On my radar: Liberty.co.uk

So there are rumours going round that poor Liberty is in trouble again and may be in danger of closing. This store seems to always have the threat of closure hovering above it but manages to haul itself out of trouble each time – it’s been going on for years. Whether or not the rumours are true, fans will be pleased to know that their transactional site is finally properly up and running. It started selling accessories and smaller items earlier in the year but now you can buy clothing by the likes of Acne Jeans, See by Chloe, McQueen et al online. There is also a sweet little blog which is updated every few days and features newsy snippets as well as interviews with buyers and designers across all the departments – furniture, beauty, fashion… Let’s hope Liberty can overcome whatever problems they are having, it’s one of London’s treasures.

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Aspiration vs affordability

Apart from the fact that I’ve been poorly and mostly housebound, I’ve not been in the mood for shopping for weeks. At first I thought it was the credit crunch holding me back and that I was being subconsciously sensible and saving my money but that’s not it. While in the West End last week I went for a browse in Liberty. There was a special one-day discount promotion for loyalty card customers with discounts up to 50% off throughout the store (although annoyingly, the final prices weren’t displayed). This should have piqued my interest but instead it made me feel deflated. Seeing stacks of Chloe and Marc Jacobs bags, belts and wallets piled high like bunches of bananas on a market stall at close of day only served to devalue them. Part of the appeal of designer goods is the luxury experience of buying them. This is why people get a buzz out of going to the Chanel shop to buy their lipstick instead of buying it at Debenhams. It’s why you’ll find dresses sparingly displayed three-finger-widths apart on a rail in Prada so you have to be looked after by a salesperson. (It’s also why uber-luxe stores like Hermes don’t have sales.) The hushed atmosphere, the pristine merchandise, the personal service are all factored into the price and what make a Prada dress ‘worth’ its four-figure sum. If it’s just going to be treated like a piece of tat like the poor Alexander McQueen sequin leggings at Saks, then we might as well all shop at Primark.

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Sale of the century

A gruesome couple of weeks of illness has meant I’ve neglected blogging duties due to general feelings of ropiness combined with hardcore (read: narcolepsy-inducing) painkillers and a short stay in hospital. Poor me! Said illness also meant having to miss out on today’s credit-crunch-busting retail extravaganza – The Angels Big Vintage Sale in Wembley. The entire blogosphere seems to have been caught up in the excitement – thanks largely to Susie Bubble’s heads-up a couple of weeks ago. 

[Pic: Dazed Digital]

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Under the radar – ASOS menswear

It’s no secret that ASOS.com is going from strength to strength – half-year profits are up 68%! In the early days, ASOS’s USP was based on copying celebrity outfits stitch for stitch. ASOS – which stands for As Seen On Screen – would turn around a copy of a ‘Paris Hilton-style’ jacket or dress faster than any high street store, resulting in phenomenal sales and repeat starry-eyed customers who couldn’t get enough of its affordable take on celebrity style. These days, the brand has distanced itself from its copycat beginnings and now sets its own trends. At the SS09 press day I attended a couple of weeks ago, I did a double take at the Cacharel blouses (anyone else still in shock that Eley Kishimoto only last a couple of seasons at the helm? Travesty!), denim of every description and nostalgic florals.







But while we’re all familiar with Asos’s sassy cocktail frocks and statement shoes, the menswear offering has been quietly picking up speed. A preppie Brooks Brothers look prevails for next spring with natty seersucker checks and suede boat shoes of every hue. Then I gasped at the brands – Band of Outsiders for Sperry rubber boat shoes (quirky!), YMC two-tone loafers and a flurry of new labels – Acne Jeans, Comme des Garcons Shirt…




The ASOS mens magazine is also a bit of a who-knew discovery. Not sold in the shops, this gets sent out to customers and the quality of the book (as they like to say Stateside) is pretty damn good considering the tight constraints these things are usually executed under.

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