Brittique at London Fashion Weekend

Phew! Two days into LFW'end and I have developed a renewed respect for shop girls. It's exhausting standing all day and chatting with customers!!

So far our first LFW'end has been a success. Being our first, I had no prior expectations so it's all been a bonus. Maria from Ignes Handbags, Kelle and I have barely had a chance to run to the loo it's been so busy.

Running an online business means that I rarely receive feedback from customers about the products they buy. But this has been a fantastic opportunity to be in front of the customers and actually see and hear what they say about our products. The biggest hit has been Woolenstock slippers, Oni handbag holders and Aei:Kei jersey separates and dresses.

I'm bracing myself for Saturday and Sunday which are the busiest days. There are some amazing bargains to be had so I highly recommend getting yourself out of the house and to the Natural History Museum for London Fashion Weekend!

The shows conclude

Day 5 and the last days of shows for me. The day started with a buying appointment for Lou Lou and Law and Marios Schwab shoes (made by Scorah Pattullo coming soon to Brittique.com). I was supposed to buy Hussain too but another buyer was making the poor model try on every outfit in all colourways! So I'll go back another day for that.

Lou Lou and Law (yep, Jude Law's sister!) is a range of lovely jersey tee's and tops but they have also added a great range of Merino wool jumpers with either shoes or a bikini clad body. Really sweet.

My last show for the season was Tata Naka. I do love their romantic style and this season was no exception. Their horseshoe print is gorgeous and I'll also be buying the large horseshoe gold pendants. Although I doubt the more superstitious amongst us will be wearing an upside down horseshoe!

I then had a buying appointment with Emma Cook and Peter Jensen at the sweet shop/PR offices of Cube. I really loved both collections. Peter Jensen's had moved from the preppy look of SS07 to a darker look with bird patterned prints and lovely jersey and cord pieces. Emma Cook's collection was also heavy on cord with beautiful pinafore and smock dresses. Of course she her signiture applique was present and I've ordered a lovely jersey dress with a leaf design around the neck.

The next appointment was with Georgina Goodman. Lovely lovely lovely slouchy boots and some really sexy killer heels in black and gold. She also has a range of ballet slippers which I will order. I found that I really am missing flat shoes for AW06 so I'll add more to the orders going forward. I personally walk everywhere and as a result live in flats.

I then had the pleasure of meeting with Hamish Morrow. He is always so nice and pleasant and a joy to meet. The padded vests and jackets I spoke about yesterday where even more beautiful in real life. I had to order them in four different styles. Maybe I'm crazy doing that, but I really wanted to wear all four styles for different occasions and I'm sure my shoppers will too. I love his relaxed luxury sports feel to his designs and am looking forward to receiving the rest of my SS07 order from him next week.

Last for the evening was the Camilla Staerk party. I was shattered by this stage and met with Jackie (editor of our soon to be launched ezine) for a quick roundup of where we were at with the magazine. She's done such a huge amount of work on it and it's so exciting to see it there in the flesh.

We arrived at the party 10 minutes early expecting to be first, but there were already groups of people there eagerly awaiting the video presentation. We chatted away with sales manager Kay and then with designer, Roger. Jackie is writing about the label for the magazine so she asked a few questions.

The party was held in this massive St James house (I saw a sign on a door saying Room 35!) that was partway through renovation. Roger told us that this will be the new CS DK Ltd UK headquarters and soon they will move from their shoreditch studio to this St James mansion. I was flabbergasted at the thought of the ££millions that it took to buy and then renovate. Wow! Wow! Wow! Wonder if they want to invest in an online retailer???

The video presentation was fantastic. Beautifully done and starring Joshua the Raven. I met the fashion editor of Danish Costume magazine and thanked her for featuring Brittique in their January edition. She was really sweet and even bought a pair of shoes from me (need to deliver them today). It was a lovely night and a lovely conclusion to my LFW for this season. Now back to some form of normality!

The shows must go on

Day four of LFW and day two of shows for me. First up I met with Susie for the Roksanda Ilincic show. It was fantastic! Sorry for the blurry photo, but this was my fav of the bunch, a lovely silk wrap shirt dress. I will certainly try to set up a buying appointment with them.


After that I sneaked onto the press bus and travelled out to Lords cricket ground for the Preen show. I now understand why people wear sunglasses at shows, my head was aching after the lights in that place. It was so bright!

