Value for time




Last Thursday saw the obsessively anticipated opening of the Primark Oxford Street store with much queueing, crushing and general hysteria going on. I arrived to view the spectacle at 10.05am and must have just missed the first wave of madness as I slipped in with no trouble. Oh boy, the place was heaving. But try as I might, I couldn’t see what the fuss was about. Where was all the good stuff? All I could see was cheaply finished casual tat you can find in any market. I’ve never *got* Primark. Yes, it’s cheap but it’s not made to last so what’s the point? And hearing stories of shoppers so caught up in the frenzy they would buy ten things, only to queue for an hour for a refund the next day made me think, yes they saved money, but at the expense of precious time. Does this signify a new lifestyle phenomenon? Now we have more money at our disposal it’s time that becomes the rare comodity. As well as value for money, shouldn’t we appreciate value for time?

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Pretty purses





I’ve spent the last two weeks looking at new a/w collections. I’m a sucker for small leathergoods and pouches so these two caught my eye. The leather envelope pouches are from Armand Basi and great for my travelcard and suchlike as I can loop them round my belt loop and whip them out when needed (no matter that I already have a similar wallet from Gap that does the exact same job). The other purses are by Aussie surf label Insight. Cute, cute, cute!

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All change




I’m seriously worried. Word is that autumn/winter is going to be the season of the big shoulder. It’s been a while coming – Lord knows the eighties revival has been bubbling at a steady pace – but so far ‘Eighties’ has been more about youthful jersey, Lycra and dayglo than Dallas-Dynasty silhouettes. Well forget all that. Preen’s show had a severely defined shoulder and Margiela is already touting the tailored shoulder as the way forward. Which begs the question, what kind of bag does one wear? An oversized slouch of the type we have all grown accustomed to simply will not do. Its chunky heaviness will slice a shoulder pad in two so a sharper, structured look is what’s needed. I’m liking this look by relative newcomer Michael Teperson. This bag has already been snapped up by Natalia Vodianova and it’s a handheld affair which won’t interfere with the sacred shoulder. An oversized clutch is another option already getting a certain amount of exposure for spring. Whichever it is, it’s all about a blade-sharp chic look so don’t fight it, embrace it.

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Charmed




I was sent some pictures of some jewellery by a new designer (well, I’d never heard of him) this week. Luis Morais is based in Miami and his jewellery is sold in Bamford & Sons in King’s Road in the UK. I really like it and haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere else so…you saw it here first!

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