Welcome to November (and welcome to another lockdown). Urgh.

Trying to remain positive, it is what it is, and I’ll be here each week, bringing you fashion and lifestyle news to take you away from it for 10 minutes, every fashion Friday.

There’s a ‘National Hero’ emerging from 2020, with his Free School Dinners campaign providing a glimmer of positive news during the Covid era.

Burberry has announced a partnership with footballer Marcus Rashford for a new charitable initiative to support youth organisations in Manchester and London.

The Manchester United star has become a leading figure in the fight against child food poverty in the UK. The 23-year-old striker has raised £20 million in financial and food donations for food distribution charity FARESHARE and in October he petitioned parliament to extend free school meals to cover the holidays. Despite the petition becoming only the fifth in British political history to exceed one million signatures, MPs rejected the accompanying Labour Party proposal by 322-261 votes. 

Rashford, however, continues to galvanise the nation to step up and support feeding needy children, and has also formed the Child Food Poverty Taskforce, bringing together the biggest names in the European food industry to find a long-term solution to combat child food poverty across the UK.

Burberry is supporting Rashford’s partnership with food distribution charity FareShare, by providing donations which will fund over 200,000 meals distributed across 11,000 charities and community groups across the UK. Burberry’s efforts will also focus more broadly on supporting youths in need: from education to supporting young creatives and artists, and helping young entrepreneurs.

I’m so glad to be able to report something positive, when positivity is particularly thin on the ground right now. Anyway… in this week’s instalment we check out Gucci’s ripped tights, Noel Gallagher’s model daughter Anais and the new language of the covid era.

Everyone’s favourite Italian Fashion House Gucci has been slammed for selling ripped tights that look like they’ve been ‘clawed by a cat’.  For £146.

The tights, which are marked as “sold out” by various third-party sellers, are described by Gucci as ‘High-rise’ and ‘distressing throughout’ with a ‘woven logo at elasticised waistband’.

Some social media commentators weren’t impressed: ‘To whoever paid $190 (£146) for these @Gucci pre-ripped tights… r u ok? said #RippedInItaly’.

Haute Couture designer Natalia Fender, who is best known for her unorthodox use of metal textiles in knitting, defended the brand, adding: ‘To be fair they had to program the knitting machine to make it looked ‘ripped’, so I’m assuming the tights will not run any further. Similar to t-shirts that have this look.’

Gucci’s launch comes just weeks after fellow designer Ralph Lauren left fans baffled by advertising a pair of £620 overalls that are covered in fake paint stains.

The blue cotton boiler suit has white and red splatters all over it and “worn” marks on the knees. It is kept together by gold zip and looks like something that could be worn by a painter and decorator.

My advice – grab a pair of 80 denier tights at M&S at £3.99 and bite a hole with your teeth, then let rip to your heart’s content.

The new generation ‘Primrose Hill Set’ has produced ANOTHER model.

Along with Kate’s daughter Lila Moss, Pearl’s daughter Daisy and Sadie’s kids Rafferty and Iris, Noel Gallagher and Meg Matthews’ daughter Anais has emerged as a lingerie model.

The 20-year-old has modelled for Bluebella for their latest collection

– her first major lingerie campaign – but news of it may come as a surprise to her father.

The 20-year-old daughter of Oasis rocker Noel stars in a series of racy snaps – but while she showed mum Meg the photos straight away, Anais kept the shoot a secret from Noel.

However, Anais believes Noel will be in favour of the saucy shots, explaining: “This will be the first time he has seen them – but he is very open about what I do. “I think any father would be happy with this message of their daughter being empowered, and that’s exactly what this is.

While Anais looks sensational, the model says she has hang-ups and insecurities about her body – worrying about the public reaction she is going to receive from the photos. “Like most young women I’m a bit self-conscious with pictures of myself and I wasn’t confident about how I looked. But mum said to me, ‘Are you mad, they are amazing!’ 

