Dear lovers

Hannah-Rose from Capture the Castle is feeling the love at The Corner Shop this year.  Here's why:

There are fewer things in this world greater than love. So why not celebrate it? Why not celebrate that feeling of honeyed-goodness that washes over you when you’re so happy because of love – because of people you love and people who love you? Valentine’s Day gets a bit of a bad rap because of it’s nature as an elitist, polarizing kind of holiday, but in truth it’s not about whether or not you’re in a relationship at all. Valentine’s Day is about celebrating happiness in its basest, sunniest, most golden forms. 

On Sahra R-L: Jordan Askill single heart rings (2), $195, Mania Mania triple ring, was $150 now $105, Jordan Askill triple star ring, $325, Jordan Askill single star ring, $225

Golden like Jordan Askill rings – a heart for a heart and a star for a star, at The Corner Shop Paddington and Strand Arcade now. These rings are the ultimate in delicate jewellery, the one trend-driven piece that still warms my heart. The fact that so many people have it means that so many people are loved, which can only be a good thing, right? I think it would be the height of romance to receive this on Valentine’s Day – whether as a gift from a loved one or a treat from yourself to remind you of what’s important. 

Celebrate Valentine’s Day this year with the LOVE art installations at The Corner Shop Paddington and Strand Arcade. The Corner Shop asked some of their favourite artists - Genevra Meldrum, Greta Edmondson, Kate Davis and Hugo Muecke - to meditate on what love means to them. They have filled the windows and interiors of both of the Corner Shops with everything love related. I only wish I was in Sydney to see it - hopefully by the time I return from New York they'll still be around. I want to feel the love.

Longing to stray

Hannah-Rose from Capture the Castle is heading to New York this week - and not a moment too soon! She shares that New York love with us, focussing on some classic New York labels, including Helmut Lang, Current/Elliot and Theysken's Theory, in store at The Corner Shop Paddington and Strand Arcade, Belinda Paddington and Double Bay.

all photos: Hannah-Rose Yee

There's no city in the world quite like New York. Nowhere else has that same blend of energetic magnetism, of ambitions, of hopes and dreams, of high and low. When I first went there to go to school I remember having a complete culture shock - what is this place, how does it work, how do I fit in? It was scary, and not just because the buildings were so big and the crowds so populous. It was scary because it was so unlike anywhere else I had ever been, and especially so unlike Sydney, which is the only place I've ever known. 

But, after a while, after countless morning bagels and late night pizzas and jam-packed subway rides I got used to it. I was lucky enough to be living in one of the friendliest neighbourhoods in Brooklyn, all brownstones and communal gardens and cosy cafes. It reminded me of Paddington - my home - and soon after I discovered Bird, which is kind of like The Corner Shop of New York, and everything seemed alright. I slipped into an easy and comfortable routine of chai teas and homework with my friend at our favourite cafe on the corner of her street and late night walks to the Brooklyn promenade and back till our cheeks got red. 

Today I'm going back, and I can't wait! I can't wait to be back in New York and in the thick of it, seeing people and places and things. It took me a couple of visits before I felt that New York magic, but the last time I was there I really fell in love. There was one day - one glorious day - when it snowed and snowed and snowed, and I remember being so happy I thought I would explode. My friend and I ran around the empty streets, chasing snowflakes, stopping only to warm ourselves over a bowl of soup and a toasted sandwich (what a typical New York lunch!). I hope it snows again when I'm there this time! 

To share some of that New York love I got my trusty model Katrina to model some of the great New York based labels that are in store at The Corner Shop now. One of them is 3.1 Phillip Lim, which I've already obsessed over here. Another is Theysken's Theory, the return-to-the-fold of ex-Nina Ricci and Rochas designer Olivier Theyskens, whom I've always loved, and whose dark aesthetic and urban glamour is without equal. Aside from that there are Helmut Lang and Current/Elliot, both so cool it hurts, and both typical of that model-off-duty look that another New York label, Alexander Wang, has made so famous. My personal style doesn't really swing towards leather leggings and white tee shirts, but, you know, when in Rome...

look one

Helmut Lang blazer, $675

look two 

 

Helmut Lang singlet, $345, Current/Elliot jeans, $325, T by Alexander Wang bra, $70 (on sale!)

 look three

Helmut Lang blazer with leather collar, $845, Isabel Marant tee (technically not New York, but, you know, I just love Isabel!), $195, Current/Elliot jeans, $325

Wild at heart

Hannah-Rose from Capture the Castle falls in love with leopard print as she previews the 3.1 Phillip Lim Resort collection, in-store at the Strand Arcade and Belinda Double Bay now!

 all photos by Hannah-Rose Yee

Why is it that all fashion stories have the same titles? If it's a story about trenches it'll be called "in the trenches" or "trench warfare", if it's a story about new swedish designers you can bet it'll be titled "stockholm syndrome" and something about tee-shirts will be named either "to a tee" or "tee party" or something of such sort. I'm kind of guilty or re-using the same of fashion puns too, which is why I had to title this post "Wild at heart". In the new 3.1 Phillip Lim resort which has just arrived at The Corner Shop Strand Arcade there is one spectacular all-leopard all-the-time look which consists of slouchy pants, a zip-top shirt and a contrast lapel jacket, louche and languid and totally ridiculous, but also kind of awesome at the same time. Each piece separately would bring a touch of urban jungle to any look but all together? Now that's just wild.

