8 cool women share what's on their summer wishlist
From a food writer and a violinist to a makeup artist and a stylist, we asked eight of our favourite cool women to share their top picks for the holiday season...
Thandi Maqubela, legal director
Eating out at... Luca in north London is a long-standing favourite. It has a great bar and the food is sensational. Book a table in the beautiful garden, which has a retractable roof.
Wearing... I’m a habitual creature so it’s white linen dresses, from Dôen, Asceno, Reformation, Simkhai and Raey, closely followed by anything olive green, which I’m seriously having a moment with.
Listening to... anything by The Internet. Their songs are the perfect summer tonic.
Reading... Prophet Song by Paul Lynch.
Going to... Fingers crossed, Sardinia in the summer – just my husband and I. God bless grandparents!
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Ruby Hammer, makeup artist
Buying... SPF from Ultra Violette and Vichy – they don’t leave a white cast on my skin and are ocean-safe, which is a must for me as I love snorkelling. I also love hybrid products that provide colour and care; see the new shades of Summer Fridays Dream Lip Oil. My Mascara & Brow Duo is another must-have for this summer; I wear it most days as it’s lightweight, giving length and definition without being overpowering.
Wearing... Every summer I look forward to getting out my tried-and-tested favourites. I like to evaluate what I have, see where the gaps are, and then go shopping. This summer, I’ll be investing in a new piece from Zimmermann; it has beautiful cool fabrics that always look great and crisp. For shirts and dresses, I’ll be looking at Posse; for vest tops Toteme; and for swimwear, Hunza G. I tend to invest in one or two pieces a year that will last, that are well made in classic shapes but with an element of fun.
Eating out at... I’m biased, but I will be hanging out at The Dover in Mayfair. Since the opening by my husband at the end of last year, I have loved heading there. Whenever I go, I see family, friends, people I know and love. I have reconnected with so many people. It has an old-school New York feel: low lighting, great music and comfort food.
Going to... I’ll be going back to Cocoa Island in the Maldives this summer; it’s like home away from home – intimate, low-key luxury. The second I get off the boat I feel chilled. I unwind and decompress whether snorkelling (it has the most incredible marine life), reading, grabbing a massage or cycling around the island.
Reading... I love Isabel Allende and will be devouring Sonia Haria’s new book, South Asian Beauty.
Angie Smith, stylist and consultant
Spending time... in Sydney, where I live (we had our summer earlier this year). We are near the beach and my son is three, so our days are spent playing in the surf, collecting shells and searching for crabs in the rock pools.
Wearing... My summer uniform since becoming a mum is definitely shorts and an oversized shirt over swimwear as, if the weather is good, we spend time at the beach most days. I love WNU and Arket for shirts and Haulier for shorts. Most of my swimwear is either by Matteau or Eres. I love how you can make this combination feel dressy or relaxed by changing up the styling.
Cooking... We have a great fish shop nearby, so it’s usually barramundi or swordfish on the barbecue with salad and potatoes. I love to keep things simple and use lemon or dill with the fish, and Baby Gem lettuce, avocado and chives dressed with olive oil and a little red wine vinegar for the salad. We wrap new potatoes in tin foil, bake them on the barbecue, squash them, and chuck over lots of oil and sea salt.
Listening to... "Mariella" by Khruangbin.
Reading... How To Fail by Elizabeth Day.
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Rachel Roddy, food writer
Eating out at... This summer, I plan to return to The Sportsman in Whitstable with my family, and also have dinner at the Kinneuchar Inn, the 17th-century pub and restaurant of James Ferguson and Alethea Palmer [near Fife].
Listening to... Young Fathers' Heavy Heavy for my road trip to Scotland.
Reading... To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara and Experienced by Kate Young.
Cooking... I’ll be trying a recipe for Roman-style thin and crisp pizza topped with potato.
Five Quarters: Recipes And Notes From A Kitchen In Rome by Rachel Roddy is out now.
Lucinda Chambers, co-founder, Collagerie
Wearing... My new Strathberry striped canvas and leather bag. Uplifting and joyous, it spells summer and will carry off anything I wear with it!
Buying... This adorable Zara playsuit and jumping straight into a holiday frame of mind. It’s striped, cotton and easy-breezy.
Cooking... I return again and again to Rukmini Iyer’s The Green Roasting Tin: Vegan & Vegetarian One Dish Dinners. They are quick, delicious and uncomplicated. We’ve taken to putting in post-it notes to remember the recipes that have gone down really well, and now they cover the entire book!
Reading... I’m a huge fan of everything Elizabeth Strout has written, so I will just have to be patient and wait for hew new one, Tell Me Everything, which is out in September.
Spending time... at Trasierra, a magical place that I return to whenever I get the chance. Just outside Seville, it’s the most tranquil place, the food is delicious and it’s small and personal and simply beautiful. It’s like no other hotel. For a (very) long weekend with friends or by yourself, it’s a treat for the soul and mind.
Plum Sykes, author
Going to... Jeremy King’s new restaurant Arlington: the new incarnation of his old Le Caprice, one of my favourite restaurants.
Listening to... David Yelland and Simon Lewis’s podcast, When It Hits The Fan, about the media and PR business, which is fascinating and full of amazing insights.
Reading... Come And Get It by Kiley Reid.
Wearing... Jeans from Frame, a good-quality white T-shirt from Petit Bateau and cream loafers from Church’s.
Wives Like Us by Plum Sykes is out 14 May.
Sheena Bhattessa, actor and founder, Citizen Femme
Going to... I love a summer terrace, and the Garden Terrace overlooking Hyde Park at the Mandarin Oriental is a favourite I plan on frequenting regularly.
Staying at... I’m excited to visit the island of Santorini for the first time and have had my eye on Grace Santorini for a while. I'll also return to Forte Village Resort in Sardinia for, well, the ultimate family getaway.
Travelling to... My favourite beach bar is La Guérite; there’s one in Cannes and one in St Barts. Both are always on my summer bucket list!
Cooking... Inspired by one of my favourite London restaurants, Delamina, my summer go-to is a whole-roasted cauliflower steak with a pomegranate and tahini dressing. I also love regular homemade jugs of fresh lemonade. Daily home cooking is generally Indian food, but to make sure it's light and refreshing, I have fun with raita, yogurt, cucumber and beetroot, for example, and dhals as soups.
Wearing... Marysia does the most beautiful scallop-cut swimsuits and I’ll be wearing one under pretty much everything.
Buying... Celine is launching a beauty line with a single shade of lipstick, "Rouge Triomphe". I can’t wait to get my hands on it.
Nicola Benedetti, solo violinist and festival director
Eating out at... Kora by Tom Kitchin in Edinburgh. We’re so spoilt for incredible seafood and produce here in Scotland, and what he does with it is just magical.
Listening to... Golijov’s La Pasión Según San Marcos. It is one of the greatest long-form works of our time, bringing together sound worlds from across Latin America with the most powerful of biblical tales.
Going to... There’s so much to see at the Edinburgh International Festival and that will take up much of my summer! As part of our wider plan to bring first-timers into our concert halls, we’ll be shaking up the orchestral listening experience with audiences on beanbags and among the orchestra. Audiences will be able to immerse themselves in Manchester's great Hallé orchestra, Brazil’s Ilumina or the European Union Youth Orchestra. We have a huge five operas at the festival this year, which includes one of the most-loved operas ever written, Carmen; this production will have the original staging but with
a twist. And for those who are fans of the book (and the film out this year, too) we’ll also have The Outrun – the world premiere of this uniquely Scottish story – on our stages in August.
The Edinburgh Festival runs from 2 to 26 August.
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