Kate Reardon

“As someone who works from home, my top style tip is to make sure you get dressed in the morning.”

“It doesn't matter how many A-levels you have, what kind of a degree you have, if you have good manners, people will like you.”

“A good education gives you confidence to stick up your hand for anything - whether it is the job you want, or the bloke. And the more you stick up your hand, the better your chances are that you will get what you want.”

“I think, to me, the sheer joy of fancy dress is that it allows you to take a break from our very carefully considered and constructed identities.”

“If you develop just one muscle, one skill, make it the ability to focus and just get on with it. It will not only make you desirably employable, but it will make you happy.”

“When you first hear the name 'Max Irons,' you'd be forgiven for assuming that Marvel comics has come up with a new superhero.”

“The trouble with glossy magazines is that they tend to be stuffed with articles about handbag designers - the sort of women who, with their perfectly styled lives, immaculate houses, and adoring partners, make you want to become a hermit.”

“Polo drifts gently in and out of fashion.”

“There is something enormously compelling about Fran Cutler. She is a thrilling bundle of energy and enthusiasm.”

“It's stupid to say that there's any comfort to be had in 'knowing your place,' but there is a sense of reassuring escapism to something like 'Downton Abbey.' There's a perceived romance and elegance that is wonderful to lose yourself in.”

“The genius of Kate Middleton is that she hasn't gone too far. She's still dressing in a way that people can relate to.”

“No matter how irrelevant social class now is, even the most eager egalitarian must be quietly proud that the posh English rose is still an industry standard for peerlessly sophisticated beauty.”

“The Mark Birley fan club, of which epic American socialite Nan Kempner says she's the oldest living member, follows him doggedly.”

“There's a particularly British wariness of appearing to try too hard. It's somehow distasteful. Everything should come to us seamlessly and, if you have to work at it, you're somehow a loser.”

“Being chaotic isn't cute.”

“Luck is going to play a huge part in your life.”

“Anya Hindmarch is indeed a handbag designer; she has the requisite fabulous life, tasteful home, and loving husband. She is also beautiful and self-deprecating, and has five children aged 5 to 20 and a philanthropic bent which spans causes from cancer care to Britain's Conservative Party.”

“Conrad Black is a picture of a man hugely enjoying himself.”

“A good school teaches you resilience - that ability to bounce back.”

“My favourite thing in my wardrobe is my jewelry.”