Entre Guillemets Jewellery

Brook Green is bringing you the bling today.

A stunning funky necklace handed in, which has once again made all the lady volunteers want to buy it.
This French brand, Entre Guillemets (Quote Unquote) creates and makes their high fashion jewellery from its Tours based workshops.

Made with enamelled disks, leather thonging and silver coloured metal beads this will definately get heads turning when worn.

 £45

We suggest you keep your clothes to a minimum amount of fussiness and black to really show off this piece.

Bye for now
BG

Everyone's a Critic....

We welcome reviews and feedback as we always want to improve here at Brook Green.

(*Cue mini rant* However rudeness and abuse because we won't give you a discount will be ignored, as we are trying to raise as much money as we can for Trinity Hospice and so we need to sell things at a fair price. *Rant over*)

Here is a small round up of some reviews/comments found on the internet

Brook Green Bugle - "Top designers, brands and other stylish items in a high-quality boutique environment are the various USPs of BugleLand's newest charity shop, unveiled to a rapturous response from residents."

Just found this one, which was written for when we opened a few years ago!
My Village - "With an array of donated goods gracing the floor, and fine art decorating the shop's walls it will be a shopping experience unlike any other. Each visit to a Trinity store is different – and if you’re willing to rummage around a little, you may just find something really special."
(Although A Ralph Lauren polo shirt would be £14 - £20 here, depending on condition....)

This is about the Victoria shop, but we do get a name check ;) and we love to share the Trinity Hospice Charity Shops love. Other shop locations here.
Pocketful of Sunshine - "This is the perfect place for Londoners to pop along for some inexpensive merino and superwash wool for colour work. It's a charity shop near Victoria Station (85 Wilton Road)..."

Shall post more when we find them, or if you find any or even write one, please tell us so we can have a good read and maybe link it!

Bye for now
BG

Marc Jacobs Bag

The American fashion designer Marc Jacobs is a well loved designer at Brook Green. We get a fair few items either from Marc Jacobs or the diffusion like Marc by Marc Jacobs, so this probably wont be about for long!

How we love Marc Jacobs bags and this one is perfect for the office.

Black and blue with 2 main pockets.
Cotton lined.
£60
No marks, stains or dents in the bag.

Just blooming nice
Although how many times do you need the put Marc Jacobs on the label?

Why wont they rotate!?

Inside pocket. Just turn your computer screen...sorry.

Bye for now
BG

Robert Clergerie Shoes

Without wishing to repeat things, I WISH PEOPLE WOULD DONATED AWESOME SHOES IN MY SIZE!

I never get to buy them. It is just not fair. But it means YOU get the good stuff instead.
These are a brilliant summer shoe by Robert Clergerie.
To quote Net-a-Porter - "French designer Robert Clergerie founded his eponymous label in 1981, and it soon became the go-to for directional footwear. Now with Roland Mouret at the helm, the house's masculine-feminine aesthetic has been reinterpreted with a fresh attitude - expect lace-up brogues and chunky architectural platforms"

Nice shoes. Funky heel
£100

Leather straping
Wooden Heel block
Hardly worn
Size 4 (eur 37)

We found the same pair on ebay which went for £298, and they were in worse condition than our lovely donated pair! Plus these are gift aided so will provide another £25 from the taxman for Trinity Hospice. BONUS.

Bye for now
BG

Meet the Volunteers - Sarah

I said as soon as we get some new people in, I'll share them with you all, so I'd like you all to meet Sarah

Joining us for only a few months, Sarah is keen to learn some new skills and improve her English from her native Innsbruck, Austria.

'Testing' our fiction books (£1 each!)

"I love the whole idea of charity shops, as we don't really have them back home. The UK takes a bit of getting used to, but while I'm here I've seen lots and volunteering here is lots of fun, and I haven met some lovely people here" (below is Sarah with Andreea)

Sarah has even shown Brook Green to her parents who had a visit here last week and they arrived bringing gifts of Sachertorte! Brook Green does love cake and it was AMAZING! noms

We have cooking books with this recipe in (from £1), but here we have the original for you all to attempt. (Then you can bring us in a piece!)

Sacher Cake (Sachertorte) "This is the original recipe, obtained through the courtesy of Mrs. Anna Sacher." (That we found via Mr Google and Mr Wikipedia!)

