Every year, we round up the top gifts one could possibly give without going over-the-top-crazy for Valentine's Day. Fortunately, this year our Utterly Inessential columnist is in love. Unfortunately, her heart still belongs to gin. You can't win them all.
Four-poster beds are the cornerstone of any good childhood interior-design-related dream. Alexandra Fraser explores some of the most opulent on the market right now.
Utterly Inessential is back with the things which you‘d rather have received for Christmas itself, but have resigned yourself to purchasing in the January sales.
At the end of 2019, we look back on the crème de la crème of Utterly Inessential, mulling over what we thought then and whether our opinions have softened much. Spoiler: They haven't.
Teeth chattering? Legs shaking? Can't feel your fingers? Winter is finally here (almost), and so is the cosiest edition of our weekly shopping list to date.
What do you do when you've forgotten that you invited the entire bridge club round until T-24 hours?
Last week's Country Life showed you all the best places to travel for a holiday now that the summer is over, from swimming with horses in Montego Bay to curling up in a chalet in Courmayeur. Now that you've booked your trip, Alexandra Fraser shows you all the things which may make your journey a little bit easier, a little bit more luxurious and a little bit utterly inessential.
Sure, you could go down to Homebase, Ikea or B&Q. But where would be the fun in that?
Alexandra Fraser rounds up the last few things you absolutely don't need this summer, as we reluctantly turn towards autumn jackets, broken brollies and 'do you have any tables inside?'.
It's the weekend we've all been waiting for since Christmas. In three short days, everyone in the UK (except the parents of young children, God bless you) will wake up at 7am, glance at their phone clocks and peacefully drift back into their downy pillows with large smiles on their faces. It's here, it's really here – the August bank holiday.
Bored of being in the office? Well, this weekend is your chance to drop everything and jump on a train down to our gleaming coastline. Alexandra Fraser rounds up a few of the utterly inessential things that you should probably, potentially, but definitely not absolutely, bring with you.
In this week's round up of utterly inessential items to amaze and beguile, Alexandra Fraser takes a look at a solid chocolate ice cream cone, the world's most expensive (probably) ice bucket and the ultimate solution to losing your passport in the airport.
Looking ahead to this Saturday, Alexandra Fraser rounds up all of the Utterly Inessential items you may desire to attend the polo this Saturday in style, from comfy (yet stylish) shoes to the ever-present fedora.
Forget about the big things. You can keep the necessities. Don't tell us about the must-haves. Alexandra Fraser takes a look at a few little luxuries which, in a world too full of strife and woe, will help ease your way through life with a smile on your face.
