If the curvaceous archetype is the hourglass, this one is the exclamation mark. Ten women in the issue carry a long, narrow line, the shortest Lucy at 163 cm and the tallest Violetta at 178, the kind of frame that makes a tuxedo blazer, a slip dress or a plain white shirt look cut for her alone.
It also happens to be the most artistic archetype in the line-up. Between them the ten play piano and violin, paint, photograph, read in French and follow the opera, and most would choose a concert over a club.
Karolina, 174 cm with straight black hair, reaches for Chopin on reflective days and Gershwin on the rest, and rarely misses an opera with a fine soprano. Samanta, also 174 cm and dark haired, plays the violin in earnest, mostly Bach and Brahms, and claims Wigmore Hall is the one room in London where you can hear the bow before the note. Margo, the one member in her thirties, stands 166 cm and plays Satie after midnight, mostly for an audience of one.
Cindy, the one blonde of the ten at 168 cm, sizes up every room by its light before anything else and photographs reflections in shop windows. Stacy, 176 cm and near-black, shoots street scenes on long night walks, chasing neon in the puddles. Patricia, 172 cm with auburn brown layers, paints in watercolour and keeps a pocket sketchbook of the hotel lobbies she has liked best.
Liana, 167 cm and chestnut haired, reads Colette and Duras and tends her climbing roses with real tenderness. Lucy reads up on the stars whenever cloud hides them. Vanessa, 173 cm with a sandy balayage, collects languages and fragrances in roughly equal measure. Violetta vanishes into bookshops and comes out with a heavier bag than she planned.
Most of the ten would build an evening around something to see or hear: a recital at Wigmore Hall, a late opening at the Royal Academy, a new show at the Gagosian on Davies Street, an evening talk at the Royal Institution on Albemarle Street. Afterwards comes a table somewhere quiet enough to argue about it. Tell Bella what is already on your list and she will find the companion who has it on hers.
Tailoring first: a sharply cut coat, narrow trousers, a blazer with confident lapels. But these ten also wear simplicity brilliantly, a black sheath, a cream silk blouse, one good piece of jewellery. For a recital a few minutes from Bond Street or dinner at The Connaught, that restraint reads as pure confidence.
Six of the ten stand among the statuesque as well. Cindy is one of the blondes, Patricia one of the auburn three, Karolina and Violetta appear with the raven haired, and Lucy is also petite.
For guests who want the concert, the late supper and the conversation over coffee the next morning, the special edition runs ten hours at £2,400. Shorter plans open at £400 for the first hour, with every length in between on the rates page. Bella confirms every detail in writing beforehand, and payment passes directly to your companion when she walks in.
Mention a favourite or describe the mood of the evening. Bella comes back with who is free, the fee and an arrival time.