London-Hyde Park & Kensington Palace

On Tuesday I decided to go grab some "take-away" and have a picnic in Hyde Park. Luckily for me where i stay this is not even 2 blocks away and Londoners take full advantage of the massive lawns, paths and beauty of this park any day there is a bit of sun. The weather HAS been lovely but it is important to note that 70 degrees Fahrenheit is quite all Londoners need to sunbathe in the park. That is Kensington Palace you can see in the background. Also interesting was the amount of young "footballers" out in the park. They start them quite young over here and I was watching some practice for a while and they can be QUITE good....for 5 year olds!



I continued on to the Serpentine Gallery which had a quite unique installation next to it. You could walk along a path around and around to the top - and inside was a mini amphitheatre which was really a glorified and overpriced coffee and pastry stop for tourists.




Next off I wandered clear to the other end of the park in search of one of my very favorite spots in all of London. The Peter Pan Statue. This may very well be one of the most photographed spots in the park next the the Princess Diana Memorial.

I can't think of very many people out there who don't have a soft spot for Peter Pan - I actually had to wait a bit to be able to photos without other people in it. Ah Peter - to be you and never ever grow up......

I continued meandering all the way up to the Italian Gardens but was disappointed that none of the fountains were on - for reasons unknown so deciding to bypass that I headed back towards Kensington Palace and the Round Pond....aptly named because - well it's a rather large round pond. Masses of people can and do lounge around this body of water on old fashioned typed deck chairs you can rent for 4 hrs for 2 pound. Now, my family and some of my closest friends know of my severe fear of large birds - PARTICULARLY swans, so of course that is the bird the lives on these grounds in massive quantities. I know I know, who could be scared of such beautiful birds right? Well it could be due to the fact that when I was very small (about 5) I was chased by an angry mother swan protecting her nest - or perhaps she was just in a crap mood - whatever the issue I have been avoiding birds any larger then a hummingbird or a canary for the rest of my life. These birds however are so used to humans feeding them they will walk right up to you and try to "share" your lunch. Needless to say I did not choose this as MY picnic spot.

Now having done a rather large full circle consisting of the entire side of the park on the west end of the Serpentine (I large oblong shaped lake that almost cuts the park entirely in half) I found myself back in Kensington Gardens and in front of the palace - when it dawned on me that I had never ever been inside. So - off I went for the "Official Tour" of the Royal State apartments, as well as the tribute to Diana Princess of Wales. It was a lovely 4 hrs in which I learned quite a bit about the life and times of Queen Victoria, the abhor able conditions that seamstresses in that time had to live in in order to create that detailed lace, embroidery and brocade worn by the women and men of court. Some were literally worked to death and investigations had to start to attempt to change working conditions. I wish I could have taken photos of the displays of the fashions of those who "Came to Court" over the past few hundred years until the practice lost its luster back in the 1940's, but alas fabrics are very sensitive to lighting and continual flashes would destroy the delicate nature of the fibers. I did learn that when Whitechapel was the Royal Palace (before the time of Buckingham) - Kensington Palace was a mere 2 miles away but considered practically the countryside - known for it's clear air and rolling green pastures - so it was when the skies of London were so dark with soot it practically rained flakes of it that the royals moved to the "countryside" of Kensington - hence "The Royal Borough of Kensington". Interestingly, this is still a working palace - and has been inhabit ted by members of the Royal Family for several centuries now and was the home to Princess Diana while she was alive. Diana: A Princess Remembered. The tribute to her was very moving - and it is obvious this nation still mourns the loss of " The People's Princess" to this day.

London Update

Quick entry as I head off to an appointment while most of you my east and west coast friends are blissfully asleep. I am not just over here partying around town. I have had several buying appointments and the shows and exhibitions begin this Saturday. So far with the help of one of my regular customers Wylder Flett we have seen and purchased MERC - always the epitome of a fresh take on the MOD London Rocker look. Also - I have been to the showroom for PRINGLE 1815 and purchased the Men's and Women's collections which I can just tell you is NOT our grandparents "twinset argyle" Pringle anymore. Sharp, edgy and high fashion the label emerges each season better then the last and I am so excited by what I have chosen and hope you will be to. Then I was fortunate enough to see a favorite original line of mine Amandarling for the first time in 2 years. This line is all about fresh, fun, summer, swimwear, fabulous cover-ups, kaftkans and tunics casual and fashionable all at the same time I think it will be perfect for us in Venice. Today I am off to see Betty Jackson. I am always excited to see what she has in store and will be attending the catwalk show for the collection next week.
So yes my dear friends I am working and will be posting some photos for you to peruse quite soon as well as ones on my day spent in Hyde Park which I am fortunate enough to reside right next to. Tuesday September 11th I spent the day exploring this massive park and took a tour of Kensington Palace (of which the street I stay on backs up directly on the residential side of it - the part in which Royal Family member still call home) This history of the palace was intriguing, their display on the history of how the fashions of the day were constructed and followed intriguing, and the exhibition of Diana- A Princess Remembered was sombering and lovely all at the same time. (She made Kensington Palace her home you know).
Off to Betty Jackson - more to follow.......

