Payday Purchase

Have you ever seen a movie with a product that no matter how far and wide you search, you can just never find? Having seen The Holiday the night before I left for Australia, I found myself with this pain in the arse problem. You know the scene I'm sure, where Cameron Diaz' character is in the car checking her itinerary and has that to die for pale blue travel wallet? Well apart from spending £500 in Smythson the options for a decent travel wallet are few and far between. In the UK anyway.

Enter Kikki K. Honestly, I love a good stationary shop and I can spend a lot of time in Paperchase choosing a new diary or pen, this Swedish brand however, put Paperchase on a level with 'Clintons' or 'Birthday' (is that even still a brand?).  Anyway, I digress. After spending a while in the store I finally found the travel wallet I had been looking for, whilst it wasn't pale blue there were a number of colour options and different styles.  I finally settled on the black - I'm way to messy to have gone for the pink even though it was beautiful! 

Marc by Marc Jacobs to be discontinued

                 

After 14 years it seems we are finally saying goodbye to Marc by Marc Jacobs after it was announced this week that the brand will be folding into the main line ahead of their IPO which is looming somwhere in the near future.

Jacobs told WWD 'I've absolutely loved the last few seasons of MbMJ's young, cool, hip shows. It just feels like we weren't doing our job by showing two different collections with two different images'. Although some are still concerned as to how this will all work out, the move is not dissimilar to the one made by Dolce & Gabbana in 2011 who disbanded diffusion line D&G in order to 'put more strength and energy into other collections'.

This is not the first, nor by any means the last big change to happen to the brand in recent years. Robert Duffy, Jacobs business partner is set to take a step back from day to day operations and LVMH are offering more investment, meaning that the parent company will own 80% of the brand whilst Duffy and Jacobs themselves equally share the remaining 20%. 

Furthermore, 2013 saw Marc Jacobs step down from his role at Louis Vuitton among rumours that he was going to focus on his accessories line after the huge success experienced by Michael Kors.  Interestingly he seems to have followed in Kors lead this week after setting up his own Instagram page despite just last month telling Suzy Menkes 'I'm so appalled by the whole Social Media thing, I don't get it. It doesn't appeal to me'. Michael Kors by contrast, has in recent years embraced television advertising, Twitter and Instagram proving how adjusting with the times can be hugely beneficial for a brand after his IPO proved to be one of the most successful in the fashion industry.

The brand, which Marc Jacobs launched in 2001 with Robert Duffy in order to target a younger demographic, is currently headed by Luella Bartley and Katie Hillier, it remains unclear where their future lies or what will happen to the current MbMJ stores.

Payday Purchase

For a lot of things a girl can wear, she can get on the high street. I mean realistically, unless you have the disposable income of an a lister sometimes it's just not worth investing your money in designer pieces because the turn around time for wearing them is gone by the time you have saved enough, or at least that's my view. For some things however there is an exception to this rule - bags, shoes and my personal favourite, sunglasses. 

When I moved to Australia I literally only bought my Ray Bans, not wanting to risk bringing anything else that I might risk losing and then having to claim through insurance.  Now that I'm settled however I've realised that the Ray bans can only be worn with certain outfits and that I'm in serious need of a new pair. I've got the Prada minimal baroque in black at home so was initially thinking of a new pair of Chanel's, having seen this new line from Prada however and I was easily swayed. 

The minimal baroque Sunglasses are not too in your face as you get with the likes of Dior and D&G but they are just stylish enough that they stand out to those in the know. The two tone tortoiseshell and black also make them versatile enough to wear with any outfit.  What's not to love about this style? 

H&M finally open in Queensland

It's taken some time but this week has finally seen the opening of H&M's first store in Brisbane.   With stores already in New South Wales and Victoria, this marks the retailers first store in Queensland - although this won't be for long. Country manager Hans Andersson earlier this week announced to channel 9 news that the brand expect to open a second Brisbane store in Garden City this Spring, something that will then be followed up by a global flagship on Queen Street later this year. 

H&M are known for their rigouous expansion, with stores in over 53 markets, the brand have this year alone entered Taiwan and have plans for India, Peru and South Africa.  Not content with these new markets we will also see the brand move to Western Australia with a store in Perth's Joondalup as well as a new flagship in Sydney's Pitt Street, a prime location that currently ranks as the world fifth most expensive street to rent, after Fifth Ave and the Champs Élysées.