Oh joy! Liberty has extended its shopping hours. Monday-Friday it’s open til 8pm except Thursday when it’s open til 9pm. (Yes, you heard right.) Saturday it’s open til 7pm. Sunday til 6pm. My top five best ever Liberty buys:
Sonia by Sonia Rykiel leopard print sweater
Nudie Slim Kim jeans
Superfine leather S & M gloves
Herve Chapelier black canvas tote
Fornasetti lips stool
And you can’t beat a lovely afternoon tea in the Art Bar.
This sign was spotted in Kilburn this afternoon. If anyone finds Quentin please let me know!
So spring is the new summer (it’s 23 degrees outside and it’s still only April) which got me thinking, what are the big summer trends going to be? My three predictions so far:
COLOURED DENIM. The coloured skinny jean is even harder to wear then the regular skinny jean which naturally means people will be super-keen to wear them. Of course, I bought my hot pink Silas jeans two years ago – more straight than skinny actually – to wear Matthew Williamson-style with turquoise tees and yellow Converse but obviously being the fashion snob that I am there’s no way I want to wear them now.
MAXI SUMMER DRESSES. These are surprisingly practical. Great for skinny and heavy girls alike, if you hate your legs you can still be fashionable –yay! They look just as good worn casually with cowboy boots or sneakers or for dressier occasions like weddings or parties with jewelled flats and a sequinny shrug. Unfortunately, I think these are going to be EVERYWHERE come festival season and for the entire summer as it’s such a democratic look. Hmm, I think I’ll probably pass on it (especially being a short arse who can’t walk in heels).
SHORTS PLAYSUITS. This is one of those trends you see on the catwalk and think ‘oh please, design something for the real world’ and then, as you keep seeing it you think, ‘maybe I could wear that. If I wore it with a tailored jacket? And wedges?’ The silky ones by Stella McCartney do look semi-wearable, especially in neutral colours and they’re a bit daring so I reckon a dead cert for the Lohans and Richies of this world. The jersey and velour variety from American Apparel are totally hot and not too slutty if worn on the beach. In any case playsuits are already present in all the high street stores so I give it three weeks of consistent sun before there’s a big fanfare about them in Grazia.
Photo: Stella McCartney/www.vogue.co.uk
If you want plentiful designer bargains but can’t bear to shop the sales I implore you to take a trip to Bicester Village in Oxfordshire. I was treated to an impromptu visit last week and boy, was it a-mazing. In addition to Ralph Lauren, Dior, Celine, Loro Piana, Tods and Mulberry, there’s a new Anya Hindmarch store which literally had my heart pogo-ing (it doesn’t take much does it?). I bought this jacket in navy wool crepe reduced from £345 to £172 (although I was also given a free £50 voucher). Now if you bought this in the sale it would be all squished up against a random mix of crap and would probably have a button dangling off it and foundation on the collar. Well here’s the beauty of Bicester Village. Each shop is exactly like a regular branch of Mulberry/Tods/Anya Hindmarch. The stock is beautifully displayed, the staff are attentive without breathing down your neck and your goodies are lovingly swathed in tissue paper and packed in a beribboned bag, not bundled into a plastic carrier with SALE emblazoned across the front. The best bit (apart from the Carluccio’s restaurant) is it’s sale time all year round, so if you fancy some select splurging in a civilised environment, get yourself to Marylebone station, it’s a mere hour on the train.
