Hi there
Hope you have had a good week – I found myself unexpectedly moved by “Wuthering Heights” this past week, which was a NOON Pro outing. So beautiful: Sumptuous costumes, incredible landscapes, a powerful love story – and Margot Robbie, Martin Clunes and the chap tipped to be the next James Bond, Jason Elordi, as Heathcliff.The film has had some damning reviews but we all liked it. It was not at all 50 Shades of Grey and was extremely well directed by Emerald Fennell. Yes, it is kind of based on Wuthering Heights the novel rather than totally faithful to the plot, but a bit of artistic license is a good thing.
Interestingly the cinema was FULL of women, lots of them Queenagers (not surprising, really; men like Marvel and football, why shouldn’t we enjoy two and a half hours of pure escapist romance and beauty?). And in terms of steaminess/seediness – the view of the NOON group was that it was a lot less embarrassing than Bridgerton (and I watched WH with my 82-year-old mother as one of the party).
This week: 3 inspiring women
I want to write this week about 3 amazing Queenagers: Samantha Cameron, Dame Antonia Romeo and Gisèle Pelicot.
1. Samantha Cameron: The end of a dream
Another highlight of my week was going to the (sniff!) final clearance sample sale of one of my favourite clothing brands: Cefinn. Set up by Samantha Cameron (wife of David, ex-Creative Director of Smythson), Cefinn was a Queenager dream.
I first came across it when I did a photo shoot for The Daily Mail (when they serialised my book). I’ve done a few of those types of shoots – they are really surreal: They had a wind machine (yes, really) to make my hair look tussled, a crew of hair and makeup people and a rack of clothes, most of which were really NOT my cup of tea.
You may not know it, but lots of newspapers have a particular ‘look’ for their case studies – in this case, a solid block-colour frock and lots of big hair and heels (very Fox newsreader). I had green nails which they weren’t so keen on (apparently the readers couldn’t relate to them…?) but to my surprise, I really loved one of the dresses: a blue silk Cefinn frock. It felt great, hung beautifully, was super flattering; I liked it so much that a bought a green silk version to wear to my daughter’s graduation – and after that, I started going to their sample sales.
I am not the only Queenager who loves Sam Cam’s designs. On Wednesday, the closing sale kicked off in Bond Street at 1pm. I got there at 12.55 to find a queue stretching round the block. It took about 45 minutes to get in, during which time I chatted to all the women around me. One Queenager had come all the way from Devon.
“The Cefinn clothes make me feel elegant and confident,” she told me. All around us were women wearing the label – a sweater dress from last year, lots of her trademark sleeveless jumpers (I have 3, in navy, black and cream).
It was worth the wait: I got a sand coloured long leather skirt for £30, reduced from £400 and a fab green sequin party dress. The bonus on that one was being zipped into it by Sam Cam herself who was there overseeing what must have been one of the poshest jumble sales in history. In a huge room there were Queenagers everywhere in tights or bare legs trying on silk dresses, velvet trousers, party frocks, day dresses – all desperate to nab a bargain – but mostly really sad that their beloved label was closing down.
What Sam Cam told me at the closing sale
I chatted to Sam about why she was closing down. She said – honestly – that running the business was stressful and exhausting, that she really needed a break and wasn’t sure she could go on doing it for another 5 years. She was happy to have fulfilled her dream.
She’d wanted her own fashion brand ever since she was a girl … and was almost teary at how much all the ladies there loved how she had made them feel. It’s hard to get a sense of the magic of her clothes just from her website (now closed); it is how they look and flow when they are on which is the thing.
She was a rare designer who truly saw midlife women, loves them and wanted them to feel good about themselves. I gave her a hug (we know each other from my former life when I profiled her for The Sunday Times Magazine) and told her she should feel really proud of what she had created and the pleasure she had spread.
One of the Cefinn pieces that I’ll be wearing for years: a sleeveless jumper
A surprising Queenager lesson
I love a Queenager who goes for her dream; but there is another equally important lesson here. It is really important that we know when to quit if our passion is no longer serving us. Like many of us, Sam has had her own midlife collision: A child doing GCSEs, a husband with cancer, a massive business in a tricky market. (In fashion, what’s profitable is uber luxury, or Shein-style cheap throwaway fashion; the stuff in the middle, not so much….)
Still, it’s a shame when we lose brands like Cefinn which actively SEE us and celebrate us. I’ll be happily wearing mine pieces for years! I hope Sam enjoys her sabbatical – she is a grafter, so I am sure this won’t be her last throw of the dice. And well done her for going for it and creating something. It must have been hard to throw in the towel so publicly. But she should feel proud – she really did it!
Read my full piece about Romeo on The Telegraph with this gift link
2. Antonia Romeo: The boys’ club backlash
Another Queenager in the news this week was Dame Antonia Romeo, the first ever woman to be Cabinet Secretary in 110 years. HOORAY! I wrote about her for a Telegraph column. Striking to me was the misogynistic briefing from the toxic boys club in Westminster against Romeo before the announcement: They dug out an ancient investigation into her expenses when she was in New York and also accused her of bullying – a charge which had been thoroughly examined and found to be groundless.
There is such a double standard around ambition for women. Antonia is ambitious – super bright, hilarious, with an eye on the prize. (Full disclosure she is a mate; we both went to Westminster as girls in Sixth Form. It was great preparation for dealing with the male British establishment! We were both also at Brasenose College Oxford.) But a hyper ambitious and successful man would never face the obstacles she did.
She was bitched about for liking designer dresses (ha! Don’t we all, whether or not we can afford them?) and having an expensive watch (I didn’t see anyone having a go at Mandelson or other male politicians for wearing a Rolex or equivalent) and for having a mocked up picture in her office of her on the cover of Vogue (a joke from colleagues because she loves fashion).
Her promotion to the topflight is long overdue. I wish her well.
I also wish it wasn’t still so difficult for women to get there, and that in 2026 she wasn’t the first one. But it is still a huge achievement. If you’d like to read the column, use the gift link below – free for you lovely ladies).
3. Gisèle Pelicot: Changing the way we talk about violence against women
My final Queenager of the week is the incredible Gisèle Pelicot: I was moved to tears watching her Newsnight interview with Victoria Derbyshire.
I love her line about shame changing sides; that it is the men who should be feeling the shame not her. I was also impressed by her bravery, composure and lack of bitterness.
The most tender part of the interview is when she is shown a series of vox pops with French women who talk about how her taking the stand has emboldened women everywhere to call out sexual abuse. If you haven’t watched it yet, please do: She is truly an icon.
This is how we begin to turn the tide on violence against women: with firmness and dignity – putting the blame back where it belongs, on the perpetrators.
NOON news: Book your next adventure!
In other news we’ve already sold 15 places on our Luxor trip since we launched it this week – we can only take 20 – so if you want to come, don’t delay! I can’t wait! The Cairo trip last year was truly one of my life highlights.
And I’m also looking forward to seeing some of you at our March Circles and our Wasing retreats: Booking is now open.
(The Wasing retreats are a great entry point if you haven’t come to a NOON event before: Only one day, on the incredible Wasing Estate with its protected forest, private 3,000 acres and lake with its adjacent sauna. Oh, and there is delicious lunch. And a Circle – and the wonderful Lesley doing yoga and swimming together – do come!)
Much love
Eleanor xxxx
