Dressing the Part

Kate Starkey makes clothes for successful businesswomen. With a degree in architecture and design and then three years' experience in Savile Row, she launched her company, Kate Starkey Couture, early 2006 with the specific aim of making flattering, custom-made clothes for the female City market. "Women's curves benefit from structured clothes just as much as men" she says. "There are unwritten but quite strict rules about what you can wear in the financial world. Being too high fashion works against you. My suits are feminine but discreet and elegant. And they're comfortable. You can get dressed at 5am and know you'll look good through a whole day of meetings." Business clothes should be versatile and she suggests clients buy both a skirt and trousers to go with a jacket, and even trousers in two different lengths - one for heels, one for flats. She uses a huge range of textiles and is keen on a new Dormeuil fabric created especially for travelling. Fine wool worsted is blended with a small amount of microfibre to keep it wrinkle-free. Skirt suits start at £865, trousers suits at £885, and coats from £785. In addition there is a wide range of shirts from everyday to glam and sexy. Thirty-year old Starkey is a visiting tailor who comes to your home or office - perfect for the time-poor City generation. For more information visit www.katestarkeycouture.com

 

Crazy name, crazy girl

Funmi Odulate used be style editor of Harper's Bazaar but she escaped from office life to be a stylist, writer, trend spotter and full-time fashionista. Earlier this year she published Shopping for Vintage, the definitive guide to vintage fashion (Quadrille) and for the next six months, she's teaming up with five-star Hotel InterContinental in London's Park Lane for specialist vintage fashion tours. The one-night package, £219, includes B&B based on two sharing, breakfast with Funmi at the hotel's Cookbook Cafe, a thorough consultation about your specific interests, and then a three-hour expedition by taxi. This way you'll have access to the secrets of the world of vintage: where to go, what to look out for, how to get a bargain. Available until 24 March 2008. 020 7409 3131 or visit www.intercontinental.com

 

City Girl

The City used to be a no-go area for fashion lovers but all that has changed, especially around Spitalfields Market where the arty crowd brush up against the business world. Precious is a little gem, occupying an original Georgian shop a few minutes from Liverpool Street station. It was opened just over a year ago by Kate Evans, formerly a buyer for both Harvey Nichols and Harrods, who brings a disciplined approach to the fashion retail scene. With an expert eye she presents a cleverly edited version of collections from well-known and emerging designers, a refreshing change from the predictability of big stores. You'll find pieces by Day Birger & Mikkelsen, Patrizia Pepe, Mulberry, Missoni, Sportmax, Diane von Furstenberg and a host of others. The atmosphere in the store is intimate and welcoming and they will schedule private appointments for clients who need in depth wardrobe advice. Kate Evans' mother is the well-know parfumier Angela Flanders and her fragrances are stocked in Precious as well as a selection of bags and accessories to round off the look. 16 Artillery Passage, Spitalfields, London E1, 020 7377 6668; www.precious-uk.com

 

Burlington Arcade

This quaint pedestrian shopping arcade on the cusp of Mayfair and St James's is shaking of its fusty image with new shops opening and established names reinventing themselves. Beatrix Ong, who trained with Jimmy Choo and is now one of the world's top ten shoe designers, opens this month in a tiny bijou boutique with a spiral staircase and crystal chandelier. The ground floor holds the main season's collection of shoes and bags alongside exclusive limited edition styles www.beatrixong.com Highlights include dashing knee-high buckled boots with flat soles and bright red high-heels with modest Mary-Jane front bar. Ong's designs are seen on catwalk shows of labels like Temperley and Pringle, and her new store is wonderfully girly with bridal and private clients served tea and cakes on the first floor. If you don't merit the high-carb treatment, nip into the new Ladurée teashop (the only other one in the UK is in Harrods) for specialist teas, beautiful china, and a massive sugar overdose. Or check out N.Peal, legendary fashion-forward cashmere store with Sara Berman as creative director which has reopened after a refurb with funky leopard carpets. What will the beadles make of it? www.burlington-arcade.co.uk