Tartan and Pink

Last weekend, my business partner and dear friend Denny and I went out in the streets of Fitzrovia  - i.e. just behind my flat - to shoot our latest product, our long dark blue and green tartan wool scarf. 

This scarf is a rare find; I dug it out of the corner of a fantastic little shop in the cool and trendy area of Garuso-gil in Seoul. What I immediately loved about this scarf was its dark tartan print, which wouldn’t look out of place in a posh, all-boy boarding school in the middle of Scotland; yet its size - it is long and wide - gives it a bohemian and effortless twist, and creates interesting proportions in an outfit. You can wrap your otherwise scantily-clad body in it, and make everything look (weather) appropriate. On my photoshoot, I teamed it with our  bright pink wool tailored mini shift dress, thereby creating my all-time favourite fashion contrast, i.e. the tomboyish-but-still-feminine beauty. I also threw on Denny's blue French Connection cardigan, which I believe looks much better on me, when used as an oversized boyfriend jacket, which I wore both opened - to stay in the androgynous theme - or tied at the waist for a more feminine and offbeat look. I finished off my outfit with my favourite Korean, 'combat' ankle boots.

Our Journey as Fashion Entrepreneurs: First Range Review - Part 2

Continuing on my previous post - which highlighted the successes of our first collection, I thought it’d be interesting to reflect on the areas that have proved more difficult with regards to sales and product marketing.

- Accessories! We have sold very few accessories so far, which we think is partly due to the difficulty of producing photographs of jewelry that do the products justice. This is quite frustrating as we bought a truly stunning and affordable range in Asia. We favoured a ‘bourgeois-boheme’ look, with delicate long gold-plated chains and quirky pendants - from a crystal-encrusted disco ball pendant on a long metal chain,to a rougher looking, minimalist metal baguette. We also selected great choker-length necklaces, so that you can layer different lengths for a subtly striking look; our unique coral necklace adds a stunning dash of colour to an outfit, while our gold-plated choker with crystal pendant is both cool and elegant. We have a couple of bracelets, which also looked perfect worn together, our double-stranded gold-plated bracelet and our red thread and gold chain bracelet. Finally, we fell in love with a unique and very edgy pair of drop earrings, with black metal cubes.

Black Metal Cube Earrings and Urban Baguette Pendant Necklace

Red Thread and Gold Chain Bracelet

 Red High-Waisted Wool Short

- We bought beautiful, high-waisted wool belted shorts from New York Blues - the designer based in Seoul that did our popular quirky polka dot jumper. It comes in two highly fashionable colours, bright red and camel. For me, they are one of the most covetable pieces of our collection, as they both look unique and effortless – a very powerful combination. We’ve had a lot of interest on ebay for this product, but it seems that online shoppers are always more wary of buying bottoms online - especially tailored ones. Though I perfectly understand this fear, these shorts are very well cut: the high-waist shape is flattering, but they are quite fitted so our only size will fit a size 8 and below. You can wear them with or without the slim wool belt that comes with them ; they also look great worn with a vintage scarf and a simple fitted cream jumper.

Camel High-Waisted Belted Wool Shorts

 All in all though, our store has been a quiet, qualified success so far; we’re learning everyday and more importantly, enjoying ourselves immensely.

Don’t forget to shop our collection on our ebay store!

Our Journey as Fashion Entrepreneurs: First Range Review - Part 1

It’s been a fascinating journey so far. Back in December 2010 we embarked in our first buying journey around Asia, with the aim of opening our very own, all-cool ebay store. It’s now been a little more than 6 months since we opened our store. Let me tell you one thing: having a clothing store is a lot more complicated and time-consuming than one would think. And, at the risk of sounding cliche, it is true that a lot of the learning process is done by screwing up. From poor buying decisions to delivery disasters, you name it, we’ve probably done it. Here are some of the interesting buying facts we’ve gathered in our first 6 months as fashion entrepreneurs:

- Our best-seller so far has been our ‘cool chambray shirt’. When I saw it at a store specialised in shirts of all kinds, I instantly loved the simple shape, the sober collar and buttons, the purity of the chambray fabric; the shirt exuded stylish minimalism, reminiscent of 1990s Scandinavian simplicity. We sold out very quickly, and to be honest, I completely understand why: i have yet to find a chambray shirt that ticks all the boxes, like this one did. My only regret is that I didn’t keep one for myself - Denny didn’t let me (the bastard).

