Tag Archives: trends
London-Boutiques.com relaunches
Today sees the relaunch of London-Boutiques.com, the London-centric marketplace that does a similar job to Farfetch but on a London-wide scale. You can shop by product, store or designer, plus the editorial has been boosted with insider contributions from London tastemakers and the store owners themselves who recommend their favourite local haunts and finds.
I have kicked off the blog with a piece about biker jackets. Not just your classic black leather biker but all the newer, lightweight permutations too. The West London biker of choice is a creamy wool or khaki cotton biker shrugged over neutral cashmere and denim or a vintage faded-floral dress. You can read the whole piece here…
In line with more and more etail sites, London-Boutiques offers free returns, picked up from your address by DHL. If there’s one thing that puts me off online shopping it’s the faff of returning unsuitable items, so this is a point worth flagging up. Here are some of my favourite biker-style buys from London-Boutiques …
Clockwise from top left:
Helmut Lang jacket/MIH shirt/IRO jacket/360Sweater cashmere jumper
Margaret Howell pre-fall 2013 collection arrives in store…
…And finally, the concept of pre-collections makes perfect sense. Landing in store any day now, the pre-fall collections (AKA the collections that take up an increasing slice of a buyer’s budget) consist of the wear-all-year pieces that have become the mainstay of British wardrobes. Continue reading
Quote of the day: Dapper Dan
“My intention was to take them and adorn my customers with them in a way that made someone wearing one of my garments feel cool, giving them that sense of “I’ve arrived!” I wanted to really make my customers stand out so that they felt like a celebrity in one of my pieces.”
Dapper Dan on his excessive custom-logo-ed hip hop garb, in conversation with Mandi Lennard on the LOVE blog
[Image: Dapper Dan with LL Cool J]
Buy it now: Top banana!
Ah at last, the mad but highly irresistible banana print separates from Topshop are now online. I shot the skirt (£38) a while ago on Andrea from Union Models and we all cooed over its cheeky wit. It comes in a thick denimy cotton which means it’s equally suited to black opaque tights and boots as jelly sandals and ankle socks. Continue reading
Trainer mania: Liberty of London X NikeID and Comme des Garçons PLAY X Converse Pro Leather
Oh boy, I bet all those po-faced sportswear companies are sooooo glad they finally embraced the fashionisation of sportswear. Since they begrudgingly accepted that trainers and windcheaters have a place beyond the running track – ideally in the wildest and wackiest colour combos – there’s been no stopping them. Continue reading
Alice Knackfuss at Other Shop
Nice one Other Shop! Continuing its mission to nurture emerging designers, Matt and Kirk have brought a. Knackfuss to London. Alice Knackfuss’s menswear-fused womenswear mixes tailoring and classic staples with exciting prints and clever, playful details. Continue reading
Live crafting: Hermes Festival Des Metiers exhibition
What’s all this talk about craft fatigue? What a load of nonsense, I’ve only just got started! Some might say that the thrill of seeing the skills at the heart of the world’s most luxurious handbags, scarves and watches is starting to tire but I hope that’s not the case. I love getting the inside secrets to age-old processes and that’s exactly what you’ll get when you visit the Hermes Festival Des Metiers exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery. Continue reading
Buy it now: luxe comfort shoes
It’s not just the catwalk getting in on the comfort shoe act (hello Celine Fur-Kenstock), die-hard comfort shoe brands have been drastically upping their game in design. While I’ve never understood the appeal of Ugg boots, I can’t fault the designs of some of Ugg Australia’s recent offers (like its men’s sheepskin-lined trainers) and aspirational advertising imagery. Continue reading
Guest post: The craft of watch-making and experiential retail from Jaeger–LeCoultre at Harrods
There’s something charming, and humbling about a one-to-one session with a true craftsman, not least when it comes to haute horlogerie with one of my favourite watch brands: Jaeger-LeCoultre. I’m a big fan of the Reverso watch from the Swiss luxury watch-maker (have you seen its latest collab with Valextra? Oh my!), that just happens to be celebrating its 180th anniversary with a dedicated exhibition space at Harrods. Continue reading
