By Style14 windows
Late twenties: fourteen companions and the one thing each recommends
Good shops pin a handwritten staff pick to the shelf: one choice, one line on why. This window does the same for the fourteen companions aged 25 to 29, the largest age band in The Selection. By this point each has spent enough evenings in London to hold firm favourites, and a firm favourite is the only kind of recommendation worth following.
Below is each companion's pick, grouped by the sense it mostly serves. Take one as the plan, or simply use it to choose the name.
Late twenties, lit
14 women in the windows fit this description, going by the facts on their profiles. Each pane leads to the full picture.
Cindy
Age 26Chelsea
Danielle
Age 29South Kensington
Karolina
Age 27Covent Garden
Laura
Age 25Paddington
Liana
Age 28Marylebone
Michelle
Age 27Chelsea
Milena
Age 25South Kensington
Nora
Age 26Paddington
Patricia
Age 28Belgravia
Rosa
Age 25Marylebone
Samanta
Age 27Mayfair
Thea
Age 29South Kensington
Tina
Age 26Covent Garden
Vanessa
Age 25Paddington
Picks for the ears
Karolina: a recital at Wigmore Hall, from the rows she knows sound best. Samanta: a concert in the Duke's Hall at the Royal Academy of Music, with the programme chosen by her. Danielle: a restored print at the Regent Street Cinema, where the first films in Britain were shown to a paying audience. Tina: a bowl of punch on Berners Street, then a record bar with a proper sound system.
Picks for the eyes
Patricia: The Laughing Cavalier at the Wallace Collection, and a long look at why he is only smiling. Michelle: one room of the British Museum, never two, on a late opening night. Nora: the peacock feather print at Liberty, with its history. Vanessa: the travel shelves at Daunt Books, where she sends you to a country you have not seen.
Picks for the table
Liana: steak at Le Relais de Venise, where the absence of a menu is the point. Milena: the courtyard at Chiltern Firehouse on a warm night. Rosa: the communal table at a Marylebone cheese shop, with a glass of something red. Thea: the chef's selection at the counter of Sushi Atelier.
Picks for the open air
Cindy: a rowing boat on the lake in Regent's Park, with her at the oars and tea waiting on the terrace. Laura: Rotten Row in the late afternoon, to watch the riders go by, then an aperitivo by the arch as the evening starts. Both are daylight people, and both are easy to book once the morning is over.
Why a pick is worth taking
A recommendation from someone in her late twenties comes with reasons attached. She has tried the alternatives, knows what she likes and can tell you in a sentence why, which makes planning quick and the evening itself easy. This band also tends to enjoy a booking with a shape to it: an outing first, a table second, nothing rushed.
Asking for the pick, not the name
You can also book the pick itself. Write "Wigmore Hall on Thursday" or "something outdoors on Sunday afternoon" and Clementine will match it to the companion whose pick it is, or to whoever is free that day and shares the taste. With fourteen names, someone in the band is usually free, which makes it the easiest place to start when you are writing late or at short notice. The reply names her, the length and the figure, and you confirm or change any of the three.
Neighbouring bands, same ladder
The price list is the one every window shares, £250 on the bottom rung and £1,800 for a full night at the top. Liana, Laura, Tina and Michelle are all regular names for hotel visits, when the evening stays in your room. For other stages of life, see early twenties and thirties and beyond.
Light a window
Point to a pane on this page, or describe the look and let the desk suggest a name.