“I’ve always loved redheads” wrote the flame haired Vogue veteran, Grace Coddington on the eve of her 80th Birthday this week. “Hair is my thing. I like it big. Very big and very red.” On that raw instinct that’s kept her at the top of her game for over six decades, “I’m sure the reason some of those Vogue shoots from the 1970s and ’80s still have something modern about them is that, despite the romance or fantasy in them, they are all rooted in human reality.” I’ve always loved her Alice in Wonderland themed shoot with Natalia Vodianova, and anything she creates with Tim Walker blows my mind. Shoots with her fellow red, Karen Elson are pitch perfect. “Never underestimate how much an editor loves to see herself in her photographs.” What advice would Coddington like to give: “To be patient, to be tolerant and to not fritter away your creativity by looking at a screen. A screen can open your eyes to a lot of wonderful things that you wouldn’t normally have access to, but mostly it’s not real. Look out of your window, because that is reality. When it comes to making an important photograph, reality is the greatest place to start.”

I can’t remember the last time I had an occasion to dress for. In theory, we could all be frying eggs in our fanciest frocks, but I think it’s safe to say that comfort is de rigueur. Name a big brand that isn’t doing slob chic. Mothball eaten cashmere. Elasticated waist. Socks pulled up to the shins. Oh yes, you know the look. And then I happened upon this Lanvin dress in the colour of freshly churned butter, and I was reminded of what it is to wear something beautiful, something that demands you to watch your posture, to smile, and to tread lightly on your tiny heels. Another world.

I know very little about Marisa Berenson, beyond the fact that we own the same Valentino skirt. I bought mine at a small vintage shop on Avenue Road for less than $100. I’ve worn it once –– to my daughter’s Christening –– and once may be enough. It’s beautiful; white organdy, appliqué flowers, long to the ground. Elsa Schiaparelli was Berenson’s grandmother and she was the first model to pose nude in Vogue. On a day when I am feeling as glamorous as a non-reclining seat on a low cost carrier, I bring you this fabulous image of Berenson, fabulously reclined on a fabulous sofa.