While her parents were famous for their rock n roll lifestyles with Oasis at the height of their popularity during the Britpop era of the ’90s, Anais herself admits she couldn’t be more different. She has left bustling London life, instead choosing to spend lockdown on boyfriend Julius Roberts’ organic farm near Lyme Regis in Dorset.

The Blubella range features lots of red and black lace, stockings and suspenders, verging on strappy bondage wear – so this is a risqué debut for a 20 year old.

Check out the full range and other Xmas present ideas at www.blubella.co.uk

Hurrah! (she says, sarcastically). As you read this, we have begun UK lockdown number two. Locked up for the next month – or the whole month of November (and fingers-crossed, no longer). There are many four-letter words that I frequently use when discussing the pandemic. However, 2020 has produced a whole new pandemic dictionary of phrases encountered in everyday life – words we’d never heard of prior to 2020.

So, here’s your guide to PANDEMIC 2020 LINGO:

Airgasm

The clean, clear, purifying hit of oxygen you get when you remove your face mask. Future generations will never understand the full-body pleasure that comes from whipping off your mask after a gruelling trip around Sainsburys.

Background curation

The act of conducting Zoom calls in front of a background intended to be a projection of your personality. If it’s a bookshelf, you’re telling the world that you’re well-read. Kitchen? You love domesticity. Blank walls? You’ve got something to hide, you murderer.

Blursday

The inability to tell what day it is, because life has been one long unending grey smear since the middle of March. Sure, you’re reading this on a Friday, but are you sure it’s Friday?

Coronasomnia

The inability to sleep properly because of everything that’s going on in the world. Not to be confused with coronacolepsy, which is the inability to stay awake because of everything that’s going on in the world.

Covidiot

Instagram pictures where you group-hug your 20 best friends? Covidiot. Stand too close to me in the supermarket queue? Covidiot. Wear a mask over your mouth but not your nose? Covidiot. Claim that turmeric cures the virus on Facebook? Covidiot. Say anything I don’t like about Covid. Covidiot.

Doom-scrolling

Being unable to prise yourself away from a torrent of distressing news on your phone. ‘Where are the children?’ ‘Sorry, I started doom-scrolling an hour ago… Maybe they ran away?’

Infodemic

An epidemic of information. Do you have the test and trace app? The symptom tracker? Are you watching the briefings? What tier are you on? Do you know your R rate for your postcode? It’s all too much to take in…

Isobar

An isolation bar, aka a vast stock of alcohol to help you through the long days and weeks and months until this all goes away.

Maskne

A skin condition stemming from the wearing of face masks. The moist, damp conditions under the mask can bring out a spotty rash. The good news is that you can simply hide your maskne under a mask. The bad news is that this will make it worse.

Pasta magpie

If you’ve ever watched a pensioner sigh because you’ve cleared the shelf of penne, you’re a pasta magpie. If a checkout worker has tutted as they scan your 15th toilet roll multipack, you are also a pasta magpie.

Quarantini

A drink you make in your isobar. It might not follow a traditional cocktail recipe, but you’re making do with what you’ve got. ‘What are you drinking?’ ‘It’s like a sangria, but I’m using Chewits instead of oranges until the Ocado order gets here.’

Upperwear

The act of conducting a video call while half-dressed. The person on the end of the line thinks that you’re wearing a suit. However, from the waist down, you’re actually still in pyjamas.

Zumping

Dumping a person over Zoom. Obviously better than ghosting (not responding to any messages or calls), and infinitely preferable to dumping someone via text message. You’d think a zumping would be worse than in-person dumping, but what if you start to dump someone in person then cough, and accidentally give them Covid? Perhaps the zump is the way of the future.

Welcome to Amanda Zips It Up. It’s the end of October – 10 months down, 2 to go, before the end of this year of hell. Surely 2021 can only get better?

I suppose we may as well start thinking about Christmas and stocking filler ideas, and this week my friend Caroline informed me about some cheap and cheeky little gifts guaranteed to make you giggle at Poundland. But here’s the question, would YOU buy a ‘Viagra’ equivalent from Poundland?

