Shops bulletin

S reports back from the shops of London, after a whirlwind Christmas shopping trip.

• Anthropologie is half twee tat and half amazing stuff I would exchange A for in a heartbeat. I really recommend going to have a look; the much hyped plant wall is very nice and oxygenating. When I have loads of money (everything is very pricey) I am going there to buy Ella Moss lace slips, perfect girly dresses and probably some aprons or something.
• Urban Outfitters designer sale currently has half-price APC fleece-lined parkas and little coats. If you can scrape together £180 RUN to the Covent Garden branch and nab one. This is what I would do if I had £180.
• I spent money in Cos even though I don’t have it and justified it as a work expense. As of 1pm this afternoon, Cos remains the best shop ever, edging out Anthro because non-millionaires can afford its goods.
• Liberty is the best department store, hands down. So civilised and with such a nice selection of things, especially the Liberty-print things. Pure class, and all the customers look cool.
• The busiest shop in the whole of London (I have checked them all today) is Cath Kidston, where I dropped a few pennies myself buying things for my lovely sister-in-law and my mum. At this stage, everyone knows it’s the tweest, most middle-class brand on earth and we are over feeling embarassed about it. ***MUM DO NOT READ THIS NEXT PART*** I will not knock any shop that sells cool Nintendo DS covers, for that is what my mum is getting for Christmas. Photos to follow next time I have a day that doesn’t involve 13 hours of work.

Why? Just ‘COS’

I popped into Cos the other day and picked up a copy of their A/W collection magazine. I enjoyed the crisp photography and how it didn’t feel too much like an enormous advert, despite being exactly that. Good content and ample visuals helped on their part, and an inate love for Cos clothes probably helped on my part.

It is an unwieldy A3 format but that didn’t put me off (although I can imagine how it might put me off in the future).

The Front Cover

Cos clothes have a habit of looking a bit rubbish on the hanger and then incredible on the body. Unfortunately, I’m not certain whether this photography really gets across how interesting, yet simple, the clothes are. It certainly does a little bit but not the full glory.

I still haven't seen The September Issue but it is on my Lovefilm list

Sam Taylor Wood is interviewed in the mag.

I’m always a bit sceptical of shop magazines but this is a good ‘un; artistic and without the hard sell.

Accessories

The back cover - The End.

Papier = Paper

I’ve recently become fascinated by different materials. Years of shopping at cheap shops made me believe that all fun clothes were always made in that cotton/viscose/spandex mix but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve finally realised that this isn’t how clothes have to be. And shops like Cos prove that clothes really don’t have to be made of that weird, ugly mix – I bought a great black skirt in the sale yesterday (£25) which is a wonderful shape AND cotton/silk mix (photos coming shortly).

This ongoing fascination with materials makes me want to share this. I first came across this bag from Not Just a Label, and it is made of sterling silver backed paper. And it looks like paper on the outside and it crumples beautifully with age. And it is tear and water-proof. And the description charmingly describes the items as ‘Papier (= paper)’, in admiration of which I’ve named this post.

The pictures on the site show you the bag new, how it is made, the different colours available (white, black, yellow) and most importantly, how it’ll look after you’ve shown it a bit of love and use. I imagine you can also draw on it? I might have to put this on the wishlist.

A

Nothing rhymes with purple

But I love it anyway. These are the trousers I am now thinking I will bag from Cos after work. I am envisaging so many purple and pink themed outfits. After a period of desiring only to wear black, grey and navy it seems I am emerging from my cocoon.

And clearly these fine trousers need to be worn with such items as these:

Yellow top from ASOS, pink top from COS. Acronymtastic.

S

Fashion do

Shiny leggings - now worn by sexy ladies as well as fashion ladies.

I finally escaped the red circles of shame (as arbitrated by my friends and peers) on Saturday by debuting a super-simple Cos knee-length black shift (29 bargainous pounds). I felt really good in it but was quite surprised it got good feedback as it is very minimalist and I thought it might be considered boring.

It’s interesting how our tastes change – blogging buddy LON often notes when we are out and about that my taste from a few years ago now seems to be the popular taste (disclaimer: of women going to the O2 on a Saturday; these are my sartorial descendants apparently), for example, bright colours and gold; the return of “ugly” prints and patterns like leopard; super-high stipper or tranny heels; a trashy 80s vibe; leggings!

Some of these are now staples: leggings aren’t a trend anymore, they are a handy piece of wardrobe underpinning that can even be worn to work and instantly adds a modicum of modesty to outfits. I find it interesting to think of what the default, most mainstream possible outfit for someone my age is, and how it’s different from three, five or ten years ago. It’s not about early-adopters or those who pop up on the myriad streetstyle websites whose mandate is to photograph very slim people wearing ugly tat.

I don’t think it’s fun either to predict trends or try to be above them, but sometimes you do get a very powerful sense of what you yourself want to be wearing next and you just can’t feel comfortable in your own skin until you sort it out. Perhaps this is just a side-effect of our consumerist approach to clothing – I’m definitely trying to find a way to evolve my wardrobe without doing a lot of spending. However, I’ve always felt emotional about clothes but not entirely because it’s part of how you relate to others. I just feel very strange when I’m not matching on the out- and inside. A major trauma of my childhood was being dictated to by my mother on the clothes front (I had a very idyllic childhood okay).

Regarding my 90s-esque shift, it felt really good to hit on an item that made me feel like myself again (but the new me!) I have Cos to thank, this mighty shop, ignoring what everyone else on the high street is doing and going its own way. I’m pretty sure the 90s will be the next decade to make a comeback a la Alexander Wang or Childhood Flames’ minimalist outfit posts:

As a zillion style advisers and mothers have said – wear the clothes, don’t let them wear you. When I reach for the gold, embellished stuff, something in my head now says “step away from the spangles”, and off to Cos I trot.

For what’s it’s worth then, if you’ve read this far, just for me, I’m off heels. I see far too many women tottering about in uncomfortable shoes with mega-heels. It’s taking the fun out of it. Ladies: take care of your spines. Also, don’t wear heels with tight clothes. Obvious, no?

S

Alternative dressing – hijab

I liked this article from the Guardian website today about dressing for spring when you wear the hijab. Jana Kossaibati has the same issues as me – she  gets up in the morning determined to wear something dashing and then loses all momentum. I also slightly dread the warm weather and the inevitable stickiness but whereas I can just start taking layers off to cool down, she wants to maintain her dress code, meaning no bare arms or legs and definitely no cleavage. Long sleeves and skirts don’t really appeal when it’s hot although I’m also not one for baring huge amounts of flesh as I fear looking like a Russian WAG due to certain proportions.

The Guardian goes on to suggest a few “hijab-friendly” items, which I think need to be a bit less black for Spring, but which would look cool on anyone, regardless of modesty or lack of…:

S

Cos

Toast

New Year’s Eve

I hope you enjoyed yours as much as we enjoyed ours. It has set me up for a good start to 2009. 

S working the black top, sequinned skirt & Faith platform shoes

A close up on Faith platforms - an outfit highlight, for sure

T, faithful blogger friend & fellow partygoer, in Topman blazer, Cos jumper, Urban Outfitters jeans & shoes from Schuh.

P, stylish partypal, rocking black & sequins, top model's own

And yours truly, American Apparel skirt & gold lame boob tube, Topshop top & Vivienne Westwood necklace.

Happy New Year! A