Smythson

If one looks impeccable, the contents of one's stylish bag ought to be equally fashionable in order to complete the look. Each piece you carry should signify your status as a style icon. This means that your notebooks and diaries should be just as personal as your way of dressing. Lots of darlings of the fashion scene including Giovanna Battaglia rely on Smythson for their personalized small leather goods and stationery. Choose from an amazing range of colors and leathers then make your diary or notebook truly personal with your initials or, in the case of Gio, your nickname stamped in gold. Giovanna is obsessed with personalizing her clothing and accessories with her preference for her abbreviated name; from her handmade shirts to her handbags to her diaries, there is no mistaking it is "Gio." You can see her custom Smythson notebook on the left in the photo above.

Smythson in Bond Street London is an amazing place to shop. It used to be quite stuffy, but the last decade has seen the company burgeon into the fashionable place for stationery and small leather goods. In her role as creative director for Smythson, Samantha Cameron (yes the PM’s wife) revived the company's image. She resigned her role last year due to her new social position, but made the company do conjunctions with Giles Deacon and created a handbag line. They recently invited Holly Fulton to design a line of stationery, making it not only chic but very, very fashionable to handwrite your correspondence. What better way to leave one's stylish mark in the digital era than with tradtional paper and pen with a modern twist?

If you are interested in a personalized diary like the one Giovanna prefers, be prepared to be dazzled first by the choice of colors and then by the prices which can be a bit steep. You must hand it to the lady though, the Smythson notebooks do make beautiful handbag fillers.

Giovanna Battaglia's Smythson notebook image © 2008 Condé Nast.
Smythson product images courtesy of www.smythson.com