Seriously.

Words cannot describe the anticipation of such awesomeness.

covet

A fair chunk of my working week is spent in the historic area of Finsbury, in south Islington. It has alot going for it, with cool buildings, trendy cafes and famous restaurants, and some really lovely boutiques. One morning a pop-up boutique called covet appeared on Arlington Road, with a list of dates that gradually ticked by as I kept forgetting or was too busy to actually go in. But when I finally got around to 'popping' in it was one day after the last day on the sign, and it became clear that it was going to be sticking around. Not so pop-up after all. A very good thing considering my current stance on pop-up shops, which I posted about here. The owner tells me they will be featuring different designers each month or so, so it will change over time, but everything had a very handmade feel to it, with the jewellery really captivating me, particularly the bracelets made of all sorts of found items like plastic rings and baubles. I ended up buying a couple of pairs of earrings - one of recycled buttons by uncommonly beautiful and a pair of silver dangly hearts by gimcrackery (couldn't find any info about these), both £8 each. I will be back.

The pics above are a bit shite as they're taken on my iPhone, but here's a proper pic I took of my earrings when I got them home:

Labour of Love

Wandering along Upper Street in Islington is one of my favourite pastimes, although it can be quite painful to fall in love with so many pieces I inevitably have to leave behind. An affordable high street it is not. But sometimes that takes some of the pressure off, you know? If you know you're not going to buy anything you can just enjoy browsing and appreciating the beauty in all the pieces, not just the ones I might buy. But I recently discovered this great boutique, Labour of Love - the clothes are still out of my price range, but there are so many interesting accessories, shoes, and general knick-knacky things that I could snatch up in a heartbeat. The shop itself is one of those spaces that can absorb me for hours of browsing and discovery, like a carefully curated treasure trove. This is not a shop for basics. These are the centrepieces, the artworks, the decoration. Some of these pieces make me rethink my entire style. For example, I have no idea why I love this Manoush dress (and you should've seen the look on Wes' face!)...

This Reem top looks like it at least started life as a basic tank...

But this Back coat is just perfection that I would wear forever and ever...

And imagine all the things I could do with a Gemma Lister collar...

And I don't have to remind you of my love for 'sensible flats'...

Check out their site and online shop, but going there in person is of course a lot more fun. The staff are really cool young hipsters and if only they put a comfy chair in the corner I would love to hang out with them all day!

Top of the shops

There is a reason why they call it Topshop you know. And there is a reason why I have been avoiding it since I've been back in London. My sister is in town, so we met up for a shopping trip yesterday - she searching for a leopard print coat, me still on a buying moratorium. But now I want so many things!! The next couple of months is going to be sooo hard.

Note several of them are Kane related. I really didn't like the stuff when I first saw it, but some of the pieces have really grown on me. Need those sweatpants!

'At least I wouldn't skin a Collie to make my backpack!'

When I grow rich say the bells of Shoreditch

Wandering through Shoreditch today, purely for business purposes I swear - I was dropping off CVs all round town in the hope of a call back from someone, anyone - and rewarded myself when I was finished by popping into one of my favourite boutiques, No-One. It is oddly located beside a cafe-cum-bar, with no entrance of its own, so you walk through the cafe to get to the shop. Once inside, it is full of goodies, and today I was especially impressed with these t-shirts created by one Vanessa Da Silva. They are absolute works of wearable art. She apparently created them for London Fashion Week, so I'm a bit of a slow adopter, but just thought I'd share them with you, as I think she might make more if there is enough demand.

No-one now has a website too, with their own blog and everything, you can check it out here. I absolutely love the jewellery they stock, great pieces from fab indie designers that have been copied by all our fave high street shops by now :-( Heaps of antipodean stuff too. But I had no idea that DreamBagsJaguarShoes actually produced anything! Whoops! I thought it was purely for the purpose of congregating rooms full of cool kids and scaring patrons with their insecure toilet doors (seriously, they open out, and have no locks! That's nerve-racking stuff).