Shop: Baby Ceylon

90 percent of my wardrobe has been purchased from Baby Ceylon over many years, mostly in a variety of shades of blue and green and each piece still gets a mention. This year I'm lusting after the Avalon red dress which must be a sign.

Baby Ceylon

12 Portobello Green Arcade

281 Portobello Road

London W10 5TZ

(there are other stores too and worldwide posting from the online mail order)

Tel: +44 2088298968

Shops: Fabric in Portobello

On the hunt for fabric for the cane sofa that I'm reviving, I've visited two of my favourite West London fabric stores. The first is Warris Vianni, where, many moons ago, I bought the cream fabric for a sofa that I loved, which now lives with my friend Jess in Brighton. This shop stocks beautiful textiles, bed spreads, cushions and shawls, many from artisans in India.

The second shop, The Cloth Shop, is stuffed to the gills with all manner of fabric, linen, gauze and cotton. Also war time blankets and the odd bit of camping gear.

And its hard to mention West London fabric without mentioning the infamous Temptation Alley which stocks pretty much anything you could ever want if you were going with 100 feet of a sewing machine. Worth a visit for the experience alone.

Yes they post, anywhere apparently