Culturelabel.com

Because I'm flying back to England shortly, I need to get my head around Christmas presents a little earlier than usual, deciding whether to get clever in New York, or just order it all on the interweb, and have it waiting for me in the UK by the time I get back.

I'm quite tempted by the not having to lug shopping home option now that airlines are charging for a second case, and websites like CultureLabel do make the whole process super easy. This new breed of online consolidators take product from all over, present it thematically in one place, and then leave you to follow the direct links to the website that actually sells the product. What makes them different from normal shopping consolidation & affiliate sites is that they curate the products they sell, rather than just mindlessly listing a load of old tat.

Their USP is a collection of products garnered from sixty leading galleries, museums, artists and culture institutions, (everywhere from the Saatchi Gallery to English Heritage), many of which are either artist-designed or limited-edition products. And, if you think this all sounds a bit po-faced, may I direct you to my current favourite pick from the site?



Radio Controlled Tarantula £24.47 from The Natural History Museum
Scuttle, spin and scare from up to 140m away? Yes ,please for my godson who would LOVE driving everyone up the wall with this little horror.

From the sublime to the chic, this bag from the ever fabulous Ally Capellino is a brilliant present for, well, everyone:


Ally Capellino Satchel Bag created especially for the Tate £35.23

And for the always impossible to buy for designer-y friend with impossibly high standards, may I suggest the V&A Pattern Limited Edition Box Set at an extremely reasonable £30?



A repository of ideas for designers of all kinds, this box set contains the first four titles (William Morris, Digital Pioneers, Indian Florals and The Fifties) in a new series of books containing patterns from the V&A archive. Each book includes a CD of all the images which can be redrawn or reworked.

Most of the 60 sites will ship internationally, so usage isn't restricted to the UK.
www.culturelabel.com

Clothkits Liberty Print Tana Lawn Bias Binding

This is somewhat of a special interest post, but for those of us with a crafty bent, who like sewing things, the news that wonderful Clothkits are now producing Liberty Print Bias Bindings in Tana Lawn is fabulous news. (Bias binding is normally very hard to find in anything other than basic colours and crispy cotton.)

It would make a wonderful trim for jackets and, of course, is perfect for cushion making or, as Clothkits suggest, for decorations or bunting too.

It's available by the metre and in seven colourways, listed in order that they are stacked from top to bottom: Dunclare, Dunclare, Caesar, Jenny's, Theberton, Janet's Rose, Miles Evans.

To find out more about Clothkits, read my post from earlier this year.

www.clothkits.co.uk

Wallis Camel Statement Collar Coat

Look: in an ideal world we could all afford a MaxMara coat, and spend winter swathed in Italy's finest, but back in recession world, some of us are going to have to compromise.

In my book, there's nothing more crucial to an outfit than a great coat. It's the quickest route to chic that I know. (Which is why my airline luggage was 50lbs overweight last time I covered the European collections.) Find one with a quirky detail, like the collar on this Wallis number and not only will you make a great entrance at smart restaurants and parties, but you can use it it at weekends to cover up your grungiest slob gear and NO ONE WILL KNOW.

This coat isn't going to last for ever, but the wool nylon mix should give it some longevity and it's camel - can't go wrong with a camel coat, especially this season.



Length 89.5cm 80% Wool,20% Nylon. £85 Wallis

AND - for just £7.50, they will deliver to the US

Virtual shopping list: the perfect long sleeve shirt dress

I'm not allowed to spend any money at the moment, as I am saving up for a rent deposit, (spent my last one on a hire car for six weeks in California). So I thought I would instigate an occasional virtual shopping list series where I pick an item I intend to buy when my finances allow.

They aren't going to be big ticket items, just everyday purchases that will fill in gaps in my wardrobe. After all, I'm old enough now that I have previously bought investment pieces that last from season to season - the perfect cashmere sweater or LBD for example.

