of the three men who are the leading lights of the British Hairdressing industry. Michael Van Clarke, John Frieda and Nicky Clarke. 

The bidding for the incredible hare canvases is going strong - pick up your bunny here. When else would you be able to own an original Cheryl Cole and at the same time give money to a fantastic charity like Great Ormond Street Hospital?

If last night is anything to go by - the Hare ball (on May 26 at the Dorchester) is going to be amazing. Visit the Harestyling site and book the last few available tickets NOW!

Run-up to the Harestyling preview….

If you have been reading my blog religiously (!) You know I am involved with the Harestyling initiative for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Tonight I am co-hosting (with the lovely Michael Van Clarke) a preview for the Hare Ball. We are also launching the Hare Ball pendant. A beautiful diamond and ruby 'polki' hare that has been especially created and donated by my favourite jewellers in India - Rakyans. It is going to be auctioned off online and live on May 26 at the Hare ball to raise money for GOSH.

There, however, is a slight hitch. Fedex were supposed to deliver it yesterday but that became today. For some unfathomable reason the courier decided I was not at home (when in reality I was waiting patiently for him to ring my doorbell). I called up Fedex and they put me on hold for 20 minutes - only to tell me that they are trying to contact the courier!!!

So I wait.

We have two lovely ladies Noelle Reno and Hofit Golan attending, one of them will be (hopefully) wearing the pendant - to (what I an told will be) the utter delight of the photographers.

In the meanwhile - RSVPs are still trickling in - the PR people are insisting on CONFIRMED celebrity attendance, the booze and food order has been increased,  we are now expecting a lot more people…

In the meanwhile, the most important question for me (at the moment) is what to wear…

Fingers crossed for tonight - all goes well - will update tomorrow (pics and all).

The Birkin Diaries - How it all began...

My introduction to the rarefied world of the 'IT bag' was innocuous. It began with the original Chloe Paddington bag (It is now quite easily available - but when it was first launched it was a very hard to get)

I read in Vogue that it was 'completely sold out' - automatically making it something I just had to have. So I planned a campaign worthy of a general - ultimately American Express located the bag for me in Taiwan and had it shipped. 

As an indirect result, I started paying a bit more attention to handbags (If given a choice between a handbag or a shoe - I would then automatically choose the latter). I bought the well known brands like Gucci, Prada, YSL, Dior and Chanel.

The hierarchy of was clear. Chanel was the top of the pile. Leather trumped canvas. 'Limited-edition' was precious. And then there was the holy grail, the one that beat them all - the Hermes Birkin.

Owning a Birkin did not feature on my radar. It was akin to an urban myth - possessed by the likes of Victora Beckham. The thought of spending so much on a single bag was preposterous - or so I told myself - mentally salivating over the number of shoes I could buy instead. 

I was living in Delhi at the time - my peers (then) did not have Birkins - I remember perhaps seeing an acquaintance carrying one. It looked alright - I clearly failed to see what the fuss was about.

When I moved back to London, I began to see more of them around. I remember one time in Selfridges I saw a an Arab lady, wearing the Hijab, carrying a crocodile Birkin in Tan. "OMG!", I exclaimed to R, "Do you know how much that bag is worth!!!". He was totally unimpressed.

One day, flipping through Hello! and seeing a rather gorgeous looking red Birkin I thought - why not? I'm after all, an equal opportunity shopper :)

After enthusiastically attempting to convince R that it would actually be a sensible investment (!) as I would not spend a small fortune on other assorted bags and that the Birkin will actually appreciate in value. (R did not buy all that but gave in, I think, just for the sake of peace - not many men can take the constant chatter of a wife who HAS to have something).

There was an aura that surrounded the Birkin. The oft written about 'List' that you had to put your name on - and then you would get the bag in two years time, if you were lucky. It was all fantastical. If someone was willing out to shell out so much cash for a bag, surely Hermes would be delighted to give it away.. right?

I happily trotted down to Bond street to the Hermes boutique, rocked up to the bag section. I glance around and not a single Birkin in sight so I innocently (in hindsight, rather naively) ask the lady behind the counter "Can I see a Birkin please".

She looks at me incredulously as if I've sprouted a couple of horns and says "Sorry, we don't have any" with a plastic smile.

"So how can I get one?" I persist.

