Merchant Archive Move

>>I’m one of those really unhelpful bloggers who tell you things when everybody is already clued up.  I am however making up the fact that I made the mistake of selecting a few of my favourite vintage spots for the November issue of Vogue China with this bit of address mis-information.  Therefore I thought I should let it be known that Merchant Archive, has now moved from its slightly out-of-the-way-but-oh-so-charming location of Kensal Green to the more-convenient-but-ever-so-slightly-obvious Notting Hill.  The move came up quite suddenly for Sophie Merchant and so she left the Lipton general store interior where these photos for Vogue China were taken and has upped her treasure trove of vintage to a new two-floor shop on 19 Kensington Park Road.

I have to stress the success browse-to-buy ratio of Merchant Archive.  Everyt time I turn up to hassle Sophie to let me shoot her place for such and such a magazine, I manage to come away with a real ‘piece’.  Not some random filler skirt,coach messenger bags, jumper or top but a thing of beauty that deserves not the crappy Ikea plastic hangers but the nice Morplan sturdy wooden ones where I don't hang multiple items on. 

In this picture, I’m wearing a 1930s tea dress that came back with me on the Vogue China shoot at the old address.  The green kimono finally made the trek home when I saw it for a second time at the new store.  I think Merchant Archive is the only place where ripped-up and falling apart is actually an admirable quality.

This neon pink and green dress that blinded a few people outside Jil Sander last season was another one I saw, wore and pawed at the Vogue China shoot. 

Both portraits photographed by Kate Cox

The new store is a lot airier and together with a new logo and window storefront decal, Merchant Archive has been given a bit of a facelift.  Still, Sophie still managed to dig up some original features in the store.  Just as she left the black and white tiling and the beautiful cornicing in the old store, here, she discovered a bricked-up fireplace on one wall.  Not surprisingly business has been brisk.  Notting Hill is not short of vintage stores but it’s also not short of the customer who appreciates premium vintage.  As always, the likes of Florence Welch has been a regular customer at Merchant Archive, not that it’s the sort of place that needs celebrity endorsement to get people appreciating the period,monster beats in ear headphones, whimsicality and quality of vintage that Sophie goes for.

Here are a few more reminders of the things that I’ve gotten from Merchant Archive.  The black mini dress with pearl beaded sleeves even has its own special box.  Never thought that I'd be the sort of person to have 'special boxes' for one item of clothing.   Then again,Nike Air Max 180 Mens, I also never thought I'd have categories of hangers either.   

(Left: Black mini dress with pearl beading.  Right: Panther printed silk top and matching skirt.  Both from Merchant Archive)

I Got Sand In My Eyes

Alright no,monster beats studio headphones, I didn't actually get sand in my eyes but I was clouded in a good way yesterday when Nakkna opened Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Stockholm and all eyes tried to make out details in amongst the smoke and sand but instead were hit by shape which incidentally echoes a similar image on Nakkna's website,a silhouette of the trio in abstracted form.  Now that I've done Stockholm Fashion Week,monster beats dr dre headphones, I thought I had gotten into the groove of who I was going be seeing but there have been a few changes which meant the welcome return of Nakkna with their 15th collection.  The trio Camilla Sundin, Claes Berkes and Ella Soccorsi who met at the Beckmans School of Design have been going solidly and soundly, scoring a key stockist as part of Topshop's EDIT selection which of course gets a big thumbs up from me so I can covet their draped shapes in interesting materials...

"NeoMinimalistic, GeoAnatomic and fluid" is how Nakkna (answering as a trio) once said of their aesthetic and whilst parts of that could be perceived as being overly cerebral, fluidity and a 'flow' in their work which has perhaps softened the geometric elements has infiltrated this latest collection...

The sand in a windswept desert definitely seemed to be the primary force in the first part of the collection where softly printed caftans and tunics with pleat plaiting detail on the sides moved around...

When pieces were not soft,diddy beats headphones, loose and looking like they would ripe for wafting around in with plenty of sunlight and bare legs, anything remotely tailored was given a rumpled/crumpled texture...emphasised here with 'ropes' of fabric splaying at the shoulders...

The trio said that the inspiration behind the collection (oh ye common common question...) was 'What you just saw at the show' meaning...open for interpretation then I'm thinking of Ryan McGinley's 'Moonmilk' series of photographs when I start seeing this print combined with the deep camel tones...

Then enters a more robust section with the introduction of these men in grey with the women following suit in a utilitarian style long shirt seemingly covered in a layer of dust...

Or trodded upon with a wrinkling device...

Nakkna's wide trouser leg shape tells me I need some trews that flap around with a heap of volume...

Finally though, a monochrome vaguely Earth-derived (or is it the sky, space or beyond?) print pervades...