Or else, I've used my fashion editor mojo to pick out statement pieces a few seasons ahead, (for example the black cape & over the knee boots I bought in Paris a year ago), so that I get a couple of year's use out of them before they either die from overwear - this is mainly shoes - or go into storage for the next go round several years hence.

London-based Lil'sis has MS, so battling the crowds on Oxford Street or in Westfield really isn't her favourite activity. She's become the queen of on-line shopping and, much to my astonishment, keeps producing wonderful pieces she's bought from M&S online. Of course I buy all my undies from M&S when I go back to England, (for some reason well-priced bras in large sizes, 32G in my case, do not exist in America), but if I find one clothing piece a season in there I'm doing well.

So, consider me astonished to find lots I like in there for this winter, including today's piece for my virtual shopping list.

Marks & Spencer Long Sleeve Shirt Dress £39.50. Particularly liking the 5 button cuff & full sleeves.

Object of desire: Topshop Boutique sequin dress

From the Topshop Boutique AW09 collection, via the Topshop blog

New Topshop denim collection

I am not known for my interest in jeans. Sure denim can be useful: in the summer I have plenty of denim short shorts for mooching, and even some Bermudas to wear with heels and a blazer, but jeans? I have maybe three pairs in rotation: some wide legged ones from Gap to wear with Converse & a leather biker jacket, skinny Topshop Baxters that I wear in winter with boots/wellies/whatever I am wearing on my feet to avoid the bone-chilling NY cold, and some rolled boyfriend jeans for slouching around in.

But really, I'm just not a jeans girl, preferring to wear shorts or dresses as for those with good legs, an indifferent middle and an ample bosom, jeans aren't often enormously flattering. That doesn't stop me wanting to wear them tho. I have plenty of pairs in my storage locker, testament to the fact that I have tried - and failed.

And then, of course, there is all the wishful thinking I do. I get releases sent to me that look as if they may hold the key to my jeans antipathy and I imagine myself in the looks on display -but, truthfully, I would need a bucket of Polyjuice Potion to wear the majority.

Today's bout of wishful thinking was courtesy of the Topshop press office who sent out their autumn/fall denim manifesto this morning. They rather optimistically believe that
"For AW09/10 TOPSHOP has all your denim needs sewn up. Whether you’re looking for an
ankle-grazer, a straight-leg, a boyfriend jean, a jogger or the ultimate skinny; with styles featuring rips, slashes, studs, acid washes, paint drips or even sequins, TOPSHOP has your perfect pair."

Moving swiftly past the proffered denim jogging pants, & the promise of a 'denim harem pant' - yes, really - for later in the season, as surely only those who really believe what they read in magazines, are possessed of boundless self-confidence or those under eighteen will wear such things, I swiftly realise that to be cast as a Topshop jean aficionado, the wearer must possess the extremely lithe & toned legs of a supermodel.

The keys styles are:

The Jamie £40
Made from super-stretch denim, the ankle has Topshop’s narrowest ever circumference, 17cm. Washes will include pale grey, faded blue, black & indigo.


The Pullon Jegging £35:
A pull-on jean/legging hybrid with an elasticated waist and drawn-on fly/pocket detail. Versions include ruched sides, stirrups, zips and slits, in a variety of colours & acid washes.

The Cyber Panel Skinny £45
Features zips by the front pockets & raised linear graphic panels at the top front & on the knees.

The Anti-fit £40
Loose around the hips, for a comfortable fit with a tapered ankle. (Surely only for the EXTREMELY brave, as the loose hips & tapered ankle will give the dread carrot leg effect to all but the skinniest Minnies)

There's also a knitted denim jegging, and promise of various ripped/shredded/studded skinny numbers. And Hallelujah, Corey - a boyfriend jean and Martha - a classic straight leg make an appearance in the core collection and are worth a look.

But, if you want to sport a fashion forward pair of jeans this winter, according to Topshop, you'll need matchstick legs and a bucketload of confidence as skinny is the only way to go.

