“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…)
Clifford Street, a London gem so discreet I can never quite locate it, just got more inviting.
If you ever need some respite from the madness of New Bond Street and Regent Street, just look for the wee street opposite the Dior flagship on Bond. Here you’ll find Morris’s café for a cuppa (and occasional sighting of Bill Nighy), Connolly’s leathergoods and fabulous oversize knits, Adret’s relaxed-yet-always-refined contemporary menswear, and all manner of gentlemanly ready-to-wear finds at Anderson & Sheppard Haberdashery (in a past life this was the rather more flamboyant Mr Fish). (more…)
Interesting to see Soho (London) getting its retail groove back.
I noticed it in the summer with Machine A mark II, Marc Jacobs’ Heaven and Aries (so trendy, I was too intimidated to go inside). Now the niche fashion booksellers are coming back.
Idea Books just announced it’s opening its Wardour Street space to the public. Previously ‘by appointment’ only, it’s expanding to take up a much larger chunk of the building, which is located in the epicentre of Soho. And Isabella Burley’s Climax Books has just opened in Wardour Mews (Thursday-Saturday). Dealing in collectible vintage books and avant-garde erotica respectively, they’re bringing bookish fashionistas back to the beating heart of the city.
In the days when Central Saint Martins was located in Charing Cross Road, all the fashion students would flock to Borders for their expensive style zines (often consumed FOC with a two-hour coffee in Starbs upstairs). (more…)
1983 was a monumental year for fashion. Why? So many reasons but in particular, it was the launch of Joseph*. A key influence on 80s and 90s fashion, Joseph Ettedgui was a knitwear and retail innovator whose fabulous contemporary stores, buying nous and ad campaigns were both timeless and of the moment. (more…)
