A new collection of thought-provoking and engaging memoir-based essays from columnist, commentator and Sunday Times-bestselling author, Alexandra Shulman, the longest serving Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue.

Praise for Alexandra Shulman:

'Self-deprecating and stylish, this is sure to become a classic.' - Vanity Fair

'Alexandra Shulman's style is unaffected, immediate and hilariously dry. She's brilliant at observing everyday feelings in a joy-sparking turn of phrase.' - Helena Bonham Carter

Black Coffee and Red Lipstick is a collection of essays that weave ideas about our domestic and daily life - hence the black coffee - with thoughts on style and the way we present ourselves - hence the red lipstick.

It combines anecdotes and observations from Alexandra Shulman's 25 years spent editing British Vogue and her current life as a freelance writer and commentator. She draws on her experiences as a magazine editor but also a mother, daughter, sibling, girlfriend, housekeeper and lover of shopping.

Alexandra left her job at Vogue in 2017 to embark on a different way of life and while this is in no way a book of self-discovery it does touch on the question of things or patterns of behaviour that make us who we are?

The essays will be a mixture of ideas from her quest for the perfect eyeliner, to why picnics are so delightful. How it is that men and women see different things in the home - is there male pattern blindness? - to why our hair matters so much to us. Friendship, siblings, gardening and grey hair will also be explored with Alexandra's characteristic wit and incisiveness.

Details

ISBN13: 9781846018107
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 304
Edition:
Publication Date: 29 Sep 2026
Publisher: Octopus Publishing Group
Publication City, Country: London, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 21.6(H)x13.5(L)
Weight (gm):

Author Biography

Alexandra Shulman is a writer and commentator. She was British Vogue's Editor-in-Chief from 1992 to 2017 and was awarded the CBE in the 2018 New Year's Honours list. She is currently a columnist for the Mail on Sunday, a contributor to a variety of newspapers and magazines and a Vice President of the London Library. She has written two novels, Can We Still Be Friends (2012) and The Parrots (2015) and Inside Vogue: The Diary of My 100th Year (2016) plus the Sunday Times-bestselling Clothes...and other things that matter (2020).

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