Terry de Havilland launches ready-to-wear line

The legendary 1970s cobbler to the rock ‘n’ roll cognoscenti, Terry de Havilland, is launching a new ready-to-wear collection inspired by the stars and the era which first made him famous.
De Havilland is revisiting the glamour of his King’s Road store, Cobblers, which opened in 1972 and attracted an A-list clientele, including Bianca Jagger, Elton John, Patti Boyd, Shirley Bassey, Rudolph Nureyev and Lee Radziwill. He was famed for his tiered wedges and platforms, instantly recognisable for their gleaming metallic details, psychedelic colours, snakeskin and serpentine curves.

Agyness Deyn and sister Emily collaborate on a T-shirt range for Uniqlo

The British supermodel-extraordinaire, Agyness Deyn, is launching a limited-edition range of T-shirts in collaboration with the global fast-fashion retailer, Uniqlo.
The collection, which the Manchester-born model worked on with her younger sister, Emily, comprises quirky T-shirts, tunics and tank tops, adorned with Polaroid-style photo prints. The creations have a distinctly fun, home-made feel about them, reflecting activities that the Deyn sisters enjoy doing together in New York, where they both now live. Hand-written messages complete the designs, such as “Live life in the fast lane” under a picture of a pair of bowling shoes, while another T-shirt featuring a shot of cupcakes iced to say “I love you”, is customised with the motto: “More than cake”.
Five different designs form the “Agyness and Emily Deyn UT” range, and will go on sale from May 1st in all Uniqlo stores and also online at www.uniqlo.com, priced at £12.99.
It is not the first time that Agyness Deyn, who was crowned Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2007, has worked with the Japanese retailer. Last summer, she was the “face” of the brand’s sportswear campaign, alongside Kelly Osbourne’s model-fiancé, Luke Worrall.
Deyn's sister Emily, 22, moved to New York to be close to her model sister, and has founded her own design company, HusseinDeyn.
VIEW THE FULL COLLECTION OF T-SHIRTS

Burberry launches new 'April Showers' collection

The sun may have his hat on, but Burberry is ready for April showers.
The hip-heritage British brand today launches a brand-new collection, called exactly that.
The "April Showers" range is a one-off. It takes to nearly sixty, the number of collections the British designer of the year, Christopher Bailey, who is Burberry’s chief creative officer, and his team, are now producing for the global luxury brand.
The collection, for both men and women, includes trench-coats, polo-shirts and dresses, padded jackets, and accessories. It majors on the iconic Burberry house-check, used for everything from umbrellas and wellies to handbags and iPod cases, and given a contemporary edge with trims in bold primary colours.

Juicy Couture hires hip designer Erin Fetherston

Juicy Couture, the American clothing label that made tracksuits sexy, has hired the hip, New York-based designer, Erin Fetherston as its creative consultant and guest designer.
One of Fetherston’s first projects will be to reinvent the label’s iconic low-slung, drawstring trackie-pants and zippered, hooded top, which came in pastel-toned velour, fleece or cashmere, and even drew Madonna

Cu-cool bird prints!

Designers join forces to celebrate Browns' 40th birthday

Designers from all over Planet Fashion have come together to give the famous London store, Browns of South Molton Street, and its loyal customers, an amazing 40th birthday present: an iconic piece which will be part of the fashion haven’s "Future Collectables" collection.

