Matches co-founder Ruth Chapman on fashion, family and Inspector Morse Co-founder and joint chief executive of Matches Fashion Ruth Chapman discusses her world, with Sophie de Rosee Ruth Chapman, 51, is the co-founder and joint chief executive of Matches Fashion, which employs more than 350 staff, has 14 London stores and a website that ships to 195 countries and has 2.5 million visits per month. The name Matches was the product of a late-night brainstorm during which her husband, Tom, smoked a lot. At the end there were matches everywhere and still no name, so it was clear. Chapman lives in south London with Tom, their three children, Luke, 20, Leah, 19, and Esme, 14, and their two dogs, Dusty (pictured) and George. Morning routine I get up at 7am and have fresh carrot and beetroot juice mixed with green powders, porridge with berries and herbal tea. It's rare for all the family to sit down together, and when we do we all eat different things. Some mornings I work out with my personal trainer either here or in the gym, or I take the dogs out for a run on Wimbledon Common. Then I'll go into meetings in the office, or out and about for the rest of the day. First memory of clothes When I was about three or four I had a favourite dress, which was a traditional little frock in Black Watch tartan with puff sleeves. I threw tantrums about it because I never wanted to take it off. It felt so sophisticated. I definitely knew how clothes could make me feel from an early age. I now have six cupboards plus a storeroom downstairs where I pack away summer or winter clothes. At the moment my favourite labels are Balenciaga, Christopher Kane, Stella McCartney , Roksanda Ilincic and my new passion, Rochas. Tom buys me beautiful rings [pictured] for birthdays or if he's in a holiday mood. I haven't taken off my bracelets by Carolina Bucci and Jade Jagger for five years. PHOTO: Maria Spann Meeting Tom I first met Tom when I was 21, through a friend, and I really didn't like him at all. He was going out with a girl who is now godmother to one of the children. He seemed quite flashy for someone so young. But there was something quite magnetic about him. He always generated excitement and fun, and that was very compelling. When we got married in 1992 I wore a cream lace Lolita Lempicka suit to the register office but changed into a red velvet off-the-shoulder Antony Price gown. Tom wore Versace. Books by the bedside If someone recommends a book I'll buy it, then it will sit there for ages until I get time to read it, usually on trips or late at night. I have so many. I'm rereading JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye [pictured]. My daughter is studying it at school, so I said we would read it at the same time and then compare notes. I'm also reading Mindfulness by Mark Williams. It contains simple meditations, none of which I've done yet, but I like the idea of controlling the day ahead instead of it spiralling out of hand. Gadgets I'm terrible with gadgets. We've got a big television room with a drop-down screen but I've never known how to use it. The only thing I have ever enjoyed on television is Inspector Morse. I have an iPad but I can't use an iPhone. I live and die by my BlackBerry. It never lets me down. Holidays We have proper family holidays because it's important. I force that issue. This summer we were in Patmos and we ended up seeing a lot of people in the industry. We love a bit of a family holiday. And so far the children haven't decided they don't want to come. Holistic therapies I'm a bit of a hippie when it comes to holistic therapies. I try to have acupuncture once a week, and cranial osteopathy - anything that rebalances me and calms the nervous system. I believe in preventing disease, if you can. I drink juices, take powders and supplements. I'll try to be healthy but not obsessively so. I'll still eat an entire packet of Haribo or drink a bottle of red wine. Plates I've started collecting Meissen china. These plates [pictured] are my favourites. The only problem is that cream falls through the little holes around the edge. I think these were from 1stdibs.com, which Tom is always finding things on. We also have a collection of antique glass. Perfect evening It would be snuggled up on the sofa with Tom, watching a film. That would be perfect. We find the time to do that about once a week. Often it will be the whole family together. There are always interruptions, with people leaping up to get things or a dog that needs letting in or out. Smoking I don't like smoking at all. Tom has just given up after 35 years and he's very bad tempered. He's hating it and feels as if he's missing something enormous. My stepmother was diagnosed with lung cancer six months ago and she's a smoker. It has been very hard for her, and for him to see. It's a bit of a wake-up call. Photographs If the house were burning down, I would save my photograph albums. I've got gazillions of them, starting when we got married up until eight years ago, when digital happened. I'm useless about printing photographs, so they are all on computers. One day I'll get them done. The children look at them all the time and remove things. It makes me so cross. Hair I found my first grey hairs in my late 20s and by the time I reached 40 I was colouring it every third week. My face started swelling up every three weeks, and I didn't put two and two together until a mum at school told me it was the hair dye. I discovered that dark hair dye is really bad for you if used regularly. There are even links between dark hair dye and cancer. When I came home with a whole head of highlights all my children cried because it was so different. But now I have highlights only every six months. I'm happy with it, but I would love to have my dark hair back. Getting dressed As I get older, my style evolves. There are things I wouldn't do now but my girlfriends of the same age do and they look great, such as leather trousers. In fact I don't wear leather at all; it doesn't feel right. I don't wear stretch jeans because that's what my girls wear, and I don't want to compete with someone who is younger. There is a way of dressing as you get older that younger people can, I hope, look up to and think, 'Oh, that's actually quite cool. I would do that if I were 50-something. Last cry Luke went to South America for three months this year. I was fine until I got home from the airport, and then a huge wail came out of me. It was very cathartic. Before that I cried last year when my dad died. On the wall I discovered Shepard Fairey when my daughter was doing her GCSEs. This piece called Global Target [pictured] came up for auction at Bonhams this summer. I have some lovely pieces of art and photography by the children. Our house is rich with everybody's art.