Selfridges is one of my favourite places to meet friends and go shopping!
Shopping is something we all do; it’s an activity that seems so natural we don’t realize that shopping for pleasure rather than necessitywas invented, and much of that has to do with Harry George Selfridge. Harry George Selfridge was an American retailer who was unimpressed with the snooty shops of London. He understood the changing political climate and saw an opportunity to create a unique place for the female shopper. On March 15th, 1909, Selfridges Department Store opened on Oxford Street in London and changed the way we’d shop forever!
Selfridge put perfume counters near entrances to entice customers: he introduced the in-store library, restaurants, the roof garden and he turned the window display into an art form. Selfridge believed that a department store could be as important to the individual as great landmarks; he wanted his store to be a meeting place for people. He’s credited with creating the slogan “the customer is always right” and"…shopping days left until Christmas". He was a true genius!
The Selfridge legacy is greater than his wildest dreams. We go shopping for fun, we visit department stores for their architecture and design and of course for their sales! Ok, so it’s Boxing Day, let’s go shopping! Yahoo!!
It’s important to shop wisely though…after all, Selfridge also died penniless and the UK credit card debt is £56.35 billion and counting!
Best steel drum version of a Christmas carol ever! The Ebony Steelband Trust was playing on Oxford Street in London during the Christmas eve shopping craziness – so festive!
I’d like to be the kind of girl who could dress my dog in this Gucci hat. I know that the hat is kind of silly and it’s the type of thing you’d expect Paris Hilton’s dog to wear but there’s just something so wonderfully pretentious about it.
Starting this weekend, Season 6 of Sex and The City will be playing again, on the Paramount Comedy Channel in the UK.
Ever wonder what all the designers are that they’re wearing? Well, HBO’s website has the fashion credits on their website. It’s pretty complete, especially later in the series, although some of the credits from the first season are missing – there aren’t even any fashion credits for episode 1 (!) but it’s a fun way to watch anyways…well, if you’re fashion-obsessed!
Just in case you haven’t seen it already, here’s the trailer for the upcoming Sex and the City movie, to be released May 30, 2008:
Louis Mariette is a fabulously delightful milliner and i-D magazine stated that he was one of the 250 most influential creative professionals in the world. He is probably most famous for designing the world’s most expensive hat, valued at £1.5 million.
Most importantly, whenever you visit Louis’ showroom you’re offered a cup of tea and you feel like you’ve been transported into a magical world, and you know what? You have! I feel very naughty when I’m there, I have to try everything on and I can stop giggling. I think it’s all the glitter, it effects you somehow!
I'm a fashion stylist and consultant based in London. I'm Fashion Editor at Phoenix magazine, and I've styled for many musicians from Kate Nash to... (more)
