Morrocan Marant

So now and then I will expand on the drama of the past few months but one of the absolute highlights has been my week of bliss with the Boy in Marrakesh. We've been there many times as some dear friends have a beautiful villa about ten minutes outside of the centre.  I'm also having a "hot hen" party out there in September which I am getting ridiculously excited about. Our trip deserves a post of it's own but it was obviously still in my mind when I perused the Liberty cardholders sale preview at the weekend. 

Liberty has to be one of my most favourite shops in London and although I loathe sale shopping (largely because of other crazy people elbowing me in the face) I found the store surprisingly quiet. I had actually completely forgotten about the sale and had popped there to buy a wedding present, a very large Diptyque Figuier candle. Of course, once you're in, you can't help having a look around and my eye was caught by the beautiful Isabel Marant Beverly dress. Actually, I'm fibbing - I've liked this dress for a while, it was just complete fate that I saw it in the flesh. Fate and the Fashion Gods helped again when the lovely Sales Assistant Alex told me there was 40% off. WoopppEEE! Then DISASTER. They only had a Large left. Tried it on of course but even though I like over sized clothes on myself, especially when they're a boxy cut, but this was slightly too tent like. There this story would have ended, I trotted home with my candle and went to wedding at the weekend but I couldn't stop thinking about the dress so this morning, I cracked and rang Liberty. Maybe, just maybe, one would have come back in a smaller size. After several attempts trying to get through, I made it and they only went and had a Medium!! It might still be massive but it's winging it's way to me right now and I will report back. Keep your fingers crossed for me! x

Kara's Tree, Trainer Girl

Sometimes you have love at first sight. It's rare, like a kick in the gut and you HAVE to have the object of your desire. When THREE such lightening bolts hit you, there really is no hope.  Liberty prints, Quentin Blake and a pair of new shoes for encroaching Spring.  The result being these bad boys..

The gorgeous Kara's Trees Print Blazer Mid Dunks, from the Nike Liberty 2011 Collection. There has been heaps of blogger buzz about them for ages and they were finally launched on Friday.


Quite a few of the shoes' fabrics were themed wonderfully around childrens' books illustrations, whereby illustrators such as Quentin Blake and David McKee were asked to draw something for the Liberty design team to then interpret and be inspired by to come up with fabrics.  They then rendered the original drawings with the resulting fabrics to form a lookbook that is used to sell in the 'concept' of the collection.  I have to admit that this was a surprise to me as I had just assumed that Liberty prints were mainly archive revivals. 

The design team all draw original designs, decide on colour palettes and seem to work independently, only for it to all come together as a collection under the umbrella theme.  The starting point for the S/S 11 collection was David McKee's Mr Benn books and resulting TV show.

My absolute favourite illustrator, Mr Quentin Blake  also kindly gave a drawing to the team and after it had been 'Libertified', he wrote this in reaction... "I've always wanted a pair of socks like that..." Big thanks to Susie Bubble for these "behind the scene" pictures!

The Quentin Blake drawing, also inspired a pattern called 'Kara's Tree' which delicately speckles the trainers with a subtle pointillist leaf pattern that for me, makes them the most unisex pair in the collection... if you look closely, there's supposed to be depictions of fence and pebbles along with trees and I took great delight in finding this on my new trainers.

There are of course other designs and I would recommend checking them all out  before they've all vanished or appear on Ebay for ludicrously inflated sums. In the meantime, I'm happily skipping down the street in my new shoes.  Happy Monday everyone!x

Liberty, Liberty, I love thee

Ahh, Liberty prints! Do they not conjure up an image of pretty chintz, swirling William Morris-esque patterns, roses, sprigs of country flowers on beautifully soft, floaty Summer dresses? I have long held the romoantic notion that on a sunny afternoon in Spring, I would venture to Liberty, spend a delightful hour or so idling through the haberdasher's section and emerge with bolts of beautiful, printed fabric from which to make whimisical Summer dresses. This has never happened and probably will never happen, unless I can afford a dress-maker. However it is still a lovely way to spend an afternoon..wandering around the luxurious and original department store, ogling the handbags, the art, even the kitchen accessories and wondering what one might buy if the price tag didn't bring you out in a rash when you caught a peek at it.


Now there is hope however, in the form of two Liberty collaberations; Liberty for Target (the fabulous pop-up shop to the left) and the Merci Liberty Limited Edition, neither of these break the bank but you're going to have to be quick off the mark to get your mitts on them. I'm especially after the beautiful retro suitcase..