Why good news for John Lewis is good news all round for retailers especially Marks and Spencer

Yesterday I made an exception to attending press days. In the main I don't have time what with promoting Girlynomics and writing my novel as well as delivering copy to earn my crust. But I really couldn't resist going to the M&S high summer one. I am a big fan of M&S but equally a harsh critic.  My criticism stems from love, truly it does. And boy did I feel the love yesterday.

The samples on view were simply terrific. Totally terrific in terms of design and price point. This is good news for the consumer. I admit I loitered over the Limited Collection and Autograph samples more than any other but that was for a good reason - it is because I think these collections are coming back to a point of veritable consumer excitement! I can also highly commend the M&S Woman stuff in parts. Per Una remains an anathema to me and I suspect, although horrified to admit it, I'm in their target market or slowly moving that way!

Not only was there a nice cup of tea if one wanted on arrival but a gorgeous little nail bar where the lovely Lizzie Court of Lizzie Court Makeup made my nails rather perfect with Limited Collections Polish in Ultra Violet which is really a delightful forget me not type of colour.

I've picked out  a selection of items that start hitting the stores from late March, early April. Starting with childrenswear my eyes spotted a gorgeous little scarf with flamingos on it - so cute I might get it for me.

Look at these lovely retro romper suit set for girls. I know someone who will be a recipient of these!

Not forgetting the boys, some nice alternative print shorts for the little man in your life, tres chic.

And these beach cover ups for girls need to be sized up for us big girls as well.

Back to womenswear the accessorises continue to go from strength to strength...

And these were some of the garments I snapped and believe me there could easily have been more.

Limited Collection shirt - two trends ticks for this one graphic stripes and yellow.

A great splash of neon with these M&S Women tees.

A simple shift dress from the Autograph range.

 I love this purple metallic shirt from Limited 

And actually this image doesn't do this gorgeous Limited skirt justice 

I really had to tear myself away from the press room as it was a haven of loveliness and I so easily relax in these circumstances. I was so relaxed that when taking the lift down I nearly followed someone out to the first floor. Realising my mistake I immediately said to another person in the lift 'Opps need to concentrate more' and then went on to say that actually was what my school reports used to say. Luckily the fellow person in lift was kindly disposed to enter into school report banter of 'should try harder', 'if made more effort would do well' and obviously 'needs to talk less in class.'

Which brings me neatly to M&S going forward and of course the current A* pupil John Lewis. John Lewis, whatever anyone might think currently, was the worst store in the world about 8 years ago. You couldn't fault it for white goods and kitchen stuff but everywhere else was a bit dull. In fact it was all round dull and the sight of managers with clip boards (which occasionally still happens) was too frequent and very depressing. What did they do? Their move much earlier into a new purpose built John Lewis store at Cribbs Causeway from their old Bristol city centre store afforded them a view of what they could be like. It was probably true for M&S. Both were poised to draw lessons of how to remodel and refit their existing stores. It gave these businesses with flagship stores to examine in this environment what new buying patterns might yield and then... the internet hit. Suddenly areas like womenswear were hit very badly, access to beguiling garments away from the high street offerings really hit a cord. John Lewis stepped up to the mark and improved their buying. It still isn't right but along the way they improved every other bit of the store and started to join the dots with Waitrose and their online business. Now you can look online, check out in store walk away and order at your convenience to your local Waitrose. Where once I had to schlep up to Oxford St to get what I wanted (mainly Eve Lom cleanser) I now order online and pick up with my copy of Grazia and some bread. 