"Its quite impossible really," she replies frostily "You have to special order one".

By now I am pretty sure I REALLY want one (Amazing how this guerilla marketing works - deny a customer and they will clamour for the product - make it impossible to get and you have a customer for life!)

"Ok then, please put my name on the list," I insist.

To which the woman says "Sorry, the list is closed"!! (I'm beginning to get seriously hacked off.) "When does the list open?" My smile by now is as plastic as hers.

"We don't know. And we can't inform you on the phone" she says, anticipating my next question - clearly she does this dance often. "You just have to keep coming by!!"

At this point I have lost all patience. How difficult can buying a bag be? One is used to good customer service, shop assistants who usually like selling you things and go out of their way to be helpful. This frosty behaviour was staggering.

I say "Thank you for ALL your help" as sarcastically as possible and walk out.

But I was well and truly bitten by the Birkin bug. I ABSOLUTELY had to have one.

The phone calls begin. American Express can't get one, I call up Quintessentially who send me a list of Birkins they have for resale - at a 20 percent premium - the price one pays for cutting the line! As if the bag itself was not expensive enough.

After a bit more research (thank god for Google) I decide that Paris is the answer. Apparently, on an average the flagship Hermes shop there sells more Birkins than anyone else.

I call up the shop and ask to speak to someone in the bag section. Luckily it is a helpful young woman who clearly was not told that she can't let customers know if any Birkins are in the store. She says politely, "Yes, we got a delivery today."

I am on the next Eurostar and in a few short hours  in Paris. The first port of call is the Hermes flagship on rue Saint Honore. 

"Madam, we are not supposed to tell you on the phone about Birkins" - the dragon lady there exclaims - I am pretty sure there is a section in the Hermes training manual detailing how shop assistants should act if asked about the Birkin!

"But I came all the way to Paris especially after being told that a delivery came in today", I say politely but firmly with a touch of heartbreak. (I have realised by now that the softly-softly approach clearly does not work.)

After much ado, a gorgeous 40cm, 'Soleil' (Yellow to you and me) is presented. I was in love :) 

Coming up next: How to buy a Birkin...

wanted: nice home for pretty little bunny...

 
'Bling Bunny' is my hare for HareStyling. It is a fundraising initiative for Great Ormond Street Hospital. Bunny requires a nice home, please bid for it on Giving Lots. Some kind souls have already bid GBP 400 for Bling Bunny - the money will go towards helping little kids who are really ill.

Bling Bunny has lots of little bunny friends who are also waiting for that someone special to come along and bid for them. Cheryl Cole, Twiggy, Stella McCartney, Tracey Emin, Mr Brainwash and a whole host of really cool people have created their hares.

Some of them will make a great addition to your kids bedroom (For this purpose, I personally would not pick one of Nicky Clarke's masterpieces - they are a bit too graphic, they however would be lovely for a stylish bachelor pad.)

His brother, Michael Van Clarke (the driving force behind the Hare Ball) has painted a hare with his daughter Angelica - she is the inspiration for the fundraising appeal, GOSH performed a life-saving surgery on her when she was a just few days old!(Angelica Van Clarke is also very talented, she drew the first hare that became the template for all hares that followed)

Please do pay the hares a visit - they are on display at the harestyling exhibition at the Heartbreak Gallery (17 Bulstrode Street W1).

p.s. The Hare ball will be held on May 26 at the Dorchester Hotel - tickets are available - its going to be one party you wont want to miss...

Pale, barely there - the new colour of fashion

I am obsessed with the neutral shade. It is echoed in everything I buy. Perfect for summer - pale is definite interesting - goes perfectly with most skin-tones. Layer it with complimentary shades, wear it over a white tee. It accents everything you wear.

An absolute must-have are neutral shoes. They elongate your legs, don't compete with the outfit and are a welcome, much needed departure from the usual black pair of heels one tends to sling on with everything!

 

The new neutral by estylista featuring wedge heels

Issa wrap dress
$495 - net-a-porter.com

 

Valentino wedge heels
$595 - net-a-porter.com

 

Judith Leiber sequin handbag
1,465 GBP - net-a-porter.com

 

Erickson Beamon chandelier earring
$430 - net-a-porter.com

 

Pier 1 Imports - Blush Ruffle Pillow
$24 - pier1.com