The designer labels which signed on for the commemorative project include Alexander Wang, Ann Demeulemeester, Balenciaga, Burberry, Christian Louboutin, Christopher Kane, Dries Van Noten, Erdem, Hussein Chalayan, Maison Margiela, Missoni, Norma Kamali, Rick Owens, Roland Mouret, Sonia Rykiel and Stella McCartney.
The collection is designed to be affordable and aspirational, with prices ranging from £175 for a Maison Margiela T-shirt, to £2,500 for a Rick Owens’ leather jacket. Each piece will have a special, limited edition "Browns 40th anniversary" label inside.
The "Future Collectables" is available in all Browns’ locations including London’s South Molton Street, W1, and Sloane Street, SW1, as well as Browns’ website. There will be a special "pop-up shop"created in a dedicated space within each store and on a specially-created online store within the website for the entire year.
Browns is also partnering with key luxury international retailers in Berlin, Dubai, Zurich and Geneva, to create a temporary, "Future Collectables" travelling, pop-up shop.
To further mark its 40th birthday, Browns has also organised a retrospective exhibition which will open at the new gallery space, The Regent Penthouses & Loft, in Marshall Street, W1, on May 13th.
This includes a portfolio of portraits by Paolo Roversi of 40 Browns "ambassadors" - designers, actresses, celebrities and models who have a connection with the store, including Azzedine Alaia, Marc Jacobs and Natalia Vodianova - as well as an exhibition of iconic designs which cover Browns’ fashion history since 1970 when the store opened at 27 South Molton Street.
Over the years, it has grown into one of the world’s most famous designer label destinations. Browns was founded by Joan Burstein, CBE, a fashion icon in her own right - always affectionately known as "Mrs B" - the woman who made John Galliano famous by placing his Central Saint Martins’ graduate collection in the store windows in 1984, and her late husband, Sidney Burstein.
“Mr B” sadly passed away earlier this month. Although he did not live to see the 40th anniversary celebrations, he died in the knowledge that the arrangements for the birthday of the store he loved so well were all in hand.
VIEW THE 'FUTURE COLLECTABLES' COLLECTION
More than thirty world-renowned designers - many of whom were introduced to the British fashion public by the de luxe shopping destination - have re-issued an archive piece or created an exclusive limited edition item in honour of Browns’ celebrations this year of four decades in business.

Hollywood shoe business for Tod's

There’s no business like shoe business! Especially when you are the billionaire Italian footwear baron, Diego Della Valle, and you are in Hollywood.
Della Valle - the man behind the de luxe moccasin with 133 little rubber "nodules" on the sole - hosted a star-studded party to celebrate the reopening of the refurbished Tod’s boutique and Tod’s Home Concept, last night, in Beverly Hills, CThere’s no business like shoe business! Especially when you are the billionaire Italian footwear baron, Diego Della Valle, and you are in Hollywood.
Della Valle - the man behind the de luxe moccasin with 133 little rubber "nodules" on the sole - hosted a star-studded party to celebrate the reopening of the refurbished Tod’s boutique and Tod’s Home Concept, last night, in Beverly Hills, California. alifornia.

Lara Stone is the new 'face' of Giorgio Armani Cosmetics

The curvaceous catwalk star, Lara Stone, has been announced as the new "face" of Giorgio Armani Cosmetics.
The Italian designer said he had chosen the Dutch model because she was "seductive, sensual and above all modern. With her individual beauty, she epitomises the feminine ideal of our time.” Stone has been photographed for the campaign by David Sims, with make-up by Linda Cantello.
Aged 26, Stone was born in Geldrop, Holland, to a Dutch mother and English father. She was "discovered" in the Paris Metro, at the age of 12, and has built an international career, appearing in all the major catwalk shows, in global campaigns for Calvin Klein, Jean Paul Gaultier, MaxMara, Jil Sander, DKNY and Givenchy, among others, and has also modelled for the Pirelli calendar.
In January, she became engaged to the British comedian, David Walliams, who sat front row at the Givenchy show in Paris last month, to watch her walk on by.

Ralph Lauren honoured with the Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur

The award capped a week of success in the French capital for Lauren. Yesterday, he presided over the official opening of his largest store in Europe, and new French flagship - a six-floor, 13,000 sq. ft emporium on the fashionable Boulevard St Germain. The building, which dates back to 1866, and was formerly an embassy and a hotel, showcases all of the Ralph Lauren men’s and women’s collections, as well as a watch salon, a vintage floor, and a new restaurant called, appropriately, Ralph.
Surrounded by his family - wife, Ricky, daughter, Dylan, and sons, Andrew, and David, who was accompanied by his long-term girlfriend, Lauren Bush - Ralph Lauren welcomed a host of stars and celebrities to a black-tie dinner in his new restaurant, including Marisa Berenson, Gerard Depardieu, Michelle Yeo, Abbey Lee, the editor-in-chief of French Vogue, Carine Roitfeld, and the veteran French actress, Anouk Aimée.

