Rainy Day Woman

I was instantly drawn to the adorable 60's clothes that I managed to find within the endless rails of beyond retro, Its fantastic that you can find out so much about ordinary, everyday vintage fashion just by rummaging through, there's just so much inspiration. 

The abandoned shoe menders basement provides a stark contrast to the carefully selected, striking fashions inside, the few items that lay inside are highly contemporary by designers like Ann-Sofie back, Maison Martin Margiela and Gareth Pugh- all avant garde and influential brands.

Absolute Vintage is the definition of rummage; you seem to walk in to a hoarders living room but, a living room full of eccentric one-off's and some truly beautiful garments, its interesting the way that men and women's clothes are mixed together, challenging your idea of style and encouraging you to remove all boundaries. 

There are rather a lot of unknown brands in Diverse (e.g Jane Carr) which are slowly being discovered by the customers who go to browse Christopher Kane, Alexander McQueen and Halston to name but a few of the many; Diverse keeps Islington informed of the new, emerging talent in the fashion industry

Theres something very British about Labour of Love, its cute, quirky and full of humour and theatricals, the eclectic range of products it sells make the LoL ideal very solid.

The fashion in Sefton is very progressive, yet the store is relaxed and approachable, reflecting on the fashion and making it more accessible to the general public, the range of brands is vast yet the garments selected are generally modern, relaxed and casual whilst still remaining edgy. 

Present is a rare thing - a modern boutique aimed at young men and the interior is so obviously masculine that I felt quite out of place there, sparse, industrial and super easy for the impatient men to shop quickly without boredom taking over. 

http://www.farfetch.com/xmas/

Even without looking at the fashion i am fully in love with farfetch.com's wonderfully illustrative website, the collaged pages mixed with traditional drawings animate the garments, its refreshing to see fashion presented in this way.

http://www.oki-ni.com/styled/styled-by-glenn-kitson/stry/styled-glenn-kitson/

The STYLED section on oki-ni.com shows fantastic examples of contemporary menswear and the stylists involved show how diverse it can be, I love these images by Glenn Kitson because they show an alternative to clean cut, tailored images, they are candid and shabby.

http://www.net-a-porter.com/ presents classic fashion in a straight forward, purposeful style - easy to shop but bland to browse, the website plays it very safe in both product and style because its customer base is worldwide and covers all ages, it doesn't isolate anyone yet is uninspiring to those who want a thrill. 

http://www.notjustalabel.com/about provides space for new designers to showcase themselves and nudge their way in to the fashion industry, they seek out the most avant  - garde and daring designers to become the new faces of fashion and break any boundaries that could possibly remain, surely there must be one or two. I think the antique diving suit's due for a comeback. 

Taxidermy?

Liberty are so proud of their heritage and branded designs that they've started accessorising african wild life  and mounting it on the wall. There are worse things you could wear I suppose...

You walk into urban outfitters and instantly want everything; the cult branded clothes, the fun chilled out interior, the music and the little nick-nacks everywhere whisper in your ear "your life would be so much cooler if you had me".

Topshop saturates our lives with endlessly changing trends and a constant chain of new products that are thrust in your face until your in a worrying amount of debt, however the styling of the clothes throughout the store is rather seductive and often quirky, acting as lookbooks and showing you how to dress (whether it is helping or dictating is up for debate...).  

The slightly odd setting of B store compliments the unusual menswear brands found inside; they are as confident in picking each individual item of the few brands that there are as they are in their own brand, which was developed because of  B Stores prestigious menswear status. 

The interiors of Bluebird are integral to the image of the store and acts as a canvas for a wealth of creativity to be applied to, this reworked antique chair acts as both product and furniture because it represents the eclectic mix of styles, tastes, brands and customer that move in and out of Bluebird. 

The magnetic pull of Selfridge's towards anyone with a desire for fashion is unyielding and the sheer range of brands, budgets and tastes ensures an almost unlimited customer base, the products are fresh, contemporary and covet-able.

 Acne is completely fabulous: with the interior and layout of an art gallery it is the perfect space to present their contemporary garments, the modern art spread around the shop creates the illusion that the fashion is also art. 

 I love the conceptual image of Dover Street Market, each brand is a shop within a shop, a mise en abyme of interiors and as I meanderd through these i was surprised to see classic brands such as YSL merged between the lesser known brands and even exquisite haute childrenswear! 

The thrill of finding a treasure in a charity shop is amplified a hundred times in Oxfam Boutique because you are surrounded by so many pieces of exciting and high quality clothing, it doesn't even feel like a charity shop as the merchandising and layout looks as professional as any other west London boutique, though perhaps a little more rustic. 

I adore Matches as you get the joy of the exquisite fashion without the twitchy feeling you get when a snooty sales assistant breathes down your neck, it feels clean and fresh and the minimalistic interiors let the clothes speak for themselves,or rather sing in velvet tones!

I have a love//hate relationship with Browns because, whilst some of the clothes are worthy of museum status,  it is impossible to relax and enjoy them because the staff are completely vile, however a stunning Lanvin dress helped me get over this quite quickly. Want. 

The Holly Fulton dresses above as good as sum up Browns Focus: youthful, edgy, energetic and eccentric, Browns focus is a "how-to" of progressive fashion.

"s' marvellous"

During my not so fabulous cheesecake binge that happened around 12 past midnight on Sunday night I discovered the delights of Funny Face for the first time. 
Yet again I wish it was the 1950's and i had the perfect 50's eyebrows

I think this face will always make me a little bit happy

Curtain Road/ Google maps mission

Start contrasts the countless vintage stores in east London by blending a novel sense of grandeur with a flashy sense of humour; the glowing "treasure" sign gave a sense of tackiness to the exquisite collections making them more accessible to the east end. 

Hoxton boutique is unique and majestic, as I walked in I felt like a ringmaster in a circus, surrounded by unusual and carefully selected clothing that mirrored the theme of the interior.