Sitting across from me was the trio of power!

I enjoyed the Preen show. Not a huge amount had changed since last season though and I even saw some of the same trousers as last year. There were a couple of trapeze shape coats that really grabbed me, especially in hot pink - stunning!

After a quick lunch break I went back to the exhibition and chatted with a few designers such as Sheryl May. Her new AW07 collection features some really cute dresses. First I loved the tunic style dress with the painted necklaces and jewels, so clever! Also the vintage tunic that's made from the real heavy jersey that proper vintage dresses come in. It also features a fur bodice.

Shoes have been selling really well on Brittique.com so I'm quite keen to extend the range. I met with Patrick and Anna at Gil Carvalho and selected some new styles. I'm loving their deep reds with gold trim.

The Hamish Morrow show was next on the agenda. It was a safe and solid collection and I'm loving his use of padded fabrics to create jackets and dresses. It adds a new meaning to duvet days!



After a buying appointment with Aei:Kei (loving her floral print with purple and mustard!) it was the Basso and Brooke show. Stunning as always I took Maria from Ignes Bags and she really enjoyed herself.


At first I thought Basso & Brooke had strayed from their signature bright prints with more demure colours coming out on the catwalk. But soon enough the brights apearred with a stunning geometric digital print. Can't wait to see the collection in Milan on 7 March.


Maria and I spent the next couple of hours chatting away with Brett at Wilbur & Gussie and drinking complimentary beer! Maria and I laughed later that we don't normally drink beer but it was fun.


The finale for the day was Julia Clancey's first show. After fighting the usual battle to get in, we were ushered to the front row. I sat next to the wonderful Rafael, joint founder of Iqons, the networking site for fashion. He wasn't the usual "too cool for school" type that I imagined and was really chatty and happy to meet up to discuss ways we can work together. I was on such a high after meeting him!


Julia's show was fabulous. Her style has really evolved from the Grecian style babydoll dresses of the past into the flapper style party dresses in the AW07 collection. There were so many dresses I loved and a few that I'd love to wear for my special dinner on Monday night. I might giver her a call...


Throughout the show Maria and I had photographers papping us. When the show finished they all started running over. I had no idea what was going on until someone informed me that it was Lady Victoria Hervey. She was sitting right next to Maria and we had no idea until the end. However, I'm not one who values celebrities and prefer not to acknowledge them but I appreciate that they can help bolster a designer's brand by being a their show.

Now I have a confession - I love goodie bags! I know it's terrible, but if there are some left at the end I do grab them on the way out. Well it would be a waste to just leave them there wouldn't it?

Let the shows begin!

Day two of LFW was actually day 1 for me since I couldn't make it yesterday. First up was a buying appointment with the lovely Kay at Camilla Staerk. Their collection was mostly black with hints of gold, maroon (that designer Roger sweetly calls pink) and some light grey in the shoes.

For me the CS shoes have been a real sales hit and for AW07 it's going to be the same. They have these lovely, slouchy boots that are grey seude and black patent leather that are simply devine. The clothes feature lovely relaxed dresses in cashmere jersey as well as a beautiful cotton velvet that was made up in high waisted trousers and pencil skirts. I'll be buying lots of those in both gold and black.

Next up was an appointment with the always wonderful Hannah Marshall (pictured above) to view her launch collection. Being a friend as well as a buyer, it was going to be tricky if I didn't like her collection. But I needn't have worried about that! Hannah didn't disappoint and her debut collection "Quiet Noise" was stunning. I'm in love with the chiffon topped dress shown here with the Italian jersey skirt. Her panelling was stuning and use of leather with jersey and chiffon just beautiful. I'm already looking forward to stocking this collection.

Next up I had a buying appointment with Louise Amstrup. Her SS07 collection (due to Brittique early March) has already caused a stir with Susie Bubble a huge fan. Her attention to detail and exceptional panelling in the tailoring is wonderful. This season I was not let down.

Inspiration came from a fan and every garment had fan shaped panels and details. My top pick is this all in one jumpsuit with the fan shaped belt. Fabulous!! She made it very difficult for me to stick to my budget...

Then I attended my first show for the season, Bërubë. It was quite outdoorsy with the models wearing hiking boots that had been rubbed in the dirt to make them look used. It was a completely grey collection (so don't go throwing away grey anytime soon!) with sequins and pom poms galore.

