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Rings, going home, dressing for success and fashion howlers

Jenni Murray asks what makes the ring more special than any other piece of jewellery. Plus dressing for success, the notion of 'home' and belonging, and fashion's biggest faux pas.

Presented by Jenni Murray. On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me.... what makes the ring more symbolic and significant than any other piece of jewellery? Anthea Jarvis, author of "How to be Adored" and Caroline Cox, who writes about fashion, advise us on how to dress for success. Home can be a place we long for, or a place we want to escape from and forget? What is this notion of 'home' and belonging, and how does it shape us for good or bad? And, the television presenter, Kate Garraway, commented recently that 'a sad and sorry collection of fashion howlers lies at the back of every woman's wardrobe'. To discuss some of fashion's biggest faux pas, and how to avoid them, Jenni is joined by fashion journalist, Helen Tither, and columnist, Judith Woods.

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58 minutes

Chapters

  • Going Home

    How do we define what is home and how does it shape us?

    Duration: 09:54

  • Dressing For Success

    How have women dressed for success in the workplace and what are the new trends?

    Duration: 12:19

  • Fashion Howlers

    What are the fashion faux pas that have taken up wardrobe space?

    Duration: 10:55

  • Rings

    What makes the ring so much more special to us than any other piece of jewellery?

    Duration: 08:19

Rings

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me five gold rings鈥. Christmas is still the most popular time for giving rings as couples typically get engaged at this period 聽of the year. But what makes the ring so much more special to us than any other piece 聽of jewellery?聽 Jenni explores our cultural attachment to ring with聽 James Riley from the Gemmelogical Association of Great Britain 聽and 聽leading jewellery designer, Rebecca Hawkins.

The Power List; Dressing for Success 鈥 the History of Power Dressing

In 1975 a book by John T Molloy called 鈥淒ress for Success鈥 was published. It gave advice on how to dress appropriately for business situations 鈥 what colours, materials and patterns were appropriate as well as proper fit and acceptable accessories. It became a best seller and helped to turn the 1980s into the 鈥減ower dressing鈥 decade when shoulder pads, heels and big hair became a distinctive look for the ambitious woman intent on climbing the corporate ladder. But what did 鈥減ower dressing鈥 look like before then 鈥 what did professional women wear when they first began to enter the workplace in large numbers? What does 鈥減ower dressing鈥 look like today 鈥 does it still exist? 聽聽Jenni is joined by fashion historian, Anthea Jarvis and Caroline Cox author of 鈥淗ow to be Adored鈥 to discuss how women have dressed for success in the workplace.

Going Home

Home can be a place we long for, or a place we want to escape from and forget?聽聽 For some going back to the place where they grew up rekindles happy memories, for others the notion of home is tinged with pain or regret.聽 How do we define what is 鈥榟ome鈥 and belonging, and how does it shape us for good or bad?

Fashion Howlers

The television presenter Kate Garraway commented recently that 鈥榓 sad and sorry collection of fashion howlers lies at the back of every woman鈥檚 wardrobe鈥 - including her own - the result of last-minute panic buys and blindly following fashion.聽 We鈥檝e all made mistakes in the name of fashion: jump suits, hot pants, lycra leggings & boob tubes, harem pants, jeggings and ripped jeans to name just a few.聽 And recently the Shell suit was voted the worst fashion item of the past 50 years by a Home Shopping Catalogue.聽 So to discuss some of fashion鈥檚 biggest faux pas, and how to avoid them, Jenni is joined by fashion journalist, Helen Tither, fashion and columnist Judith Woods.

Broadcast

  • Fri 28 Dec 2012 10:00

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