Lifestyle
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What everyone is talking about this week: This season's fashion is in an (Ivy) league of its own — just don't call it preppy
Week in, week out, Will Hosie rounds up the hottest topics on everyone's lips, in London and beyond.
By Will Hosie Published
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'She dismissed the twin bed as the invention of the Devil': A brief history of country-house sleeping etiquette
Forget the standard double: country-house sleeping layouts have undergone all sorts of intriguing (and eyebrow-raising) shifts throughout history, observes Melanie Cable-Alexander.
By Melanie Cable-Alexander Published
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From fast cars to fashion, why the horse became the ultimate motif of the luxury world
Kim Parker canters through the luxury world’s enduring love for all things equine.
By Kim Parker Published
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Sophia Money-Coutts: Is it ok to ask for money towards a honeymoon fund, instead of a traditional wedding present?
If most wedding presents are converted into cash or vouchers anyway, maybe a monetary present is, at least, more upfront — albeit a tad tacky.
By Sophia Money-Coutts Published
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The cure for endless scrolling is a weekend away in this solitary 16th century castle on a Scottish beach
Saddell Castle in Kintyre has no mobile phone signal in places and, as such, is a brilliant place for a digital detox after its recent renovations.
By Lotte Brundle Published
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The never-before-seen photographs of The House at Pooh Corner that were taken by Country Life when A. A. Milne and his son Christopher Robin called it home
Every Monday, Melanie Bryan, delves into the hidden depths of Country Life's extraordinary archive to bring you a long-forgotten story, photograph or advert.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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Mini Countryman John Cooper Works: Party at the front, business at the back
While a big Mini might be something of a contradiction, the Countryman is every bit as cheeky as its smaller cousin.
By James Fisher Published
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‘Everyone had dodgy magazines hidden under their beds and I had interior design magazines’: James Thurstan Waterworth's consuming passions
Interior designer James Thurstan Waterworth was the European design director at Soho House before he went on to open his own studio, Thurstan. He discusses his love of Tudor history, Andrew Scott and how a portrait of a chicken changed his life.
By Lotte Brundle Published
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The teeny tiny car that you absolutely don’t need, but will absolutely want this summer — and it has an inbuilt shower
The Fiat Topolino has been reimagined by French swimwear brand Vilebrequin just in time for the summer holidays.
By Rosie Paterson Published
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‘It only remains for our descendants to curse our impotence and laissez-faire’: Only four photographs of a storied London townhouse survive inside the Country Life archive — and it was brutally demolished not once, but twice
No. 32, Soho Square was demolished not once, but twice, despite warnings of doing so in Country Life.
By Melanie Bryan Published
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You can’t always rely on the Great British summer — but you can rely on its watches
British watchmakers have excelled themselves in recent months — releasing bright and beautiful timepieces that you'll want on your wrist through summer, and beyond.
By Chris Hall Published
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No strings attached: A brief history of swimwear, from heavy skirts of linen linked to women's drownings, to the skimpy two-piece named after a nuclear weapons site
From knee-length numbers to a scandalous suit denounced by the Pope, the colourful history of swimwear has been brought to life by a glamorous London exhibition.
By Deborah Nicholls-Lee Last updated
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Downtown Abbey is about to finish forever, and you're about to get a chance to see — and to buy — the costumes from the show
Downton Abbey's exquisite costumes and props are going on show at a free exhibition ahead of a sale being held by Bonhams later this summer.
By Lotte Brundle Published
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Brideshead Revisited (again): The 10 scene-stealing British country homes from film and television
What do an enigmatic Caped Crusader, a sopping-wet Mr Darcy and Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell have in common? Believe it or not, British country houses.
By Ben Lerwill Published
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Sophia Money-Coutts: Is it ever okay to throw your dog a birthday party?
Sir Lewis Hamilton did it, so why not throw a birthday party for your canine companion, Sophia Money-Coutts asks.
By Sophia Money-Coutts Published
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Tuning in with the past: Monk music will ring out for the first time since the Dissolution after medieval manuscript is rediscovered
Buckland Abbey once thronged with monks who sang for hours every day. Now, some of their newly rediscovered medieval music will ring out once more.
By Annunciata Elwes Published
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Water you're waiting for? Britain's best heritage lidos were built to save swimmers from polluted seas full of potato peelings, oil and coal — and they're still in action today
The seaside lido continues to offer safe swimming for holidaymakers irrespective of the tide, but they're also architectural gems worthy of our admiration.
By Kathryn Ferry Published