- Second on our best-seller list is our Striped Long Sleeve T-Shirt with Suede Elbow Patches, which comes in navy blue or cream. This style was also a no-brainer for when when I saw it at a fashion fair in Seoul. The fabric is amazing - a thick, ribbed and comfortable cotton. The suede patches give a great vintage feel to the garment. The fit is slightly relaxed, so it looks perfect tucked in a wool mini skirt, or simply worn over skinny jeans for a nautical look with a twist. We only have one cream top left, so this is your last chance to snap one up, it will go very quickly!

- Another very good seller has been our Boyfriend Checked Shirt. We bought it in the same store that did our chambray shirt. Among their wide array of tartans; we picked a fabulous deep blue shade with blue, green, and white checks. I never get tired of check shirts, particularly this season, as relaxed androgyny is a key silhouette. I wear mine opened - I did keep one for myself (Denny may or may not know about this), over a girlish mini for a great casual autumn look.

- As days are getting shorter and colder, our jumpers and coats have been picking up. Our Crewneck Preppy Wool Jumpers have been popular; they’re nicely fitted and look great layered over a peter pan collar shirt. I also wore mine a lot this summer, throwing it on on cooler nights with my denim cut-offs. I’ll reproduce this look this winter by adding wool tights, chelsea ankle boots and a leather satchel. They come in light grey, charcoal grey and light blue, in a lovely soft wool.

Our Quirky Polka Dot Jumper is also selling well, in fact we only have one left. When buying for my store back in December, I knew that polka dots would be a major trend for Autumn-Winter ‘11. I was looking for a polka dot print which had a bit of an edge. I found just that at an independent Korean label called New York Blues; their collection - combining bold colours and prints and clean shapes - really stood out for me.

- Our coats - after a slow start - are now doing well. I am admittedly obsessed with outerwear - I have douzens of coats of all sorts at home, so nothing short of perfect will do for me when it comes to cover-ups. We found so many great coat options when buying our collection around Asia. For Autumn-Winter ‘11, I wanted something tailored but still very much relaxed, which I could throw over casual outfits and would make me look like a stylish, androgynous but still feminine college girl. One of the option I ended up selecting was a classic Tailored Top Coat, in both dark green and brown. I initially preferred the green one, but am now seriously eying up the brown; indeed it is quite rare to find a flattering brown hue, but when you do, you end up with a look that has a very easy heritage feel to it, with a quiet nod to the 70s.

Our second coat option is a slightly shorter, almost blazer-like Tailored Belted Overcoat. It has the same college-girl-on-her-way-to-the-library appeal as our other coat, but is a more feminine interpretation of the definition of cool outerwear. The beige/grey melange colour, the pin-tuck tailoring and the breaded brown belt give it a definite vintage feel. More importantly perhaps, it looks like nothing else I’ve seen in the shops in England, or even - let’s not be modest here - in my many shopping trips around Europe.

In my next post, I will review the products – in no way less amazing than the ones review above - which have proved more challenging to sell.

Don’t forget to shop our great products in our ebay store!

Looking forward to fall - Part 2

Continuing on my previous post on the fall trends that we love, here are the other themes that we will play with this winter:

- a great top coat for classic yet interesting outerwear: another thing that stylish Seoul girls manage to do - something they have in common with Parisian girls - is to use a very classic piece of outerwear to pull a whole outfit together. This season, top coats are the the shape of choice. Rock them with your craziest outfits and stacked high heels, like we did with our Belted Tailored Coat at our latest photoshoot:

- an opened shirt for a beautiful boyish look: checked shirts - along with white shirts - absolutely never go out of style and give you this sexy androgynous look. To stay on trend this season, wear your shirt opened for a relaxed feel, and combine with bohemian accessorising - think headscarves in the hair and layered necklaces.

- all things red: a pivotal colour this season. It makes cosy knits and tailored separates a whole lot more interesting.

- the shift dress: the shape of choice this season for dresses. The shift dress is a very versatile piece and great fun to experiment with. Obviously our unwavering love for bold colours made us choose a great style in both bright pink and mint green, which we bought from an independent designer in Seoul called Urban Blues. It’s short and tailored, and we adore it:

And don’t forget to check out our trends at our ebay store!

