London sales scoops

Holy marked-down Miu Miu, Batman.
Red bag, was £525, now £287, by Miu Miu.
For more excellent London sales coverage, check out this page at the Times Online.

Buying cashmere in London

As I mentioned in a previous post, the streets are awash with the soft, soft touch of cashmere.

If you’ve ever thought about investing in a quality cashmere piece, now is the time to make your move, with the winter sales currently in full swing.

And while all cashmere is luxurious, some cashmere is more luxurious than others (apologies to Orwell). Here’s my pick of the best places to buy the good stuff in London:

N.Peal
Founded in 1963, N.Peal is one of the luxury cashmere brands located in the historic Burlington Arcade, with separate men’s and women’s stores. The knitwear is made and designed in Scotland, using Mongolian and Chinese wool. Cashmere scarves are currently on sale for £79 (down from £99), with certain lines reduced by up to 50 per cent.




www.npeal.com
37 and 71 Burlington Arcade
Mayfair
London W1
Tel: 020 7499 6485

Berk Cashmere
One of London’s more traditional cashmere specialists located in the Burlington Arcade. Think classic cashmere twinsets, sweaters and cardigans. House-brand cashmere scarves start at £99.75.
46-49 Burlington Arcade
Mayfair
London W1
Tel: 020 7493 0028

Brora
This Scottish brand is renowned for its high quality cashmere and classic investment pieces. Cashmere scarves start at £45. If you’ve got your eye on a cashmere sweater or cardie, hold off ‘til 16 January, when the sale starts.



Loving the adorable cashmere baby range:


www.brora.co.uk
344 Kings Road
London
SW3 5UR

186 Upper Street
London
N1 1RQ

81 Marylebone High Street
London
W1U 4QJ

66/68 Ledbury Road
London
W11 2AJ

17 High Street Wimbledon
London
SW19 5DX

Pringle of Scotland
One of Britain’s leading luxury knitwear brands, Pringle started knitting cashmere in 1871. The argyle cashmere sweater is a Pringle classic staple.

Check out the cute kids Autumn/Winter capsule collection for argyle au go go:



(Cashmere aside, here a couple of my favourite looks from their younger and more directional 1815 collection for Spring/Summer 2008:)



Head to Pringle now for 50 per cent off selected items.
www.pringlescotland.com
London stores:
141 Sloane Street
London SW1
Tel: 020 7881 3060

112 New Bond Street
London W1
Tel: 020 7297 4580

High Street picks:

Marks & Spencer
Excellent range of everyday cashmere pieces at reasonable price points, starting at £20 for a cashmere scarf, and £39.50 for short-sleeved sweaters. Sale on now.
www.marksandspencer.com
Find stores here.

Uniqlo
The fun marketing campaign featuring cashmere-clad sock puppets has been hard to miss on London Tube escalators in December, and so is this Japanese brand’s ultra-affordable prices and huge range of fashion colours.


Prices start at £39.95 for cashmere tops. Sale on now.
www.uniqlo.co.uk
Flagship Store
311 Oxford Street,
London,
W1C 2HP
T: 020 7290 7701

170 Oxford Street,
London,
W1D 1NQ
T: 020 7307 9671

Cashmere Clinic
If your cashmere gets moth holes or needs to be repaired, send it to a cashmere specialist. This place is the best in London.

The Cashmere Clinic
www.cashmere-clinic.co.uk
Flat 5, 53 Redcliffe Gardens
London
SW10 9JJ
Tel: 0207 584 9806

New Year resolutions

Here's what's in store for Wee Birdy this year:
* new London shop reviews;
* where to eat in London (shopping pitstops that are stylish/unique/good value/have great food);
* new beauty must-buys;
* more of my favourite online buys; and
* Google maps pinpointing London shops I've reviewed (fingers' crossed I'll figure out how to do this).

And finally, let's hope this list does not go the same way of most New Year resolutions...

Happy New Year, birdies!

New Year, New Calendar

Time to get organised for the New Year, and I'm loving the pin-board style approach to this letterpressed calendar, US$20, from Linda and Harriett's Etsy shop:






But I've also got my eye on this birdy desk calendar, US$12, from Valentina Design's Etsy shop:





As always with Etsy, if the individual item I've linked to has sold out, go to the seller's shop where you'll usually find more listings of the product.

Street style: Ellen on Sloan Street

A wee birdy told me that Ellen, 30, wears white t-shirt by A.P.C, a sample knit top, jacket by Jil Sander, clutch by Miu Miu, shorts by Nanushka, black opaque tights from H&M, yellow knee-high socks from H&M, and black shoes by Pierre Hardy for Gap.

Best of London's sales

Want the ultimate guide to London's best post-Christmas sales? Check out Time Out London's comprehensive coverage here. Happy bargain-hunting, birdies.

Two sleeps to go...