The herbal Poundland ‘Viagra’ comes in two varieties – for men (in blue) and women (in pink). The retailer claims that the all-natural supplements can help lovers last longer in bedroom. This comes after the store increased its range of budget sex toys.

It’s certainly a cheaper and easier option, compared to the actual prescription drug Viagra, a medicine used to treat erectile dysfunction. Viagra works by driving blood flow to the penis which helps the man achieve and sustain an erection.

The Poundland products’ packaging recommends customers “pop two pills before playtime and say hello to fun times”.

And the store has extended its range of sex toys to include a vibrating love ring, a finger fun simulator and lube, all under the ‘Nooky’ brand.

Anything to make Christmas a more joyful event, in the current climate.

Onto this week’s Zips It Up instalment, as we we discover Lily Allen’s new ‘lifestyle’ product, elegant tights to keep you snug this winter and GIFTS IDEAS FOR HER.

Gift ideas for women – even if you think she already has “everything”

What’s your one take-away from the past year? How to bake cakes? How to find things to do at home? How to stay motivated and keep fit? Perhaps it’s all of the above – plus, of course, putting all else aside and appreciating your friends and family. Trying to take positives out of a very negative situation, that’s the one thing that everyone has taken away from the Coronavirus crisis: the fact that we should never take our loved ones for granted, and should show them how much we care.

As we approach what looks likely to be one of the worst Christmases ever, let’s show the ladies in our lives how much we love them during these rotten times.  Here’s my ultimate list of gift ideas for “her”. 

Even if you’re convinced she already has everything, I can guarantee she’ll LOVE any one of these.

Gifts for her: the AirPods

2019 Apple AirPods with Charging Case, £136, John Lewis

Gifts for her: the limited edition perfume

Gucci Bloom Profumo Di Fiori Eau de Parfum, £76, Selfridges

Gifts for her: the UGG slipper

Scuffette II Slipper in Chestnut and Chocolate, £80, UGG

Gifts for her: the eye mask for ultimate relaxation

Silk Foulard Dot-Print Eye Mask, £25, The White Company

Gifts for her: the reed diffuser

Lime Basil & Mandarin Scent Surround Diffuser, £64, Jo Malone London

Gifts for her: the earrings to treasure forever

Tiffany & Co. Return to Tiffany Sterling Silver Heart Earrings, £285, Selfridges

Gifts for her: the dressing gown

Waffled Dressing Gown, £24.99, H&M

Gifts for her: the Fitbit

Fitbit Charge 4, £129, John Lewis

Gifts for her: the scented candle

Diptyque Baies Scented Candle, £27, Space NK

Gifts for her: the ultimate makeup collection

Charlotte Tilbury The Bella Sofia Makeup Look Gift Set, £165, Net-A-Porter

Gifts for her: the personalised bottle

Moët & Chandon Exclusive Impérial Brut NV Champagne and personalised tin 750ml

So, I bet you think these are a standard pair of 30 denier tights, right?

How many of us freeze in the winter months because tights just don’t keep us warm enough. Well, here’s how to stay looking sexy without resorting to fleecy Ugg’s…

COGGINGS are tights fitted with a polar fleece.  They will not only slim your legs and keep them warm this winter, but also maintain the right body temperature, even in external conditions down to -15°.

They fit perfectly with any outfit, dresses, skirts, hoodies, heels and even your little leather shorts – which I’m pairing my Coggings with this season.

SLIMMING & SHAPING EFFECT

Coggings’ elasticity offers incredible comfort and allow total freedom of movement. They come in 2 sizes which adapt to any shape out there. They will give you shapely legs, a rounded bum and a totallyflat stomach. And they come in sexy black and good old trusty skin colour or ‘American Tan”, as I like to call it.

Plus, they’re machine washable at 30°C and made of fleece and nylon. They sound too good to be true, don’t they?

