Valentine Visions

Today eveything will be red and pink and smooshy lovely dovey couples will be everywhere. Joy of joys! And we have jumped on the bandwagon and so our windows are red pink and girly colours with hearts and stuff...

Although we tried to make it less blatent and added some hints of green and blue to the models.

Ok, here we go...
Left to right

Pink Monsoon dress  £14
Green dyed pearl necklace £26
Green 'snake print' shoes £12
Pink silk print Whistles top £16
Fuchsia Cacharel silk skirt £18
Jaeger shoes £35

My fave outfit...FEATHERS!

Halterneck silk top £10
ASOS feather skirt £10
Blue necklace £4
New LK Bennett 'snakeprint' shoes £35
Red frilly tunic dress £10
Black LK Bennett shoes £22

Not forgetting the men shoppers -

He is wearing a new pink TM Lewin shirt £12
Heart tie £3
YSL jackets £50 

We have also filled the shelf with fun and 'romantic' items

Books from 50p each
DVDs and Blue Rays from £2 each

Hope you all have a lovely Valentines, even if that means it's netflix and a vat of ice cream!

Bye for now
BG

Late.

Our last weeks window display for your eyes to see...

  

Who knows, maybe this week I'll actually get this weeks display up!
So much to do, so little time...

Bye for now

BG 

Red, White and Blue

So here we are - Just a bit too early for just red and white for Santa, so we added some navy to distract you from the fact that Christmas is coming! Still these colours always look great together and are always on trend at some point in the fashion calendar.

This is our Window Mark IV as every time we got around to finding an outfit, pieces were sold before they even hit the dummies!
So sadly you don't get to see the Gap cashmere jumper or the Topshop blue with red spots dress, or the Red boots! But don't think this is second best?! (Or forth best as it is...)
We always dress to impress and to catch the eye of everyone passing.

All rather patriotic...

So here we go from left to right...
Red H&M dress £10
Zara red frill top £4
Paul Smith cardigan £20
Topshop navy and white trim skirt £4
ASOS blue dress (New) £15
Spotty skirt (under dress) £3
White and cream J.Crew t shirt £6
Red jumper £5
Scarf £6  
Navy Hobbs trousers £8

Shoes from £5!

The copper pot is very funky, and is £30
Let it be, or fill with some loooooong stemmed floral/twigs for an interesting centre piece,

Various glass and wooden objects £2 - £15

Bye for now
BG

Halloweeeen

*BOO!*
Did we scare you?!
Hope we scared you into opening your wallet for the Halloweeny costumes we have for sale!

Although it is becoming more and more Americanised, we love a good Halloween costume, and these are all we have! So if you have any from last year you no longer want, we will gladly take them from you to re sell!

This weeks window is a subtle homage to Halloween, in rich purples, blood red and of course black. No bats or pumpkins though, but we did have a Pumpkin Spice latte this morning if that counts? And no 'cobwebs' - Have you ever tried getting rid of that stuff? Sticks about for aaaaaaaaages. 

Left to right -
Purple velvet 2 piece £20
Witches hat £1
Leather Boots (size 7 (40)) £30
Miss Scissorhands (that's not even a real thing is it? Ho hum) costume £10
Pop Princess (Copyright over saying Lady Gaga I guess, but it is Lady Gaga...) costume £10
Black bandage dress £16
Red cape £12
Black Hobbs shoes £14

and here are some close ups....

We also have a varied collection of Horror DVDs, £2 (each unless they are priced otherwise)

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!

Finally this metal candle holder is £8

Happy Horrible Halloween!!

Bye for now
BG

Colour Clash

Last week we were all rather muted (well other than the bright orange) with greens and neutrals. This week it is all about the colour clash!

Our customers want to be wowed and so sometimes we try to mix things up with colour combinations, not normally though of. So why not Purple and Orange?
Regal Purples with a splash of Citrus Orange to give it some zest! Also mixing some prints and various textures of fabric into the mix and we have a rather fun window.

Purple silk Franck et Fils dress £60
Orange Topshop print dress (new) £24
Whistles funky strap purple silk dress £24
Armani cream trousers £30
Cashmere jumper £18
Witchery jacket £20 £10
Belts from £4 each and Shoes from £7

We also have this gorgeous floral print, signed and numbered 78/450 by the artist, Siriol Sherlock for £70 £40.
Just make sure you have a wall big enough!
Approx size as 28inch (71cm) x 22inch (56cm)

Even our fella dummy looks rather dapper this week in his TM Lewin checked shirt £8, and his Harrods tie £6 and this funky denim and cotton/wool mix jacket £20.
(Shirt and Jacket are both medium sized.)

By for now
BG

Autumn Leaves

A new week and some new windows for you.

September has well and truely turned up now, bringing with it the cold, wet, gloomy weather. So we are trying to get bright colours in the window to cheer people up (and make them come in and spend lots of money of course!)
This week the changing colours of the trees and all the leaves have insipred this colour combination, along with the it being slightly clashy. Rich oranges and subtle greens. Love it. Autumn is our favourite time of year, simply for the awesome colours which mother nature brings out.

So for sale this week we have....
Left to Right -
Toast green merino wool jumper £24
H&M pink shirt (just seen under jumper) £4
Ralph Lauren white belt £15
H&M orange trousers £5
Orange Floral top £6
Jaeger linen pencil skirt £10
New look white blouse £4
Retro skirt £9
Wallis orange cardigan £6
Green vintage suede belt £8
New Look floral top £5
White roll neck cashmere jumper (just seen under floral top) £20
Vintage grey leather skirt £20
Brown belt £5

Have some close ups too....