There's something about leopard print. Objectively I like it. I like it in the way that French women often wear it - a piece at a time, a pair of vampy come-hither shoes, a suede bag, the perfect tailored coat. I like traditional leopard print, that rich caramel-yellow and black mixed all together in a fabric that signals both extragance and elegance at the same time. I like it objectively but I've never actually been able to wear it. There was a dalliance with one leopard print coat eons ago and a pair of leopard print ballet flats that have since been mislaid, and that's about it. Maybe I haven't quite been game enough to do it, to wear such a bold, look-at-me kind of print. Or maybe I just haven't found the right pieces.

But how about some silky pyjama pants with deep pockets and cuffs you can turn up? How great would they be with a tangerine shirt and grey tee shirt, that blue-tinged print the perfect counter point to classic simplicity? How great would a shirt be, front un-zipped and lapels folded over with a pair of jeans and strappy k.jacques sandals? And that jacket, oh! that jacket! Over a white tee shirt and a long black skirt, resting on your shoulders a la Alexa Chung and similar cool girls of her ilk. And all together? All together it works, so wrong it's right, and so cool it's almost insane, and it might just make you look like Sofia Coppola, which can only be a good thing, right?

Maybe it's time to get some more leopard print in my wardrobe...


look one

White singlet, $195, Beaded orange pants, $895 and orange and white sandals, $395 (worn throughout)


look two

Leopard print jacket, $795, Leopard print shirt, $445, Leopard print pants, $495


 

look three

Orange shirt, $395, Grey tee shirt, $175, Leopard print pants, $495


look four

 Brown cardigan, $545, Black silk tee-shirt dress (also available in orange), $575, orange belt, $195

HELLO Le Tan ladies!

Olympia Le Tan is a woman after our own heart! Here she is interviewed by her niece Dizzy (for Oyster Mag)with a most playful insight to the designer and her bags we have fallen hard for. 

A selection of bags will be in store shortly.

Oh Isabel!

Hannah-Rose from Capture the Castle previews the new Isabel Marant Etoile in store now at The Corner Shop Paddington, Strand Arcade and Belinda Double Bay

all photos: Hannah-Rose Yee

It was a tweedy brown coat, oversized and man-style. It had deep pockets and big lapels and it was a milky chocolate colour that made me think of porridge and weak tea and chicken soup and all the good things about cold weather. It was my first introduction to Isabel Marant. It had all of that French charm that we now associate with the label - scruffy and insouciant but oh so alluring, with a coat that big who can help but wonder what's underneath? - and all of that effortless cool that we always hope will come from clothes. 

I wasn't even shopping for a coat on that balmy spring day, but when I stepped into the Corner Shop Paddington and saw it hanging there all thoughts of sun-drenched picnics and tanning days at the beach were left by the wayside. All I could think and dream and hope for was blustery brisk mornings so I could wrap that tweed around me, a comforting blanket, woolen armour against anything winter could throw my way.

My love affair with Isabel Marant has continued to this day, and has seen me travel on pilgrimages to each of her three shops dotting Paris, fall in love with puff bracelets and suede ankle boots and fill my wardrobe with must-have, must-wear, all-time pieces like oversized tartan shirts with big, roll-em-up sleeves and stripey raw silk scarves and a few coats to make winter just that much more bearable.

Even today, I still get excited about new Isabel Marant deliveries at The Corner Shop. At the moment the first drop of the Spring Etoile collection is hanging on racks at The Corner Shop Paddington, The Corner Shop Strand Arcade and Belinda Double Bay and features gorgeous distressed oatmeal sweaters, delicate, gauzy linen scarves, oversized grey tweed coats with leather tabs (yes, I still love me a tweed oversized coat!) and some beautiful printed silk dresses. Here I've picked some of my favourites from this first drop and styled them on the lovely Katrina from The Corner Shop Paddington. The hype around Isabel Marant's designs means that it always sells out so fast, so you have to snap up your favourite pieces while you can. I'm definitely dreaming of that hoodie and the beige trench! 

Look one

Look one: Burgundy hooded sweatshirt, $475. White tee shirt, $195.

 

Look two

Look two: Army green open knit sweater, $475. White tee shirt, $195. Grey oversized wool coat with leather tabs, $1275.

Look three

Look three: Black Osfa scarf, $225. White tee shirt, $195. Grey wool jacket, $475.

Look four

Look four: Silk floral print dress, $875. Beige trench, $695.

My local Corner Shop

It's no secret that we love Australian bloggers and one of our favourites is Hannah-Rose from Capture the Castle. We've loved her blog since 2010! We're very excited to announce that she will be guest editing here at The Corner Shop blog during 2012. We can't wait to see her posts, can you? In her first post she introduces her local Corner Shop on William Street, Paddington. Check it out below...

photos: Hannah-Rose Yee

At my local Corner Shop you can't get bread, or milk, or the newspaper. But that's okay, because instead there's RUSSH magazines fresh from the press, racks full of oversized Isabel Marant trenches and drapey Helmut Lang dresses and silk hand-knitted Amy Kaehne sweaters in lush forest green or milky beige. My local Corner Shop is nestled on the corner of a sleepy residential street and a hip shopping district in my neighbourhood of Paddington, part poky apartment filled with tchotchkes and fairy lights, part incredible fashion emporium with one of the best ranges of international and local labels in Sydney. I love my local Corner Shop, and popping in on my way home from uni or on a lazy sunday afternoon is one of my favourite things to do. I'm so excited to be a guest editor for the Corner Shop blog this year. It's going to give me a fantastic reason to keep checking in all the time...