River Island’s in Party Mode

Yesterday afternoon River Island held a preview of their ’09 Christmas Showcase. Knowing the store, like we all do, I was expecting their usual range of pretty, affordable party dresses perfect for the office Christmas party, college ball etc. I was surprised however to find that there was barely a dress to be seen. It was all about, statement accessories, like big ‘gold’ animal brooches, rings and pendants; sequinned snoods, cut-out driving gloves, and jewelled head pieces. It looked more like a showcase of goodies you’d want to receive for Christmas rather than wear for the Christmas party.

What I also noticed was that in-keeping with the AW09 trends, the glamour / grunge theme was there but instead of it being all about black, River Island’s design team have injected colour into the trend. The leopard-print faux fur coat was teamed with distressed denim, key pieces were in navy blue and pale grey and sequins were red, pink, white and purple. If you ask most women who shop on the high street they will undoubtedly agree that River Island is all about the details; from jeans to handbags, this store designs with the finishing touches in-mind. By adding beading, Rhinestones, tassels and studs, etc. they manage to create an individual style that is unique to their store. It came as no surprise then, when I found that the beautifully embellished knitwear pieces stole the show… so to speak.

Secret Boutique Sale Preview

The internet has been buzzing away for the last week or so with the news that the Secret Boutique pop-up shop is holding their latest sample sale this week. I went along yesterday to preview the pieces, take a few notes and pics to post on the blog and, to basically window shop. I.e. try on a few of the amazing Pauric Sweeney bags and Pink Soda pieces and wish I could afford them, even if they are being sold at more than 60% off. Funnily enough, I did exactly that with the bags. The soft python leather in gold, silver, mustard-yellow and brilliant blue are exquisite; Pauric Sweeney’s trademark overnighter’s are reduced from €1900 to €650-€700. It is the new AW09 collection however, that I really fell for. Currently being stocked ‘exclusively’ in Harvey Nichols, the new ‘mini-overnighter’ is a smaller version of the trademark bag. See picture 4 below, the price in-store is €1404, the price at the Secret Boutique, €520. Still, it was never going to happen in Whisty world.

Pulling myself away from arm candy heaven, I got chatting to the fabulous John Mohan who was representing the Pink Soda side of the sale. He explained that the collection is all sample pieces from the company’s AW09 collection. A collection that unfortunately didn’t make it into stores before the company folded earlier in the year. This basically means, that all the pieces, that is; the beaded cocktails dresses, the silk blouses, the cashmere and grosgrain cardigans, the sequinned trousers and tops and all the winter coats, that are on sale for the next two days will not be in any stores anywhere.