Isabella Oliver 365

One of the thing I constantly bemoan about the fashion industry, as you all know, is the lack of clothing for women with lives in the real world. It's all very well me & a hundred other fashion editors writing about how marvellous Marni is for the quirky working woman, but it's not exactly realistic to spend £700 on a skirt.

But then neither do I want to wear Primark or Forever 21. What I want is to spend a reasonable amount on my clothes. Then I know they are ethical as possible, made from good fabrics, won't fall apart after one season and have some twist, so I don't look like everyone else.

And that's why Isabella Oliver 365 works so well. These are the pieces that may cost just a little more, but will be the mainstay of anyone's wardrobe. And I want the lot.

I've always liked Isabella Oliver's maternity clothing. Stylish, chic, definitive & worn by my best-dressed girlfriends. And, as it happens, they are based in London, just around the corner from my London flat. I discovered this when the lovely Baukjen de Swaan Arons, one of the joint founders, emailed me through the blog & we became friends.

I was beyond thrilled when she got in touch once I had stopped blogging last year to tell me she & her partner Vanessa Knox-Brien were in New York to show their new collection Isabella Oliver 365 and would I like to see it?

Would I heck?! I scrambled a town car after a long day at the coal face of fashion, slightly unsure as to what to expect from an Isabella Oliver non-maternity range. I needn't have worried: I loved it all.

I'm especially liking the Shirt Coat from the new Fall 09 collection in both pink & in black.($389, but there's 15% off all Fall pre-orders right now, so it's $330.)





I'm suspecting that this cape will be a best seller too come Fall($389, now $330 on pre-order):



For now tho, I'm loving these crepe de chine shorts which are just perfect for a hot & humid Manhattan summer ($145):



But the piece I really, really like is the Multiway Maxi Dress that caught my eye at their SS09 press show. Everything about it appeals: the fabric which is light enough to drape beautifully, but heavy enough to skim the body, the versatility of a piece that can be worn so many different ways, and which can easily take you from a lazy brunch to a black tie dinner and the very attractive price point ($325).



NB Someone asked in the comments about workwear of the pants/skirts variety and so I wanted to make clear: I have picked the pieces here from 365 (not maternity!) that I am thinking of buying (I never wear trousers & rarely skirts. Of course they make trousers, skirts etc. Go check it out at Isabella Oliver 365

Sales joy

I have scored big time in the sales this month. These pretty studded nubuck flats from Office, with a fantastic, winter busting hidden rubber sole, cost just £5 from £29, and I have them in black too. They are perfect for scrunching up in the bottom of my handbag for changing into to walk home after supper in Manhattan. (They are incredibly lightweight too, and water marks just disappear when they dry.)
After weeks of debating, I bought the Kurt Geiger ankle boots, and they look just fine. I also picked up two Whistles jackets. The first, a brilliant black, long line, tuxedo jacket with satin revers was reduced from £180 to £50, and a black fitted, curvy gaberdine jacket/blazer with navy blue grosgrain trimming a la Balenciaga was £80 from £180 - but I hesitated so long before buying it that it was reduced another £35 by the time I bought it.

I also wanted to mention the amazing service in Whistles. If they don't have your item in stock, they will ring around the other branches and, if it's in stock elsewhere, will post it Special Delivery to you for a mere £4. Given the price of London transport, schlepping round to another branch would cost more than this! Plus Special Delivery actually costs £6, so this really is an extraordinary service. I bought both jackets this way and in each case they arrived the next morning.

Liberty at Dover Street Market

These Liberty of London evening bags are fantastic: I think a shot of colour looks fabulous against black and, even better, clashing against this season's colourful cocktail dresses. I didn't pick on these Liberty pieces because they match the name of my blog*, but because I admire the way that they are moving the brand into the 21st century without losing sight of their identity (Hello Jaeger).

Blowing up the iconic art nouveau Ianthe print from the Liberty archives in this way looks fresh and avoids the feeling of cutesy that haunted Liberty for so long. It's also particularly clever to make these brilliant colourways available exclusively at Dover Street Market.