John Lewis build up a brand mix of accessibility, mixed in clever things like Little Home and made the internet work for them which conveniently is the way the consumer wants it to work as well. M&S has yet to get that exactly right. The shops are still over stocked, not enough clarity of merchandising or rather where there is, it is stuffed to the rafters. They still need their stock system to understand supply and demand to make the necessary adjustments for the future not necessarily just to restock best selling  items (which they seem to fail to do to). M&S still seems hell bent on pushing items in womenswear and woefully getting it wrong (a lot). In fairness this is true of John Lewis womenswear, there is a lot of irrelevance there too. However John Lewis happily reported great trading and great trading in these difficult times must give hope to everyone. I am particularly happy for the partnership staff who can enjoy the fruits of their labour as 9 weeks of wages, although taxation will dent that a bit. The only downside in this news is the tragic fact that the cleaning staff are woefully underpaid and are not partners and the possibility that a layer of management amounting to 300 redundancies is imminent . Maybe Mr Selfridge would have something to say about that - the tv version of course.

And in conclusion methinks M&S are watching and learning because it really feels as if they have turned a corner. My advice would be to get the good womenswear stuff, pieces that are modern, current and edgy out to the suburbs and towns. Why on earth hasn't the M&S at Epsom got Limited - H&M are cleaning up in that town with every age, having invested in a bigger better womenswear store. Get faster at collections in store from the website. Stop playing music in the stores, this is trashy and John Lewis is testament to how peace from unnecessary noise aids buying. Really look at how you stores are laid out and the fitting rooms need sorting - no music, more homely less harsh and no asking 'was it any good' or 'how did you get on', forgive me but it obvious when you are being handed everything back, it is a no!

Because M&S, John Lewis has proved that everything needs to be just so and seemingly effortless for customers. Having seen your High Summer collection you should be very proud of what you can do and further my recent experiences in your lovely food halls and the helpful staff there at Marble Arch and Tolworth are proof that you can do it - everywhere. Just turn off the music, step up the fashion and I'll be at the front of the queue every time as I know you can be the best.

The Vagrancy of Brand Snobbery

Things often come in threes and my recent experience of brand snobbery was no exception. I have long argued that people can only buy what they can afford and if clothes are cheap and people buy them that is their choice. The issue of how they are produced and the cost in terms of pay and the environment are difficult concepts for many people to understand.

The recent horse meat scandal in the UK focused people on the matter of cheap meat and the consequences of it. I have long held the view that I would rather go without something than buy it cheaply. I do have the advantage of a family who had a small holding and also I have a good grasp of what foods to eat. I am good at running the household budget and cooking. Every week I produce a meal planner and build what I buy around it. My book Girlynomics is a testament to living within your means based on your personal income. However I am not a proponent of austerity measures currently the vogue of Government spending, it is a fundamental flaw in how economics is talked about to think the GDP of an economy is something akin to a household budget.

Personal debt is an issue to be concerned with if you are the person in debt or wish to reduce it. Then my book is extremely useful. Being concerned with health and wealth is a preoccupation of many of us but of late I have noticed that being concerned with or conducting ones life in a particular way seems to give many the licence to be judgmental and snobby.

I really hope that Girlynomics can educate many people on the matter of budgeting and learning to live within their means. Part of the success of this is not looking at what others have or envying others for having more than oneself. This is a horrendous consequence of current day neo liberalism and capitalism. More is more in terms of status and standing.

My point is if you can only afford to buy clothing from Primark or H&M at low end price points then that is what you have to do. You may question quantity over quality you may want to think about second hand clothes in charity shops - there are lots of options to consider but ultimately it is your choice to do as you want. Don't be influenced by the worship of certain brands or designers to make you feel inferior. You can only afford what you can afford. Your worth is not apportioned to what you have in material terms. On this matter I am not a label snob.

Imagine my surprise when in my day job as a writer delivering fashion copy for a national magazine I encountered brand snobbery. I had selected a dress for readers as an option to dress up or down. The point was to buy one dress for the spring summer season and work it. I have selected items from this brand before for my blog and other magazines plus online sites I write for. I have access to a wide bank of retail images but for this brand it is a a direct request. I duly requested the image and after a right old few emails of explaining why I wanted this image and who for I was refused on the grounds 'this is not a publication we have worked with before.' Oh lordy! I swiftly sent an email asking was this brand snobbery and why this publication posed an issue so I could explain to the deputy editor. Guess what no response has been forthcoming.

