Look at my umbrella

This week's Grazia described  my new favourite skirt style a an 'umbrella', this describes it perfectly, the look is not just short and flicky, it needs to be a substantial fabric so that it sticks out with some panache.
I was first drawn to the style back in the Summer when I read this article...

I love how the legs look super svelte and a if they go on forever.
Also I think that subliminally I have been influenced by Bourbon and Pearls who has been championing this look for a while.
My hips are slim, but my waist is not, so I need a skirt style that fits across the hips and then flares out, and of course it needs to be in a fabric that will remain 'out'.  I had an old taffeta skirt in my cupboard (from about 1987!) with the right fit on the hips, but an awful length, just below the knee, makes me look like Worzle Gummidge's Aunt Sally, see a few post down where I am wearing the blue skirt from Coast, for a further illustration of how badly I suit longer unfitted skirts.

My lovely friend, who is much better with a needle and thread than I will ever be, cut about 12 inches off the bottom and lo and behold I have an umbrella skirt...

I wore it with a short jacket by Intrend, a secondary line from Max Mara, which is great quality and about 25% of the price and a Gap top and Emma Hope ankle boots.
Slightly anxious about mutton and lamb syndrome, I ventured to a work meeting, but was pleased to get quite a few compliments from ladies my own age.
Emboldened by success I invested in a taffeta frill dress from Top Shop that I pull down on to my hips for the same effect and wear with a fitted Valentino knit.

The Onyx, Budapest

Budapest is a great weekend destination, the two and a half hour flight from London puts some people off, but the beauty of the city and the value for money is astounding and makes that additional hour, well worth it even for a two night stay.
5 star hotels, in the grande dame sense of the word, start from as little as £50 a night, and they are more opulent and luxurious than anything that Paris can offer at ten times the price.  This is how Prague started a decade ago, it is well worth a visit before the rest of Europe discovers it.
I was lucky to be meeting a friend who lives there and made sure that we visited the best of everything, starting with the Michelin starred 'Onyx' restaurant, which is intensely glamorous with food to rival the best that London has to offer.

There were menus from about £40 to £80 a head, similar offerings in the UK and France would be those once in a lifetime meals where you know you will get not much change from £700 for two.

Unfortunately I got my outfit completely wrong, this would have been a great opportunity to completely overdress, but I had no idea about Hungarian glamour.  The ladies dress beautifully, everything is perfectly accessorised and their grooming is impeccable.  I wore a black fitted duchesse satin skirt, with chiffon top and grey boots and pashmina, even the grannies were more funky than my funereal attire.