Things To Do In August 2026: What The CF Team Are Loving

Including new restaurants to try, summer staples to shop, beauty products for your basket, and a whole host of seasonal events to attend, these are some of the top things to do in August 2026.

Summer is well and truly here, and for the Citizen Femme team that means trips to Tuscany and New York, wearing warm-weather favourites from Zimmerman, Reformation and Debute (but we’re also getting ahead on autumn dressing with the new H&M x WARDROBE.NYC collection). Back in the UK, we’re dining al fresco on outdoor terraces, partying our way through Notting Hill for carnival, and attending outdoor music and theatre. All of this plus new launches (books, hair care, smoothies, movies and more), and August looks set to be a month to remember.

This is all the inspiration you need for a fun summer.

Sheena Bhattessa, Founder

@sheenabhattessa

STAY In a gorgeous villa with Tuscany Now & More. Me, my husband and kids, and three other families. It’s going to be chaos but all sorts of wonderful. DRESS UP With a few easy-to-throw-on dresses, like the Zimmermann stripe dress, the Alémais Phyllis Ballet floral-print linen dress, and the Cecilia linen dress from Reformation. EAT At Poon’s at Somerset House, from Amy Poon, on their new summer terrace Poon’s à la Plage. EXERCISE I’m re-signed up to Barry’s Bootcamp and am very excited, but God help me! WEAR New exercise clothes always add to my inspiration, and the On x Zendaya collab is on my wishlist. TAKE A MORNING OFF At The Spa at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park for their new 111SKIN collaboration. WATCH Anything at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. I’m booked in for CATS, and am also booking ahead for Thelma & Louise at the Young Vic. READ After a really quite inspiring talk with Emma Grede at Annabel’s, I have her book, Start With Yourself, at the top of my August reading list. I’ll enjoy it with a spicy marg (of course) on sunny evenings.

 

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Katie Silcox, Managing Editor

@katiesilcox

SHOP The brand-new H&M x WARDROBE.NYC collection. It launched on 6 August and is the perfect place for back-to-work autumn essentials. I particularly love this double-breasted wool coat. READ Big Little Truths by Liane Moriarty, which is being published on 25 August. It’s the sequel to Big Little Lies (which subsequently found TV fame), and follows the lead characters’ lives 10 years later, with seemingly just as much drama. BUY A scarf bag. I’m obsessed with them right now and this tiger-print version from Elie Beaumont is very reasonably priced. EAT At OMA, a Greek restaurant in London Bridge. A friend has booked a table for five of us, and I’m looking forward to a chilled afternoon catching up over dishes like spanakopita gratin and tuna ceviche. EXPLORE The Garrison Tavern and Birmingham’s early 1900s streets at the Peaky Blinders Underworld experience. I’ve just found out that this is launching in London on 13 August. Count me in! TRY Collagen supplements. I’ve been backwards and forwards on them for years, but have finally decided to give it a go. I’ve opted for Vida Glow. SEE Tracey Emin: A Second Life before it closes at the end of the month.

 

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Becki Murray, Beauty & Wellness Director

@beckimurray_

STAY At Cameron House on Loch Lomond for the weekend. My boyfriend, who is half-Scottish, is having a big family celebration there, and it’s also a long-awaited opportunity for me to try out the hotel’s award-winning spa. VISIT Sephora’s second UK boutique store, which has just opened its doors in East London’s Old Spitalfields Market. I’m so excited to discover the new selection of viral favourites being stocked here, including from Rhode and Merit Beauty, alongside trying the space’s beauty consultations and immersive in-store experiences. DISCOVER EasyJet’s brand-new Passport to K-Beauty beauty box (now available via the flight operator’s on-board shop). It contains all the essentials you need for a beautiful flight, including a mask, cleanser, toner, serum, cream and SPF. WEAR Jo Malone London’s latest fragrance Sea Salt & Bergamot, which is not only super on theme for this month, but potentially one of my favourite launches from the brand in years. It’s fresh, woody and minerally meaning it turns heads without having to shout too loud. BUY A new pair of running trainers after I realised half way up a mountain in Iceland that my current ones are definitely losing their grip! I’m eyeing up the New Balance 1906E Shoes to keep me more sure underfoot in future.

