Tag: Things to do in London

A Day Out in London – Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style Exhibition at Buckingham Palace

On By samanthaIn GOING OUT, HEALTHLeave a comment

This is an absolute blockbuster of an exhibition and, if you can get your hands on some tickets, then do go. I visited with a friend, it was the last day of October and the weather was stunning. We caught an early train to Charing Cross and walked along The Mall to the palace stopping off for a stroll and a coffee in St James’ Park, one of my favourite places.

I had no idea that the young Queen Elizabeth was so petite, she had a real hourglass figure with a tiny waist and curves, perfect for the dazzling array of gowns she was fortunate enough to wear in her lifetime. There are hundreds of dresses on display from her christening gown, wedding dress, coronation gown and the peach lace dress she wore for the skit she filmed with Daniel Craig for the 2012 Olympics. The bigger version that her stunt double wore is also displayed.

Liberty print day dresses, Christening Gown, Dresses made for fancy dress for pantomimes Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret performed at Windsor Castle

The pretty Liberty print dresses are something any little girl may still wear today but how many children have stunning medieval costumes made for them so that they can perform in their own panto in a castle? Moving on from the childhood attire there are the uniforms young Elizabeth wore during her time serving in the Auxiliary Territorial Service

A jacket cut epecially for horseriding

One of the most quirky outfits featured is this “poodle” skirt from 1951 (below) which is embellished with a scene from Romeo and Juliet, This was designed by Californian Juli Lynne Charlot and worn to a square dancing party in Ottowa. Four of the velvet coat dresses were on display in the most beautiful jewel tones, simple but incredibly elegant.

Norman Hartnell designed both Elizbeth’s wedding dress in 1947 and her Coronation gown in 1953. They are ladened with both symbolism and detail . He and The Queen had a long collaboration and there are so many simply spectacular gowns of his on display along with those of Hardy Amies. It is sad to think neither of these fashion houses survive today .

Wedding dress, discoloured now and the Coronation Gown

There are tweeds for days spent at Sandringham displayed with beautiful silk scarves from Hermes and Lanvin. Bellow is her rain cape designed by Hardy Amies and famous bird cage umbrella. The Queen’s formal wear would of course still be visible under the clear plastic of the cape.

The number of spectacular gowns on display is simply jaw dropping. So many exquisite items most of which are as beautiful from the back as the front. I did feel that these should have been behind glass as I am sure some visitors will touch them or, even worse, try to steal a bead of button.

You can see The Queens Aigner handbags and tassled loafers together with gloves and a myriad of hats, so many hats! The dresses from the 1970s were very distinctive and, perhaps some may feel, less elegant than their more classic predecessors. The long cape-style sleeves featured quite heavily during this period.

Just a few of the Queen’s dresses from the 1970’s. The fringed jacket on the right is in the style of the First Nations was gifted to her when she visited Yellow Knife in Canada. She wore it over an evening dress to a reception.

So many of the outfits on display feel very familiar and the exhibition seems extremely intimate despite being absolutely packed with visitors.

On the right is the peach lace dress worn by The Queen for the skit she performed with Daniel Craig. Her stunt double worn the bigger version.

So an absolutely breath taking exhibition and well worth the £22 entry price. It has just been extended so do try and go along, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to view recent history so close up.

Thank you for reading

Samantha

A Day Out in London – Afternoon Tea at The Langham

On By samanthaIn GOING OUTLeave a comment

My friend kindly invited me and another mutual, friend out to afternoon tea at The Langham which is a hotel located in Portland Place, a two minute walk from Oxford Circus station. I have only had afternoon tea at a swanky hotel once before, The Savoy about eight years ago, and what I remember was that my sister-in-law politely requested that some of the cakes be put into a box so that she could take them home for her family as she didn’t want to eat any then and there and the waiter refused. So she paid about £125 for a cup of Darjeeling. Afternoon tea at The Langham is slightly less expensive but the bill still came to a hefty £101 per person. Of course you are paying for the location and experience as much as for the tea and sandwiches.

The Langham is a very impressive hotel which opened in 1865. Tea is served in their Palm Court area. It is a stunningly elegant dining room. Dress code is smart casual but there were plenty of people wearing trainers, I suppose people tag on a 3pm tea experience to a morning of site seeing and no one wants to be doing that in formal shoes. I didn’t spot any jeans though. As part of my decluttering project I have decided to try and wear clothes I already own rather than buy anything new and wore some ivory tailored trousers from Mango, a black boucle jacket from H&M and a silk top that I have had forever but only worn once before, from Boden. On my feet I wore some well worn-in ballet flats because I’ve had many a special occasion ruined by .uncomfortable shoes. I was tempted to slip my trainers into a tote bag for the journey home.

My outing didn’t get off to the smoothest start as I could not park anywhere near my local train station. Most of the spots are now restricted to two hours which is ridiculous because who goes in to London and comes back again in that time? After driving around the multi-story car park twice and not finding a single space I rang my friend and manage to catch her before she set out on her own fruitless search for parking. I drove to her house and we rang for a taxi and manage to catch our train.

Once arriving at Oxford Circus via the Bakerloo Line we simply crossed the road and walked a few yards and we were there. I wish I had some pictures but when I sat down in the dining room I realised I couldn’t find my phone. After a second’s panic thinking I’d been robbed or had dropped it in central London I decided that I had probably just left it in my car and, sure enough, that’s exactly what had happened. I managed not to sit there the entire time worrying about it but when we caught the slowest train ever home I did begin to feel a bit jittery.

The Palm Court is stunning. If I go to anything like this again I will be sure not to sit facing the wall because it was impossible to people watch, my favourite thing, from where I was sitting. The walls are decorated with gold coloured ornaments and the chandeliers are beautiful. A pianist played songs from Les Miserable, Wicked and some Billy Joel. It really is the picture of elegance.

The staff at The Langham were far less snooty than at The Savoy. They gave us a warm welcome and explained the menu. I chose Phoenix Honey Orchid tea which was, quite frankly, disgusting. I stuck to water after that. We were brought a platter of finger sandwiches, egg, cream cheese, prawn and Coronation chicken, they were exceptionally delicious. We ate all of them and the lovely, friendly waitress bright some more. Next were the most beautiful small pastries, three for each of us in lemon, coffee and strawberry flavours. The three of us were all sitting there feeling fit to burst when the waitress brought over a little crème brulee creation with a candle in it for my friend. Just as we thought the bill would be arriving we were served warm miniature scones with jam and clotted cream and a gorgeous fruit cake which we had boxed up for my friend’s family. The waitress bought the boxed cake over in a branded gift bag and said she’d popped some extra scones in there too, how lovely. The food was amazing and there was far more of it than I had expected. We waddled back to the Tube. If you are thinking of doing a posh afternoon tea in London then The Langham is the place to go.

For my friend’s birthday gift we bought her a gift set from The White Company in Sea Salt scent. She took that home along with the scones and fruit cake and I think she really had a lovely afternoon, I know I did.

Thank you for reading

Samantha