Looking Forward To Fall - Part 1

When scouring the fashion fairs and boutiques of the coolest cities in Asia last autumn, we had to think about what would be relevant for Autumn/Winter 2011-12. We didn’t only look at the trends on the catwalk, we were really inspired by girls in the street, especially in Seoul. Seoul girls seem to have an enviable innate sense of relaxed and playful stylishness, a sort of mix between Parisian, Stockholm and LA fashion attitudes. Here are some of the colours, prints, shapes and themes that will inspire us this winter:

- quirky polka dots : polka dots were everywhere both on the catwalks and in the streets. It’s a great, flattering print, but for autumn we prefer quirkier, more whimsical polka dots. We love our Quirky Polka Dots Blue Jumper at thebod. We got it in a little boutique in Seoul and thought that the print looked rather unique. In our most recent photoshoot we paired it with a lace skirt for a romantic look with a twist, but it would also look great with dark washed skinny jeans this winter.

- statement colour/fabric with a classic striped tee: the coolest girls are always the ones who can pull off look-at-me hues and fabrics. Good news, bold colours are still crucial this winter, and leather separates have become absolute must-haves. At thebod we like wearing a statement piece with a good basic; stripes are one of the few ways to make a leather mini work. We teamed a red suede mini skirt with our relaxed boatneck nautical striped top (see photo below).  Coloured denim - still big this season - can be given a 70s retro touch with a vintagesque striped tee with a relaxed fit, just like our Vintage Striped Tee:

Shop our trends at our ebay store!

What We’ve Been Doing This Summer

I know summer isn’t over yet but it almost feels like it is already. It has been an exciting and quite hectic one for thebod team. Here’s a brief summary of the exciting things we’ve been up to:

Summer started with attending the ball at my old college at Oxford, Pembroke college. I was of course accompanied by Denny, and it was a great excuse for meeting old Oxford friends and wearing fancy clothes. I was wearing a long red dress - the one from Kate Moss for Topshop first collection - which I managed to acquire on Ebay after several lost bidding wars. We drunk gin and tonic in tea cups and danced til dawn. Taking the tube at 6am in London, still wearing said dress, was certainly an experience.

The next milestone in our summer was my birthday on June 18th, which was spent with friends and family at my tiny but lovely flat and at the Riding House Cafe eating foie gras burgers and getting suitably tipsy.

Another great summer moment was the O2 Wireless festival in Hyde Park. Denny and I danced all day, stopping only to eat fish and chips and other fried produce between gigs. Aphex Twin, Alex Metric and The Chemical Brothers made us jump and shake our respective asses uncontrollably.

I then retired to my family’s 16th century watermill in the South of France for a couple of weeks, doing absolutely f*ck all, while Denny boy was entertaining his lovely chinese parents, who experienced their first trip abroad.

Back in London at the end of July, I resumed my lazy days lying down in the grass in my favourite London parks - Kew Garden and Regent’s Park - and roasting in the sun. My evenings were spent eating in favourite restaurants almost every night or in bars and pubs and gigs, helped by the return of Roxane (here is a link to her amazing blog) to the capital. Roxane and I also went to Field Day, bumping into old and new friends and dancing til complete exhaustion.

All in all, a pretty damn great summer. How’s your summer been?

Eclectic yet precious Accessorising

Festival season has finally arrived. Festival season does not necessarily mean you are going to a festival, you could be spending a weekend in Berlin or Amsterdam, or simply staying in London and enjoying barbecues and summer house parties. Regardless of where you are and where you’re going, there is a feeling of ease, confidence and optimism in the air. For me, the best way to embody the vibrancy of the season is to keep your outfit simple with cool summer separates, and by layering colourful, eclectic, but still precious and slightly luxurious accessories.

At thebod, we love layering long gold-plated chains with simple light-reflecting pendants, with more colourful or edgy pieces, mixing gold, silver, textures, and length.

Try wearing our crystal disco ball long black metal chain with our unique coral chockler necklace for an unusual and beautiful combination of colour and textures.

Layer our short gold-plated chocker chain with chrystal constellation pendant with our set of two long gold-plated chains with sphere pendants, and the red thread and gold plated chain bracelet for a bohemian look with a luxurious twist.

Wear our baguette long edgy silver-toned necklace with a simple white tee for a great urban summer look with an edge.

We only have one of each of our jewelry pieces at thebod, so they really are unique! Snap them up quickly before another like-minded cool girl gets the piece you’re coveting.

Get all the looks from our ebay store!

Spring Chills and Cool Tailoring

Hi Peeps!

It has gotten a little chilly recently, hasn’t it? Yet I still want to wear those flimsy little spring dresses that I’ve been getting used to wearing over the past few weeks. Layering is the key: invest in a couple of pieces of transitional outerwear and bright spring warmers.

At thebod, we love jackets that are slightly masculine, and contrast nicely with feminine hemlines and prints - peacoats and overcoats shapes in navy blue and bottle green - in short anything that will make us look like hot college boys. 

Throw the beige/grey marl belted tailored coat over a simple t-shirt cotton white for an easy spring look.

The straight dark green coat - also available in dark brown - looks especially great teamed with denim cut-offs worn with tights and colourful cotton cami. Layer with our red knitted wool cardigan with gold star buttons for an additional pop of colour and a bit of warmth.

Get all the looks from our ebay store!

Spring Sundays in London

We had an amazing, sunny weekend in London last week. I had been craving to lie down on warm grass for hours all week, which is exactly what I ended up this weekend.

On Saturday I met Denny and his friend in Hyde Park, next to the Serpentine. We shared a bottle of tasty French cider. The park was full of people, and the mood was chilled and down-to-earth. I was wearing what’s become my staple weekend top – the striped vintage t-shirt from thebod store, teamed with MIH red mini denim shorts and purple Havana flipflops, easy wavy hair and minimal make up. Oh yeah.

On Sunday I decided to have an equally lazy day and headed to Primrose Hill with my love. Primrose Hill is one my favourite places in London, in particular the back of the hill, where the views are less fancy but the feel more bohemian. I was myself feeling quite bohemian that day, and decided to wear one my favourite pieces from thebod store, the ivory vintage lace dress. I replaced the lace belt that comes with the dress with a yellow vintage floral silk scarf that I got at the last London fashion weekend. I was wearing black leggings, which allowed me to happily roll in the grass, and my beloved black repetto flats.

We finished the day walking in Camden, buying Audrey Hepburn photos and sipping iced lattes at the Starbucks near the Camden Canal. A Perfect London day.

Get all the looks from our ebay store!

Vintage stripes and weekend dressing

Weekend dressing isn’t easy. On weekends, I want to wear something cool, easy and comfortable; i also want to be able to to go to a party at the last minute without having to change my outfit too much. The most important thing is, don't start thinking too much; you might end up losing your mind - or worse, wear something that looks weird - as illustrated by the leggings-denim skirt-cardigan disaster experienced by yours truly a few weeks ago. However, last weekend, I found my solution - i.e. stealing one of the vintage striped tops from the stock of my ebay store (don’t tell Denny).

 

Stripes have been a strong trend for several seasons now, and have always been favoured by effortlessly stylish icons such as Audrey Hepburn and Brigitte Bardot. Yet recently, i’ve grown a little tired of the classic nautical look, and have been more attracted towards striped prints with a vintage feel, featuring thinner stripes, crew necks, elbow patches and retro colour combinations. During the day, I wear my striped tee with love-worn jeans. And if i decide to go dancing in the evening, i’ll swap my jeans for a very short, very tight black mini skirt, black tights and ankle boots, for a sexier version of my cool day look.




Our vintage striped tees at the bod are perfect for easy weekend dressing, and have that little something that will make you stand out without even trying, from retro suede elbow patches on ribbed cotton, to cool crew necks and beautiful colour contrasts.

Get all the looks from our ebay store!

Vintage Striped Cotton T-Shirt

This striped T-shirt is a great weekend staple. The thick cotton, crewneck and short sleeves make it comfortable and easy to wear. The loose fit means that it looks perfect over skinny jeans or cut-offs for a relaxed yet stylish look, with the colour combination giving it a vintage feel.

Available in Vintage blue/green stripes, Vintage blue/yellow stripes, Vintage blue/orange stripes, and vintage beige/blue stripes.

Get it now!

Check out our ebay store for more products:
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/thebodclothing