How to dress for the warmer weather

MASTER THE ART OF LAYERING
The foundations of layering are the shirt, tee and jacket, no matter the season. Only now it’s time to vary the fabrics. Nathalie Riddle, fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar, suggests we swap winter’s stuffy wools for “super-soft cottons, ultra-fine knits, fluid chiffon, tulle, silk and butter-soft leather.” She says: “A silk shirt layered over a cotton tank with a chiffon scarf gives the illusion of summer, but is still warm enough to be practical.” Keep the silhouette soft with body-skimming cuts – think waterfall-front jackets, oversized jersey T-shirts, loose-fit blouses and draped trousers (Whistles has an easy-on-the-thigh black silk pair for £95, 0870 7704301). Mix ’n’ match, then add and subtract as sun/rain/your mood dictates.
GO TIGHTS-FREE WITH A MAXI DRESS
Not ready to air your pins just yet? Invest in a maxi dress or skirt. The hippie-vibing, floral-printed maxi has a perennial summertime appeal, but those that come in subdued tones, with sleeves and a whiff of Nineties grunge, are new-season fresh. Think slouchy T-shirt, but with a floor-brushing hemline; asos.com has a top selection. It’s easy, versatile and cool, come sun or hail. Layer under a shirt, slouchy cardie and parka for damp days, or on its own with platform sandals when the sun emerges. And a heads-up for next season: the long-and-lean look will be sticking around.
NUDE RULES
Maybe because it looks so unpalatable, spring’s biggest non-colour, nude, is being fed to us with food-related words: caramel, butterscotch, café-au-lait, toffee. However you swallow it, nude tones work better with the sun out, the brightness fielding its wearer from a misdiagnosis of anaemia. The easiest way in is with a wispy blouse, or go down the accessories route with nude heels (try LK Bennett). Khaki is the other hot colour: Cos’s khaki shirt-dress (£65, 020 7478 0400) is chic and layer-friendly.
“If you don’t feel ready to ditch black altogether, look for pieces in lighter fabrics,” says Riddle. “Go for an ultra-thin cotton black shirt paired with skinny khaki cargo pants (try J Brand’s versions), or black silk, draped pants teamed with a tank and nude cropped leather jacket – both looks have elements of spring’s trends and fabrics, but are still weather-appropriate.”
SEEK OUT A FABULOUS SUMMER SCARF
Too warm for winter’s chunky snood but too chilly to do without neck gear? Say hello to the summer scarf. “It’s the most inexpensive way to add a splash of colour, and keep that protection,” says Riddle. “Cult label Lily and Lionel’s statement designs are printed on ethically sourced luxury fabrics including silk and cashmere, and are beautiful ways to keep your neck toasty.”
The pash may be out of fash, but its fine, lightweight knit is what you want in a summer scarf; buy one with a similar weighting in a splashy print. Banana Republic’s natty navy scarf (£35, 020 7758 3550) fits the bill; brownie points, too, for arty use of summer’s sleeper print, tie-dye.
DITCH THE COAT FOR A JACKET
You know the drill about April showers and a trench coat. Nothing wrong with that but it’s, well, a little ho-hum, especially as there’s a flux of fantastical cover-ups to have fun with. The Man With No Name-style ponchos were seen at Chloé, and Zara and Jaeger on the high street. If the Peruvian peasant look doesn’t do it for you, shrug on a spring-friendly denim jacket, beneath a faux-fur gilet if it’s particularly nippy (layers, layers…), or go for a long-line blazer in breezy linen, jersey or cotton gabardine, paired with a plain tee, long skirt and summery wedge. If you can’t bear to part with your trench, consider British NewGen designer Christopher Raeburn’s see-through mac, which is made from recycled fabrics and comes in a perky shade of lemon (£430, 020 7734 1234).
SHOW SOME ANKLE
So you want to show some leg, but are still a few gym sessions shy of being shorts-ready. The concession is a tantalising flash of the ankles. Hipsters will DIY with turn-ups (just roll up or down according to weather volte-faces), while old-schoolers will run with classic capri pants. Go Gallic and team with a Breton top, or do smart with a mannish jacket. Be warned: cropped trousers can truncate the legs and make calves look porky, so are best worn with heels.
AIR YOUR FEET – WITH RESTRAINT
First, let’s veto the “summer boot”. A winter ankle boot crossed with a sandal via a hacked-off toe? Ugh. Full-blown toe-baring still feels premature, so hunt for sandals with peep-toes and broad straps for subtle hints of skin. A platform or wedge heel works well with long maxis (and provides the necessary elevation to keep your feet dry should it pelt down). Espadrilles have been making stealthy inroads in the most fashionable wardrobes (Alexa Chung, Agyness Deyn): cooling canvas, rustic straw and a covered toe add up to an on-the-money spring shoe.