People this is not a brand who can afford to take this route. It sells its clothes via ASOS as well as in stores and its own stores. Actually lets get real here anyone can buy their clothes! If you have money you can purchase an item from them. The magazine in question sells well and you can buy it anywhere. The people who read it are from varying backgrounds and disposable income and guess what they buy things.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I had to rein myself in from all out twitter abuse of this brand. The CEO is a person from an ordinary background who worked her way up from the shop floor so to speak. All I can say is they can whistle because I will never use them again in publications they don't have an issue with, will not use them for all the other outlets they have enjoyed publicity from and most certainly won't be buying off them again. The refusal of an image saved me £250 that I was about to spend on 2 dresses.

And if that wasn't enough twitter was rife with FROW dissing - when will people get the FROW these days is part of the show. The pantomime of the catwalks weeks. Once the showing of collections moved from being an industry based information point for buyers and customers to a media circus then quite frankly anything goes. Criticising a design house because Kim Kardashian was a FROW person for their collection is utterly pointless. Who cares who is seated in the FROW. It is a matter of personal taste who one likes or doesn't. It reminds me of Tom Ford getting hot under the collar because Victoria Beckham was wearing Gucci. 'Stop giving her clothes' he shouted at the PR. Who nicely retorted 'I don't, she buys them.'

Buy what you want, like who you want and wear what you want and say no to brand snobbery because it is as vagrant as a tramp.

This dress may not be for sale to you or me !

image: ASOS

Freedom from Fashion Weeks

Tis a terrible thing to say but at last I feel free from the endless succession of parades that is fashion week. Fashion week of New York, London, Milan and Paris. Don't get me wrong I won't stop loving the new seasons, I won't stop coveting the new collections but I'm no longer a player merely a bystander and it is so much more relaxing.

Firstly I lose any need to go to certain shows or feel a glimmer of envy when someone else gets invited but I don't. After all the lack of invites means endless press rounds later to really get to grips with the collections that are going into store. I still will have to do a few press rounds for a few retailers for my magazine writing but that is it. I go because it is really useful and I like doing it.

Secondly my wardrobe needs never fear not having current items. If I want them then I can but if not there is no obligation to be 'current' 'on trend' or wearing something the right way. Freedom.

Now I am merely a bystander I can glance because right now my life is full of writing, publishing matters and getting to grips with the publishing industry and how the trade functions...which might mean I need a new look.....

My book Girlynomics is available to download onto Kindle from Amazon and this is its first review.

image: Topshop Unique at London Fashion Week

Stellar Sports look

Sports luxe has moved up a notch of late especially with the range for Adidas by Stella McCartney. It offers an alternative to formal dressing but yet somehow still looks put together rather than basically just casual.

Image: Net-A-Porter Lightweight shell hooded top Adidas by Stella McCartney

And it was these images I had in mind when thinking about a review of Katies Fashion. Conscious of Australian readers and of course the difference in seasons (what wouldn't I give to be down under right now for some sunshine) is a difficulty when taking of seasons.

However sports luxe cuts across continents, hemispheres and seasons. No matter where you are or what you do women's jackets are a must in your wardrobe. They add something to a look and at the same time offer a practical option. This lightweight cotton jacket from Katies Fashion's range of jackets  adds not only a bit of sports luxe but a northern hemisphere S/S catwalk hit colour in yellow.

Katies Lightweight Cotton Jacket $59.95

Wear this jacket with shorts and beach bag on a cooler day or with straight jeans turned up with ballet flats. And I will be looking to wear the same come our spring and summer!