I do find it quite hard as a buyer to see the individual pieces when they are so styled and use the shows to see the inspiration and the designer's vision behind the collection and then at the buying appointment see the pieces individually.

Before Bërubë I met the hugely popular fashion blogger Susie Bubble. She is even nicer in real life than she sounds on her blog. After the show we made a dash for the Ann-Sofie Back show at the Top Shop venue in Covent Garden. Well what a debarcle. Now for my rant of the day...

For some reason I hardly received any tickets to shows this year. When I rang my designers or their buying agents I was told that I was definately on the list but the PRs hadn't posted them. Yeah right! These designers forget that without buyers they wouldn't have any money! So I was left to beg and blag my way into shows when I have buying appointments to view the collection. I mean, I'm good enough to buy their collections but in the fashion heirachy I'm not good enough to attend their shows??? And to the designer (who will remain nameless for now) who sent me a standing ticket - don't insult me! How can I see the collection standing? Well maybe I'd have a better view because this is the view I had a Ann-Sofie Back. Hmmm lovely!

I was (apparently) invited to Maris Schwab but didn't receive tickets either, so after the complete caos at Ann-Sofie Back, I didn't have the energy to even try to get in. It's not worth it when I can get home, make a cup of tea and sit back and view the collection online at style.com a day later.

The Ann-Sofie Back show didn't inspire me. I appreciate her use of industrial products like rucksack straps and seatbelts, but there wasn't a single finished piece in the collection. I'll wait for the buying appointment to see if I'll add her to Brittique.

Susie and I made another mad dash for Osman Yousefzada's show which was held on the top floor of the carpark at Selfridges. We managed to just catch the last bit which is a real shame. It looked really stunning and the hot pink dress was beautiful. Again, I'll have to wait for the buying appointment to see the full collection.

The plan was to see Aimee McWilliam's show next, but unfortunately we were too late. It's a real shame because I love Aimee's work and it was one of my must-sees for the season. But with such tight scheduling and the cross over between the main shows and the On/Off shows it's impossible to make them all. Exhausted and despondant about the ticket situation I walked through the rain home scoffing a Pret sandwich and callopased in bed at 9 ready to face day 3.

Fashion156.com LFW special

Only 10 days ago I gushed over the photo shoot in online magazine fashion156.com then this edition features Aimee McWilliams for Brittique.com.

Worth reading is the column by fashion spy Susie Bubble. She also writes one of the best blogs on the web Style Bubble.

More press for You

By pure accident I bought the Daily Mail on Sunday (because M&S had sold out of the Sunday Times). I wasn't interested in Ralph Fiennes joining the mile high club, but thought it would be interesting to see the preamble to LFW.

Imagine my surprise when I saw www.brittique.com staring off the page at me. Here we were listed as a stockist for a stunning Aimee McWilliams dress.

Customers have started to call and email requesting the dress so I might need to adjust my order.

Click and buy with Elle magazine

Nicola de Main's gold taffeta dress was a real press hit this season featuring in numerous occasions over the season. Now it is featured in the March issue of Elle along with Nicola de Main's extra long polo top. Can't wait to see her new AW07 collection next week.

Happy features Brittique

It's fabulous to feature in such a great shopping magazine like Happy. Read all about us in the March issue.

Brittique.com in the Metro

Brittique.com has had a fabulous month for press with numerous blog mentions such as Style Bubble and Kingdom of Style then featuring in Elle magazine, Happy Magazine and then in Friday's Metro. It's encouraging to see the results of so much hard work!

Metro featured the Maria Grachvogel frock coat and Woolenstocks slippers featured in their Valentine's gift special.

Directional fashion leaves men cold

I had a little chuckle when I read the article in the March UK Vogue by Alex Bilmes "What's sexy now? Directional buys may impress your stylish girlfriends, but be warned - they may leave most men cold". How true is this!

Last weekend I put on my new sack dress with some bright red tights and black wedges ready to go into the bf's office with him. He looked me up and down in astonishment and said "are you really leaving the house like that?" I laughed and said yes, of course. He then agreed that working in fashion now means that I do need to be more directional with my style. But I could tell he really didn't like it. So back into the bedroom I went and put on some jeans - the safe option!