Without a doubt, DSM is London, & possibly Europe's most exciting retail space now. Nominated for Best Retail Concept at the British Fashion Awards last week, they was robbed by Marc Jacobs (woo hoo - opening a store. Really innovative), as I have complained at length already, both on this blog & in the real, bylined world.

*(The name of my blog has nothing to do with the Liberty of London store)

Johnny, Johnny - pull your socks up

I am so very, very disappointed with Boden. When I posted back at the beginning of November I was very enthusiastic about their offer but, because of my peripatetic lifestyle, I had missed the UK AW07 press day so hadn't actually seen it in the flesh.

I made an order for two pairs of boots and a leather satchel on 08 November. They warned me that the riding boots had a 2 week delay & the satchel a 1 week delay, but that the other boots were in stock. On 16 Nov (8 days later - far, far too long) I received an e-mail telling me that the pair in stock had been dispatched. As of today, the 29th, still no sign of them. However a couple of days later, the riding boots arrived, out of the blue (no dispatch email). Unfortunately, their sizing is completely f**ked up, and a size UK6 was enormous.

Today, the 29th, I finally received the satchel. What an enormous letdown. Although well-made, it looks extremely cheap. The leather is floppy, which is not how it was shown on the website. The web image purports to show a more structured bag with a flat bottom - but instead it is just completely shapeless. A classic example of catalogue over-styling.

And what really, really galls me is that I now have to schlep to the post office, with two heavy, unwieldly boxes, & have to pay quite a lot of money to return both the (very, very heavy) boots and the bag for mistakes of Boden's making. (Their sizing is inaccurate, and the photograph on the site erroneous.)

I emailed customer services the day before yesterday, querying the missing boots and still no reply. In this day and age it is ludicrous that customers cannot track & trace their orders after purchase. If Boden is to succeed in the US it seriously needs to pull its socks up and invest in both a decent inventory system, and a meticulously accurate on-line track & trace system. Frankly, their technological offer is antediluvian. They also need to post more accurate product images: the lifestyle stuff is all well & good, but is ultimately misleading.

My advice? Avoid like the plague. Enormously disappointing.


Leather satchel as shot for catalogue.


Leather satchel as arrived chez LLG

Pop up Comme opens today

Pop up shops which appear for a week or maybe a month, then close for ever have become increasingly popular from Tokyo to London. Especially in London. The latest is from Comme des Garcons which has been conceived to celebrate the launch of the new 88 8 perfume. It won't sell an an awful lot but a limited number of 8 88 Fragrance, T-Shirts and Candles will be available, well before they launch in regular shops worldwide in February / March 2008. There's also a downstairs section selling vintage CDG Parfum T-shirts and collector CDG Parfums, all from Comme des Garcons.

The pop up is at 5 Burlington Arcade, London W1. It's open from 1.00pm on 29th November to 8th December. (So you can pop into Ladurée for a (several) macaroon(s) afterwards.)

US Muji opens in Manhattan this Friday

My flat in London has so much MUJI kicking about in it. My taste runs to the clean, neutral & minimalist and, when I redesigned my bathroom and bedrooom storage last year, I filled it with MUJI's polypropelene storage boxes. I work in MUJI's simple brown card notebooks, and all my beauty supplies are kept organised in their simple perspex pots and containers. Thrilled they are opening here.

This blog entry is more in the manner of a public service announcement: MUJI SOHO, the first MUJI store in the US, opens at 12:00 noon on November 16 at 455 Broadway.

With approximately 3,200 square feet of retail floor space, MUJI’s first store in the US will offer over 2,000 items of MUJI products, including about 570 items of Stationery, 40 items of Furniture, 190 items of Fabric, 590 items of Housewares, 270 items of Health & Beauty products, 20 items of Outdoor supplies, 30 items of Electric Appliances and 330 items of Apparel. After the first day of opening, the store will open regularly from 11a.m. to 9p.m. from Monday to Saturday, and 11a.m. to 8p.m. on Sundays.

