Last week The Seattle Times confirmed that Swedish “high fashion low cost” giant H&M plans to open not one, but three stores in the greater Seattle area:

• University Village (which we knew)
• Southcenter mall in Tukwila (their largest store in Seattle)
• 520 Pike Tower downtown (great news)

The article points out that the chain stores are expected to open in Autumn 2008 instead of Spring. This makes the wait for Seattleites a little longer, but is well worth it if three stores are in the pipeline instead of the original one.

After all the hype I’ve created I hope that the Seattle stores are high on H&M’s priorities. I’ve shopped at H&M in Asia, Europe and America and the stores are not created equal. As is true for all fashion chains, the best merchandise goes to their top stores. There’s only one way to find out, so roll on Autumn and let’s see what they have to offer.

Lucky magazine presented their “first annual shopping awards” in the November edition. They compared views on the best shopping destinations between the so called fashion experts and a sample of the magazines readership. The best American department stores, chain stores and websites were judged side by side and the results were very interesting.

For department stores, the industry experts shared the awards between the major department stores. Nordstrom did best and was chosen three times. Readers were more decisive, clearly picking Nordstrom and Macy’s as their favourite departments stores. Nordstrom was also on top with the readers too, but where experts thought they deserved an award for beauty, readers thought they deserved it for their selection of emerging designers. Being a loyal Nordies shopper (and given that they are going through a rough patch at the moment), this made my heart happy.

When it came to chain stores, the Lucky readership agreed with the industry’s choice of H&M for hot off the runway looks, but preferred Forever 21 for party clothes and the Gap for jeans and weekend wear. I was surprised that Gap came up as a frequent favourite, that Forever 21 was mentioned, and that Zara failed to come up at all. But it came as no surprise that the experts and Lucky readers agreed that Sephora was best for beauty products, Nine West was best for shoes and Victoria Secret was best for lingerie.

With websites, Zappos.com came up as a favourite for both the industry and Lucky readers for best shoe site; while Bluefly.com came up as a favourite for both parties as best bargains site. Nordstrom.com was a favourite on both sides for best handbag site, as was Shopbop.com for best young designers. To my surprise Lucky readers chose Gap.com for best denim site, while the experts favoured Ronherman.com and Bluebee.com for their denim.

The detailed results are below. Any surprises?

Imagine if the government set out to measure the nation’s height, weight and curves in order to improve the sizing of clothes in retail fashion. Well, Spain’s health ministry has taken on this mammoth task. The goal of the study is to ensure that fashion houses “promise to fit their clothes to real women, rather than the other way round”.

From a recent article in The Independent:

Last month technicians from Spain’s health ministry visited the first of 59 towns across the country to measure 10,415 Spanish women, aged between 12 and 70, to find out what size and shape the nation’s females really are. The nationwide measuring operation continues until 21 December, and results are to be announced next spring.

Women are chosen at random from the city’s census and invited to participate in an “anthropometric study”, which the state-sponsored National Consumers Institute claims to be the first in the world. The aim is to promote “a realisable image of healthy beauty – neither Rubens women nor anorexic girls”, according to the health minister, Bernat Soria. “It is our commitment that beauty and health go hand in hand.”

The results from the study will be used to standardize clothing sizes across the industry.

This step follows Spain’s leadership in banning ultra-thin models from the Madrid catwalks a year ago. And that isn’t the end of it…

The government has also extracted a promise from retailers to banish skeletal plastic mannequins from shop windows – said to encourage unrealistic ideals of beauty – and replace them over time with those sized at least 38 – a British 10 [this is roughly an American 6, where mannequin’s today typically wear an American 2] .

Regardless of your position on the government playing such an active role in consumer affairs, these are fascinating moves. Spain has tremendous clout in the fashion world because they are home to the biggest and most successful fast-fashion retail chain in the world – Zara. I’m looking forward to next Spring when the results of the study will be announced. It will be incredibly interesting to see whether they can be applied successfully, and whether other countries follow Spain’s example.

Will idealizing the skinny ever be out of fashion?

For a long time I wasn’t inspired by anything at J. Crew. I hadn’t been shopping there with clients for ages. That changed a few months ago when I discovered how super their women’s range was looking. Their colourful, preppy, modern-classic look is not for everyone, but certainly worth a look this season if that’s your style. Their cashmere special ($99 for a plain cru), wool coat assortment, dressy knitted tunics, trapeze cardigans, fine wale corduroy, checked wide-legged pants and cozy lounge knits really caught my eye. It’s a pity that their on-line shopping site does not do their clothing justice. You don’t seem to get the same impact when you browse on-line as you do when you browse in store. So reserve your judgment until you get to a store! J. Crew remains a price point above Banana Republic and they seldom go on sale, but their clothing is beautifully made and I’m happy to have them back on my shopping list.

Images from the J. Crew Autumn 2007 look book.

London’s Indian cuisine, old and new architecture, urban edge and high style quotient make it a city that I love to visit. Much like Hong Kong and New York, you see cutting edge fashion being worn effortlessly on the street by everyday people going about their day. It’s fabulous. The London look is not about pristine fashion items that are perfectly coordinated. People mix old and ultra trendy pieces eclectically and tastefully. The end result is an urban and practical sense of style that really works.

After a few days on London streets last week, I concluded that the most popular look was skinny jeans tucked into fashion forward, flat or mid-heel, slouchy ankle and knee-high boots. Skirts with slouchy knee-length boots came a close second. Riding boots, tunics and trapeze jackets were also common, all of which made for a casual yet tailored sense of street fashion. And practical too. Tucking jeans into boots makes great sense when the weather is wet and chilly. Soggy feet and sopping pant hems are sure to put a damper on anyone’s day. Something I know all too well traipsing around the streets of Seattle.