The Vogue article goes through a number of trends men don't get including chunky platform shoes, cocoon shape dresses and the adroid look. Men are missing the point though. As Alex points out that when we wear more directional fashion we're not actually dressing for them, sorry, we're dressing for ourselves. And what's more, it feels great when you can pull off an up to the minute style. That said, I like to add my own touches so it doesn't look like I am a complete slave to fashion or have spent hours delibarating before stepping out.

Fetish photos

Before I met these guys, I dreaded photo shoots. They were long, dull and boring. Now I'm working with such a great team including makeup artist Lorenzo, photographer Sam, assistant Kelle and model Andriana.

Yesterday's shoot was the funniest ever! At the end Lorenzo begged me to let him style something for his portfolio.Sam mentioned that he had a cage and pulled out these boots (size 12!?!). Andriana was up for anything so Lorenzo brought out some fake eyelashes and the Camilla Staerk leather look skirt and bomber jacket. To everyone's surprise Sam pulled out his toy box! Wow did I learn some things! Thankfully he kept most of it hidden away. Here is an example of what happens when you let two gay men's imaginations run wild with a beautiful model and fetish gear!

Hmmm these pictures won't be appearing on the site...

Bold black and white

You might have guessed from my new dresses that I love black and white - especially together. So I really loved the monochrome shoot in the latest issue of Grazia. The white face, wig and the way the shot is projected in the background remind me of my favourite blog Style Bubble and the quirky way Susie posts pictures of herself in various outfits.

This Amanda Wakeley dress is particularly amazing, especially since it will be stocked on Brittique.com shortly. I'm expecting it in any day now but it is available to pre-order now. I'd like to wear it with the red Camilla Staerk elasticated belt and black wedges with a thick headband.

Interview with yours truly

Sophie of Preo, a London based fashion PR company, interviewed me on her myspace.com page. To find out more about how I started Brittique.com read the full interview here.

Secret Sample Sale Spree

Bored with working 24/7 a friend Anne and I decided to hit the Secret Sample Sale at the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane.

Having been to so called designer sales before, I wasn't expecting much, but it was a nice opportunity to catch up with Anne having not seen her in a while. What a pleasant surprise we had! On first inspection there wasn't all that much by the way of bags and shoes. There were some nice Gucci ballet pumps but they were reduced to £150 from £299 and still didn't seem like a huge enough discount for me to justify.

I then started flicking through the clothes and my oh my! I fell in love with Katarzyna Szczotarska. Her dresses were stunning and so different. I bought two (the grey tunic with white collar and shaped shift below shown with the Camilla Staerk hip belt). I also bought a lovely coat with a big bow detail (below). As soon as I tried them on I knew I wanted everything.

During my SS07 buying, I actually went to visit Katarzyna Szczotarska and saw her collection. But unfortunately it was my last appointment and my budget had already been allocated. Having seen the way her cut just fits I will be paying them another visit for my AW07 buying.

Also on the list is a purple wool sack dress by Pia Hallstrom and another two sack styled dresses from Bluestone. It was all in the name of research naturally!

One thing that all the dress I bought have in common is that they are sack dresses! Which means that my non-fashion forward friends will be asking me "When's it due?".

Brazen Beautiful

I was going to blog about the lovely new range of jewellery we have but was beaten by the lovely Queen Michelle at Kingdom of Style. Magpie is the new range of black, gold and silver 1950s inspired jewels created by Brazen.

When selecting jewellery for Brittique, I wanted to be sure that each designer was unique and that they offer something extra special and unusual. When I met Sarah from Brazen at On/Off in September, I knew this was a collection I had to have. Some of the collection is available now with more to follow.

Hannah Marshall hits Japan

Designer Hannah Marshall and I spent most of last September's LFW together attending shows, buying appointments and trying to get lots of goodie bags (see my previous post and pic)! She was constantly being asked by press and other attendess if they could take her picture - and mainly the Japanese. Here she is in the latest Japanese Elle.

Given the attention she received, I'm sure her debut collection "Quiet Noise" showing at On/Off will be far from quiet.

Fashion156.com - So inspired!

I actually gasped when I saw this shoot in the latest fashion156.com magazine. This shoot is just beautiful from the makeup to the model and the clothing. Not only does it feature heavily one of my fav designers Camilla Staerk, but the styling is just fantastic - things I want to wear.

Having received a delivery of coloured Jonathan Aston tights from Mytights.com this morning, I'm looking forward to putting together some sensational outfits this weekend for our Brittique.com photo shoot on Monday (oh, and for me!).