3/4 cup (170 g) butter; 6 1/2 oz. (180 g) semi-sweet chocolate; 3/4 cup (170 g) sugar; 8 egg yolks; 1 cup (120 g) flour; 10 egg whites, stiffly beaten; 2 tbls. apricot jam; icing: 1 cup (225 g) sugar; 1/3 cup (80 ml) water; 7 oz. (200 g) semi-sweet chocolate;

Beat butter until creamy. Melt chocolate. Add sugar and chocolate to butter; stir. Add egg yolks one at a time. Add flour. Fold in egg whites. Grease and butter 8-9" cake tin. Pour mixture in. Bake in 275 degree F (140 degree C). oven about 1 hour. Test with toothpick or straw. Remove to board; cool. Cut top off and turn bottom up. Heat apricot jam slightly and spread over top. Cover with chocolate icing, prepared as follows:

Cook sugar and water to thin thread. Melt chocolate in top of double boiler. Add sugar gradually to chocolate. Stir constantly until icing coats the spoon. Pour on top of cake.

- Viennese Cooking, O. & A. Hess, adapted for American use [Crown Publishing:New York] 1952 (p. 229)


And if you make it, please bring in a slice for us here. We shall, erm, test it. noms test.

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

Dries Van Noten suit

Born in Antwerp in 1958, Dries Van Noten is the third generation in a family of tailors. His work in womenswear, menswear and accessories is highly acclaimed and much sort after. Find it here at Brook Green this week!

This men's suit is BEAUTIFUL! Dries Van Noten has created a lovely tailored 2 piece here in 100% wool, and fully lined.

Size 52 eur chest, about a 42 UK men size.
38 waist with a 32 leg length
£180

Dress to impress!

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

Armand Basi Mens Suit

Here we go again. Another lovely mans suit to show to you.
More men should wear suits. Not just so they can buy it from us, but because a good suit looks amazing. We all decided. (Well the female volunteers....)

This suit is by Armand Basi, a Spainsh designer and now brand.

A lush navy colour with a paint fine pin stripe, the Jacket and Trouser suit is fully lined.

£140

Wool mix
Jacket size 34
Trousers size 32
Regular leg length
Even the buttons are branded

Just a super smart suit

Bye for now
BG

Oh! Suits you! J Crew, Ohh!

More details of the wonderful suits donated (and Gift Aided!)
First up, 2 J Crew suits for your eyes to have a gander at....

The American brand is rather popular around Brook Green and we see the label a lot. Although it is normally woman's wear. Now we have 2 men's two piece suits for sale.

J Crew just have a lovely quality to their garments, and these suits are no exception.
The light cream suit is Linen, the brown pin stripe one is Wool mix.

Cream Linen is a size 40 Jacket and a size 36 Trouser
Fully lined
Regular leg length
£60

 

Brown pin stripe is 40 Jacket and the trousers say size 33
Again this is fully lined and Regular leg length
£70

Cream suit, white shirt, sun hat. Ta da, dressed for summer fun
Brown suit, Light blue shirt, smart tie (of which we have many to choose from instore £3 each unless it is priced) and some lovely brown brogues. Work suited and booted.

Bye for now
BG

Time to Suit up!

Now it is the men to get a blog post just for them, as it is not just designer womanswear we get in.

Today one bag of tricks was full of designer suits!
We like this.

We don't normally get a lot of mens clothing donations, and when we do it is either been loved to death and so we have to rag it (but we still get money for it, so it is all good) or it is brand new! The two extremes.

The suits today are in great condition, unless stated and will hopefully raise lots of money for Trinity Hospice.

The 'star' suit is Dries Van Noten Jacket & Trouser 2 piece suit, but we also have some J Crew, and Hugo Boss and Armand Basi suits.

Futher posts about them later avec photos.

Come on Men. Get suited and booted Brook Green Styleeee!

Bye for now
BG

Fantastic Ferrari

(or not as the case may be, as you know being an F1 fan we do not like Ferrari - moany whining team when they don't win, which is pretty much ALL the time now. Ha! The Red Bull team is almost as bad now, but I digress...)

As much as we are not fans of F1 Team, we can't say that Ferrari makes horrible cars.

In fact they are some of the prettiest cars about.

