stripesfashion

*wolfwhistle!*

Come along and meet John from American Vintage UK office when he visits Stripes this Thursday for our Holiday Shop party.  John will be on hand to introduce the new American Vintage collection and give styling tips straight from the designers.  Plus win a goodie bag by being one of the first 20 people to make a purchase and enjoy lots of other special offers on the night. Don’t miss it!  Thursday 26th April, 6pm-10pm.

What better way to start the new year than by adding a splash of colour to your wardrobe courtesy of our brand new Spring Summer 12 collection?! Having just arrived in store you can be ahead of the rest by snapping up a seasonal must-have that will carry you from now through to the end of Summer.

With the trends this season being so fresh and colourful, it’s a breath of fresh air after the muted tones of Winter, the pieces we have in now are exactly what we all want to be wearing right now. By Malene Birger has pulled out all the stops by selecting a bold colour palette and achieving a super-cool colour clash combination. However you like to wear colour – be it statement accessories, bright denim or a vibrant blouse there is something for everyone and a shade to suit all colourings. Let ‘the bolder the better’ be your style motto this Spring.

Our latest arrivals are already gracing the pages of our website so have a look here to check out which colour combinations are for you.

Our new Essie nail varnishes arrived yesterday, along with new supplies of their fantastic base coats and top coats to help you achieve the perfect manicure or pedicure! The 2011 Essie Resort and Essie Wedding collections are our particular favourites at the moment espeically the chic Borrowed & Blue varnish and subtely shimmering Your Hut or Mine!xxx

With one of our favourite pieces, the By Malene Birger Vedette blazer, having now sold out we thought we should show you some of the other amazing blazers and jackets we’ve got in store this season, as it seems all our desginers have wanted to get in on the Blazer action!  Our new danish designer Karen by Simonsen has two great blazers to choose from – a military inspired navy blue version which looks looks great with jeans and a simple cami.  Or, for those of you wanting to make more of a statement, this peach blazer with black lapels and razor sharp tailoring will be sure to make an impact!  We’ve simply teamed it with a pair of Nell by SJ silk trousers and a Turnover basic white T to ensure all focus is on this fab jacket.

Vivienne Westwood Red Label have produced this fabulous stretch-tweed blazer after it sold out from their Gold Label collection.  It is a stunning piece of tailoring and will be a wardrobe favourite year after year.

With the wonderful weather we’ve been treated to over the past few weeks we were excited to receive our high summer collection from our new Danish designer Karen by Simonsen.  These are our top picks from the collection – take a look and see what you think, but be quick they’re already flying of the shelves in the shop!

This shell pink top is being lusted after by all of us here – easy to wear and in this season’s must have colour, who can resist?

With an elasticated panel at the back, these super soft blue chambray shorts epitomise an easy summer wardobe.  Teamed with wedges and a cute vest top, this look will take you from the beach to the bar in style.

This classic vest top has been given a pretty twist by Karen this season, with 9 corsages adorning the top of the vest.  With its adjustable straps, we think this is the ultimate vest top for summer!

The Leana tunic is a great solution for summer evenings when the heat cools down.  Wear belted over skinnies with gladiators or pumps for a casual summer look.

By Malene Birger’s Summer collection, suitably entitled “The Journey”, has now arrived and yet again she has failed to disappoint us!  With a beautiful selection of lightweight cotton tops and dresses alongside some great summer knits, there’s bound to be something to suit your holiday wardrobe this summer - whether your jetting off to the tropics or staying in Blighty for a good old fashioned English summer! 

This BMB Wryt soft peach shirt is simple and chic worn on its own with combats either belted or left loose for a cool look on a summers day.

A great alternative to a beach dress is this classic grey marl BMB Girla t-shirt dress.

With its chunky knit the Svetlana striped vest is another of By Malene Birger’s classic versatile pieces – worn layered or on its own with jeans or shorts your bound to get endless wear out of this.

We LOVE this Koska bobble knit poncho – the perfect piece for a city break of sight seeing, simply throw this on with big shades and some chunky jewellery for a cool boho vibe.

Happy Hols everyone!x

If you only buy one thing this season, make it a pair of floral trousers.  Totally on-trend, this pair of Molien trousers from the By Malene Birger collection are super-comfortable and will look great teamed with a simple T shirt and a pair of gladiator sandals.  You need these in your suitcase!

The coolest trousers out there!

What with the beautiful weather we’ve been having this week, we were excited to have received our “Under the Sea” collection from Hultquist.  With beautiful turquoise and ammonite stones adorning charms bracelets and necklaces featuring cute little starfish and shells this is the perfect collection to add a touch of sun to your wardrobe!  Here at Stripes we love Hultquist jewellery with their great collections each season alongside the classic Hultquist collections we all know and love.  I’m particularly liking the Under the Sea bracelets, which I’ll be piling up on my wrist for a bohemian look thats great in this weather!  Enjoy! x

Grey Pearl wrap bracelet - £45

Turquoise Charm Bracelet - £45

Jeans shopping can be tricky but we think we have found the perfect pair!  The 7 for all Mankind NYD ‘The Skinny’  jeans are fantastic and we have had to re-order all sizes in just one week! Customers of all ages and sizes have loved this style as they are a lightweight supersoft denim in an extremely flattering inky blue wash.  They look great with long line summer tops and heels or rolled up with summer sandals.

Luckily more of this style is arriving soon.

7 for all Mankind NYD The Skinny

This is definitely the way forward for jeans and the days of uncomfortable heavy denim are a thing of the past!  Customers are loving this easy style for Summer.

We would like to thank everyone who came along to our fashion show on 24th March.  After a sunny day in Worcester, we were all in the mood to be inspired by our gorgeous Spring collections from Malene Birger, 7 for all Mankind and Vivienne Westwood.

Thanks to our models who all looked fab and to Margaret and the team from Russell and Bromley who styled the Stripes outfits with some amazing footwear and bags.  I have already purchased the Russell and Bromley ‘Cleopatra’ sandals as a result!!

Key items that  sold well on the night are the Nell sequin jacket, 7 for all Mankind NYD jeggings (the comfiest jeans in the World!) and American Vintage Jacksonville t-shirts that have a flattering a-line shape and are great with jeans.

It was great to see so many of our favourite customers at the event and we enjoyed sharing a glass of champagne with you all

Kate in Karen by Simonsen top and By Malene Birger Ellua trousers

Amelia in the new 7 for all Mankind supersoft skinny - new stock arriving soon as many sizes sold out on the night

Karen in the By Malene Birger Gema striped maxi

The gorgeous Vivienne Westwood striped vest and new 7 for all Mankind adara nights bootcut

Lisa and Sam