Westfield Carboot Sale

I did this:

Hot on the heels of Lily Allen, Agyness Deyn and Alexa Chung, Kimberley Walsh of Girls Aloud is the next celebrity to represent the New Look girl. 

‘We always feature women who our customers tell us they like and relate to', said a spokesman for New Look. 'Lily Allen was one of the girls. Agy is the approachable supermodel and the way Alexa Chung styles herself goes down really well with our customers. And Kimberley Walsh is the girl our customer most wants to be.’ 

M&S team up with Lewis Hamilton

Along with their new Autograph menswear collection, Marks & Spencer is launching a boyswear range in collaboration with Formula One team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and the reining F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.

The range - 'Living The Dream' - will feature racing motifs and branding of the team’s drivers Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen.

HMV clothing

HMV is in talks with apparel retailers and brands - including Topman - with an aim to offer more clothes in store. Their existing clothing lines include film/tv/music-related t-shirts and hoodies which sell extremely well. At their Oxford Street flagship store, the singles and reggae sections have been downsized to make room for more apparel and apparel displays.
Should Topman confirm a contract with HMV, it would put them in direct competition with themselves: they have recently teamed up with iconic music retailer Rough Trade with plans to sell CDs in-store come September. 

I really want...

...thee bag of the season, Alexander Wang's 'Coco' duffel bag. But at £795 (never mind the fact it keeps selling out), I think I'll need to settle for a high street alternative as I'm sure there will be lots about soon enough.

Topshop New Season

On my recent visit to London, I of course swung by Topshop Oxford Street. Launching their New Season's collection, the store had everything (and I mean everything) that we can come to expect from Fall '09. 

Shaggy knits, exciting hosiery, lace and sheer fabrics, glam embroidery, oversized bullet proof statement jewellery, thigh high boots, bondage shoes... and this was all just in the window display! Topshop has hit the nail on the head yet again. 

Oxford Street Fashion Week.

The world's first 'High Street Fashion Week' will be held on London's famous Oxford Street. Retails giants such as Topman, Debenhams, John Lewis and Uniqlo have so far signed up for the event with many others set to follow.

Events - which will take place the week before London Fashion Week - will include workshops, fashion shows, makeovers, late-night shopping and in-store promotions. Prior to this, more than 100,000 Oxford Street shoppers will vote for which celebrity they feel is their favourite “High Street Queen” and the winner will play a major role in the fashion week. 

Woolies is back

After their disappearance from our high streets 6months ago, Woolworths have made a welcome return with their online store. The company has spent the last half-year finding out what customers really loved about the Woolies brand to optimise sales on their website. The feedback suggested they should focus on children's wear, toys and party gear, and that's exactly what Woolworths are doing. As well as their all-important pick'n'mix selection which can be delivered to your home. (I was so tempted to order my favourites.)
Christmas will tell if there is still a future for the 100 year old brand.

Primark signs up to supplier code.

Primark - who have been heavily criticised for their unethical manufacturing practices in the past - has adopted a government initiative Prompt Payment Code, which aims to stop bigger retailers holding back payments to improve their own cash flow at the expense of smaller suppliers.
If retailers who have signed up to the initiative fail to pay their suppliers within an agreed time frame then they would risk being struck off the register. John Lewis, Tesco and Asda are also believed to have signed up to the scheme but other big high street names are also set to follow.

Now more than ever, retailers and suppliers need to work together and be transparent.

H&M meets Jimmy Choo.

Swedish high street brand H&M have recently announced some exciting news. Adding to their list of high-profile, limited edition collaborations (think Karl Lagerfeld, Viktor & Rolf, Stella McCartney...), the latest collection out in November will be designed by luxury shoe brand Jimmy Choo!

But the collection will not only include accessories. There will also be a complimentary women's clothing collection as well as a men's accessory collection.

H&M Creative Advisor Margareta van den Bosch stated:

"[Jimmy Choo's shoes and bags] are glamorous and sexy, and add instant style to the simplest of outfits. I like the way we have worked with clothes to accessorise the shoes and bags rather than the other way around. It's an honour to be able to offer top end designer shoes and bags of excellent quality to our customers."

M&S Penny Bazaar.

During the week, British retail giant Marks and Spencer celebrated their 125th anniversary by launching a 3-day 'Penny Bazaar' in all of its stores.

M&S started as a simple Victorian marketstall in Leeds, and Sir Stuart Rose - ever conscious of the company's heritage - decided to launch the event where a number of items would be on sale for just one penny each. Items included cuff links, mugs, pants and purses. 

On average, 60 items were sold per second with a many stores selling out of the stock in just one hour.

At the flagship store in Marble Arch, many customers had been queuing outside from as early as 5am. My local store saw a queue outside right along the high street. 

Despite the tickets declaring 'When it's gone, it's gone', many customers were left disgruntled at the product on offer and it selling out so fast. I have to say, what did they expect when one of Britain's pricier shops sells items at 1p? Many customers were completely satisfied and what is always noticable about the M&S approach (an additional to Plan A perhaps) was that all money raised was going to charity. Another triumph for Stuart Rose! Of course some people are never happy. 

London Calling.

Last night I got back from my very short trip to London where I met up with my ex flatmate (and long lost love) Kirsty and stayed in her student halls. I didn't get to do much shopping but I did get to look about Spitalfields again and went into the All Saints original store to look at what they're doing with their visual merchandising since my last visit.