Lovely, lovely shoes

These are the Pierre Hardy for Gap sandals which launched in London, today, Thursday. I really, really want a pair. £70.

Stop press: I love my blog and I love my old managing editor who has just emailed to say she is buying these on my behalf & can mail them to me here in the States/hand them over to my sis. Words cannot express.

Winter boots

I'm on deadline for XXXXXXX so, of course, I am looking for new boots on-line. I would prefer to get my boots from Belstaff but I'm waiting to be paid, as usual and, here's the thing - if you have long sticky legs like mine, then trad motorcycle type boots often end up with the hideous wellie effect as they bag arond your calves. I've discovered that if you buy from a fashion retailer they cut closer to the leg, which is far more flattering. The problem then is finding something hard-wearing in good enough leather and in brown. (It has to be brown as brown is for weekends and black is for the working week.)

In fact my last pair of brown sturdy clomping around boots came from L K Bennett's Outlet store at Bicester Village near Oxford, of all places. I do not like LK Bennett one little bit - way too prissy for my liking, and not particularly well made either. But, I was doing a mag in Austria (long, long story) and needed warm boots at a day's notice. My wonderful father drove me to Bicester on a whim and insisted on buying them for me. This was maybe four years ago and they are still going strong. Only problem is that the toes have faded from the snow in New York last year and no amount of parental shoe buffing & TLC (hey, he's the expert!) has got the colour back.

These babies up top are from Boden. I'm not a big fan of Boden (their blocks can be very odd, and the colours off), altho I occasionally buy their well made cotton T shirts, & I admit to shooting chirpy commercial work a la their catalogues from time to time - clients LOVE it. Well-priced - £165/$248, I can actually get them for nearer £100, if I buy them from Boden USA and apply my press discount which, joyously, seems to work over here. I'm thinking yes?

Clarks clutches. Not bad at all.

I'm not sure about the jade one, but I'm rather liking the purple satin number. Basically I'm a sucker for bows and, as I think satin pieces should only be worn by stick people, I tend to gravitate towards satin accessories as I like the textural contrast.

Best of all it's only £14.99 (about $30). AND it's from Clarks. Will wonders never cease? (Although apparently Clarks is the non plus ultra in Paris right now. Most bizarre.) Mind you, their Christmas shoe offer is truly revolting.

Julien Macdonald signs with H Samuel

Well, just as I wrote that British high street jewellery chain H Samuel needed a shot in the arm, WGSN reports today that Welsh bling-tastic eveningwear designer Julien Macdonald is to move into jewellery with an exclusive deal to design a collection for them. Although I do wonder just how attractive it will be, given that the price point of the limited collection of 13 pieces will be priced between £35-£95, and that Julien and good taste often seem many, many miles apart.

My new party dress

Topshop 100% silk £70/$140 AND they deliver to the US. (See it's only the Topshop press office I dislike.)

Knock me down with a feather: Ernest Jones launches perfectly pretty jewellery range

British High Street jewellery chains aren't exactly known for their ravishing designs. Sure if you want a bog standard diamond engagement ring, a natty gold sovereign ring, some 18ct gold bangles or an Anniversary clock then you are laughing, but pieces you'd actually consider stylish? I don't think so.



The three major players in the UK are H Samuel, Ernest Jones & Goldsmiths and, whilst Goldsmiths have raised their game over the past couple of years by collaborating with the likes of Matthew Williamson (altho I'd be hard put to name a company with which Williamson hasn't collaborated), the other two still have more than a whiff of mass-market about them.

But, I'm always happy to be proved wrong and, when I opened a press release from Ernest Jones' PR preparing to file it in the trash as usual, I was impressed to find images of these six rings, with their pretty art deco feel and clever pricing. (Especially given my habit of losing rings). Perhaps Father Christmas could take note?

