No secret to London fashionistas,  the iconic Brick Lane store, The Laden Showroom is celebrating 10 years of supporting & retailing up and coming fashion design talent.  Over the past short decade, a whole host of celebrities have frequented the store in search of hidden gems from indie producers.  It was also a stop on our recent blogger trip exploring the lesser known side of fashionable London.

The store stocks over 75 designers which include Bonnie, Chandelier, Collect, Connected Generation, Duke & Duchess, Flamingo, Glow, Gonsalves & Hall, JARLO, Love Milly, Orion London and Miss Milne.   Labels you may not be familiar with but are certainly worth making the trip over for.  But then again – starting feb 22nd –  The Laden Showroom will be launching a new on-line site.    Here’s a sneak preview of what gives the shop its pizazz:

More info and how to get there : The Laden Showroom.

Are all the good vintage duds at your local thrift store gone?   Fear not, soon you’ll have a whole new decade to reference and pick through.   Now a mere 11 years into the history books, a fresh movement is afoot to declare the venerable 1990’s, “vintage.” 

Are we ready to ascribe the likes of Nirvana,  Pearl Jam, Wayne’s World, and the Spice Girls,  to the venerable “Vintage” label?  Or is that wine just too young to take from the barrel?  Would our Eat My Shorts T-shirts not benefit from a few more years in the closet, taking up the subtle aromatic nuances of the moth ball.

The British department store Selfridges is boldly leading the charge to say, “Damn Skippy, the 90s are Vintage!”

The concept store, The 90s Are Vintage, (running Jan. 11th – 29th only) will commemorate that fly decade in Selfridge’s history with some in-store highlights that are downright dope:

• Rellik presents essential designerwear and accessories, including Jean Paul Gaultier, Azzedine Alaia, Vivienne
Westwood and Comme Des Garcons
• Beyond Retro present the authentic 90s uniform
• IDEA present their edit of the 90s most seminal style publications
• Francois Nars exclusively presents his book, 15×15
• M.A.C presents key 90s looks, including the iconic Spice lipliner and Twig lipstick
• H.M.V presents the top 50 films of the 90s
• Other Criteria present an exclusive YBA collection, including Damian Hirst’s iconic spots
• Dalston’s original 90s night “Work It” present their soundtrack to the era with DJs in store

 What do you think? Are we ready for this comeback? Are these looks dank or what?

 

Selfridges has been opening their doors on December 26th for the past seven years and are the first store to do so in London.  This year, Selfridges will be opening at 9am.   Selfridges also has regional stores in Birmingham and Manchester that will also open that day at 8am.  The Selfridges Boxing Day bargain-hunters will be the first able to pick from the tens of thousands of discounted products, like 75% off this Dries Van Noten Blazer and 50% off Alexander Wang’s Anya shoe.

The Selfridges sale runs until stocks last.  Check out www.selfridges.com.

For the full list of sale designers, prices, and deals, take a peak at the Selfridges Boxing Day Sale release.

With the help of our style comrades at Urban Gentry and freelance fashion writer, Flame Davies we wanted to know what should fashionistas like you look out for next year.  Think 1960’s and detail, detail, detail.

For Spring/Summer 2010, Start-Boutique – one of London’s hippest shops – will carry the debut ready-to-wear collection of London-based designer Julian J Smith.  Inspired by the Op Art movement of the 60’s, his youthful, sophisticated collection uses complex hand embroidery.  He’s most definitely a name to watch.  Visit Start in Shoreditch, east London.

Much admired cult British menswear brand Folk brings its subtle, refined collection to east London with a new store in Old Truman Brewery.  Two floors of subtle, beautifully designed clothes for the man that wants to make a statement without having to shout too loudly about it.  Established in 2001 by Cathal McAteer the collection is inspired by clothes his friends would wear:  understated with an acute attention to design and detail.  The new store delivers on all counts. 

Maybe it’s because the holidays are coming up, but all I can think of is shopping.  People still seem to be combing through sales racks on both sides of the Atlantic.  Recession.  Credit crunch.  Pshaw!  When it comes to retail meccas in the UK, my eyes are on the new hotspot for shoppers– Cardiff, Wales.  The Welsh capital was recently listed by retail experts in the top 10 places to shop in Britain.  Some say that within the next few years, Cardiff will take over Liverpool in the rankings.

The new St David’s shopping center opened this fall and it’s ginormous.  1.4 million square feet to be exact.  Stores range from Apple to All Saints and Hugo Boss to H&M.  Retail heaven, I tell you.  I don’t know about you, but shopping makes me…ahem..people hungry.  Jamie Oliver’s Italian is a new eatery located within St David’s that is a must.

But, it’s not just the new kid in town that makes Cardiff a shopper’s paradise, but the cities’ glass topped shopping arcades as well.  Let’s face it, plowing through crowds of people may not be your cup of tea when in search of that perfect pair of denim jeans.  Duke Street and High Street arcades are lined with smaller shops where you can peruse in peace.

Happy shopping!

We swooned over the snood, but now we’re all over the hat. Who says fancy head pieces are worn just for Easter and the Kentucky Derby?  Not us. 