Kirsty is doing a Masters in Art at the legendary Central Saint Martins (check out her blog of her amazing work) and it was great to go for dinner with her in SoHo and wander past her new uni.

I also managed to pop along to the impressive Marks & Spencer HQ (below) again where I got to speak to some of their buyers about their Spring Summer '09 trends and the current market. I did a placement during the summer with the Buying teams for Ladies Holiday wear and Leisurewear. The whole experience was amazing and I learned a lot. It was great to even revisit the building and be given the opportunity to work inside the building of the UK's biggest high street retailer. 

My only purchase of the entire trip was this vintage dress but I am so happy with it because it was such a bargain. Bought for £8 just round the corner from the M&S HQ. It looks as if it has been hand made. I don't suit long things because I'm pretty small so I am going to have it taken up. I love the sheer sleeves and the back is a great deal lower than the front. Watch this space for the finished garment.

Christina rumours denied.

Elle UK has stated that there is no truth in the rumour that Christina Aguilera will be designing a Hollywood glamour style collection for Topshop.

"Our friends at Topshop have confirmed to Elleuk.com that it's not happening. This year Topshop will be focusing on the best in British talent, including a collection from Biba legend Barbera Hulanicki, whose collection in the 1970s defined the decade. Her collection of body-con dresses, palozzo pants, and suede jackets is set to launch in April 2008."

I'm so excited about the Barbera Hulanicki collection (especially with my discount). I really wish I had been around to experience the Biba phenomenon back in the day. My mum tells me about her experiences of going to a store. I think probably the closest thing we have to that now is Topshop which has often been compared to the legendary high street label. 

I'm heading down to London tomorrow morning for a couple of days so if I get the chance I shall take a trip to Topshop flagship store on Oxford Street and Harrods which stocks the 21st century Biba collections.

Christina to design for Topshop?!

Arcadia tycoon Sir Philip Green has apparently been in talks with Christina Aguilera to design a capsule collection for Topshop which has now hit American shores.

"[Christina] has visited his offices in London and they are thrashing out the details. 

"Philip loves her style and believes she would add something new to Topshop. Christina is the blonde bombshell who is into pop whereas Kate is the rock chick and model."

"She'd appeal to a younger shopper than Kate."

But don't worry fans of the Kate Moss collection, it seems that both collections will run alongside each other with Kate just having signed up for another 3 years. 

However, just because business savy, multi-billionaire Green seems to get it right when it comes to Topshop, doesn't mean he has fantastic personal style. He was recently spotted(whilst holidaying with Michael Winners & Simon Cowell) wearing a 'Frankie says relax' style t-shirt with his name in it's place!

Label of the moment - PPQ

PPQ (of Mayfair) has gathered itself a loyal following since it's beginnings in '92. The fashion brand is particularly popular amongst the style savvy 'Get-the-London-look' celebs and pop stars and Peaches Geldof seemed to be wearing a PPQ creation every day at one point. 

But now the 19 year old 'It' girl has joined forces with the fashion label to create a capsule collection which you can only buy the collection at oli.co.uk. Not being a particular fan of Peaches, I was pleasantly surprised to see that a few of the designs are really nice and very wearable for the current high street trends. 

I came across these pictures in OK and thought Peaches looked really nice, especially in the one below where she looks very Alice in Wonderland.

Another PPQ collaboration I loved was with Ben Sherman last spring. The 'Five Decades of Dresses' encapsulating the music in the UK of each decade of the Ben Sherman brand's existance. Ben Sherman had picked PPQ for the collaboration because they felt that - like themselves and the music - they too are pioneers of British style.

End of a High street era.

The Woolworths chain, which would be turning 100 years old this year will be officially closed as of tomorrow. It's really sad to think that a company that has had such a presence on our high streets for so long, now can't compete with the behemoth Supermarkets.

I used to beg my mum for a pick & mix whilst she wandered round the isles of home wear, music and children's clothes.

Turns out Woolworths used to do an adult fashion line too! These models wear swimwear from the Summer 1980 collection.

Farewell Woolworthes and the best of luck to all their employees. I wonder which giant retail chains might be next...

Sad Christmas for the High Street

There's an interesting article on msn at the moment about the effects of the current economic climate on retailers. It mainly discusses the price wars between supermarkets but also mentions the current need for high street shoppers seeking bargains and deals. 

This is so evident in every shop window on every high street or mall nationwide and coming from a retailers perspective also, I know that we are trying everything to meet targets. 

Even the UK's biggest retailer, Marks & Spencer have reacted with one-day special 20% off day events. Executive Chairman of M&S Stuart Rose has said he is taking a "glass half-full" attitude to the struggling M&S sales from recent months. The one-day spectacular was a huge success according to Rose.

During the summer I was lucky to do a work placement within one of the Marks and Spencer Head Office buying teams and was privileged enough to sit in on an employee talk with Stuart Rose where he discussed the up-coming struggle ahead and dismissed the rumours of a take-over. I came away thinking he was one of the most charismatic people I'd ever came across and a very inspiring man to work for so I think if anyone is going to get the brand through a tough, competitive period, he is the man to do it.  

(On a further note, how good is the latest Christmas campaign advert featuring the nations favourites, Take That!?)