Last minute Christmas treats

If you haven't started already, now is the time to start digging into all the seasonal goodies. There's nothing cosier than watching all those ultra-cheesey Christmas specials on TV by candlelight, whilst feasting on some warm Christmas pud. Here, my favourite sweet treats in London:

Ultimate Christmas pudding, £32.95, from Harrods. Packaged in a black ceramic basin and matured for six months.

Brandy butter, £3.95, from Harrods.

Meg Rivers Christmas Cake and tin, £38, from Cath Kidston. £5 of the proceeds from every sale of this award-winning cake goes to Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Hope and Greenwood suitcase, from £24.95, from The Conran Shop. Each suitcase is filled with a selection of nostalgic English sweets.

And I'll be heading to Konditor & Cook this weekend to pick up some of their infamous handmade mince pies. Apparently Nigella fancies them very muchly. Merry yum yum!

Stockists:

The Conran Shop
www.conranshop.co.uk
The Conran Shop Chelsea
Michelin House
81 Fulham road
London SW3
Tel 020 7589 7401

The Conran Shop Marylebone
55 Marylebone High Street
London W1
Tel 020 7723 2223

Harrods
www.harrods.com
87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge, London SW1

Cath Kidston
www.cathkidston.co.uk
Click here for store locations.

Konditor & Cook
www.konditorandcook.com
Waterloo:
22 Cornwall Road
London SE1

London Bridge:
10 Stoney Street
London SE1

Chancery Lane:
46 Grays Inn Road
London WC1

Curzon Soho Cafe:
99 Shaftesbury Ave
London W1

The Gherkin
30 St Mary Axe
London EC3

Kate Sheridan on sale

Fly over now to Quail's delightful new online store, for a heavenly 70 per cent discount off Kate Sheridan's delicious bag and purse range. Too good to miss, birdies.

Quail
www.quailbymail.co.uk

The best crackers in London

OK, so I could start this post with a dodgy pun on crackers, but I'll try to restrain myself. Instead, just check out the best crackers for 2007.

Holly/Ric Rac Christmas Crackers, £10 for a set of six, from Cath Kidston.

Christmas Tree Crackers, Blue and White, reduced to £10 for a set of 12, from John Lewis. Each cracker contains a gift, motto and hat. The gifts include a shoe horn, compact mirror, playing cards, screwdrivers, address book, tape measure, pad lock, bottle opener, tweezers, travel chess, photo frame and pen.

Fiesta Christmas crackers, £45 for a box of six, from The Conran Shop. Each cracker contains a hat, joke and a gift.

Nine mini crackers, £5, from Paperchase.

Eight premium crackers, £13, from Woolworths.

Sergeant Major and Sugar Plum Fairy Crackers, £40 for a box of six, from Fortnum & Mason. Each cracker contains a wooden toy or instrument.

For an eco-friendly bang...

Ethical Christmas crackers, £25, from Made. Crackers are handmade in Africa using back issues of Grazia and other recycled materials. Each cracker contains a gift made from recycled items, as well as a Grazia party hat and teaser.

Berry Eco Christmas Cracker, £4.50 each or six for £25, from Biome Lifestyle. The wrapping around the cracker is handmade from seed paper, so you can plant the paper after Christmas and grow some pretty wild flowers. Each cracker is filled with an eco-tip and a small gift like a charitable donation or a fair trade keyring.

And don't forget your dog...

Polka Pet Crackers, £15 for one, from Fortnum & Mason. Contains a diamante pet collar charm.

If money is no issue ...

Traditional Christmas crackers, £499 for six, from Harrods, 2nd floor Christmas World. The crackers are hand-crafted and contain silver gifts.

Ballroom flock Christmas crackers, £299 for six, from Harrods, 2nd floor Christmas World. Each cracker is hand-crafted and contains a silver gift.

Or, have a go at making your own...

Check out this post at Meet Me at Mikes, which includes some links to some fab online tutorials. Also, check out Paperchase for their nifty DIY cracker kits, complete with snaps and paper.

And go out with the biggest bang of all...

Exploding chocolate bomb £85, from The Conran Shop. The bomb is filled with enough chocolates and gadgets for 15 people.

Stockists:

The Conran Shop
www.conranshop.co.uk
The Conran Shop Chelsea
Michelin House
81 Fulham road
London SW3 6RD
Tel 020 7589 7401

The Conran Shop Marylebone
55 Marylebone High Street
London W1U 5HS
Tel 020 7723 2223

Paperchase
www.paperchase.co.uk
Click here for store locations.

Harrods
www.harrods.com
87-135 Brompton Road
Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7XL

Fortnum & Mason
www.fortnumandmason.com
181 Piccadilly
London W1

Biome Lifestyle (online only)
www.biomelifestyle.com

Woolworths
www.woolworths.co.uk
Click here for store locations.

John Lewis
www.johnlewis.com
Click here for store locations.

Cath Kidston
www.cathkidston.co.uk
Click here for store locations.

Made (online only)
www.made.uk.com