Shop, Style, Bloggers

On my Manchester trip I popped into Selfridges, good fun to check out the bite size version of the London store. And can I say how friendly the staff are. I was in shock. Not only were they friendly, a couple of them asked me where I'd got my jumpsuit from. It is a great store with well presented merchandise and a wonderful mural alongside the escalators. The mural is a celebration of all things Manchester including Morrisey!



Apres my sojourn around the city centre it was back to the hotel for the style event and a lovely evening it was too. I got to meet two Northern bloggers Pearl of Fashion Pearls of Wisdom and Mrs Bossa

We did the shoe pose as we had a riot of colour on our feet. Pearl and I were in Chanel nail varnish wars. I had Riviera on and Pearl was sporting Nouvelle Vague.

Great blogger posing, we have no shame! I loved both Mrs Bossa's and Pearl's outfits and loved meeting them. Nice to have friendly faces in an audience.

Shopping is tiring.

It was a horrid murky today in London and I sort of went a bit mad in Reiss. In fact I loved the clothes in Reiss and everywhere else felt a bit flat afterwards, on my budget. What I have realised is how pricey everything has got - this is what happens when you almost don't buy anything for a year.
A pile of things ready to be hung up nicely which I did straight away. I'll introduce my items bit by bit as I'm too tired to even think about them now.

This is my lovely sequin top to go with skinny jeans - oh and I bought some skinny chinos from Gap but the boots I want won't be in until the 1st of October now. I bought two belts, one is gold and the other a midnight blue. The midnight blue was a bit expensive at £90 from LK Bennett but it is very luxurious and will look great! Zzzzzz

The shrine of conspicuous consumption!

In the days of my travels to New York, Paris and Milan , rarely thank goodness for the fashion shows. I have to say New York was and always will be my favourite place to shop. My first luxury lust was in Paris but then I was a poor fashion assistant journalist who had no money and when I was that person with money, I was working hard in Paris with no time for shopping! Although, somehow I always fulfilled the family beauty orders. My mother's sister is addicted to Guinot, which is only sold in beauty salons in the UK. I am addicted to BioDerma's Crealine H2O so always stock up in France.


My first designer handbag purchase was at Gucci in Milan - a beautiful leather old school small hobo. It is as chestnut as the best racehorse and the leather is sheer bliss. My best fun in Milan was always in Prada's shop in the Gallerie Vittorio Emanuele II, for some reason I reverted to a silly schoolgirl messing about on a Saturday afternoon in Dolcis and used to try on loads of shoes there in the downstairs and never buy a single pair. Mind you I'd always been having a lunchtime tipple with friends in the Piazza del Duomo.


But it is in New York that the experience moves into another bracket. The service is unforgettable. If its bad you can have a good old ding dong and be satisfied! My best argument was in Starbucks in Trump Tower and it was extremely satisfactory for both me and the girl serving. I'm surprised we didn't high five after it! I do like the rudeness factor in New York - its all give and take, whereas in London, stroppiness is one step away from a straight jacket.


And just when the memory of your NYC trip is fading you get a little card from Gucci or Bergdorf to thank you for you custom. Sometimes even a Christmas card. Not only have you got the goods but you've got a keepsake of the moment you bought them. Mind you it is only the shoe and bag people that do this.


Except for one of my Bergdorf excursions but for good reason! I couldn't get my size shoes in the Manolo shop on 54th street so went to Barneys, then Bergdorf. In Bergdorf not only did I have fun with the rich old ladies who take their dogs out in plush pushchairs to shop, but I encountered the only straight guy in the store. If it has been an episode of SATC, I would have channelled Samantha and had fun in the store cupboard. Being more like Charlotte, I bought the shoes but it really is the only time I have ever flirted with a sales assistant and the only time I didn't get a card -shame!


In these times of doom and gloom I decided to create my shrine of conspicuous consumption a la NYC, and bow down to such good times!

My New York footwear and bag purchases. I realised I left my half insole in my Manolo!

Retail weakspots!

Now I don't want to be a doom monger but it has to be said that troubled times are ahead for clothing retailers. The high street and the designers are going to face a tough time if they get it wrong. Women aren't going to stop shopping for clothes but being more selective is going to have an impact. All out more, more, more isn't going to be an option either due to moral choice, lack of funds or a sense of saving. I'm unsure which designer houses are going to be impacted but we'll have more of an idea of this after Q3 next year (June, July, August 2009).

On the high street there are clear indicators already. USC are already in administration with a rescue package underway which won't necessarily prevent the inevitable.
Sadly it includes the wonderful shop at Maison Bertaux.
Many stores have failed to change their customer experience (service, ambiance etc.) or their stock. A proliferation of the high street hasn't helped with the low to high end all competing for the same customers.

Sir Phillip Green is the key person and he seems to have the upper hand with Topshop and Dorothy Perkins. Dotty Ps will suffer but I suspect he has a business model to overcome any downturn. Primark is going to continue to provide that fast cheap fashion fix.

My predictions for wobbles and even the end in the UK high street are:
Jane Norman
Vestry
Morgan
Karen Millen
Whistles
All Saints
Debenhams
Ted Baker (women's)
even New Look

Taking a battering will undoubtedly be M&S
Oasis and French Connection will be put under strain as will Kew and Jigsaw. Plus John Lewis and House of Fraser in their clothing retail, they both carry the same concessions with a few exceptions.

Gosh that's quite a lot. Who do you think will bite the bullet or reign supreme?

images BBCi

PS The breaking news that greeted me this morning was the collapse of Morgan the french retail chain with 33 stores in the UK ... and I'd written this two days earlier opps!

Reunited

Returning to the subject of the slow fashion movement, I decided to investigate old haunts of which agnès b was once on.

The shop in Covent Garden in Floral Street is light and airy with a great selection of clothes and accessories to browse. I felt an old affinity to the logo and would love to have bought a named shopper - that's before I spotted the most gorgeous white faux fur jacket. Oh well. Luckily in my price range is a great slogan tee - perfect for me.

What's one of your favourite old shopping haunts?

The regency of Regent Street

Well, isn't it just flagship storetastic these days on Regent Street! Having suffered the dismal shopping of Oxford Street last week I decided to embrace Oxford Circus and Regents Street as the choice du jour. Despite not being hip or well kown enough to be invited to H&M's opening night, I thought a peek would be good.

Client in tow - I mandhandled her from the delights of Topshop to Aramani Xchange, then H&M - which is a pleasure in deed. They have managed to banish the jumble sale look of all their other stores, creating an open and clean shopping space. You can officially breath in H&M Regent Street.

Peeks into Hoss, COS, Massimo and then Zara were all worth visit. Liberty was bypassed for lots of reasons but hey ho! Zara on Regent Street is the only option with both Oxford Steet stores undergoing refurbishment.

You forgo a lot of the high street stores you find all over the UK - which are well represented on Oxford Street - by choosing Regent. What you get instead is a fresh perspective, a change of direction and slightly away from the crowds - not for long!