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All that Glitters is not Gold

It seems I have saved myself a lot of stress by not watching the X Factor as the bookies and viewers golden girl Ella was the latest casualty of a series gripped by cruise ship and camp mania. It seems X Factor fans of old cannot reconcile themselves to the fact the people voting actually like the singing of Christopher and the weekly showmanship of Rylan. That is why in fashion land we need editors or opinion formers and trendsetters.

These folks can steer a fashion ship away from the rocks with a mere sartorial slight of the hand. It is the moment of perspective when advice is given that prevents us from donning gold lame frocks and chandelier earrings for a dinner do.

It is what should have happened to Darcy Busell on Saturday night's Strictly. I was taken aback by her pastiche referencing of 60s evening do. It was way off piste. The trick with referencing is to make it modern not a poor imitation or if you want to be exactly vintage then get every single aspect of the look correct including genuine articles of the time. Which brings me nicely to the point of the post - how to wear gold and glitter this festive season. My main concern is based around a lovely pair of glittery gold shoes from Zara bought this time last year. I love them and want to wear them but this year I have realised that they can't be part of a party outfit as the context for glitter is drawn.

The shift is to a casual sense of glamour - the idea you put on your straight jeans, which are slightly rolled up and you add a crew neck and then slip on your sparkly heels. Or you wear plain heels, block coloured trousers with a top that has glitter on it. Glitter and gold folks is firmly kept in rein with dignity, add chandelier earrings with trepidation.

Sequin tee by Unique Topshop £120

Gold court shoe Nine West at Kurt Geiger £95

Poppy Power

Progress isn't always a good thing but sometimes it most definitely is, especially in the case of wearing poppies in honour of soldiers. As start of the First World War nearly a century ago approaches the danger of history is the lessons of the past are no longer drawn upon. The Royal British Legion has to battle it out with other 'good' causes and many due to the whys of recent wars some of us struggle to find the relevance.

Lets not forget the reality of humankind is that our progress is faltering in many departments but the fallen, the injured, the widowed and the children still rely on the Poppy Appeal to provide welfare for serving and ex-service people from across all the Armed Forces.

Sometimes fashion really does lend a helping hand with the advent of the poppy as a piece to wear with pride and style during the Poppy Appeal run up to Armistice Day on November 11th. I've already bought mine and as well as donating by buying the poppy to wear with ease, I also happily donate my lose change to the collection tins.

I bought my poppy from aptly named Poppy Sparkles for £9.00 including UK postage the poppies can be brought from Viv or via her Etsy shop.

On the high street Marks and Spencer are 'bedazzling' us with their Diamanté Encrusted Remembrance Day Poppy Brooch £15  - this is a real wow poppy that I need for night time. Currently it is the easiest way to transform your day to night look! The M&S diamanté brooches are available in stores and online.

Somerset Passion & Fashion

It seems the notion of six degrees of separation is bringing me and Alice Temperley ever closer. Given her parents have a cider farm in Somerset and my father has recently provided a cider press illustration for a book on a Somerset family it surely means we must soon meet and chink a glass of cider ourselves.

There is much to admire about Alice Temperley, her designs and success but more importantly it is her recent collaboration with John Lewis and her Somerset range that will surely endear her to the masses. Before writing this post I popped into John Lewis to have a good look at the collection. It is true to the aesthetics of Temperley London designs and reflects an idyll of living in the country which works as well for an urban city dweller.

Cape Coat, Black (available in Camel) £299 Somerset by Alice Temperley

Somerset is a county that is often neglected being neither Cornwall or offering the Cotswold's as does Gloucestershire. Although of course Somerset does have Glastonbury! It is an area of the country synonymous with cider and apples. Somerset has no pretensions, it is an easy going sort of place and quietly gets along with its own business of farming and remaining essentially a collection of towns and villages. Unless you count Bath and Bristol there is no major conurbation still in the 21st century.

