Hints and tips:
...I spotted a pair on London’s Hackney Road and felt an instant flush of excitement. Escapist footwear is very much of our times....
...Smart reads The perfect storm London neighbourhoods like Hackney Wick are gentrifying fast as the city seeks to quell its housing shortage....
...I chose a Pronovias Imelda gown with Tiffany earrings and blue Manolos....
...Old Vic, London oldvictheatre.com Dick Whittington and his Cat One of the best-loved pantomimes in town, the Hackney Empire’s Christmas show is always a blast....
...nationaltheatre.org.uk, 020 7452 3000, to April 8 Mother Goose, Hackney Empire, London This team (led by the multitasking Susie McKenna who writes, directs and plays bad fairy Vanity) know what they are...
...Rowe, a master Dame and a huge favourite in Hackney Empire’s pantomime, is back this year for Mother Goose, resplendently upholstered in absurd costumes at the heart of Susie McKenna’s show....
...There are cupcakes topped with Tiffany blue icing swirls and waiters serving hot chocolate with marshmallows....
...Wonky, hand-cut crystals from Sri Lanka which I keep in a large glass gilded Tiffany bowl....
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