Tagged: shopping

April 22, 2013

Evans Clothing – #FlashMobFashion

As part of #FlashMobFashion at Manchester Arndale last week, which I wrote about previously here, I was invited to speak to the lovely ladies from Evans about their new ranges and the direction they are taking their styles in. Having not really recommended Evans to any of my ladies before, I did a bit of research and asked around to gauge opinions. The response was completely split; some said they saw the clothes as ‘mumsy’ and not really their thing, whereas some who had seen Evans new Spring offerings had professed and new found love and couldn’t wait to get out and buy some of their range!

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April 11, 2013

Guest Post – Thriftette & Waiste

Thriftette & Waiste

It’s been a while since a proper post from me, new job and all that has put paid to any constructive thought! But I’m happy to say I still have some people around who are writing some great stuff for me! This time it’s the lovely Laura who went to the launch of some new clothing outlets, but I’ll let her take it from here….

Thriftette & Waiste

The Thriftettes store is tucked away in the Northern Quarter in Affleck’s arcade – one of my favourite places in Manchester. So as a dabbler in vintage and a lover of a slogan tee, it was with great excitement that on Monday evening I got to go and see the debut of the new “Waisted” collection on Simon’s behalf and joined by my friends Charlie and Jessica.

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March 5, 2013

Ruby Rose Vintage Jewellery

My adventure into the Vintage world is all down to Charlie. I’ve come to be as involved in it as she is, she has opened my eyes to a new style and niche. As is our want, she takes me along to clothing trips to get my whole-honed opinion on anything she picks up. The latest big trip had her dragging me on a very cold Sunday morning to Altrincham; you can read her results of this in her Oxfam WI post here. But on this trip I was introduced to the lovely Jayne and her amazing array of jewellery…

If you have never been to The Trader’s Outlet in Altrincham you are missing out on some amazing finds. Vintage furniture, clothes, accessories, handmade effects, everything you could imagine and more under one roof or assorted random vintage and niche stores. One of these close to my heart is Jayne’s own shop, Ruby Rose Vintage Jewels.

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After being left some antique jewellery by her Aunt, Jayne did some research into the subject and quickly became very interested and knowledgeable. Such was her interest, she started collecting more and more, with the idea to start a small online business and sell from there. It quickly escalated and the pieces she found were being taken off her hands as soon as she could get them, so in September 2012 opened up a concession stall in the Trader’s Outlet.

Originally a far-flung corner on the first floor, but two weeks ago she moved to a larger, more desirable spot and a revamp of the store has meant Ruby Rose can go from strength to strength. You can see Jayne in the middle of this picture on relaunch day giving out more expert advice!

The appeal and pull that Jayne gets is far-flung, as well as getting plenty of people from all over Manchester coming for her pieces and knowledge, she talks of people coming from all over the North West to see what unique finds she has in stock and the website has had customers from as far as America and even Australia, so you can see how far the reach is. You can’t blame them, you can see the glamour and appeal they all have. No time in history is taboo for Jayne, she stocks pieces from the 40s right up until today and also has Edwardian and Art Deco pieces. I defy you not to go and be drawn to at least one thing you like.

This month is also the first anniversary of Ruby Rose Vintage launching on the internet and Jayne is reducing some items to mark this occasion, you’d be crazy not to at least either have a look at the site or go and visit her in The Downs, Altrincham. I took Mrs B down for the relaunch and she picked out some fantastic monochrome guitar earrings and this beautiful 1960s Gold Crown peacock necklace. Showing her enviable knowledge, Jayne said that the peacock is a symbol of integrity and incorruptibility and jewellery chooses it owners, peacocks also being closely associated with royalty and alchemy. It’s an incredibly collectible piece, I think I’ve started Mrs B on a long and expensive route!

If you are more outlandish and sociable, you can host a jewellery party. Jayne will bring many pieces with her, provide bubbly for a girl’s night in and talk to you about the history of jewellery, the symbolism behind styles and generally give advice on what you should get to suit you, I think this is a fabulous idea and much more sophisticated than any other kind of party! As an added incentive, if you were to host a party, you get 10% commission on all sales made at your party to redeem against jewellery of you own, you could end up getting something fabulous thanks to your friends shopping spree!

