Adapting to suit a range of tastes
JEAN MUIR taught me that you can get away with anything as long as you have black legs and feet. That was one of the first things I learned after arriving in London to start modelling for her. Ever since then I have followed the principle that anything black is more useful than anything that isn’t. <STRONG>cheap links of london </STRONG>
I’m really not as immaculately groomed as people think; I wear endless old things. There’s so little actual fashion nowadays that if you have one item that’s new-ish, you can match it with a mass of old things and still look presentable. When skirts went from knee-length to short, I simply cut off the bottoms.
I used to spend a fortune on shoes, and I still would if I could. To look well turned out, there are a few tricks. One is to try not to have scruffy shoes. In desperation I wear brand new white gym shoes with white socks beneath trousers. It’s fresh and neat, and that’s fine <STRONG>Links of London Earrings</STRONG> .
I am a great accessoriser: scarves, belts, huge pieces of jewellery. I have a passion for junk jewellery, which I have collected all my adult life and I twist it round and put it together with lots of different things. You can look a million dollars in an ordinary chainstore T-shirt with some costume jewellery.
All the same, I’m a great one for having a couple of really good items. Ideally, two pieces that go together; say a coat and a pair of trousers. I’m lucky enough to own quite a few things by Jean Muir. I have worn them for 18 years. Her clothes have a timelessness that transcends fashion. I have also had a dinner jacket and trousers made for me; another classic I bring out regularly.
For grand occasions, such as premieres, I have a few flamboyant ball dresses. There’s my rather dramatic Frank Usher dress, very big and all silver <STRONG>Links of London Ring</STRONG> , which I bought in a sale about five years ago. It’s a good stage dress, as it makes quite an impact, and I wear it if ever I am called on to do a charity link up, because it looks great in front of an audience.
I’m the greatest hat person in the world. I particularly love panamas <strong>Ballet Shoes Charm</strong>, which I wear all year round. I wear them in the rain which might seem strange being straw, but they don’t mind the odd shower; it keeps them supple. Underneath, though, my hair is my big let down it always looks a mess. The style I wore as Purdy in the New Avengers was triumphant it was a neat little haircut, but it took a lot more care than I thought. I had to have it cut often and, as my whole life is labour saving, I decided to abandon it. Last year I dyed my hair black for a play and I am now dyeing it back to what is my accepted colour medium blonde streaky in fact it is a mouse colour streaked with grey.