Department stores generally have an old fashioned dusty connotation but London's Selfridges offers so much more than your bog-standard shopping emporium as one of its newest ventures - courtesy of Richard Caring's Caprice Holdings - proves. On walking into the Brasserie of Light on the first floor you're transported away from the bright lights of the shop floor to an enchanting world of flying bejewelled horses (Damien Hirst's 24-foot jewel-encrusted creation dominates the main dining space) and cool club beats. Think a shiny chocolate box crossed with a fairground carousel ride, with a scat...
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They say sometimes the most obvious things are hard to spot. This is certainly the case with the Royal Lancaster London hotel, which is perched directly above Lancaster Gate tube station. I walked right, then I walked left, before realising the place required just a few paces to get there. I was reassured that this happens a lot and it wasn't just the blonde side of me surfacing. Following an £80 million facelift this 411-room, 1960s haunt - which even featured in the Italian Job - has been brought up-to-date. Not losing any of its swinging sixties character, the 18-storey tower block has...
Read more →Shepherd's Bush is a little manic for my liking, busy roads intermixed with a bizarre spread of shops where you can buy sim cards and hair extensions. But on walking into the area's new four star hotel, the Dorsett, I was transported to a much calmer world. High ceilings, polished floors and dark wood decor were easy on the eye. As was the sweet cart lurking in the corner, with bons bons, jelly beans and rhubarb balls on offer for free. We checked into a suite on the 4th floor of the giant hotel, which used to house a cinema. After weaving our way through the moodly-lit grey corridors we l...
Read more →After the runaway success of The Wick’s inaugural year, The Wick has returned with a road-blocked launch that saw 2,000 discerning shoppers and foodie revelers descend. The Wick will be situated at The Old Baths every Sunday this summer, curating the best that East London’s creative community has to offer and will be open every Sunday until October 25th at the Old Baths, Hackney Wick.
Read more →New Orleans or New A'wlins as the locals call it is a city of Southern comfort, soul food and soul music at its heart!! There are also extremes, on one hand you have laid back neighbourhoods put back together after Katrina and then there's the infamous Bourbon Street, which is debaucherous and dirty and not at all what you'd expect from New Orleans. Tourists from around the world come here and drink themselves to oblivion on $3 shots and whilst we were happy to have seen this, we were much happier to leave it for the local’s version. Frenchmen St. was everything we hoped it would be, authentic...
Read more →The number 9 is a tricky little fella. 9 lives, 9 moths, 9-to-5. One day you’re on cloud number 9, the next thing you know you’re dialing it three times in a row. Swivel these three nines round and you summon the devil, or drape yourself in diamonds and dress yourself to the nines. Neuf, neun, nueve, nuervo, nine.
Read more →Square eyed and frost bitten from the daily avalanche of emails, makes post work shopping seem somewhat undesirable. With the ratio of people to pavement slabs tilting towards the wrong way and the brutality of this uncivilized, hunter gather style shopping ritual cocking up your else wise cosy Thursday evening. Noting your annoyance, the nifty guys at French Connection have converged style with convenience in their new outpost at Old Street station. Concentrating the 'best bits' into an AW14 capsule collection the 1000 sq ft store, stocks a selection of trend pieces, as well as gift...
Read more →The Chapar is a new and welcome concept for male shopping, offering an alternative to high street hell and internet trawling too.
Read more →Menswear design duo, Agi and Sam (Agape Mdumulla and Sam Cotton), are among the exclusive group of uber talented designers putting the UK at the forefront of the global fashion stage. Not to mention taking the industry by storm. Ahead of their next London Collections: Men show later this month, the pair are launching an exclusive collection in collaboration with high street giant Topman. Inspired by the football jerseys of yesteryear, the collection combines lux sportswear, quirky animal motif prints and unquestionably great tailoring. Meeting as interns at McQueen, Agi and Sam joined f...
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