Trew Trio

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I've always expressed my gripes over trouser-hunting.  Actually I'm now thinking rather than it being an real gripe or annoyance, it is in fact my laziness.  Given that I rarely try on things in store choosing to buy online or zoom into stores in super fast speed and shop n' go, this of course has contributed to the distinct lack of trousers in my life.  

Lately though,Replica Eyepatch Sunglasses, a trio of bottoms has come rushing in to up the trouser count, in an attempt to try and one up on the skirt quota which at one point I counted came to 250 +.  The yard sale I had of course depleted that number heavily and could there be a point that trousers vs. skirts will in fact be even stevens???  Surely this landmark needs to coincide with something significant in my life.  I am going to officially be entering my late-twenties in December and perhaps all along, the creeping number of trousers in my wardrobe is a metaphor for the growing weight of my years.  Handy to know I guess.

Along with trouser-life metaphors,beats solo headphones, I'm going to cram in some flat shoe buys that have also coincided nicely with the trew acquisitions.  Sadly they have nothing significant to say other than they come in handy when walking around town during tube strikes. 

Alas, I cheat a little as two of the three would be classified more as 'treggings' (I'm not even sure this word should even be floating about anymore...) rather than trousers.  Take these Shape Shiftr mustard riding trousers.  They do have a zip and a button at the top but they are heading into legging territory as well.  I love that the leather patches on the knees instantly add protection.  Like built in shin/knee pads for icy slip-ups (scrapes on knees are a weekly occurence for me...).

(Worn with Limedrop cloud print blazer, vintage shirt, vintage lace top with DIY beading, shoes from charity shop)

If you're not into riding or walking around with well-protected knees, Shape Shiftr's S/S 11 collection is a soft silk georgette-filled affair - all cut-away blouses, loose long skirts/dresses as well as a comeback from linen.  I'm having mine wrinkled because steaming the stuff can be a bitch...

The second pair of trews are even more dubious.  They are in essence leggings but I promise they are good and thick and feel adequate as trousers.  They're by film/fashion/art and fellow Hong Kong-er Makin Jan Ma, who's stocked in Beyond the Valley.  Supposedly they're for men but me thinks his clothes can definitely cross gender borders.  It's good to have stripes not going in one collection or in chevron-motion but traversing all over the place as they do here...    

Worn with COS leather sleeved jacket, vintage Breton top, Monki sheer stripy dress underneath bunched up, E. Tautz Breton jumper stolen from Steve and...

...a pair of JUICY red Rupert Sanderson patent loafers.  I'm going to be confronting my fear of red head-on very soon but these shoes are the wussy baby steps.  Plus I think the black studs are making a face at me when I look down on them. 

In other Rupert Sanderson news, I spied these pale blue python brogues that are NOT going into production for S/S 11 alas... it's a texture/colour/shape match made in heaven which is sadly not to be...

They also have a pair of shoes with a ponyskin print that can't be anything but a lava lamp in motion.  Come on, how many did you break?  Wasn't it sort of weirdly fascinating to see all that colourful gunk turn into an oily non-descript liquid in one shattering...?  Much like many disappointing teenage experiences, eh?  We're going ker-razy with metaphors and euphemisms here today aren't we...

Ah ok, we finally get down to the business of a PROPER pair of trews and I'm glad it was bStore who were the able providers.  They required zero trying on and because I'm not obsessed with trousers that do wondrous things to my arse or my thighs, I was happy to slip into these pleat-fronted and comfortable entities.  I think they're supposed to be unisex (I THINK these are the closest match...) which will balance out a lot of the girlier/frillier things going on up top...

(Worn with Moustache belt, Toga patent jacket, Whistles shirt, Topshop hat)

In other bStore happenings, the third issue of their in-house magazine has jsut come out where I get to see Darya and her mean-but-cool eyebrows plus Danielle Scutt A/W 10-11 being used (come on... we need to get Scutt back on the agenda...!).  Bless also shows that they can do some mighty chunky knitwear...

bStore's burgeoning moodboard in their store is threatening to extend to the ceiling... still I do love that they have one and diligently add to it...

The final note to this convoluted post are these studded and tongued brogues from Church's.  Studded and tongued makes it sound like I'm conjuring a lewd vision.  I stopped and gawped when I walked past the Church's store on Conduit Street as they pretty much reach some dizzy heights when it comes to the realm of brogues.  It's interesting that as Church's is owned by Prada, that Prada came out with semi similar brogues for menswear a couple of seasons ago and Miu Miu also have some mens studded brogues in at the moment.  Sharing the Church's love around the company is no bad thing though when you get studded brogue version 3.0 beta babies like these.