The last in line to the East End Thrift Store

I must be the last blogger in London to delve into the East End Thrift Store in Assembly Passage in Whitechapel. After reading about it from Susie Bubble and That is Just Not My Vibe ages and ages ago I finally made the time, on a typical wet and grey Saturday afternoon, to treck back to the East End for a look-see myself. And I must say the hype must have gotten to me because I was expecting it to be bigger and more larger than life then what it really was. Still the customer service was marvelous, and the sweaters and coats was their biggest asset. They must stock up on more handbags and shoes! But all in all I walked out a mens suit jacket tailored to my figure for a tenner, and a black glitzy top for a tenner as well! Not bad I must say, but Spitalfields market still holds they key to my cash in terms of great gear for great price!

Charming and Out in the open

This is very bad reportage on my part but I stumbled into a little store next to the Rupert Sanderson showroom, on Bruton Place that looked so charming. I think it made tailor-made- everything for men. Jeans, shirts, and suits. All the buttons and different materials were displayed on dark wooden tables. All the fixtures for the ties and pants were on custom made shelves and boxes. All the pattern cutting was on sandy brown paper and displayed on high wall fixtures. It was all so elegant and well thought out, I didn't dare touch anything in fear of moving around a curated rubber or needle! But typical of my clumsy self I seem to have lost their business card in my bag of Conde Nast goodies. I will def make it my mission to go back and find the name of this little darling store next time I'm in Berkeley Square.

Funky Shoes at Rupert Sanderson - Press Day

Pictures of Gwenni with her Sanderson shoes hit every newspaper and gossip column in the London papers! Loved her outfit and I absolutely loved the shoes even though 9/10 times Gwenyth's style does nothing for me. So when I got invited to visit the Rupert Sanderson preview of his new collection, I took it and barely made it there before the shop closed! I snapped up these pics of the wonderful shoes he made. I went home to check out his site and really liked the bio section -

In a moment of madness or divine intervention Rupert Sanderson resigned from a promising career in advertising to learn how to make shoes at the Cordwainers College in East London.

During the summer break of the two year course he rode a motorbike to Italy to visit as many shoe factories, tanneries and last makers as he could.( loved this, I am imagining having tea with Rupert and discussing this chapter in his life in great detail)

In a very short time he was working in Italy firstly for Sergio Rossi and then Bruno Magli. Rupert is very proud to have been able to work with the founders and their families of both these companies before they were bought by larger luxury goods companies – it has stood him in good stead with the closely knit Italian shoe making community.

His design philosophy is simply ‘less is more’. Avoiding augmentation and over dressing the foot he concentrates on perfecting line, volume and material to flatter and lengthen the leg, and make women feel sexier. His inspiration comes from the materials themselves; from the sensual curve and silhouettes of the lasts and heels, to the quality and finish of the best leather and fabrics.

In 2008 Rupert Sanderson founded Fashion Fringe Shoes with Colin McDowell, with the aim of discovering and nurturing a new range of design talent.

To compliment his obsessive passion with the Italian craft of shoe making, every pair of Rupert Sanderson shoes is named after a Daffodil. How very English…

Working @ Doll

Clawing my way into the fashion industry was not going to be an easy task but I was lucky enough to score a few fantabolous internships before I start working full time with an ever so cool designer in the next few weeks. (All shall be revealed in due time!)

One of my internships was working with Doll, fashion event, production, and promotion agency. I was lucky enough to meet the great team behind Doll and work with them! Lee, Ed, Chris, and Clare took me into their wonderful space on Percy street where plans were being put in place for the Clothes Show Live in Birmingham which to my glee will be hosted by Heidi and Spencer from the Hills ! I managed to snap away some picees of the office on a Friday afternoon along with Surrie, another intern and loyally my partner-in-crime at Doll. We shared much laughter and frantic sessions over scanning/casting/emailing/excel-ing/registering, organizing, and hanging up the the truckloads of beautiful clothes for the Clothes Live Show. Check out more details of the largest fashion and beauty event in the world here and be sure to try to make it! It shall be a feast for the eyes!

Glimpses of Doll Offices

The glue that holds Doll together: Erin

My wonderful Surrie

The interns corner

When Erin is not snoring she likes to pose for my camera

A real pick cuckoo clock the cuckoo's every hour

Mary Mary

Meeting Mary Katrantzou in person was a dream! Not only have I oogled over her work from Susie Bubble posts but I also kept a Mary folder in my pictures folder where I had tracted a bunch of inspirational images of her CSM clothing line before our paths crossed. She is just as wonderful as her designs and we chatted away for hours in the freezing cold over green tea and coffee! I cannot wait for her to unveil her new collections in the future.

Marko Matyisk is Wonderful

Meeting and working with Marko Matysik could potentially be the highlight of my year. Not only is he a multi-tasking fashion illustrator, belt and accessories designer, and contributes to Vogue, but I get to assist him with his daily design projects and spend time with him which so far has been such an inspirational experience. His studio space is somewhat of a live circus with long legged lovely plants everywhere, belts and fabric samples draped over sofa's, and postcards from every corner in the world piled high up on folded mirrors. He is restricted by nothing and is much like a free artist working  on a range of projects that interest him and allow him to travel spontaneously. He has freed my mind into not to be limited by one single status but rather mix and meet my passions and be inspired. 

For all you Londoners Marko is having is first solo art show from the 28th of Novemeber to 19th of December at the Fashion Illustration Gallery on Cork Street. Watch this space as I am hoping to write up a fantabolous interview with Marko sometime next week!