Slouchy boots, like these styles from from UK footwear store Faith, are all the rage on the streets of London.

Family celebrations took me back to London last week. Despite a hectic schedule, I managed to peruse the High Street and my other favourite shopping districts. While fashion trends remain a worldwide phenomenon, regional, cultural and lifestyle differences tend to play a significant role when it comes to consumer trend adoption. In particular, what you find in British stores and American stores can be quite different. I love to compare fashion trends across the Atlantic, so here are some observations on the differences and similarities.

Differences:

1. The strong skirt trend was wonderful. From A-line to pencil, maxi to mini, plain to check and soft to structured, the choice was abundant. Skirts were as popular as pants, while dresses took a backseat.
2. The enormous selection of fabulous and comfortable 2-inch heeled shoes and boots was a breath of fresh air. While there were plenty of 3-inch plus peds around, stable heel heights were the order of the day.
3. Wide-legged pants were absent. I’d expected this trend to be huge, but I was wrong. It’s still all about skinnies and straight legs in London at the moment, which makes me thrilled that we have a wider choice in the US.
4. The small emphasis on hound’s-tooth and tartan also came as a surprise, since these patterns are very big in the US right now.

Similarities:

1. Purple and Hot pink were the primary focus. Black, white, teal, emerald, yellow, cobalt and red followed soon after.
2. Trapeze jackets continue to flood the market.
3. Tunics, skinnies, voluminous sleeves and blouses, oxfords, slouchy ankle boots, ruched calf length boots, riding boots and patent remain rampant.
4. The hottest fashion sneaker around is the All Star Converse in all it’s variations.

Clothing stores such as Zara, Marks & Spencer, Karen Millen, Mexx, Monsoon, Wallis, John Lewis, Reiss and Selfridges looked particularly good this time around; while footwear stores such as Berties, Office and Faith remain strong favourites. H&M, New Look, Jane Norman, Morgan and Topshop were a bit disappointing. I was inspired by London’s current skirt and slouchy ankle boot trend and came back with a few gems that I’m excited to wear.

Some of my favourites from Karen Millen in London.

You may have heard of a British online clothing site called Boden. The Euro brand specializes in clean-cut casual and smart casual clothing with a playful twist, for men, women, children and babies. The collections are usually colourful, somewhat sophisticated and a dash sporty. Boden ships directly from the UK to America and you’re able to get most of what they sell online. Shipping is at a flat rate of $10 and returns are handled through their Florida office (so you won’t need to ship back to the UK). The sizes are British and they take about 2 weeks to deliver. Their prices and quality are in line with Banana Republic, which makes their catalog well worth a look.

Euro-brand Boden is sure to offer you a feast of colour each season.

Garments, shoes and accessories have different names in different parts of the English-speaking world. Here in the USA I have learned to either use the American English, or receive blank stares from my clients and retail store staff. Still, many British terms and colloquialisms slip through. The blog is no exception, so I thought I’d list the ones I can think of. Let me know if you discover others hidden in my posts.

I’ve drawn the words above from memory so they almost certainly include some idiosyncrasies (the result of a British education in Hong Kong and many years living in South Africa).

There are some fab books on this topic. We find that British English A to Zed is hilarious (and great for proving to our American friends that we aren’t just making words up). Cassell’s Dictionary of English Idioms goes beyond individual words, explaining the many obscure expressions in the English language.

We’ve just got back from five fabulous days in Chicago where friends of ours got married beneath the stars at the Adler Planetarium. Magical wedding moments, delectable food, splendid architecture and spectacular shopping made for a great getaway and we enjoyed every moment.

The Magnificent Mile is Chicago’s most fashionable street and the place to be if you have shopping time to spare. The ultra wide boulevard is lined with exclusive designer shops like Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo and Gucci that stand side by side more affordable chain stores like Guess, Mango, French Connection, Eddie Bauer, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic and the Gap. Department stores like Saks, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom were beautiful and well worth a browse (schedule and pocket permitting).

I had my favourites amongst the overwhelming choice of retailers along the Mile:

• The brand new 3-story-high Hugo Boss store was a highlight. I’m a true Boss fan when it comes to a modern, understated and perfectly tailored look for gents and the shopping experience here was sublime.
• French Canadian store Carriere specializes in unique career wear suiting and I loved the finish of these garments. Classic button down shirts and jackets with insanely funky design detailing tickled my fancy.
• With their keen prices, good old H&M seldom disappoints and remains the best place to get a cheap fashion fix.

Off the Mile along State Street is the most lavish Macy’s I’ve ever seen. Originally a Chicago department store called Marshall Field’s, the store takes up the entire block and reminds me of world renown Parisian department store Galleries Lafayette. The stores most unexpected interior feature is it’s pretty Tiffany Mosaic Dome. There is also an adorable doggie section that boasts a range of elaborate doggie day beds, one of which we nearly flew home with us.

My impression of Chicago is a positive one. Hot and humid weather conditions made dresses, city walk shorts, swing tops and peep-toed shoes an urban uniform amongst locals. Dress codes sizzled at night as glitzy, alluring mini dresses matched with the highest of heels became standard evening attire. I saw a high style quotient in the short time that I was there and enjoyed taking in the view.

The Magnificent Mile.

Well Seattleites, a genie has granted our wish. Mega-funky and ultra-affordable Swedish retail giant H&M announced that they will be opening a store at U-Village in Spring 2008. It’s about time! Ideally, I’d have preferred the store’s location to be downtown because traffic around the University District can be brutal. But I’m not complaining. I shall be counting down the days as my fashion feet move even faster. Check out the announcement on Facebook (you will need to log in to see the page). Thanks to a friend for spotting this and letting me know.