Sunday 31 March 2013

I Have Never...


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Did you ever play that game when you were younger, "I have never.." It was usually followed by a garbled confession while simultaneously knocking back a shot of vodka. Pah! I can almost taste those shameful bygone days. I must confess: "I have never ... stepped foot in Harrods". But I really never have gone into Harrods. I am not sure why this rite of passage in a shopaholic's life has passed me by, I am a London and one from the West, it seems an easy distance.

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At Christmas time my mum and I marvelled at the Selfridges shop window and visited the Santa's grotto in that department store. I see Liberty's as a thing of beauty, traditional with an English eccentricity and charm, feeling a wonderous amount of pleasure entering its doors. Harrods, however I have been able to resist.

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Do I morally object to the Harrods Zoo? I don't think so. The strict regulation of not wearing jeans (is this still a rule? Google entry needed) Perhaps. Whatever my reasons, the embargo now needs to be lifted. Dior has colloborated with the upmarket store.

It is understandable that Harrods feel they needed to bring in the big guns as focus as been on Selfridges, with the Andrews Davis adaptation of 'Shopping, Seduction & Mr Selfridge' being cult Sunday night viewing (already looking forward to the next series). I could just gaze at the window displays from outside, but inside there is a House of Dior exhibition where you can marvel at vintage dresses from the designer. Lots of other treats are in-house for a month including the most fashionable looking fairy cakes with Dior handbags glazed on the icing. It could be a vertiable house of cards but it has got to be done. This time next week I will be confessing, "I have never visited Harrods" with a shot of vodka in my hand. Purchasing an item, now that is a different matter...


Sunday 10 March 2013

And now for some Other Stories

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I am excited by the name, I have already picked out pieces to buy from the collection, all I have to do now is visit the new & Other Stories store on Regent Street which launched just two days ago. The idea of a new store only really 'wows' me when it is combined with being a new brand to discover and fall in love with.

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From the folks who bought us H&M comes a store with a more expensive price tag which appears to focus on more minimalist pieces with less emphasis on throw away fashion. Finally high street shops have realised that cheap does not always sell to the most savvy stylistas out there.


H&M will always have a special place in my heart - but only mainly for producing the modern collection in its stores. It sometimes feels like a double edged sword when I take a trip there because you feel you are getting a a great separate for a bargain but then a surge of guilt rises when you realise that you a getting a great separate for a bargain. It is like gorging on a McDonalds meal deal. A great moment followed by regret.

& Other Stories will hopefully have more cache and make feel like a less hollow individual when I walk through its doors. We will have to wait and see whether the shiny and new wrapper has longevity.

http://and-other-stories.tumblr.com