Mayfair BabesNo. 07 · p. 55
Issue No. 07p. 55 · Blondes£400 /H

Blondes: four golden cover lines, and not a cliché among them

Blonde is the most photographed shade on any newsstand and the one most often reduced to a single lazy adjective. Our four refuse the shorthand. Side by side they run from a windswept beach blonde through gold and honey to a deep, warm caramel, and the women wearing those shades differ even more than the colours do: a sailor, a swimmer, a designer with a sketchbook and a hiker who lives for Japanese food.

What they share is the effect a fair head has in W1 after dark. Under the chandeliers of Claridge's or the lamps along Park Lane, blonde hair holds the light a beat longer than the room around it, and all four know how to wear that without making any fuss about it.

Pink bikini, green garden, Cindy at the water's edge seen from behindBlondesCindy
Part one

Four shades, laid out like a beauty page

Cindy is the palest and the breeziest: loose waves to well past the shoulder, eyes of clear blue, a slim 168 cm and a yoga mat unrolled most mornings. Nancy is pure gold, blue eyed and curvy at 170 cm, a daily swimmer in her early thirties who would happily cross London for the right sushi. Nora is honey, hazel eyed, athletic and 166 cm, and she studies a well cut hem the way other people study a menu. Thea is caramel, green eyed and curvy at 165 cm, never happier than after a whole day out on the hills.

Part two

Four evenings, four corners of Mayfair

None of the four would plan the same night. Cindy heads for Scott's on Mount Street and asks for a seat that looks out over the room. Nancy takes the counter at 45 Park Lane, where the omakase arrives piece by piece, then a nightcap with Hyde Park dark below the window. Nora walks Bond Street once the shops have shut, judging the windows as she goes, before champagne at the Rivoli Bar. Thea slides back the wooden door of Umu on Bruton Place and spends dinner quizzing the chefs about the rice.

Part three

Notes from the fashion desk

Fair hair reads soft by day and sharp by candlelight, and the four dress with that in mind. Before dusk it is cream, navy, camel and white linen; after it, usually one strong colour, black or a deep jewel shade, so the hair does the talking. Jewellery stays fine, a thin chain or a small hoop. If the evening carries a dress code, mention it when you write and she will match it without needing a reminder.

Part five

Booking a blonde

The first hour with any of the four is £400, and a hotel visit in W1 is where most first meetings begin. Two hours are £750 and a four hour dinner £1,300, with every step laid out on the rates page. Send Bella her name, the date and the hotel on WhatsApp or Telegram; you pay her directly as the evening begins, and that is the whole of the transaction.

Found your cover star?

Ask for her by name, or let us choose.

Mention a favourite or describe the mood of the evening. Bella comes back with who is free, the fee and an arrival time.