London Day 4

So last night my friend Grant invited me to the very posh members-only bar the Century Club to meet him and some friends for drinks. (Being with the English drink in the plural is a given). Well I was fortunate enough to meet and spend the evening with 2 of the loveliest women. After many hours of conversation - in which poor Grant was not always included - except of course to make fun of our "absolute rubbish" knowledge of sport....fashion IS more fun - I had made two amazing new friends. Gemma and Sasha Jenkinson are 2 beautiful redheaded twins. Strangely I thought they looked vaguely familiar but it was not until well into the evening that they told me why. Neither of them are models but one day Gemma was approached on the street by a scout about being a part of the Dove Campaign For Real Beauty. Next thing you know they were chosen to be a part of it and the ad-vert that follows was their contribution to the campaign. Sasha will be visiting LA in October and I look forward to seeing her and we are working on convincing Gemma to book a trip soon. Thank you Grant for introducing me to such wonderful new friends! FYI - The Century Club is so very posh that cameras are strictly forbidden - what little rule breakers we were!

I am pictured with Sasha, and Gemma is pictured with Grant. For the ad-vert they made Sasha dye her naturally red hair blonde.

MY NEW COUSIN

Just a special announcement that my new cousin made HIS arrival into the world while I am here in London.

My cousin Anna and her husband Mike are the proud new parents of my new cousin PUCK! No - thats not his real name but it is what we have all been calling "the baby" due to no one knowing the sex for the past 9 months - but now we know!

Samuel Thomas Conathan was born 09-08-07! :-)

How stinkin cute is HE? One hour old in this photo. Welcome to our crazy family Sam!

London Day 2 - BRICK LANE

While I am writing this day 2 post I am sitting in my flat watching the Lord of the Rings the Two Towers. For my family and friends this will come as no surprise - seeing as this particular trilogy is one of my favorites! So onto day 2 - my visit to the East End of London - Brick Lane my stores namesake. Kris and I headed out for Spitafields market (far superior to Portobello Road in my opinion) and spent much of the day on Brick Lane and below are some of my favorite pictures from our afternoon.

We arrived on Brick Lane after perusing the stalls at the makeshift Spitafield Market while they are re-building and upgrading the market site and I must admit - I know Brick Lane is a popular place on a Sunday which is the day of the markets of Spitafields, Petticoat Lane and brick Lane - but the amount of people we saw was something quite unexpected! We decided to grab a bite to eat first. For those of you who don't know - Brick Lane is famous for 2 things; Indian food and Bagels. Now my friends and family have always known about my aversion to Curry - and found it quite strange considering my love of all things English. Well call it my current state of adventurous experimentation - or hung-over starvation, but I decided to go for it. I let Kris order away and the next thing I knew I was hooked! I am still not a fan of heavily strong tasting curry - most like that found in America, but the food we had today - WOW!!! I am still thinking about it - and have a funny feeling I will be having quite a bit more Indian food in the future. I am a TRUE Anglophile now! After eating we were still intrigued by the fact that it appeared that half of London was wandering Brick Lane this afternoon so it was off exploring. What we found was that we showed up on the day of the Brick Lane Music and Food Festival - based out of the old Truman Brewery. FANTASTIC!!! People everywhere dancing and drinking and the people watching was a true taste of the East End of London as you can see below!

The Music Festival was free to all - but the line was a mile long so we took pleasure in wandering up and down the long street. The amount of people was equivalent to the Abbot Kinney Festival times 100 with everyone dancing and drinking in the streets.

Nobody seemed to mind waiting in the long Que as every single one of them had a drink in hand.

