Monday 23 May 2011

Voyage of discovery

WGSN Boutique has recently taken to the road to go out and present our take on the A/W 11/12 high street trends, as well as our forecast for SS12.

So often fashion boutiques have to travel to trade shows or London-based conferences to get this kind of information, so they were thrilled we made the effort to to go them. But no more thrilled than I was as I discovered several new boutiques that I wouldn't have known about had I sat behind my desk here in North London.

We started our tour in London (well there are lots of shops here) and that brought to my attention a couple of nice stores (one etailer) that you should add to your little black book of shopping in the capital.

First up is Precious in Spitalfields - I had actually visited this store before but was reminded of its greatness when owner Kate popped into our trend talk. This store is a brilliant edit of contemporary women's collections for the 30+ woman, covering weekendwear, workwear and eveningwear with equal panache.

It has an excellent selection of bright prints from Diane von Furstenberg and Tucker, alongside basics from Malene Birger, Paige Premium Denim and Crumpet Cashmere with more formal pieces from Carven and Moschino Cheap & Chic. It also stocks a personal obsession, Bloch ballet flats. Hands (and feet) down, the most comfortable shoes money can buy.

They're not yet etailing but you can find out more here.

If online is your thing, along with markets, check out Pretaportobello which brings the best of London's legendary market under one roof, or rather site.

The site has been sympathetically designed to appeal to the market-shopper and there's plenty of well-priced fashion to browse through and you're even invited to haggle by placing up to three bids a day on certain one-off pieces, so you don't miss that true market experience.

After London, we went to Bristol, where we had several retailers from neighbouring Bath join us. If you like quality accessories then you'll love Lux which offers an impressive array of premium brands such as Mulberry and Anya Hindmarch alongside more affordable offerings (but that doesn't mean cheap) from Ash and Melissa.

Lyn Gardner from legendary Bath boutique The Square also paid us a visit, which made us very proud. Hers is one of the most exciting independents in the country. With Lux and The Square residents of that beautiful city have no excuse to not to be well dressed (except perhaps budget...).

Shortly after Bristol, we headed up to another beautiful location, Harrogate, which is one of the most affluent towns in the country. Every time I go I wish I could spend more time browsing the local stores which include a good selection of chains along with a great branch of independent department store chain Hoopers.

But I made a very happy discovery and that is Morgan Clare. I had the pleasure of chatting to the owners but I didn't have time to get to the store, which was disappointing. However I was thrilled to discover it had an amazing online store It offers an incredible selection of designer brands, such as YSL, Stella McCartney and Isabel Marant as well as a great denim offer from the likes of J Brand, Paige and Current Elliott.

I can confirm, having tried it in the interests of research and in the interests of falling for a pair of denim blue Castaner wedges, that this e-store is as efficient as any of the big designer etailers you could care to try, and indeed you may find things here that have sold out elsewhere. Though now I've let the cat out of the bag that may no longer be the case...