Business of fashion

Gentlewoman style: Toteme time



Toteme AW24 fashion show

If Toteme is trying to be the affordable(ish) Row, it’s succeeding. Its stealth AW24 fashion show during couture week delivered lean trench coats and floor-sweeping trousers styled with the airiest of scarf-neck blouses, while its new Mount Street store is a shrine to tailoring, leatherwear, handbags (that T-lock!*) and jewellery as polished as its more expensive neighbours (but with much more welcoming sales staff) .

I suspect having established its early position in the stealth luxe sphere, Toteme will start to add a few more unpredictable designs and styling twists to keep our interest piqued (more…)

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Quote of the day: anonymous ex-Tiffany salesperson



Linda Evangelista by Peter Lindbergh for U.S Vogue, 1989

“If you were scheduled on the main floor, you’re going to get a ton of people who were just looking. On the second floor, which was the silver jewelry, you had a lot more people who were actually buying because it was the entry-level price point. Honestly, anytime someone came in and you heard a British accent, you knew they were going to the silver floor.” (more…)

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Old and new beauty 2023



Kees van Dongen - L’Ecuyere Rosa

2023 hasn’t been a massive beauty product year for me. Since trialling Renude’s skincare advisory a while ago, I’ve stuck to a few regular trusted skincare products. Plus, I don’t get sent nearly as much PR stuff to try these days, which is something of a relief. But here’s an end-of-year rundown of new-ish products I’ve been enjoying and old ones that still deliver. (more…)

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Armani, Armani, Ar-Ar-Armani



Alessandra Carlsson Beri Smither Harue Miyamoto for Emporio Armani by Peter Lindbergh 1989

Before The Row, Lemaire and Brunello Cucinelli, there was Calvin, Donna and best of all, Giorgio. A fabric meister, rigorous deconstructor (before Margiela), uber-minimalist yet (contrary to expectation) anti-perfectionist, Giorgio Armani is the godfather of what we now call ‘quiet luxury’.

Fantastic Man has a, well, fantastic deep dive on the man himself in its latest issue, as well as a mention of Made In Milan, Martin Scorsese’s 1990 mini-documentary, that gives us a delicious glimpse into Mr Armani’s influences and philosophies. (more…)

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