Utterly Inessential Shopping List

The best weekend bags and finest holdalls that (rather a lot of) money can buy

Going somewhere nice? You might be soon, so here's Hetty Lintell with her pick of the finest holdalls and best weekend bags you can buy.

Best smart speakers for non-techie people: What to expect, what you'll love and what doesn't work

Smart speakers are no longer the preserve of tech geeks and millennials — these handy speakers are, and (as we'll discover) particularly handy for those living in the countryside. We've looked at some of the main contenders to see which one comes out on top: Google Nest Audio, Amazon Echo Studio, the Apple HomePod Mini, and the Audio Pro G10.

Best Father's Day gifts, from cosy jumpers and sporty gadgets to the ultimate gift for a Marmite lover

There are many ways to show your Dad that you love and appreciate him. There's breakfast in bed, an offer to mow the lawn, a big hug and the offer of the last biscuit. Or you could just buy him something that he definitely doesn't need, but we're pretty sure he'll want. Happy Father's Day!

The £11,000 dog sofa, the £640 water bowl and other extraordinary things for pampered pets

Nothing is too good for our furry friends, as this pick of utterly marvellous — if slightly unhinged — shopping options demonstrates perfectly.

Easter gifts of real quality, from a diamond bunny to a Fabergé egg

Hetty Lintell and Toby Keel pick out some, all the while desperately trying to avoid using the word 'eggsquisite'.

The Utterly Inessential Mother's Day list: From flowers and pillows to baths and scarves

From The Royal Osteoporosis Society's extraordinary auction to wonders from Aspinal and flowers in a tube (really), we take a look at some of the loveliest ways to give your mother a treat for Mother's Day on March 14, as picked out by Toby Keel and Hetty Lintell.

12 things to buy for a truly beautiful nursery

Make the little one’s room a haven of calm, says Hetty Lintell.

How to thrive in Lockdown 3.0, from enjoying nature and music to the Wonders of the World

If you'd told us 11 months ago where we'd be now, we wouldn't have believed you — but here some tips on keeping your head held high.

The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: Three things to help you keep fit as Lockdown 3.0 rumbles on

If you stuck to your resolutions in January, congratulations. If, like the other 99.999% of us, you didn't manage it then step this way...

Best January sales deals, from winter coats to exquisite jewellery

Not all the best purveyors of luxury hold January sales — but some do, and the Country Life team has picked out some of the most beautiful items on offer.

The Utterly Inessential last-minute Christmas gift shopping list, from £15 to £9,600

The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: Headphones for wannabe rock gods, an indoor jungle and notebook nirvana

The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: Winter's least appropriate shoes, a bed of rare glory and an everything-proof mobile for adventurers or the incurably clumsy

Every week in this little slot, we lament the nastiness out in the world and suggest that you alleviate some of that negativity with something to make you smile. This week's selection comes from Victoria Marston and Toby Keel — enjoy.

The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: A watch that's older than planet earth, the ultimate bowl for tasteful dogs and saving the planet via the medium of cashmere

If Nero were alive today, he wouldn't have fiddled while Rome burns — he'd have bought stuff off the internet. And this is the page he'd have come to in order to help make his choices, where he'd have found the weird and wonderful as picked out by Victoria Marston and Toby Keel.

The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: The smartwatch equivalent of a 110-blade penknife, time-travelling teddy bears and a sewing kit that's cross-stitch meets clock-stitch

Is it right that we fight off the ennui of 21st century life by buying things we don't really need, but want anyway? Probably not, but that's the world we're in, and Toby Keel and Victoria Marston are here to help you navigate your way through it.

The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: A city girl's guide to surviving the Scottish Highlands

Much of this year, Utterly Inessential has focused on things to make staying in your own home for months on end a more pleasant experience. This week, though, we've handed over the keys to Country Life's luxury editor, Hetty Lintell, who went up to Scotland over the summer — and made these notes on how to make it through in one piece.

The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: The ultimate face mask, salvation for bored dogs and saving the world, one coffee capsule at a time

Well all be wearing face masks for a long time yet, so in a shockingly topical twist to Utterly Inessential we have one that fits the brief of design-overkill quite magnificently — as well as our usual mix of wonders. Victoria Marston is your guide.

Utterly Inessential Shopping List: Defying the end of summer, a clock that doesn't tick and a dinner party in a box (N.B. dinner not included)

Time to forget the necessities and indulge in this week's nice-to-haves. Victoria Marston and Toby Keel are your guides.

The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: Back to university special, featuring eight creative ways to blow through your student loans

The Utterly Inessential Shopping List: Tea for one, gin for anyone, and the solution for a ponging pooch

Victoria Marston guides us through this week's collection of wonders, where every whim of fussy humans and even fussier dogs is taken care of.