Strange shades for a colourful summer

STRANGE SUMMER COLOURS COME OUT
It’s going to be a summer of interesting colour combos. I know this because last week, the advance-intelligence department of my brain suddenly compelled me to buy a blazer in an eye-socking shade of canary. Yellow is a colour I’ve always regarded as nauseating, vulgar and unwearable. Yet there was this jacket, hanging in the Aquascutum sale, speaking to me. Though nobody loved it and it was reduced to £15, it was telling me it could actually look great, if worn with beige, stone or taupe. Perhaps it would work, in a Seventies-redux way, with navy trousers, too, I found myself reasoning. And heck, what is fashion if not about change and experiment – and flying in the face of your own preconceived ideas once in a while?

As it turned out, that counter-intuitive, counter-everything impulse turned up trumps. That jacket really does give new life and relevance to my two-year-old YSL chinos and, worn with a white vest, the whole thing looks fresh. I suppose it was one of those ideas that seeps in at the corner of your eye while your conscious mind is busy deleting it, but since my yellow epiphany, I’ve been registering the fact that all sorts of peculiar colours are appearing this summer.
Roksanda Ilincic designed apple-green and yellow dresses for Whistles; Alber Elbaz has tangerine and pink dresses at Lanvin; and there were potentially sickly pastels in Chanel’s summer couture show that looked lovely. These weird shades aren’t blindingly bright, and definitely not neon, and now I come to look at them properly, they’re all part of a significant, taste-changing spinning of the colour-wheel that’s going on.
The flipside of it is the in-rush of good-taste, barely-there shades of camel, caramel, tan and nude – hoity-toity, sophisticated colours that seem the total opposite of the vivid and vulgar. Yet, as it turns out, they’re actually made for one another. The way to make yellow, orange or grass-green clothes look exciting is to downplay them with neutral shoes, bags and skinny belts. (Matching or tonal shades would be fatal, unless you wanted to fit in at Aintree.) And vice versa: to stop “nothing” colours making you fade into the background, what you need is the odd spark of funny colour. I’d do it with an orange bag, myself.
Admittedly, it takes a bit of daring to work colour this way, and if it hadn’t come to me at £15, I’d never have tried. Still, there are low-risk, low-cost ways into it, too. Lipstick is one: I love Chanel’s slightly tangerine Cambon, which was given out at the last couture show – a colour I nearly threw out, but now find looks great in spring-light. The other is nail polish. Essie has colours which make a perfect “off” clash with summer’s odd shades: eau-de-nil green, blancmange-pink and a weird blue-grey.
BRING ON THE NORMAL TROUSERS
Memo to trouser-preferring sisters: start turning out your cupboards now. Somewhere in there, I’m convinced you’ll find a Nineties pair or two which will allow you to stride ahead of fashion in a satisfyingly annoying way. Tailored trousers and boot-leg pants – previously the domain of Helmut Lang and Tom Ford in the Nineties – are top desirables for next season. Actually, why did I say that? Truth is, they already are. The reaction to autumn’s collections is in: death to the drop-crotch, baggy bottom and harem pant. Normal trousers are what we want, urgently.
If you happen to have Nineties “vintage” pairs that are still viable, I say press your advantage right away, because the new trend isn’t easy to purchase yet. I’ve scrambled around the internet for man-tailored peg-tops or graduated flares – and it’s tough to find the right thing. Burberry and Diane von Furstenberg both have boot-cuts, but they have something of the air of office attire about them. The best I’ve found are from Stella McCartney, who is something of a goddess when it comes to tailoring trousers with a flattering fit. I’m living in a pair of black stretch kick-flares of hers from last season, and am ready to get my hands on any of the slouchy men’s trousers she put on her runway for spring. It’s the perfect time of year for it – transitional weather, when it seems too miserable to be still wearing opaque tights, yet too chilly to be going out bare-legged.
APPLAUD THESE BUSINESS BEAUTIES
An ovation is due to three British women fashion and beauty entrepreneurs who have all had gigantic pay days in the past couple of weeks.
Cath Kidston, 51, sold her flowery Fifties-flavoured fabrics and accessories business to a private equity firm for £100million; Natalie Massenet, 44, of Net-a-Porter, the online luxury fashion retailer, made £52million when she sold to the French luxury goods conglomerate, Richemont; and Liz Earle, 47, who invented the Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare range from the Isle of Wight, sold for an undisclosed, but doubtless substantial, sum to Avon.
What they have in common is the fact that they all came up with their business ideas in the Nineties and grew quietly by concentrating on what they believed in, and with their inside-out knowledge of how women live, think and want to shop.
All of them have a personal touch: Net-a-Porter delivering gift-wrapped goodies to try on at home; Cath Kidston winning girly hearts by extending the charm of her flowery wallpaper and bedlinen, and building it into a “world” from one tiny shop; and Liz Earle by owning one mega-successful cult product (her Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser) in a collection which started off as a mail-order enterprise from her home.
Even more impressively, all these women-for-women businesses have bucked the recession. They have emerged in the kind of well-run shape that is attractive to investors, now in the mood for spending again on acquisitions that look as if they can go much further internationally.
None of these women have done it by throwing their weight around or becoming loud-mouthed retail celebrities. Each one has, in the rather awful phrase, simply stuck to her knitting, and delivered something special, and of today, in ways men could never have achieved.