Silver necklace £16

Bye for now
BG

Jewel Windows

Kat has been inspired by the lush jewel tones and colours which always seem to appear about this time of year and has worked her magic in this window. Which I know I am posting late, but had all the Vintage and Retro bits to show off first....

Purple and Turquoise Jewels
Left to right -
Purple Cos Top £7
Karen Millen silk skirt (new with tags) £16
New look purple dress £12
Topshop turquoise silk dress £16
Next turquoise linen top £4
Marks and Spencer purple trousers £4
Leather Jacket £80

We also have some beautiful bric-a-brac in the window this week including our favourite piece -This silver rimmed vase. Hallmarked (see photograph) and VERY heavy, this is £60.

The lantern is £8 and we have 3 in stock.
And finally for you all today the blue glass bottle is £4.


Bye for now
BG

Rock rock till you SHOP

So we might have got a bit excited over this window and used it as in excuse to blast out some Def Leppard and Led Zeppelin in the shop, but it has certainly caught the eyes (and ears) of our customers!

We completed the window Monday at 1.20pm. First items sold at 1.22pm! Quick turnover of stock is what we want.
Already the window has changed slightly from the photos, having to replace sold books and clothes and guitars.

This was such fun to do, with the help of Yolaine and Kat, with so many pieces to fit together to make it interesting and yet still fashion and funky and most importantly eye-catching.

(Some of) The Books
Lady Gaga - £2
Bruce Springesten - £3
Depeche Mode - £2
Jim Morrison - £2
Joan Baez - £4
Leonard Cohen - £3
Bob Dylan - £5
Beatles - £2

The window outfits are mainly band t-shirts from £4 and leather skirts/trousers from £12

The men's Top Hat is from Christy's London and is for sale at £55.

Where is Slash when you need him!?

Finally, the Electric guitar and amp (which sadly doesn't go up to 11), which have been PAT tested as well as tuned up and STRUM tested is £80

The acoustic guitars in varying condition are priced from £25.

This one is so diddy and lovely. Travelling guitar by Washburn in case, as new, £60.

And here is the window....

And now I present MORE Def Leppard with the song from the title....(one of my favourites from Pyromania....)

(and I'll try to wait a few months before posting more Def Leppard....although I can't promise! haha)

Bye for now
BG

New Window. Guess the theme.

Another Guessing game.

....

Can you see the theme yet?...

How about now?....
Anything?
Come back Monday (or Tuesday if we are super busy!) and see what we have done! 

Bye for now
BG

Wimbledon Whites and Trophy Gold

Slightly tenuous link, but hey, I tried....

Seriously though, Andy Murray winning Wimbledon was Kat's inspiration for the window believe it or not.
Those whites mixed with a dash of gold make for a nice bright window.

Light and Bright

From right to left -
M&S white skirt £4
Next Signature sequin halterneck £12
Gold and sequin trim silk skirt (new) £30
Karen Millen floral halter neck top £14
M&S gold sequin skirt £6
LK Bennett white top £6
White lace detail skirt £7
Zara gold shimmer top £5
Gold leather plaited belt £4

Who'd have though Andy Murray could help design a pretty window?!

(oh and I gratuitous photo of my home grown strawberries as I am pretty pleased with myself. But you cannot buy these in the shop, seeing as they have been eaten now. Tasty.)

Bye for now
BG

It WILL be Summery!

Totally fed up with this grey, dull muggy summer, so we have taken it into our own hands and trying to prompt the sun to come out with our bright windows!

Last week we went with Cool Blue.
Turquiose 'Bombshell' dress £25
Hobbs blue wrap top £8
M&S turquoise skirt (new) £7
Manosh glittery blue/gold jacket £60
Pictures £15 each.

 

Yellow and Acid Green with a hint of blue and green is the way forward we think.
Yellow floral silk Hobbs dress £26
Neon green lace Zara dress (new) £20
H&M super fluffy jumper £6
Corded Boden skirt (new) £10

COME ON SUMMER!

Bye for now
BG

Meet the Volunteers - Kat

I said I would introduce you to our lovely team of volunteers and so here we are on this lovely Monday morning, blogging, while the volunteer in question is serving customers! (It's all about delegation!)

Trinity Hospice shops all have a manager, some have an assistant manager, but we wouldn't be able to run without the kind help and support from people donating their time during the week to work in the shops.

If you wondered who dresses our windows along with the manager, it is this talented volunteer.
From Peru, Kat started volunteering to help improve her English and learn some retail skills. She did so well and we spotted her eye for making outfits 'pop' so we let her loose on our dummies and our window dresser was born.

Monday, 11.30ish, naked windows. Hour later and voilà - beautiful outfits and shoes ready for selling! Sometimes she does so well the garments don't even make the dummy before someone wants to buy them.

Clashing colours, same colour different textures, prints etc, all used to full advantage by Kat and our customers love it. We even have one lady who makes a point of going for her run at 1pm every Monday so she can run past and see Kat's new creation.

Kat say, "I have such fun trying out styling the windows, and it has really helped my English skills being here and dealing with customers."

This week Kat has gone for the Green with a dash of Red/Pink

 Burberry top for £45

I say its another winning window. Hurrah!

***

If you wish to volunteer at Brook Green or any of Trinity Hospice shops (Locations here) get in touch by emailing Anna Alcock retailvolunteers@trinityhospice.org.uk or phoning her on 020 7787 1000

Bye for now
BG