This street musician entertained the crowds thoroughly with his talents and sound effects until the coppers came and shut him down despite the boos of hundreds.

This marks the beginning area of the Brick Lane market - and I must admit the wares being peddled are NOT QUITE as posh as the ones I carry at Brick Lane West. :-)

We couldn't figure out if the furniture was for sale - or people just brought furniture down to be able to sit outside of the bar itself and watch the goings on.

Open container law in England? Nope! Just a couple of punk blokes enjoying the day.

A few of my typical East End working bloke fans. Kris says the one in the red wanted to follow us home......

Mask Fetish anyone?

We decided that this bloke's girlfriend ran off with one of his mates. If you can't read the sign it says "Everything 10 pence" That's the equivalent of 20 cents! Think she will be pissed when she comes home to collect her things?

Ok - I don't even know WHAT to say about this guy except MAYBE he shouldn't have sold the shirt off his back. Just a thought.

Now THIS is a name for a Hair Salon!

This is THE famous 24 hour Bagel place on Brick Lane - where everyone goes after a night out at the pubs and clubs in the East End. If you ever had a fresh out of the oven bagel from here - you would see why I stood in line to get some to take back to my flat even though I am was stuffed from lunch. Hmmmm....actually one of those sounds good right about now....

After a full day of walking around and people watching, fresh hot bagels and some new amazing artwork for the store decor in tow, it was time to head home to the relative peace and quiet (in comparison) of central London. Cheers!

London Day 1

Greetings from London town! So here begins my postings from London Fall 2007. Fashion Week is still a week a way so I have a whole weekend to have some fun - and I must say fun was had! Now I have been traveling to this wonderful (and obscenely expensive) city for years yet every trip is filled with new adventures - even when I visit places I have been before. My friend Kris Searle who hails from Kent came down for the weekend so I thought I would share a wee bit of our activities together. Day one we had a few hours before getting ready to meet his mates for dinner so we headed out for a nice long walk down to Harrods to the food court for a snack and to peruse the luxury goods we can't afford. Note: Kris is a native and I live in LA but it was I who directed us the correct way there and back! Sorry Kris - you know it's tru love!

Thank goodness for the signage all over London - so Men don't have to stop and ask for directions! Anyway, so once we found ourselves there the Harrods food court never ceases to make my mouth water no matter how many times I have been there over the years. You can't see the yummy food - but for any who has not been inside - quite a market huh? These are only 3 of the many many stands.

Next on the schedule was an evening out in Soho. On the way there we went via Piccadilly circus. Now I SWEAR this is a picture of London - although as you will see with all the neon , a Gap and a McDonald's it could be Times Square - sad really.

Again thanks to the ample signage we headed in the right direction towards Chinatown and Soho for an evening of great food, fun company and dancing in a few of the MANY MANY MANY clubs in that district.

The entrance to Chinatown in the evening. Even though we had just left an amazing dinner the smells were heaven - but onward we pressed as I was being led along by Kris and his mates from university and his life in London, and as I was with the English - well there was drinking to do!

And now THIS is your entrance to the world of Soho. Bit of a difference eh?

Kris and his mates who really were a laugh riot of a group! Loads of fun and I was thrilled to meet them all!

Well I won't bore you with the details of the evening (or I should say incriminate any of the people involved) but truth be told, by the 3rd bar the American in the group got hit rather hard with jet lag and trying to keep up with the English and got herself home in a black cab to get ready for day number 2 in London. The one I was really looking forward to! Heading to the East End to visit Brick Lane! Cheers!

FIRST FRIDAY and First London Update

This is a quick thank you to everyone who came out in support of yet another First Friday on Abbot Kinney and at Brick Lane. Those of you who came by may have noticed my absence as I was dead asleep 6,000 miles away in London. I don't have the details of the evening along the street yet - but needless to say word of it's success has reached me here across the pond! Thank you all!

So now that I am here for 2 weeks to do the buying, scouting, fashion show attending (and having a bit of fun in my favorite town with some friends) I will be updating with pictures, news and excerpts as much as I can. This weekend should prove to be a bit of a basher as my musician friend Kris Searle is on his home turf - doing some appearances on BBC and anxious to introduce me to "his" town and the lot of friends he has from all over. All I know is there are many pub and club visits on the schedule and they are on their way over right now to start the day (did I mention it is only noon here?) - oh the English! I hope my liver can take it! Stay tuned......

"Look kids....Big Ben....Parliment..."