Nailing the military trend with khaki

You would be forgiven for thinking that khaki is the new navy, for the ubiquitous military shade is swamping the high street. This onslaught is so powerful that it looks set to overwhelm the traditional nautical theme that usually presages the arrival of summer fashion.
Blame it on Balmain, for it is that venerable French house’s firebrand designer, Christophe Decarnin, who is chiefly responsible for staging the season’s khaki coup.

Decarnin’s inspiration was a kind of biker-militia look. In the hands of other designers, such as Alexander Wang, Phoebe Philo at Céline, Stella McCartney and Hannah MacGibbon at Chloé, it took on a utilitarian ethos, while brands such as MaxMara, Sportmax and Marc Jacobs, added safari chic.
Khaki may have been borrowed from the Army, but it is far from uniform. For a start, there is every shade, from deepest olive to desert sand. Offset dark with light. Wear with a white, linen shirt or T-shirt. Add a feminine touch with a ruffled cami or pintucked, unbuttoned shirt. Accessorise with sexy, gladiator sandals or wedge-sole canvas bootees.
Samantha Cameron is even working khaki into her pregnancy wardrobe, first with a Harrison dress, and again with a Comptoir des Cotonniers jacket. Think of khaki as the keystone of your summer wardrobe, and start getting your kit together now.

Princess Diana's dress worn on first official appearance to be sold

It was rumoured that the Princess had destroyed the black taffeta gown - but it turned up recently in a wardrobe at the studio of dress makers David and Elizabeth Emanuel.
Now the iconic dress is set to fetch up to £50,000 when it appears at Kerry Taylor Auctions in London on June 8.