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Look through the gallery and I defy you not to fall in love with at least on piece, better yet visit the store and meet Jayne, you’ll fall in love with her and everything she has on offer. I cannot say enough nice things about Jayne and her shop, I’m not normally a jewellery or accessory man, but I could spend hours talking to her about it all and looking at what she has. You can find Ruby Rose on Facebook, Twitter or yet go to No 16, Vintage Arts & Craft, Altrincham. WA14 2PU; she is on the first floor at the top of the second set of stairs – just look for the lovely lady with the smiley face!

The Importance of Bridal Jewellery(sonnyoliver.wordpress.com)

Ruby Bijou handmade jewellery (mylifemyblogzane.wordpress.com)

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March 4, 2013

#TweetSeatMarch

I was given the fantastic opportunity last Friday to take part in the first #TweetSeatMarch at the Manchester Arndale and live tweet, share and blog about Spring/Summer 2013 trends from some of the great stores in the mall. Over the course of the day, a dozen bloggers, fashion tweeters and enthusiasts were going to be taking to the tweet seat and spread the love for everything they were going to see. I was to be the first, what could go wrong?!

If you were following that day you could see all the tweets and can still read them back by searching for #TweetSeatMarch on Twitter or Instagram. I was to be shown all the latest clothes by Debs Hatfield, the Arndale’s Personal Shopper and stylist. If you need help finding an outfit, she offers a free service in the centre to help find what you want. It is the lovely Debs seen in most of the pictures holding up the clothes for me!

We started with Superdry, Debs had a range of both mens and ladies clothes to look at. They are going very much for the nautical look this season for men, lots of anchors and blue colourings, I tried and got stuck in a very bright yellow canvas jacket that wouldn’t have looked out of place aboard a fishing boat but still I’d wear out round town. I was here for the ladies fashion, they are going for very light Summer items like this dress, simple and perfect for any warm(ish) day in Manchester!

After this we went onto Next. You may have the same thoughts of next in my head, standard clothes that are a bit generic, good for men’s suits and maybe kids clothes. The dread of the 5am opening and buying stuff that doesn’t fit just because it is in their sale. Well I hope you’re prepared to be as blown away as I was. Everything in the first gallery below is from the current Next SS13 range. Fantastic tops, skirts and handbags that you’d expect to pay a lot more than the £32 price tag. My find of the day came from Next, a gorgeous peach skater-dress that would look just fine on the racks of Monsoon, Jane Norman etc. I’ve found it on their site, for £65 you would be mad not to pick it up.

Looking through the gallery for Next you can see the rest of the items that I loved, there is such a great range on offer in there I’d totally recommend giving it a visit on your next shopping trip out. One of the mannequins was beautifully dressed in a bold red dress and matched with a fab black belt and accessories. All again can be found in store in Next. One of the staples for this season is cobalt blue, which you can see in a lot of their clothes, I love this colour and loved everything they had on show.

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Finally we moved onto Bank. Now I’ll be honest and admit it’s not necessarily somewhere myself or Mrs B would shop, thinking the clothes are ‘for the young uns and the kids’ but I was, yet again, pleasantly surprised. Debs had some of the Tulisa range to show off, which was filled with monochrome, one of the key trends at the moment and although I’m not normally a fan, I really liked most of the pieces. This is obviously a big push for the brand and why not, I wasn’t sure it was something I’d like but again I’ve been surprised.

The Tulisa range, I think, is aimed at the X-Factor generation, teens and early 20s, but they also have many items for all ages. I especially like the tight, wet-look leggings on the right shape of person, and the same goes for the blazer and short set. I could happily recommend both of these to some of the ladies I shop for. I did also like the maxi style dress, perfect for any occasion or for hiding a multitude of sins!

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The short time I had sat in the amazing big brother style tweetseat was great. I think I now need to research into Space Zero and see how much a couple of these are for my library!

I couldn’t have enjoyed my day more; fashion and tweeting, perfect day! I came away with my opinions changed on some stores and also some great ideas for recommendations for the coming season. I can also see myself spending a lot on Mrs B!

Hopefully you have been inspired to check out these shops and see what they can offer you, I look forward to hopefully being on the next tweet seat, looking at some different stores, looking for more fantastic ideas and clothes but looking slightly less dishevelled! At least I was ‘on brand’ in my Next chinos. I try my best!

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