February 22nd, 2011 § § permalink
On the train home again after a fantastic day’s buying in London. Gorgeous knitwear from our new Italian label Livinia Conti. We saw this wonderful knitwear collection in Paris last season and know it will be a huge hit with our customers.
We all want versatile knitwear that can be worn day and night for any occasion and this is it! There are some stand out pieces in textured yarn with asymmetric details and each piece has something unique in its design.
Liviana Conti silk detail jersey dress
We love this Bruuns Bazaar pink sweater!
Then on to Bruuns Bazaar to see our good friend Lydia – We have backed this Danish designer since 2004 and love the quality of the knitwear and tailoring. This season did not disappoint – with a new creative director on board (previously designing for Cos) this collection is beautiful and we want one of everything!
Em and Claire hit Liberty!
Emma and I swing into Liberty to be inspired by their wonderful window displays and visual merchandising, then wonder how we can re-create a similar look at Stripes! After an exhausting day, we catch our trains home.
February 20th, 2011 § § permalink
Stripes were thrilled to be asked to join the Drapers trend panel at Pure, Olympia last week. See photos of Claire on the stage, joined by Fashion Editor of Drapers Laura Weir and WGSN trend forecaster Lorna Hall.
All very exciting and lots of fun! x
Trend 1: Black Swan
Trend 2: Military
Trend 3 : Gold Rush
Trend 4: Tobacco shades
February 13th, 2011 § § permalink
We are thrilled to have been asked by Drapers Magazine to front their trend presentation at London’s biggest fashion trade show, Pure. The fashion editor of Drapers, Laura Weir, contacted Stripes owner Claire last week to ask her to be on her trend panel along with Lorna Hall, Retail Editor at WGSN. Claire will be taking part in a 30 minute presentation on stage at London’s Olympia, commenting on the key trends for AW11 to an audience of store owners and buyers. Drapers thought of Stripes after meeting Claire and I during interviews for the Drapers Awards and we’re really proud to be taking part. I only wish I could be there to see her on Tuesday, but as it’s my due date for having my baby I’m not sure it would be a good idea!
February 8th, 2011 § § permalink
No rest for the wicked! Emma and I are back in London today and viewing collections by French Connection and Denham jeans. Both are new brands that have approached Stripes this season asking if our buying team would visit their showrooms. We have to make a decision about whether to include them in our brand list for AW11 so we’re excited about what we might find…
February 7th, 2011 § § permalink
Emma and I have spent the day at the showroom of By Malene Birger selecting the beautiful tailoring and knitwear we’ll be stocking at Stripes next season. The new collection called “The Man” features pleat-fronted trousers, fitted blazers and – as we have come to expect from Malene Birger – some fabulous statement knitwear. It all looks amazing so its been a difficult job selecting which pieces to buy.
We also viewed the American Vintage spring collection so spent a couple of hours lusting over the soft jersey t shirts and light summer tops that will be hanging on our rails from March. It’s an exhausting appointment as there are hundreds of styles to choose from and each one comes in the American Vintage rainbow of colours. We managed to work it out though and of course ordered a few pieces for ourselves…
As always we made sure there was time to eat in the Greek Restaurant next door before heading home as their food is the best in London!
x Claire
January 26th, 2011 § § permalink
We visited the By Malene Birger stand at Paris to preview the AW11 collection which she has entitled ‘The Man’. We saw lots of bright colours alongside her trademark neutrals and plenty of gorgeous knitwear for winter.
The fantastic By Malene Birger stand
January 25th, 2011 § § permalink
After 2 inspirational days of fashion its time to head back to the hotel and on to the airport. We’ve seen some amazing clothing for next season and are already excited about the new things we’ll be bringing to Stripes for next Winter. We can definitely say that next season we will be seeing lots of sheepskin! If Paris is anything to go by the colour palette for AW11 will consist of camel and russets, tweeds and earthy tones so should suit our British complexion. Right, just about time for one last sweet treat from our favourite patisserie “Paul” and then we might hop onto the back of a motorbike taxi…
January 25th, 2011 § § permalink
Its another rainy, gloomy day in Paris but luckily we won’t be outside today – we’re back at the Who’s Next fashion exhibition for another day of buying. The halls are full of buyers today – mostly French and Italian and very few English buyers. The atmosphere is uplifting and positive with live music and fashion shows to keep buyers inspired and we’re drinking lots of tea to keep us fired up for placing orders. After the great Nell by SJ collection yesterday we have been to see the By Malene Birger stand today and seen lots of brights on there for Winter. As always there are also neutrals and some great knitwear to wrap up in so start writing that Christmas list!
January 24th, 2011 § § permalink
The Stripes team are in Paris for the next couple of days checking out the new styles for Autumn Winter 2011 at the Who’s Next fashion show. Its high-fashion, high-glamour and we love it! Today we placed an order with our fabulous French brand ‘Nell by SJ’ and bought some beautiful dresses and knitwear for next season. We can’t wait to hang them in our wardrobe – they’re almost worth by-passing the summer for! We’ve enjoyed fashion shows and trend presentations and now its time to go back to the hotel with a glass of wine to plan our appointments tomorrow. Magnifique!