Clockwise from the top: 18ct white gold 1carat cluster ring £1200, 9ct White Gold Diamond & Brazilian Garnet £285, 9ct White Gold Diamond & London Blue Topaz £100, 9ct Gold Brown Diamond & Amthyst £130, 9carat White Gold Diamond & London Blue Topaz £265, 9carat white gold diamond and Brazilian Garnet £235

French Connection sample sale

So I was remarkably surprised by the French Connection sample sale. Firstly it was empty, with incredibly helpful, funny staff. Secondly, it was HUGE. I spoke to the Outlet Manager from Orlando, who told me they had 40 000 units to shift over the next four days, so new stock would be arriving every day.

But the biggest surprise was that, after I had written the sale off (I shoot loads of FC every season for a catalogue & recognised not a single piece) & was about to go home, I clocked a rail of random pieces hidden between the rails of identical crappy thin jersey tops, hideous shoes, badly tailored jackets and other sample sale stalwarts. I picked up two dresses for $50 each. But, most pleasing of all is that the black sparkly dress is still full price (£90) in London, and on sale for $139 reduced from $178 here in NY. The black and white embroidered dress is currently $99 from $158 online.

I have so many parties to go to here in Manhattan that I need loads of cocktail type frocks, so if I find something that fits me I'm happy. (I have an impossible figure to dress - long, thin legs, no waist, tiny 32" back and HUGE bosom. I also only wear dresses & tops with cap sleeves or longer as strappy tops emphasise my bust. And strapless: forget it.)

I wear quite a lot of French Connection as it's practically the only High Street brand that fits me properly. I cannot describe the frustration of working in fashion and having to wear what fits you, rather than what you would choose to wear. The only irritating thing is that, given the exchange rate, French Connection should be half price here - but it's not. They've pitched it way higher in the market in America, with a swishy store slap bang in the middle of Soho)

Anyway, back to the dresses. I'm not fussy and I think this will be useful. It's a simple shape that works with my figure - I'd love to belt it, but you can't belt a non-existent waist. However I'm going to get my local tailor to cut a V neck as a crew neck is mighty unflattering/shelf-like.



My dress (below) is actually black with white embroidery - but no pic of this colorway. It is a bit jeune fille, but I think with a long woolly scarf & hat, heavy ribbed woollen Falke tights and Chloe boots or Dr Martens it will be fine for stomping around Central Park & kicking leaves in the Fall. (I never, ever wear trousers, bar jeans, so dresses are my winter staple.)




The menswear is a much better offer than the womenswear BTW, with leather jackets down from $599 to $90, and quite nice mens shoes.

French Connection (FCUK) Sale
(Outerwear, shoes, knitwear, accessories)
Oct 3-7; Wed (2–7), Th & Fr (9–7), Sat (10–6), Sun (10–5)
Metropolitan Pavilion
110 W 19th St (near Sixth Ave)
212-221-3157

Way In at Harrods celebrates 40th anniversary

Way In was THE destination for the groovy chick in 1967 when it opened as an in-store boutique at Harrods. The Colette of its day, it sold records, had a live DJ & a juice bar, and stocked the hottest brands, which included Bianca Jagger's favourite shoemaker Chelsea Cobbler. The London shoe company clad the hippest feet on the Kings Road, and their shoes are now in the V&A Permanent Costume Collection & in the Bath Fashion Museum. Chelsea Cobbler had my Aunt Amanda & her best friend Richard Smith at the helm, & my sister & I bought her this print from Getty for her 60th a few years ago.

These Silver kid platform shoes with perspex heels sold for about £25, and were shot at the opening of Chelsea Cobbler at Way In, Harrods in 1973.

I remember visiting Way In in the 70's & 80's. I was about 8 or 10, & used to think it was the coolest place imaginable. Unfortunately, in 2007, most regional department stores have more a imaginative trend buy than Way In. The fact that they have a Sharon Millen catwalk show taking place on 23 August pretty much sums up its decline from fashion forward destination into fashion irrelevancy. It's a shame they didn't capitalise on the brand heritage to turn it into a British Colette or 10 Corso Como.