Hence the romance of the Somerset collection in John Lewis

Green long dress £150 Somerset by Alice Temperley

Yet the fashion for Somerset is not merely restricted to actual fashion garments nor is it merely the romantic conception of Alice Temperley. Somerset is alive and breathing in an amazing family tale of village life and a snapshot of social history in the book The Wrong Side of the Track

It is the opposite of Temperley's Somerset with its almost stately reverence and is a reflection of the village life of the workers, often the hardships of ordinary folk mainly in the 1920s and 1930s. Yet the same romance and magic that Temperley plays upon is captured in this book due to the interweaving of narrative and memoirs, historical investigation and reflection and ultimately the complexities of the family. Trish Jennings pays tribute to her father Fred Jennings as the last male of the family line in this book. It is all there in words in the way the popular BBC series 'Who do you think you are' can only touch upon. One of the most enlightening and amazing facts of the book is that the village of Shapwick suffered no male losses during both World Wars. There is much more to this book than mere pleasant facts as everything about the family is laid bare.

At £12.75 on Amazon 'The Wrong Side of the Track' is a lot cheaper than the Somerset line in John Lewis, but they both go hand in hand. Both are a homage to a county that is held dear to many. The rich jewel of Temperley and her Somerset designs are supplemented by the richness of exploration of Somerset village life in the Jennings book.

Therefore, I suggest you buy a dress from Somerset by Alice Temperley to look the part for the festive season and you have 'The Wrong Side of the Track' ready for January to read and digest the detail of a bygone era .

Inspiration

When I teach personal stylist students at the NHJ Style Academy my main drive is to inspire them to be creative and not be constrained by rules. Particularly rules about colour. There are good reason for rules, like not speeding in busy urban areas, but there are no good rules when it comes to colour.

I had to make a dash to the Royal Academy to catch the 'From Paris: A Taste for Impressionists' exhibition which ends next week on the 23rd of September. I forced my father who can get me in for free to meet up and he was quite obliging despite the fact he'd seen it three times already. Even better he bought me the catalogue of the exhibition so I have a reference to it.

Image: Manet, 'Moss Rose in a Vase' Royal Academy

It is the use of colour, how light is captured and represented that is so inspiring. And it is always around the time of the big fashion weeks that I find myself more drawn to looking at everything around me than the catwalk outputs.

It is easy to be beguiled by collections and so much harder to develop your personal style in relation to inspiration and whim because collections are so definite. The looks, the trends are presented and then edited and bought and available.

As I'm not about to only make my own garments as I once used to do, I am equally dependant on availability in stores and online. But it is important to once in a while reflect and draw upon other sources rather than fashion magazines or blogs to stake stock of what inspires you.

Fashion & Celebrity Culture book launch

Mrs MDS loves a book launch especially in the hey days of facebook and twitter and pop up shops, a book launch seems dignified and solid. It was especially wonderful to be back in my old college. Nothing much has changed and I was relieved to find I can still get in with charm and no id card! But don't tell anyone.

En route to launch I had a sneaky peek at the Carmen - A Life in Fashion exhibition all the better for no one else being around. It really is well worth a visit and is on until the 14th of January.

I also couldn't resist sitting alone in room, in the is case the visual merchandising teaching area. I just love the classroom and being there. It is somehow detached from the humdrum of work and feels more expansive and creative.

 What's not to love

In which I place myself back in student mode with a better coat - my See by Chloe pea jacket which seems very Sarah Lund these days

 The book of the book launch! Fashion and Celebrity Culture. A wonderful academic but interesting blast through the gamut of celebrity culture. Most importantly a book that toasts cultural studies and is an example of teaching informing research. A must have if you are studying anything to do with Fashion or you have a keen interest in culture and celebrity culture at that. The Daily Mail would do well to serialise it! The enigmatic author is Pamela Church Gibson, who was my course director for my MA in Fashion & Film 

First year MA Fashion and Film student Wei Chan from Shanghai. Wei was impeccably dressed which does not translate as my iPhone pic is so poor but I must interview her for this blog. I was taken a back that she knew me before we met due to a video I made about the course, that in Shanghai she'd watch it and been interested enough to come and study here! I also need to know where she got her shoes from.