 

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Ella Alexander, Fashion Features Director

@ella_alexander1

EAT I’m making the most of the sunshine and heading for dinner and drinks at Tower House, a riverside restaurant in Richmond from the same people behind popular Notting Hill spot, Gold. There’s a gorgeous garden for walk-ins too. I’m also returning to the superlatively good 2210 by Natty Can Cook in Herne Hill, the buzzy high-end Caribbean restaurant that is as good as everyone says. GO Speaking of Notting Hill, it’s carnival season at last! My crew and I are going to Family Day on Sunday 30 August, to drink up the music, atmosphere and costumes. WATCH Is there a person alive who doesn’t like Anthony Bourdain? New biopic Tony out on 14 August, will trace his journey before he became an acclaimed chef, writer and documentary-maker. READ Next on my list is A House in Sicily by Luisa Adorno, an evocative, funny story about a young Tuscan woman who travels from Rome to Sicily to meet her new boyfriend’s family in the wake of WWII. WEAR My brothers bought me this gold cuff from & Other Stories for my birthday last month, and it’s such a good way of taking pared-back summer outfits up a notch. I love it with a floor-sweeping, fuss-free dress and plain sandals. 

 

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Bibiana Obahor, Head of Graphic Design

@bibs.s

Despite the gorgeous weather we’ve had in the UK this summer, August always feels like the real start of it. My calendar is packed, my weekends are booked, and I’m making the most of every bit of sunshine (fingers crossed) while it lasts. EAT At the newly opened Bar Blondie, a relaxed neighbourhood wine bar serving southern European-inspired small plates, homemade pasta and great wines. It feels like the kind of place you’ll end up staying at for hours with the girls, ordering “just one more plate.” BUY The Tallulah Dress from Debute. I’ve still got one or two summer trips coming up and this is the dress I’ll pack. The pink and yellow is gorgeous, and I love the delicate embroidered lace cut-outs details. GO TO Piano People in the Park. One of my favourite things about summer is outdoor music festivals, and I’m finally, after years of being away on the date, going to Piano People in Southwark Park. There isn’t anywhere better to enjoy amapiano music than in a vibrant park setting, the atmosphere is great and you really feel a sense of community. TRY D.Y.S. by Aisha Potter x Joe & The Juice. Aisha’s glowing skin has become the stuff of legend, so I’m definitely curious to try her limited-edition juice. Made with carrot, celery, pineapple, lemon, ginger and olive oil, it’s packed with skin-loving ingredients and is basically skincare in a cup. READ The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Somehow I’ve only just got around to this modern classic. Set in Nazi-occupied France during the Second World War, it follows two sisters navigating survival in very different ways. I’ve heard it’s beautifully written and that I should prepare to cry. WATCH I’ve barely left the cinema lately because this year’s releases have been so good. Between The Odyssey, Spider-Man and Obsession, I’ve been making the most of the big screen. As a sci-fi lover, next on my list and released this August are The End of Oak Street with Anne Hathaway and The Dog Stars, Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi film. Looking a little further ahead, I’m also counting down to Sunrise on the Reaping – I finally got around to reading the book (heartbroken) – and Avengers: Doomsday.

 

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Courtney Griffiths, Experiences and Community Director

@courtneyjanegriff

HAIR I’m on a mission to get my hair back into the best condition and these three products have become my summer essentials: Crown Affair Hair Oil, K18 Hair Mask to strengthen damaged ends, and Kérastase Magic Night Serum. WEAR Alo tennis dresses, I have every colour and it’s officially my summer uniform. Also I’m loving my new NikeSKIMS collection these cropped leggings are my favourite. ESCAPE To QC New York on Governors Island for a quick island getaway from Manhattan. Just a short ferry ride from the city, its thermal baths, saunas, steam rooms and skyline views make it the perfect place to switch off and recharge. WATCH The women’s NBA team, New York Liberty, in Brooklyn. I love women’s sport and basketball is having a real moment in New York fuelled by the Knicks’ NBA Championship triumph – add sold out arenas, celebrity courtside fans and the incredible talent of the WNBA, and NY Liberty games have become one of the hottest tickets of the summer. SEE Heated Rivalry, the off Broadway parody inspired by the bestselling hockey romance. It’s one of those productions that everyone seems to be talking about and it’s got an upcoming run at the Edinburgh Fringe this Summer.

 

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