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Anna Wintour

She is a British-American fashion icon who served as the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine for 37 years. Dame Anna Wintour worked her way up the ladder from humble beginnings to one of the most influential figures in the fashion industry.

Her no-nonsense attitude and with her iconic pageboy haircut, the lady demonstrated that doing things her own way is not a bad thing after all. She began her career in the fashion department of Harper’s & Queen in London. In 1976, she took over as fashion editor at Harper’s Bazaar. From there, the world was her oyster as the saying goes. In 1986, Wintour returned to London as Chief editor of British Vogue.

“I want Vogue to be pacy, sharp, and sexy. I’m not interested in the super-rich or infinitely leisured. I want our readers to be energetic, executive women, with money of their own and a wide range of interests.”

Her style of management was often critiqued which in turn earned her nicknames such as, “Nuclear Wintour” and “Wintour of Our Discontent.”

Did that stop the one-woman force named Anna Wintour? Not one little bit. In 1980, Wintour was named editor-in-chief of Vogue. During her three-decade reign, she restored the magazine’s clout and produced some mammoth issues.

Wintour stepped down after 37 years at the helm but during that time it never stopped her from speaking her mind, her restless drive or her no-nonsense approach.

At a time when criticism was and is the norm where the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, is concerned, Anna Wintour chose to go against the grain. At the Paris Fashion Week, she delivered this compliment to Meghan who was dressed in an all-white ensemble by Balenciaga.

Ms. Wintour: “How are you?”

Meghan: “Nice to see you.”

After exchanging a kiss on the cheek, Anna looks at Meghan’s outfit and says,

“Beautiful cherie. You look amazing.”

That was the nail on every critic’s coffin that rang around the world. The top person of the fashion world had spoken and so it was.

To drive the nail further in the coffin, “Vogue recently featured Meghan Markle on its best-dressed list” for her appearance at the Balenciaga show during Paris Fashion week in October 2025.

Anna Wintour was and still is a force to be reckoned with.

Daily writing prompt

When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?

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My Favorite Brands?

I’m no longer into brands as I used to be. I used to be a Fashion Editor and back then I knew every brand inside and out. These days I go for the simple stuff but two brands that I really love and still stick to are Zara and Massimo Dutti.

Zara, I love for their wearable styles and it fits my lifestyle now. Nothing too fancy but it is stylish and wearable. The lines are simple and clean. Just a pair of Zara pants paired with a cardigan or jacket and a blouse from the same collection is a put-together look that will take you from doing your daily chores such as shopping for your daily essentials to a much fancier meeting later in the day. Add a few pieces of jewelry and you’re set to conquer the day or rather the evening! The style factor is timeless but still trendy and I have many pieces from Zara in my wardrobe.

Massimo Dutti, what can I say? It used to be my go-to for a tailored look. Fashion lovers love this brand for its “quiet luxury aesthetic” but these days it is still an expensive brand and although better quality than Zara, it is mass-produced and considered a “fast-fashion” brand. However, it is of good quality and a few pieces in your wardrobe helps to bolster the look of understated elegance. A white Massimo Dutti blouse paired with a pair of blue jeans and a jacket says classy but still fashionable.

Not that anyone cares over here! This little village moves to a different drumbeat when it comes to fashion and dressing. Most of the women here don’t give a hoot about what you wear. So dressing up or brand names don’t matter much here. People or rather women wear the same stuff day in and day out and it is ok for working in their gardens or for doing their chores. I haven’t given up yet! I still do dress up presentably when I leave the house but indoors is another story altogether! PJs are my pick!

Daily writing prompt

What brands do you associate with?

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Women & Shoes!

It’s that time of year again. You know the time when you don’t want to do it but you have to. I’m talking about spring cleaning and it is not something I look forward to but each year it never fails to roll around and when it does, I moan and groan but there is no running away from it.

I’m a clothes horse but that aside, shoes are not my passion but I do have plenty of them. How many? Hard to tell but they seem to have multiplied since I last looked in my shoe closet. They must have had babies! How else can I explain this phenomenon. I don’t think I spend much money on shoes but I do have one or more pairs for each & every occasion.

Imelda Marcos put it this way. “When I left the Philippines, people looked in my closets hoping to find skeletons but all they found were shoes. I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty.”

That’s a whole lot of shoes. I can hear the men asking, “WHY?!!” Yours is not to reason why but to accept that women and shoes go hand in hand. It is not just a protective covering on our feet but something other-worldly. Just ask Carrie Bradshaw, she knows her shoes and HOW!

Here are some of her quotes on her love obsession with shoes, especially Manolo Blaniks.

“The fact is, sometimes it’s really hard to walk in a single woman’s shoes. That’s why we need really special ones now and then to make the walk a little more fun.” Carrie Bradshaw

I do agree that shoes do make your life a tad more fun.

“I have this little substance abuse problem…..Expensive footwear.” Carrie Bradshaw

A pair of Manolo Blaniks start out at $800 and that’s the sale price. They can run into thousands of dollars. Mind-boggling? Definitely but telling it to a woman who loves her Blaniks will not make her see reason. Mr. Big knows. He had to take second place and when it came to Carrie’s shoes, she had only eyes for them! She put it this way.

“MEN, I may not know, but SHOES, shoes I know,” and she further added, “I’ve spent $40,000 on shoes and I have no place to live? I will literally be the old woman who lived in her shoes!”

I don’t plan to live in my shoes so I’m going through my closets with a vengeance and if I haven’t worn them in two years, out they go! Not without a struggle and a tear in my eye of course.

I found one pair which sparkles and I’m going to hold on to those.

“Shoes can change your life, just ask Cinderella.”

I haven’t given up hope on finding Prince Charming yet and just in case he shows up, I’m saving the sparkly ones for that super special occasion.

Dream on? Yes, well dreams are made up of stardust and all things nice and a girl can hope, can’t she? Until then, it’s time to bag up those unwanted and over-excessive pairs of shoes and hope they’ll find a new home and make someone else’s eyes sparkle for a change.

To tell you the truth, I’ve freed up space and those empty spaces are beckoning. Afterall,

“Calling all women, you can never have too many shoes.”

I’m putting the brakes on because my feet can carry just so many shoes and it’s time to declutter and breathe again.

Breathing out with a sigh of relief……..

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