British hat designer Katherine Elizabeth is known for her classic retro style, vintage glamour and gosh darn it, we love her.  She perfected her millinery skills from top British designer Stephen Jones and later showcased her feathery and bead-irific creations on the Dior runway.  Her pieces have graced the craniums of notables like Lily Allen and Dita Von Teese. 

Katherine loves her craft so much that she holds hat parties.  Grab a group of fashionista friends and learn how to make your very own head piece.  Sign me up!

According to Wikipedia a snood is… “a type of headgear, historically worn by women over their long hair”.  This goes to show exactly how wrong online encyclopaedias can be sometimes.

The 2009 snood is the latest must-have winter accessory for the British hipster. Described by British GQ as a cross between a scarf and a hood, the snood took pride of place on the catwalk shows of Burberry and other such high class British fashion houses.

 So, if your strolling in Notting Hill in London, ‘The Lanes’ Leeds, or through the Bullring in Birmingham this winter, keep your eyes firmly on the neck. The question of course is whether this will be another Anglo fashion trend to cross the pond, or will the West Coast and Williamsburg hipster swipe it away in favour of the ever-trusty scarf?

Philip Underwood – contributing editor

While I know there are great fashion magazines and sites, I have a thing for the folks that do it themselves.  The list below is hardly exhaustive as there are tons of top uk fashion blogs.  These are: fashion blogs, by individuals, not companies/networks, and their focus is on clothing (as opposed to makeup, or just shoes).  They are great for giving you a look at what’s happening on the street level in British fashion.

Style Bubble

Great for following just about anything new to fashion, not only becuase she has impecable style, and expert commentary, but she’s invited to every event in fashion. We don’t really buy the argument that she’s not a fashion expert…she writes and reviews like a pro.  If you want to shop in London, check out Susie Bubble’s Google Shopping Map.

Kingdom of Style
Hands down, Scotland’s premier and dedicated followers of fashion.  Queen Michelle was recently nominated for the Scottish Style Awards, and Queen Marie has tipped us off to a few of the best shopping spots and nightlife in Glasgow.  Stay tuned we’ll post that soon.

Cheapskate Chic
There are tons of “fashion student” blogs, most are late to the party, but Cheapskate Chic stands above them.  Informed and Affordable.

She’s Dressing Up
The author of She’s Dressing Up gets around….the world.  Everything featured on this blog is accesible, which gives She’s Dressing Up a real down-to-earth feel.  Fashion could use that sometimes.

Tobacco and Leather
I was intriqued when I saw the “google content warning,” but I had to admit that I love it.  Reads and looks like a vintage art magazine with an edge – wasn’t surprise when I read Manchester in the location.

 Two Breads, Please?
“We like polaroids, woodland animals, clothes, art, music and origami.”  …and TopShop.

Style Salvage
This one is for the boys.  A conversation between Steve and EJ on how men should dress.  We need more men’s fashion blogs.

So what i did I learn after reading through 100+ fashion blogs?  Just a few things: Henry Holland is avid and accesible twitterer and a nice person and that you can look for bloggers to increasingly bankroll their new purchases by selling the older pieces online.

What do you think?  What are we missing? Have more suggestions, just let me know.

BTW – you can follow my blog with bloglovin

Growing up in suburban America, my adolescent days were dressed in Gap.   I think of the brand with a mild fondness - like that kid who lived in the neighborhood,  the one with the “eh” personality, with whom I played occasionally, but barely remember today.  It’s not that I didn’t like my Gap outfits (baggy cargo pants) at the time, but how many times can you re-invent and rebrand a pair of khakis?

Thankfully, the Gap has jumped on the bandwagon of comissioning designers to help with collections. The trend is definitely a welcome one.  Gap started with a collaboration with Alexander Wang and Vena Cava, that breathed life into the brand (and the khakis), and the work on continues with Stella McCartney for Gap Kids.  The collection features a band jacket that is right in time for a  little drummer boy christmas-chic. The ad campaign itself and the look book carries the slight hint of Stella’s trademark animal loving (she is both an avid vegetarian and fur opponent).

Already among their list of celeb customers shoping at the Gap (i did just say that) is one Angelina Jolie, who dropped $500 on the collection in the Santa Monica store.  Sadly, us grown ups without kids aren’t able to benefit from this collaboration-unless you’re a petite who can wear the XL kids sizes,  like our very own Jeremy Viray.   The rest of us will have to shop the adult collection in Selfridges.

This weekend, the hottest of the hot converged in Glasgow for the 5th annual Scottish Style Awards. The country’s A-list stars from fashion, music, film and hospitality came out to dish out honors for everything from Scotland’s best designer to hottest band.  

Check out all the winners here.

For the second straight year, best designer went to Deryck Walker.  Walker is known for his use of Harris Tweed and some of his past collections included themes like Wizard and Oracle.  I never knew cloaks could be so fashionable.

As what seems to be a prerequisite for all veteran stars to do at least once in their careers, Dame Vivienne Westwood had a pre-recorded acceptance speech ready for her win as International Style Icon.

Michelin-starred chef Paul Kitching’s restaurant with rooms 21212 won Most Stylish Hotel.  There was stiff competition from the likes of the new Hotel Missoni and Blythswood Square.

Congrats to all the winners and nominees and a special shout out to Scottish Style Award nominee Michelle Haswell aka Queen Michelle from Kingdom of Style - she had our vote from the get go!