Emblazoned with the Prancing Horse, these cars are there to get your attention. (And go very fast! Vroooooooooom)
Based in Maranello, Italy, and started by Enzo Ferrari in 1929 they stared with racing cars and then produced street legal vehicles.
"Ferrari road cars are generally seen as a symbol of speed, luxury and wealth"

This book is a collection of photos of these mythical beast cars.
Limited Edition of 100 copies.
£40
"25 years of calendar images" by Gunther Raupp


Just look as those lush cars. I want one. A car, not a coffee table book such as this, as lovely as it is, it doesn't make the noise....

So of course I had to post an F1 vid, but this is purely for comedy value, not a Ferrari in sight. Oh deer.

Bye for now
BG

Volunteer Birthdays!!

Well August is busy for us as we have to eat a lot of cake!

Pat and Yolaine huffing and puffing out the candles. SHARE THE CAKE!!

 

Pat, Yolaine and Andreea all have birthdays within a week or so of each other, so we at t' Green use it as an excuse to stuff our faces with chocolate cake!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

nom nom nom

Bye for now
BG

Christian Lacroix and Orla Kiely

Not just 1 item but 2 this time! Tried to do an outfit, but only afterwards we realised that it isn't very summery, but more autumnal. But knowing the British summer, it will be a good outfit for next week! haha! (we do make ourselves laugh)

Orla Kiely is an Irish designer who's prints are now famous and adorn handbags and kitchenware all over the world. (and I think more chic less chintzy than Cath Kidston, but that's just me)

Christian Lacroix is a French fashion designer known for his Couture, which, with his background in historical costume and clothing always has a WOW factor to it. It is thanks to Lacroix that the Puff Ball 'le pouf' skirt keeps popping into trends. Thanks for that Christian!

So what a better mix of designers to make an outfit with!

The Orla Kiely dress is long sleeved with a navy and taupe pattern. Peter Pan collar and trim is in the taupe colour.
Size M (12 - 14 Eur 40 - 42) and 100% Cotton
£30

The Christian Lacroix Jacket is navy with a fine pin stripe in brown.
Embellished on the sleeves and the back with brown and cream and navy embroidery in some funky squiggles (that's the technical term. Squiggles).
Size 12 (Eur 40)
Even the lining had a funky print in it.
Smart AND Fun
£50

Be ready for Autumn!


Bye for now
BG

Summer Holidays!

The childern having finished school for 6 weeks (oh how I wish I could have 6 weeks off! Miss those times. Although I think I just said I was bored all the time when I was off back in the day. I feel old now...) keep them amused with this....

A lovely tricycle. Better than a scooter.
Cleaned up and it even has ribbons on the handlebars.
£20

It even has a handle so they can't escape your clutches, and a little holding space at the back.
They should make these adult size. We all want one!
Keep fit and look cool on a trike!

We also have lots of new childrens books from 50p each.
That will keep them quiet for a bit.

Finally, we have board games from £1 including Pictionary, Cluedo and the classic Monopoly, as well as some new SceneIt dvd games, priced at £5.

Bye for now
BG

Comic Book Store

We haven't turned into one, but we have taken a bit of comic influence for our latest 'MEN' display.

Superman tshirt £4
(we also have 2 others in black and blue, and a Batman one)
A-Team 1987 annual £3
Sin City DVD £3
Other DVDs shown £2. 
Our DVDs are all priced at £2 - unless it is a boxset when they are priced individually. (and for the record our CDs are £1 each unless priced) Bargainous.


So now, the all important question....

Who would win in a fight between Superman and Batman?!?

Bye for now
BG

Tiny Dior Shoes Donated

I do love it when Dior gets donated. I mean who wouldn't?!

Christian Doir brogue-esque shoes for a lady with tiny feet. (Totally not me then with my size 8 sasqush feet....pah!)
Size 4 (eur 37) these brown shoes have been re soled and are simple and beautifully made.

No damage to them at all. Although I would change up the laces for some neon. But that's because I do love a pop of colour.

Phwoooar for Dior! £70 shoes

Wikipedia tells me that it was "Founded in 1946 by the eponymous designer Christian Dior, today the company designs and retails ready-to-wear, leather goods, fashion accessories, footwear, jewelry, timepieces, fragrance, make-up, and skincare products while also maintaining its tradition as a creator of recognized haute-couture (under the Christian Dior Couture division). " So now you know.

And now you just know that if you tiny feet you can come and spend £70 on them and make everyone jealous of your great taste in shoes.

Bye for now
BG