The dress caused a sensation when Lady Diana Spencer, as she then was, bent down to climb out of the car. She was met with a frenzy of flash bulbs and next day's newspapers included the headline: "Daring Di sets fashion as she takes the plunge".
But while 19 year old Lady Diana thought that black was elegant and grown-up, it was deemed an unusual choice as the Royal family wear the colour almost exclusively for mourning.
The public, however, went wild over the dress. In the run-up to her wedding, the nervous fiancée lost so much weight that she returned the gown to the Emanuels to have it taken in. The alterations required were so drastic that they decided it would be easier to re-make a smaller version for her. They kept the original and forgot about it, only re-discovering it quite recently.
This gown forms part of the Emanuel Archive of Princess Diana-related material comprising 30 lots ranging from actual clothes worn by the Princess to fashion sketches, invoices, letters and related ephemera and expected to fetch a total of up to £175, 000. It charts the transformation of the Princess from a young, inexperienced teenager into a world-renowned style icon.
A large part of the Emanuel Archive focuses on the Royal wedding gown and includes original designs and toiles for the bridal gown and bridesmaid dresses, the layered tulle petticoat worn by the Princess for fittings and rehearsals at St Pauls Cathedral, a duplicate sequined veil, invoices, letters from the Princess' mother, correspondence with Buckingham Palace and a photographic record of the making of the bridal gown. The collection also features fashion designs for the Princess' official tours to Venice 1984 and the Middle East in 1986.

Henry Holland's bag ladies

Debenhams has unveiled a one-off print created by the young fashion designer, Henry Holland. The design features the faces of thirty-six "girls-in-the-street" winning entrants to a competition run by the department store, earlier this year.
The three dozen lucky winners of the quirky competition - launched in January - were given the chance to see their faces on a print design for a handbag and scarf, by entering a photo of themselves online.

More than 200 people vied for the chance to be featured on the print, the chosen few being hand-picked by Holland himself. The handbag and scarf will be part of the autumn H! By Henry Holland range, due to hit stores in July.
"The winning faces, everyday, typical girls you would see on the high street, epitomise the urban, yet playful feel of the collection," said the designer.
The design is a purple, black and white collage of the winners’ "mug shots", on a newspaper background, accompanied by witty headlines and slogans, such as "new fashion icon", "street style" and "the IT crowd".
The current season’s H! collection, launched in March, features a similar "bagazine" with Holland’s own face, printed in the style of a gossip magazine. The collection focuses on the signature bold prints and bright colours familiar to fans of Holland's own main line brand, and is priced between £5 and £60.
H! by Henry Holland is yet another member of Debenhams' designer stable, joining other collaborative collections by Matthew Williamson, Jasper Conran, Julien Macdonald, Betty Jackson, John Rocha and, most recently, Principles by Ben de Lisi.

