The T- shirts…..

And my Purchases……

I’ve spoken about the work of Trekstock quite a few times on this blog, but they just can’t seem to stop themselves from putting on great events or creating amazing things for us to spend our money on!

On July 1st the charity will launch their Limited Pop Up shop , which will be located just off the London shopping haven that is Carnaby Street.

This year is a special one for the music and fashion charity, who raises awareness and money for the young who are coping and battling with Cancer, as they announced their new partnership with Cancer Research UK and first patron, the ridiculously stylish DJ/Producer Mark Ronson. (This news was reason enough for me to wack out the picture of Mark and Me from a Trekstock event help at Camdens Proud again, any excuse!)

To mark this brilliant occasion they have teamed up with many of the coolest bands/artists around- Bloc Party, Delphic, Devendra Banhart, Ellie Goulding, Fouls, The Horrors, Little Boots, Local Natives, The Maccabees, Yeasayer- who between them are due to well and truly take over festival season here in the UK, and put their own designs on t-shirts which were generously supplied by Gio Goi.

All proceeds of the ten limited edition T shirts and one designed to support saving BBC 6Music will go towards reseraching cancers that affect young people and will be available from July 1st -15th. If this wasn’t enough you will also have the opportunity to get your t -shirt signed by the artists themselves at the ‘Trekshop.’ To find out when you they will be attending the store you will have to keep your eyes peeled and follow @trekstock on Twitter. 

The shop won’t be like any shop you’ve visited before as Trekstock will have many of their creative pals at hand to make the experience a multi sensory feast! DJ’s will stir you to bust some grooves while you shop, street artists will be bringing the space to life and some of Londons best festivals - Lovebox, Underage and Field Day will all be hosting a day at the shop, bringing in some exciting faces and selling tickets!

There is really no excuse not to get involved in some of the action!!

65-67 Broadwick Street, W1

Mon to Wed/Fri/Sat; 10am-7pm   Thurs; 10am-8pm, Sun; Noon to 6pm

www.trekstock.com

Readers of this blog will be aware of my financial strife and need for budgeting… hence my ever improving bargain hunting capabilities. I’m always on the look out for ways I can continue to quench my thirst for shopping whilst not completely destroying any chance of eventually buying my dream pad in London town. 

It’s nice when you can combine thriftiness with being resourceful and pleaseant to the environment. Carbooting, trawling charity shops and swapping clothes amongst friends have been my chosen method in the past, but for someone that is finding the comfort of home increasingly appealing these can sometimes seem a bit too much effort!

When I came across a concept that would allow me to achieve all the aforementioned responsible shopping actions, from home,  I was more than a bit excited. It seems someone has come up with a scheme which falls under ‘ why didn’t anyone think of this before’ category and delivered me the perfect shopping remedy. 

Big Wardrobe (www.bigwardrobe.com) is the world’s online swapping – or ‘swishing’ website. You might argue that Ebay has delivered  this already, and while it is similar with this concept you get to SWAP items, as well as sell (or a combination of the two if that suits!).

Apparently around a  25% of items in an average wardrobe remain unworn whilst two million tonnes of discarded clothing goes to landfill each year in the UK alone – 4% of all the annual UK landfill waste! Going on my personal extreme hoarding behavior I would say that sounds pretty damn accurate. I tend to go to the same few outfits over a period of time, while letting the other less desirable or decidedly off trend items gather moth balls. I also bag up piles of the unwanted, sending them to the loft to fester under the heading that they might come back into fashion one day!! I’m hoping this site may spur me to be ruthless and get rid of the discarded apparels that clutter my room and pretty much serve no purpose other than remind me of whimsical or foolish purchases. 

Big Wardrobe aims to convert unwanted clothes, shoes and bags into someone else’s favourite items – or back into cash! 

For those that collect all manner on non fashion items, a ‘Bottom Drawer’ area has recently been added to satisfy the demand from those looking for a site to exchange items such as iPods, DVD’s, cameras etc.

The site is free to trial but only members (at 25p a week, £12 a year) are able to enjoy the full benefits.  £10 Top Shop vouchers are offered to members introducing three new members. Sounds like a bargain of an idea…. look forward to swapping with you all soon!!

l-R clockwise

www.nobis.ca  - Military Peaker 

www.riverisland.com - Canvas Baker Boy Hat - £14.99

http://www.marissacollections.com/- Brunello Cucinelli Hat - $475.00

Vintage stores like Beyond Retro and Ebay have a great selection too.

