As soon as the new year hits many of us will be planning our long weekend skiing trips, the most popular place for a while and one of my favourite places to Ski is Val d’Isere. Its got everything you need, great ski runs for all types, great nightlife and excellent apres ski atmosphere.

If going in a large group its always worth getting a chalet or apartment, and its a lot more fun! But if your going on a couples holiday its well worth staying in a hotel – two great hotels that I have stayed in are:

5* Luxury hotel – Les Barmes de L’Ours, the decor is amazing, its cosy, its ski themed and perfect for a romantic getaway. Even you if don’t stay here its worth splashing out for a dinner in their gorgeous restaurant.

3* Hotel – Hotel Kandahar - well worth the money, its got a really nice atmosphere, great staff, and it feels more like a 4*

Now you’ve got your accomodation sorted, you will need to sort out your clothes, there’s an art to looking great on the slopes, for men it seems to come naturally, a man in skiing gear automatically looks ‘cool’ and I would say most of the men look quite attractive, but perhaps its just because they wear sunglasses. For women there are a few rules that I go by – Coordinate!! Yes it may be trendy off the slopes to clash colours on prints, but on the slopes, coordination is the key. Tight fitting, waterproof, highswaisted skiing trousers look great and are flattering, thermal underwear (still yet to find the most attractive kind) otherwise wear leggings and a t-shirt, lastly a ski jacket – I always go for ones with fur hoods its adds a bit of femininity and at least you can spot that you are a female even in a blizzard, designer shades – when I was young I wore some high street branded sunglasses skiing – they cracked as soon as I went up a couple of hundred feet.

Apres Ski Outfits: The essentials to looking glam off the slopes: (all products found on www.taralacey.com)

Best Bars in Val D’Isere:

1. Dicks Tea Bar – a nightclub, where are the young people go, great atmosphere and reasonably priced drinks.

2. Saloon Bar – International crowd, great music

3. Hotel Ormelune – great for chilled apres ski drinks

4. Bar Le Samovar – large terrace at the bottom of the slopes, cosy atmosphere

HAPPY SKIING!! x

Its 29th September and its 27 degrees outside. What is going on? At the Tara Lacey HQ  we were all quite looking forward to wearing our faux fur and Winter coats and wearing black tights with heels. As soon as we were getting excited about the snow forecast in October the Indian Summer hits us.

I guess its quite nice, but what do you wear, do you go through your favourite Summer pieces and wear them – florals, brights, shorts and wedges. We say mix it up, go half Autumn half Summer. So wedges with a black mini dress that you would usually wear in the Winter with tights. Go for browns and musstards, even a bit of metallic. No need to stop buying the Autumn pieces from the shops just mix it up a bit.

We still have some great pieces available from Summer and at bargain prices so if your off to a Wedding this weekend or just drinks on a roof terrace somewhere or even off on holiday. Check out our sale items which are sure to tickle your fancy.

Our favourites for this odd time: