Tea time

We love to drink tea and lots of it... sometimes it's the only thing keeping us going on a long shift! Of course, we enjoy a skinny cappucino or a soy latte in the morning for that ultimate kick-start but tea is rejuvinating and brings a certain pleasure to our day.
There are so many flavours but some of our favourites are Twining's English Breakfast, White tea by Planet Organic and Madagascan Vanilla tea by T2 Tea. Green tea is also popular but the best green tea is bought in little chinese grocery stores and at fresh food markets!
Just as important as the tea itself, is the mug from which we drink it! We each have our own mugs but we've found some really cute ones online...

I'm too pretty to work mug - Zazzle

Pink Cameo Mug - Wedgwood


Curve Tmug Red - T2 Tea

In the NAVY

Nautical patterns and colours have been evident in the last couple of years and this summer they are set to flood our stores once again.
We saw cherry reds and deep navys throughout winter, especially in coats and we will see those colours in bathers and dresses as the weather warms up.
Bold stripes and polka dots are also going to be parading themselves on our beaches... Seafolly and Jets by Jessika Allen already have some gorgeous bathers out that have pretty nautical prints.
Teamed with natural, earthy accessories, nautical is a fantastic look this season. So invest in a chic straw hat a brown leather belt and some chunky wooden or beaded jewellery and enjoy yourself...!

Viva Frilled Set - Seafolly

Biotite Dress in Camelian - Tigerlily


Viva One Piece - Seafolly

Spot Bow boyleg one piece - Jets by Jessika Allen

Beatnik one piece - Seafolly

Light as a feather

Floaty feminine fabrics, pretty patterns and delicate detail are essential for your spring wardrobe this year. Building on the beige and neutral tones that have been coming into the stores, these light and airy designs are perfect to bounce into the warmer weather.

The great thing about floral and floaty is that you can find some really inexpensive items at some of the more affordable stores. It is also worth checking out your local second hand store to search for 70s flowy blouses and free style skirts or a sweet 50s dress.

We have found some really gorgeous pieces on net-a-porter but also some absolute bargains...

Printed silk-georgette dress - Vanessa Bruno

Eileen Embroidered dress - Sportsgirl

Jersey ruffle T-shirt - Red Valentino

Drape Hem Skirt in Cream - Bardot

Urban Renewal Johann dress - Urban Outfitters

Long Alma silk-georgette dress - Alice by Temperly

Ditzy and Lace dress - Bardot

Considerate customers?

It has come to our attention that social etiquette is slipping when it comes to how customers behave in a shop. We realise that everyone is busy and time is often in short supply, however, this is not a customer's 'get out of jail free card' when it comes to manners.

We are sooo over serving/trying to serve customers that are...

A. Talking on a phone
How hard is it to just finish your call and then come in, or otherwise ask the person on the other end if you can call them back in a few minutes!

B. Eating
It is not appropriate to eat in a shop, even less so to touch the merchandise with your sticky or oily fingers!

C. Listening to their Ipod
Just switch it off while we are speaking to you!

D. Unhygienic
When a customer's hands are covered in grime and they touch things in the store, it makes us shudder! Also, and this is very specific to a jewellery store, it is completely insanitary when a client licks their finger to get a ring on or to take it off... especially if it is not even their ring (oh yes, it happens!).

We would love to see a renaissance of some basic consideration for us sales girls that are putting ourselves on the front line day after day. We would never serve a customer with dirty hands or with earphones in our ears... and imagine their reaction if we stood behind the counter stuffing french fries into out mouths... hmmm?

Bonne Mere Soap - L'Occitane

Belt up

One of the most versatile accessories is the humble belt. A good belt has the power to complete an outfit, to emphasize your waist, to give new life to an old dress... and oh so much more.

This year we are loving belts cinched around the waist. Whether it be a detailed vintage style or a simple yet classic design, they really do add a certain spice to an outfit.
There are so many gorgeous leather belts in stores at the moment in dark chocolate browns and soft beige tones... We are also embracing the patent leather in pale pinks or even black.
Looking ahead to the warmer months, belts look fantastic over a great summer dress or a cute skirt. There is a great white leather belt with a pretty cut-out design that we stumbled across on net-a-porter.com... amazing with some sweet white leather sandals.
Belts are fun... Enjoy.

Patent wide PU Belt - FCUK

Patent Leather B belt - Fendi

Perforated Leather waist belt - Alaia

Cut out skinny belt - Witchery

Willow tooled belt - Sportsgirl

Nailed

Due to our neverending uniform of black, we love to spice up our lives with girl power and nail polish. Ah sweet nail polish, the more we use you the more we are addicted. Of course, a classic french mani can never go astray but recently we've been delving into a kaleidoscope of colour. Pinks, reds, oranges, corals, taupes...and more. The brands we love to use are mecca cosmetica, opi, essie and for an inexpensive flirtation, rimmel (in double decker or riviera red). Dip those nails in a vat of colour!

Sugar Daddy - Essie


Riviera Red - Rimmel

The Velveteen Habit

Why do we love velvet? Fairly simple really, it feels amazing. Unfortunately it comes in and out of fashion incessantly and so any piece of velvet clothing will very promptly become passé. But this is, of course, the nature of anything that is a bit different really. Velvet had its glory years in the 90s and can be spotted in almost every Spice Girls video clip… however it was subsequently marked as a fashion faux pas for almost a decade (we are ignoring the very unfortunate velvet track suit phase!)… but, if you look around the shops you will notice that velvet is starting to edge its way back into our wardrobes.
There are some amazing velvet dresses and velvet skirts coming in to the market as well as some great velvet blazers.Velvet is one of our favourite trends this winter because it is warm and oh so soft. Here are a few pieces to get you enthused…

Low-rise skinny velvet jeans - Notify

Tea Frock (Black Spot) - Camilla and Marc

Black velvet strappy dress - Jigsaw

Leather and velvet combo jacket - Alexander Wang

Velvet peplum jacket - Winter Kate