You get bombarded with press releases inviting to you to what promises to be the most glamourous event of the year. Declarations that the event will be riddled with A-listers and and that guests will be supplied with endless drinks and goodie bags are standard fare. The reality is often disappointingly lackluster in comparison. The attendees are often dolled up reality tv/soap stars or just renowned party crashers looking to make the most of the free drinks, which actually tend to be watered down cocktails, and the goodie bags often padded out with press releases and look books. 

That said, on occasions there are exceptions and the Launch of the Mini Countryman definitely fell into the indulgent and star studded category.The event not only lived up to the invite hype, it completely obliterated it. 

We met at Millenium pier which was decked out in Mini branded flags and flanked by PR people with clipboards, and after the inevitable ‘are we on the list’ anxiety we were lead on to the boat and settled down with a refreshment….or two. The sun was shining down although my guest for the night complained that his quiff would be destroyed by the strong gusts that interrupted the heat as we took in the glorious sights of London moseying down the Thames ( in between sessions of people watching, scanning the boat for any interesting faces).

Once the boat reached its destination we herded off the boat, slightly less dignified and steady than when boarding. Next we were to take a short ride in an old fashion red bus, the only thing missing was Wimbledon darling Cliff and a good ol’ fashioned sing song!

After a short ride we were at our final destination, the farm. A farm? In London? Yes thats right, with sheep, chickens, mud and everything!! We walked down an outdoor suitable rubber catwalk, trying hard not to stack it fully aware that our every move was being captured on camera. Of course we failed, both tripping up and looking typically uncool. Once we had reached the end of runway we promptly accepted a summary Pimms from the greeting waitresses.

The first area of the site featured a stylish seating area which would have looked at home in Monte Carlo or St Tropez. These were reserved for the bottoms of VIPs, something I only discovered after sitting and being told, politely, that I shouldn’t be… the shame! This area was flanked by bars, an old fashioned Ice cream stand and an outdoor kitchen which was delivering all sorts of delicious aromas around the venue. Trying to pace ourselves and avoiding the crassness of stuffing our faces with free food we walked through the stage area to pick one of the giant beanbags on the grassy knoll. Here we enjoyed the unique sounds of James Yuill whose sound is described as Folktronica. His endearing ly understated demeanor was quite a mismatch to his music, which had pumping beats setting the mood perfectly for a night of revelry. I expect big things from this chap!  

I’m quite open to the fact I enjoy a good freebie, with a wage like mine it becomes a necessity that you find comfort and pleasure in the offerings you get along the way! So inevitably my friends and I made the most of the foodie treats being brought to us as we chilled out on our said beanbags. Mini burgers, various kebabs and Lamb so juicy I ended up with a very sophisticated juice drip down my chin, were offered in abundance. I did however have an unfortunate run-in with an unidentifiable canape…. I pretty sure it featured a high majority of vegetable which would more than account for my dislike ( regular readers will know of my aversion to anything that veers towards healthy !)

As well as taking care of our bellies we made sure we were permanently quenched and making the most of the inundation of offers of drinks. I’m used to avoiding alcoholic beverages at festivals, mainly due to the normal festivals grotty, vomit inducing facilities. At this luxury event I knew I could drink to my hearts content in spite of my walnet sized bladder as the resulting trip to the toilet would be a pleasant and even enjoyable experience!!

You may be thinking how does this event warrant a posting on a style page. Well I justify my right to feature this event on my fashion Police blog, not only because it was so aesthetically chic, but the event managed to entice a bevy of Londons most beautiful and stylish people. Tailor extraordinaire Ozwald Boeteng looked his typical polished self in one of his trademark bright suits, Henry Holland looked casual cute and also contributed his talents to the free motif t-shirts given away at the end of the event. Brummie Cat Deeley looked LA glossy showcasing her enviable legs in a short oriental red dress with hot toy boy in tow. English rose Jasmine Guinness also joined the likes of supermodel Eva Herzigova who sizzled in a tuxedo and Margherita Missoni who sported a hippy floral print.       

Many of the high profile attendees has ignored the invites which informed there to wear ‘festival, outdoorsy type apparels, appropriate for walking on grass. Perhaps they are set in their ways in terns fo forsaking practicality for glamour or maybe their publicists failed to pass on the information, either way standing next to them made me feel decidedly frumpy. I had a dress on yes, but mine was teamed with rather muddied flat wellie boots and a beaten up leather jacket( from Primark no less, so not even leather to be honest!) .I therefore admired at a distance, so as not to feel even more inferior, at the beauties wearing maxi dress and skyscraper wedges who were hanging on the floppy haired guys in chinos, barber jackets and ice-cream coloured shirts. There were a lot of good looks being sported by guests, clearly a lot of the cool fashion set were there in their best intentionally grungy festival gear and Timberland fans sporting some great urban wear too. 