Warm Fleece Tights – Coggings™

4.7 (57 reviews) 
Regular price £29.99 Sale price £14.99

Cogginngs.co.uk

Lily Allen Launches Her Own Vibrator

Stories about sex toys in Zips It Up are like the number 19 bus. You wait ages for one to come along, and then they arrive in twos and threes. 

If you read Lily Allen’s memoir, My Thoughts Exactly, you might remember her talking about using vibrators while she was on tour – recommending her personal favourite, the Womanizer.

She wrote in the 2018 book: “And since you ask if I had to pick one vibrator above all the others, I recommend the Womanizer.” Fast forward a couple of years, and the singer has now launched a vibrator – Liberty by Lily Allen

And that’s not it. The musician is also joining Womanizer as their Chief Liberation Officer, working on their #IMasturbate campaign, which is aiming to tackle the stigma surrounding female sexual pleasure and masturbation. According to a study by the company, men masturbate over three times more than women, but they don’t need batteries or a charger.

At £89, the vibrator is limited edition and has ‘six intensity levels, simple two-button operation and is ‘perfect for travel and discreet in handbags’. 

The company is famous for its Pleasure Air Technology – the vibrator uses gentle air waves to stimulate the gentle nerve endings of the clitoris – which Lily says ‘can give you an orgasm within a short time and even multiple ones’.

Lily Allen’s ‘Liberty’ Womanizer is available on Womanizer and Lovehoney now.

Autumnal greetings everyone.

In this week’s issue, we go all Halloween, with Kylie Jenner, pumpkins and cakes. Pretty Little Thing launch a whole collection of Body Con Mask dresses – which I have just bought – and if you’ve just completed Emily In Paris on Netflix, I have the ultimate Christmas present in store.

There’s not much to celebrate right now. Over here in London, it has all ended in Tiers – ‘Tier 2’ as I write this blog. Meaning that the upcoming kiddies’ favourite  nights of the year – Halloween and Bonfire night – are cancelled. 

2020 is the year that just keeps on giving.

So, how do we combat growing restrictions and try to keep a feeble smile on our faces during this crazy Pandemic, plus bring a little bit light to children’s lives whilst they are unable to attend Halloween Parties or go trick-or-treating?

 Introducing Florista Floral Design, a cool new florist based in Sunderland, who have decided to decorate their shop window early and offer the alternative Halloween treats.

Ok, it isn’t quite mini packets of Haribos, but these gifts will definitely keep the Halloween candle flickering. I would be more than happy if these turned up on my doorstep and I can guarantee you’ll please all your family and friends:

Pumpkin Arrangments from £15

3 Halloween Balloons £7

They can be ordered via their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/floristasunderland/

www.floristasunderland.co.uk

Following last week’s feature on Netflix fashion sensation “Emily In Paris”, upon further viewing it was Emily’s phone and phone case (in constant use) which caught my eye, more than the bucket hats.

And as if her fashion wasn’t sparkling enough, you can now buy the Emily in Paris phone case… for less than £5. The case, which makes various appearances during the ten-part series, is in the style of a vintage camera case and is available from Amazon £4.99. 

Guess what? I have just bought it in pink. Casetify also has a stunning option, but is more expensive at £40.

The Netflix series, which launched this month to mixed reviews, is the brainchild of Sex and the City creator Darren Star, leading to comparisons between Carrie Bradshaw and Emily.

While both characters are markedly different, one thing unites them is their love for fashion – the work of acclaimed New York costume designer Patricia Field.

Speaking about the phone case, Field said recently: “I found the vintage phone case over a year ago while I was shopping in Korea for my boutique. My reason for using it was that in the script, Lily was constantly taking photos for Instagram, and as so many people loved my case, I thought, let’s make her phone case the new ‘Carrie’ necklace.”

I’m going to wear my ‘Amanda’ necklace all winter! And, if you have a fashionista friend, family member or ‘support bubble associate’ who loves Emily In Paris, then this is an excellent Christmas present or stocking filler.  Just make sure you opt for the correct phone make and model.