The formidable but brilliant Agnes Rocamora who has widely researched fashion blogs so we had a big catch up on how things had changed since the days when they were a mere blip on the blogosphere. I was never late for her lecturers!

Anna the book editor from Berg the publishers

My old chum photographer Lukas Kroulik 

Pamela Church Gibson & Lukas

Yours truly & Pamela - both of us are adopting the non celebrity pose. I'm gushing and Pamela is above these things! The dignified lecturer and the hapless student.

When men fall...

Yesterday I felt numb all day. Specifically around 11ish when a BBC Wales friend texted me to say Gary Speed was dead and it was just going to be announced by the Football Association Wales.  I know I'm a fashion person but I have a great interest in football. My PHd if I ever get round to it will be on football and fashion.

Really was my response because I couldn't take it in, Gary Speed dead at 42. How could I? Only 3 weeks earlier I had bumped into Gary Speed and his wife in Knightsbridge partaking in a spot of shopping before they went as invited guests to the Strictly Come Dancing studio to see Robbie Savage perform. The point of this minute encounter is the politeness and charm that Gary exuded. After all I had only met him a couple of times through work in my radio days and as a 'fan' of his. Let's not pretend there has been an abundance of good looking Welsh boys playing football because there hasn't. Most of my girlfriends including me had a crush on Gary at some point. On his last ever match for Wales which if my memory serves me right was against some one like Romania, he was the one everyone clapped off and it was very difficult for me to interview him with his top off! 

Speed's untimely death represents the third public announcement of death that has jolted a nation (and I don't just mean Wales, the whole of the UK and the male population as well). The suicides of Isabella Blow and Lee McQueen touched a fashion loving nation but because of their work, their lifestyles it was almost as if their suicides were brushed into a ridiculous sphere called the 'curse of the creative'. For too long suicide has been aligned with bad behaviour, tortured creative genius, escape from justice - all manner of excuses rather than the cold hard fact that mental illness like the common cold is a disease, a disease that can affect anyone.

Because Gary was a charming man, a straightforward person on the surface, a man who had it all in buckets, no one can comprehend the how or why. On paper the evidence say success in a nice way. Good club football player, looked after himself, played well with no malice, well liked by all and a lovely family man.

The opening paragraph in Henry Winter's article on the death of Gary Speed in The Telegraph is a testament to his stature in the man's world of football. It is this man's world that has been shattered by an easy going member of their club.

Now perhaps we can talk and discuss suicide and its effects without the labelling, without the cries of 'selfish', without any further pigeon holeing. Let's face it Lee McQueen didn't kill himself because he was a creative genius, he was a man in pain, grieving for his mother and struggling with his grief, but he was a man who did suffer with depression. Isabella Blow had long been troubled by her family circumstance, her fall from grace when she became person non grata in the fashion world. Her coping mechanisms weren't there. She suffered from depression.

Depression is not necessarily a vice like grip on the person, some suffer from it all their lives, others have experienced a bout of depression but recovered very well. Some of us never experience it but may have had anxiety or panic attacks. But it is about time it stops being talked about in hushed terms, treated as a 'mental' condition when the body and mind as a whole are physical organs. Health is health. I don't know any family or circle of friends who don't know someone who hasn't suffered from depression or being 'down'.

Suicide is a by product of being unwell not of madness. American blogger Sister Wolf has suffered with the fact her son Max committed suicide and a recent post outlines new developments on understanding suicide

The fashion for labelling people and typecasting suicide needs to stop. We all need to reach out and take time with people. If the recent economic crisis has taught us anything it must be that we should value people more and wealth less. We are rich indeed if we remain on this earth and connected with others. We are best dressed with kindness and caring. If it takes the death of a quiet man to unite us in understanding this then at least something good has come of anguish and pain.