There can often come a moment even in the most stylish woman's life when continuing to make an effort seems pointless. In her memoirs, Mabel, Countess of Airlie, recalled visiting the exiled French Empress Eugenie in 1902. According to Lady Airlie, the former client of couturier Worth, once renowned for her impeccable appearance, now "wore an old black gown . . . and a shabby big black garden hat". She looked "like any old French peasant woman". Such a description could never be applied to Margaret McDonnell. This octogenarian grandmother clearly does not believe in allowing standards to slip under any circumstances and, indeed, why should they? She still takes the keenest interest in the capital's cultural life and drives herself into the city centre to attend theatre and opera productions. McDonnell's curiosity and energy remain limitless and it is the possession of so much enthusiasm which helps to keep her perennially youthful.

Equally important, she continues to look immaculate at all times and to keep her wardrobe updated. Her favourite designer is the late Jean Muir but new names are not necessarily rejected, provided they can give the same degree of comfort and elegance offered by Muir's clothes; other favourite names include Anouska Hempel and Sonia Rykiel. McDonnell is no fashion victim; she dresses for her age but keeps abreast of trends, adopting those elements which suit her own style. With her small, sprightly figure, she tends to wear soft fabrics such as silk jersey and cashmere and looks as well in bold prints as in blocks of solid jewel colour (something of a rarity among women of any age). Her hair is always worn back in a lightly-held chignon and her make-up applied with an assured dexterity and finished with a dash of bright red lipstick. McDonnell offers evidence that style and flair are not the prerogatives of any one age, being dependent instead on discipline and dynamism with a healthy dash of inquisitiveness.