Gorgeous George (Lamb), thats what we shall call him from now on, hosted the event in his imitable style, decked out in a sharp suit but sans bow tie thank goodness!

As well as talking to a wonderfully eccentric German from Mini who talked about the technology of the new car he introduced the beautiful Grammy nominated American singer Michelle Branch who arrived on stage in aforementioned vehicle. After a lost in translation moment where Michelle didn’t undertand why the crowd was sniggering at her comment about learning to use ‘stick’ she went onto perform two of her biggest hits…’Everywhere’ and ‘All You Wanted”. Now it was time for the big guns!  

Introduced by DJ Freestyle and single collaborator Branch, prolific Producer and beat master Timberland appeared as a silhouette against the wall of the lights at the back of the stage. It soon became apparent he had something a little extra with him in the shape of his adorable daughter who followed in Dads footsteps and took to the mic to greet the enthused crowd. After a few ‘wassup London’ and ‘ yea, uhh’ hip hop style shout outs we were right in the thick of Timberland amazing catalogue of songs. We all ‘got down with our bad selves’ to tune after tune including ‘Sexy Back’, ‘Promiscuous Girl’ and ‘If we meet again.’

Once the legend disappeared into the lit backdrop again, we were still vibing the dance-floor so stayed to boogie a bit longer to the sounds of Hot Chip DJing. Unfortunately The last train home was calling so we tore ourselves away from the dance-floor making sure we left via the ice cream on the way and grabbing a HH T-shirt as a momento of what was an amazing evening!

To see video highlights of the event head here…

The Launch of the Mini Countryman from Sophie Eggleton on Vimeo.

Don’t let our favourite new york ladies second cinematic foray put you off… all relationships have their lulls and difficulties and we still managed to get some enjoyment out of the experience, even if on the most part it was by gawping at the inevitably gaudy and outlandish ensembles! ( and Smith of course)

Most of us don’t have an endless pit of money that will allow us to copy the looks like for like, and most probably don’t have the time to trawl vintage shops and flea markets either. A quick way to steal a hint of Sex in the City style is by purchasing your very own name necklace, Carrie Style, from Tatty Devine. Head to www.tattydevine.com and custom design your own and get ti sent to your door within a couple of weeks!

Last Thursday my friend Claire and I hot footed it to Chinawhites for the launch of stylist/choreographer Katrina Bartons new venture, Property Styled.

Katrinas aim is not just to dress up her clients in the latest trends, she uses a holistic approach to styling putting together looks that ‘complement the person’, enhancing and showcase their personality to the full!

Via one on one consultations she can gage what exactly you are looking to gain from her expertise, whether it be adapting or adding to your wardrobe to ensure each outfit flatters your figure, perhaps you have a problem finding clothes that compliment your hair colour or skin tone or maybe you just want a complete style overhaul!

As well as the personal sessions ProperlyStyled can offer broader expertise to music videos, catwalk shows and cocktail parties. Quite a few of Katrinas satisfied and uber chic clients were in attendance, up and coming girl band Dolly Mix even took part in mid party outfit changes to show off their newly appointed wardrobe.

          Dolly Mix with their Stylist and our host Katrina Barton

Our room in Chinawhites was dressed immaculately also, with all necessary inclusions to please the visiting fashionistas. Littered with mouthwatering cupcakes, tasty enough to rival any of Londons trendy bakerys -which I have been informed were made by multi talented host of the night too!! 

After indulging in a few too many of the aforementioned treats we sipped on our cocktails, waiting to get treated to a speedy hair and face pick me up from on site make up artist Camilla Tew and hair stylist Jodie Stephens. By the time they were finished with us we felt more than worthy of being their amongst the innately polished and chic fashion peeps. 

The only disappointment from what was a really lovely night out was the fact we had to leave early and missed out on what was inevitably a show-stopping entrance by Pineapple Dance Studios star Louie who turned up to the event with gal pal Emma Bunton !!

So if any of you readers think you are in need of a little help get in touch with Katrina Barton at….

07960 214704

twitter.com/katrinabarton

katrina@properlystyled.com
info@properlystyled.com

www.properlystyled.com

                                                                                                                                                                         No our favourite fashion It girl hasn’t fallen victim to an unfortunate schmelting incident and followed Goldmembers example, the buttery leather delight the Alexa Mulberry has upped the glam factor. Selfridges. com have a limited amount of the exclusive versions of the best selling bag at a mere , uhum £759 !! Get your skates on girls because they are sure to sell out in record time….