Tart & Soul

Fancy spending an afternoon getting spoiled, preened and filled with fizz? Chloe McCloskey heads to one of London's coolest (and smallest) boutique hotels for a makeover with a difference. Photos © Tom Medwell, Marc Rogoff

Arriving at the unassuming house in Stepney Green, east London, you’d never guess what was happening behind the front door. I’m greeted by a delicate beauty named Severina. She hands me a glass of Champagne and a pair of white slippers. “It’s a no-shoes house,” she says, as I remove my boots, noticing the piles of designer footwear scattered in the otherwise impeccably decorated entrance. The halls are aflutter with pretty women in hair curlers. Some wear nothing but stockings and underwear, others lounge in vintage swimsuits, and all have stained red lips. It looks like every man’s dream! But don’t worry, this isn’t a Wild West whorehouse, and I am not joining up. This is Tart, a decadent, women-only afternoon at 40 Winks – London’s most unusual boutique bed and breakfast – and right now it’s in full swing.

Located on the edgy perimeters of London’s trendy East End, 40 Winks was founded by interior designer David Carter in 2000. Famous on the London fashion scene, Carter, never without a zany hat, resembles a Victorian dandy escaped from a Tim Burton film into our less-colourful reality. He bought the 1717 Queen Anne townhouse in 1998. Derelict, with no roof, no ceilings, and a good few broken windows after 18 months of building work, the house on Mile End Road was diligently transformed into a hip destination for fashion shoots, sleepovers and unique events for exhibitionist types. Italian opera masks, ceramic mirrors with antlers and all kinds of styled accoutrements adorn the house, giving it a somewhat theatrical character.

“I used to have a flat in Islington, and hosted fashion shoots there,” says Carter. “As an interior designer, my house is my studio but must also showcase my work.” Seeing the business opportunities in hosting these shoots it made sense to acquire something where he could really spread his creative wings. So after putting the finishing touches to 40 Winks, Carter signed up with a locations agency, and within 24 hours Marks & Spencer had booked out his home for five straight days – and has done, along with the likes of Dior and Vogue, many times since.

I wonder what celebrity bottoms have sat on the lavish couch where mine is currently parked? “Oh, everyone,” says Carter. “Orlando Bloom, he was here recently, Take That, Dirty Pretty Things, Kasabian, Robert Pattinson, Anna Friel, Billie Piper, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Sadie Frost, Nigella Lawson – people like that.”

The idea to open 40 Winks as a tiny hotel came about through the photographers, stylists and models who had used it for shoots. “They all said they’d love to come and sleep in the guestrooms, and they loved the idea of staying in east London, somewhere that was vibrant and alive, not just a stuffy hotel in Kensington. For creatives, it’s a very glamorous and theatrical house to spend time in,” he says.

The next step was to host unique events. Tart came out of a series of couture parties Carter held in mid-2009 that were popular with fashionable women. He teamed up with Naomi Thompson, founder and brainchild of retro fashion specialist Vintage Secret, to create this monthly, decadent Saturday afternoon for ladies.

For my Tart experience, the sultry Natalia guides me to the third-floor double bedroom to leave my things. The room is delicately laid out with a large bed, plush cushions and hardwood flooring. A mannequin stands in the corner in a wedding dress and sombrero, and the bed is draped in a throng of giggling girls, tipsy from gin cocktails, awaiting their turn with Amber Garnet, Tart’s resident palm reader and psychic.

After popping into the golden bathroom (the tub shimmers with lion’s head taps), I go downstairs to get my make-up done by the girls from Lipstick and Curls, specialists in vintage beauty. A stunning Romanian woman resembling Veronica Lake is perched on a stool getting her eyebrows drawn on. The next room, Vintage Secret’s domain, plays host to a classy hen-do dress-up party, complete with 1950s prom dresses, feathers and towering footwear (you can even buy the outfits).

I sit down and Arlette, peering through a pair of cat-eye specs, takes in my look and decides on a face-hugging pin-curl. “I’m a perfectionist,” she says, covering my face with a clear plastic shield and hairspraying me down. Next, make- up artist Sarah Barrow darkens my eyebrows, and applies rouge lipstick and the famous liquid liner ticks. Then I nip behind a sexy wall divider to slip into a brown and pink silk nightie from Fred & Ginger to perfect the look.

Ladies at Tart are also invited to play with vintage couture jewellery and model hats created by Katherine Elizabeth, milliner to the stars. Upcoming events will feature master classes in cocktail mixing with Hendrick’s gin, and burlesque workshops with What Katie Did.

But pampering for the ladies isn’t all that’s on offer at 40 Winks. Boys (and girls) can attend Bedtime Stories – an evening of erotic storytelling and boozy tipples, where the one condition is that you have to be in your pyjamas. Or there’s the themed life-drawing parties where each room is transformed into a sexy tableau and guests can (literally) draw inspiration from the elegant surroundings.

After Tart, a bunch of us girls head into town for a party at Positively 4th Street (119 Hampstead Road, tel: +44 (0)20 7388 5380, www.positively4thstreet.co.uk). With its prohibition-themed décor and 1950s New York attitude it’s a suitable follow-up to the day – yet I don’t stay long as that plush bedding awaits. The next morning’s breakfast is continental, with muesli, cereals, toast and fruit on offer, perfectly prepping this girl for a day of exploring a town as grand and mysterious as 40 Winks itself.

40 WINKS, 109 MILE END ROAD, LONDON, TEL: +44 (0)20 7790 0259, WWW.40WINKS.ORG. SINGLE ROOM, £90 (€101) PER NIGHT; DOUBLE ROOM, £130 (€146), BOTH INCLUDING BREAKFAST. TART’S NEXT EVENT IS ON 13 MARCH, AND COSTS £60 (€68). FOR MORE ON DAVID CARTER, VISIT WWW.ALACARTER.COM, AND FOR TART PARTICIPANTS, VISIT WWW.GLAMOURKITTEN.COM, WWW.FRED-AND-GINGER.COM, WWW.KATHERINEELIZABETHHATS.COM, WWW.VINTAGESECRET.COM, WWW.LIPSTICKANDCURLS.CO.UK AND WWW.AMBERGARNET.CO.UK