British designers cause a stir at Vogue party

Has British designer fashion come of age?
In all the time I’ve been watching British designer fashion, it has never received the kind of establishment recognition that it’s been getting lately. London’s young designers are still reeling from the fact that the Queen invited 300 members of the “clothing” industry to Buckingham Palace two weeks ago – and included them. Then, last week, Anna Wintour threw a Vogue party at Pulino’s for 20 emerging London talents who’d flown into New York to exhibit their clothes at the Soho Grand Hotel. Young British Hollywood talent turned out in support, too, in the shape of co-host Emma Watson, wearing one of Christopher Kane’s embroidered leather and lace dresses. For a section of industry that has long been ignored, this kind of celebratory acceptance by the upper echelons of royalty, fashion and celebrity represents a rush of extraordinary breakthroughs.
The pinch-us sensation began last year, when Sarah Brown threw her second reception in a row for London Fashion Week at No 10, and she – and then Samantha Cameron – were seen at some shows. Behind the paparazzi shots of glamorous people drinking champagne, something has started to shift. Now that they make beautifully crafted British products that the best stores in the world hang alongside Lanvin, Balmain, Céline and YSL, designer fashion is finally beginning to win respect and political recognition as a serious exporter.
And some of it is coming in the form of Government assistance. For the past 18 months, the UKTI, Britain’s export department, has sponsored the London Show Rooms in Paris, where NewGen talents get to sell their clothes after fashion week. Together with British Airways, it stumped up the funding to underwrite the New York trip. And during the time these small businesses have been helped to take their clothes to market, most of them have doubled, or tripled, their orders. Right in the depths of the recession, they’ve bucked every trend by delivering original, pretty and luxurious clothes that people have clamoured to buy.
Best of all, the revenues are coming straight back to be redistributed in the form of British jobs. Over the past five years, our community of young designers has been working with small British clothing factories in and around London, and with traditional Scottish cashmere manufacturers. Christopher Kane, Erdem, Peter Pilotto, Mary Katrantzou, Mark Fast and many others have helped develop the skills of a British workforce that can now sew, knit and embroider to meet the standards of Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Printemps and Colette in Paris. Young, creative Britain isn’t a myth, and it’s capable of generating employment.
In light of the general trepidation over spending cuts to come, money to help the fashion industry might seem the obvious thing to do away with. Whoever wins the next election, though, ought to think about stepping it up to underpin a valuable culture. At the least, the export support should continue. While the UK may be in for another dip, the signs are that the US is slowly on the up. That’s the young British designers’ biggest market. To keep growing, maintaining and creating jobs, they need to be sure to reach it.
Girly and gaudy, Accessorize has us all worked out
You don’t need to be a data-crunching, market-researching business analyst to understand why Monsoon, the company owned by Peter Simon, has had a recession-defying sales spurt in the past year (5.3 per cent up, to £710 million). All you have to do is go into Accessorize, where I was with my daughter last weekend. Generations of females from five to 85 were cheerfully coo-ing over the colourful, hippy-meets-Slumdog Millionaire ethnic patchworth bags and jewellery, swimsuits and beach dresses, fascinators, frilly retro knickers and cutesy trinkets. Everything seems to cost between £10 and £35, which makes it a guilt-free spending trip. But Simon’s cleverness is not simply in making it Primark cheap, which was the way to sell in the binge-spending years. These days, you have to be a hawk-eyed specialist in both psychology and practicality to win. Accessorize is an example of a retailer inhabiting a customer’s mentality and providing, in a tiny space, all the bits and pieces she needs for weddings, christenings, birthdays and holidays. Simon completely gets Britishwoman’s aesthetics (girlie and just this side of gaudy), our practicality (useful, fun-yet-modest holiday kit all in one place) and our indulgence towards daughters, granddaughters, nieces and all their little friends. Congratulations to Simon – as a nation, he has us worked out.
An animal-print cardigan to tame the Easter chill
I can hardly bear it that we’re finding ourselves more in need of knitwear than summer frocks at Easter, but as we face the last blast of this never-ending winter, a British woman’s thoughts desperately turn to cardigans. Since Michelle Obama’s “cardie diplomacy” visit to London last April, a few labels have seized on the First Lady’s favourite knit and transformed it into a cheering, fashionable piece. Last week in New York I ducked into a branch of Mrs O’s beloved J. Crew, where the genius-owner, Mickey Drexler, is now interpreting cardigans with fabric ruffles, in the season’s pastels. The J. Crew catalogue shows their cardis “brought down” against ribbed vests and washed-out, olive-khaki cotton, which looks no-fuss natural in the way only Americans can. In fact, the hybridisation of knitting and fabric isn’t original – it’s something two of my favourite Japanese labels, Sacai and Toga, have been developing for the past few years, but I’m glad it’s catching on, and gladder still that Net-a-Porter will be making J. Crew available in the UK in May. Until that happens, I think an animal-print cardigan would hit the spot. I found one at a Spanish store called Blanco. Diane von Furstenberg and Sonia Rykiel have designer versions, I notice, but the one I’d really like this week is a brown and beige, oversized, leopardspot cardigan on the Boden website. Curses! Turns out everyone else has already identified how hot this cardigan is. It’s a sell-out – and has an 11-week wait for new deliveries, when there should be no need for cardigans, anyway. But the way things have been going, I wouldn’t bank on it.

Jack Wills to open flagship store in Covent Garden

Jack Wills, the quintessentially English clothing brand, with a too-cool-for-school following, has announced the opening of a flagship store in London's Covent Garden, in June.
The new flagship, the 36th in the brand's chain, will be its largest yet, occupying three floors along the central London shopping destination that is Long Acre, WC2.