Brand/New at the Bentall Centre

Home to a plenitude of high street and designer retailers, Kingston-upon-Thames had been the go-to shopping destination in my teens. (You can read my review from 2011 here.) So when the Bentall Centre invited me back to explore the latest collections in their "Brand/New" campaign, I couldn't pass up the chance to see what was indeed new, and what was still familiar.

Originally built in 1935 as the Bentalls department store, the Bentall Centre is the heart of Kingston's retail landscape. Its towering glass roof atrium floods the complex with natural light, as shoppers criss-cross the four-storey mall and seventy-five stores. Although much remains the same from my memories of a decade ago, the Bentall Centre is undergoing the final phases of modernisation to commemorate its twenty-fifth anniversary, including new restaurants, flagship retailers, and a boutique Curzon cinema on the second floor.

During my visit, I was encouraged to check out the latest menswear offerings from such brands as Hugo Boss, Massimo Dutti, New Look and Tommy Hilfiger, the latter being my favourite for its signature red, white and blue pieces. Awkwardly, my slimmer build does limit my shopping habits to only a handful of high street labels, therefore I have to shop strategically, and trying on everything is essential. It's too often a shame that something takes my fancy, only to find it's slightly too big for me.

After popping into every store, thereby ensuring I wouldn't make a premature purchase, my heart had settled on a faux-leather bomber jacket from Zara, complete with striped cuffs, hem and collar. It's a style I came to love only last year for its vintage-varsity vibes. Brown is normally a colour I reserve for leather accessories or tweed suits, but my perusing the various SS18 collections revealed a strong trend in warm, earthy tones. In contrast, a pale pink, cotton jumper from COS mirrors the softer colours of spring, albeit pairs surprisingly well beneath the darker fabric of my new Zara bomber.

Given the unseasonably warm temperatures that were imminent that week, I also relished the opportunity to swap some of my cosy winterwear for more weather-appropriate outfits. (As I have mentioned on previous occasions, my summer wardrobe is virtually non-existent!) I therefore picked up a selection of slim-fit t-shirts from H&M, which - unsurprisingly - became my daily get-up through all of last week's African plume.

Outside the wide selection of menswear retailers, I also enjoyed a delicious Lebanese lunch at the newly opened Maison du Mezze, which I shall review in a later blog post. (In brief, both food and service were impeccable for a cuisine and restaurant brand I was otherwise unfamiliar with.) And I couldn't resist browsing the quirky and stylish interior decor in H&M's homeware department, in which I mentally added another twenty-odd pieces to my dream home.

Finally to catch my eye was NYX Professional Makeup, the company's first standalone store outside of Central London. Albeit not a shop the average Joe might be tempted to explore, its weekly masterclasses are beneficial to my not-so-secret side project, and hence I will be returning to the Bentall Centre this very Thursday. Make sure to follow me on Instagram to see what antics I get up to!

Acuitis Eyewear

Graced with imperfect vision, glasses are a fundamental part of my individual style. Earlier this month, I was invited to explore the first UK flagship store for French eyewear label Acuitis, an impressive, glass-fronted shop unit less than 150m north of Tottenham Court Road underground station. Having arrived early for the breakfast preview, I was personally guided through the new store, the company's history and its collections by the brand's Creative Director, Frédéric Beausoleil.

Trained as an optician with a love for sculpture, Frédéric has been designing eyewear for thirty years. Many of his frames for Acuitis are handmade from cotton-based celluose acetate, although alternative materials include sustainably sourced bamboo, tortoiseshell and buffalo horn, the very kind with which Frédéric crafted eyewear as an apprentice. Further to these, there are designs that pay homage to prominent historical and present-day figures, such as Ray Charles, Maurice Herzog and the Dalai Lama. Add those to an entire wall of sunglasses, the Acuitis collection is both extensive and versatile, with designs to suit all faces.

The greatest pleasure of the morning, however, was to then be handpicked a pair of glasses by Frédéric himself, as seen in the above photograph. A complement to my darker ensembles, they feature similarly rounded lenses as my Silhouette frames (evidently an agreeable shape for my facial structure), yet it was apparent these glasses had been designed to be a statement accessory as much as an instrument for better eyesight.

Tailored by T.M.Lewin

Until a few weeks ago, my initial thoughts at the mention of T.M.Lewin would have been those catalogues that arrived occasionally through the letterbox, offering every cut, collar and pattern of business shirt under the sun. Although my personal style is reasonably smart, I hadn't considered this formal menswear retailer as having the same zing as those high street stores to which I would normally visit. Perhaps almost ignorantly, I associated T.M.Lewin and competitor brands with business meetings, desk jobs, and a deluge of suit-clad office workers spilling off the Waterloo & City Line - admittedly not the most appealing vision for a twenty-something graduate, however sharply they might enjoy dressing.

Coincidentally, the creative heads behind T.M.Lewin had been thinking along similar lines, and have therefore proposed a regeneration of the brand's image - with the added challenge of maintaining the company's heritage (it's sometimes easy to overlook that the company was founded in 1898), their craftsmanship, and their quality of service. Today's style conscious consumer doesn't wear a suit because they have to, they wear a suit because they want to, and it is precisely that which T.M.Lewin wish to reflect across their collections and media.

Last month, myself and a select few bloggers were kindly invited to T.M.Lewin's Jermyn Street store to view the latest menswear collection, and to discuss the brand's journey thus far with Design Director Chris Smith and the T.M.Lewin team. Among the modern additions is the introduction of slim-fit and skinny-fit suits, for those who desire a leaner silhouette. Flute of champagne in hand, I was taken aside by one of the store's expert tailors to sample T.M.Lewin's bespoke fitting service, and to try on their charcoal skinny-fit suit, which - with only the tiniest tweak in the leg - fitted me a dream.

In the knowledge of their well-fitting formalwear (not exclusively for business meetings, I may now happily acknowledge), and with the promise of exploring their latest venture further, it will be virtually impossible to ignore T.M.Lewin on my next shopping trip.

CW Pencil Enterprise

It was a year ago today that Tazz forwarded me a New York Times feature regarding a quirky little pencil shop in Lower Manhattan, and all indecision about our prospective holiday faded in an instant. Upon first impression, CW Pencil Enterprise seemed like the kind of shop you might find on a stroll around East London, however Tazz and I were oddly captivated by the shop's dedication to such a simple an item of stationery, one often overlooked in our digital age. Thus we earmarked the store as a priority on our long list of places to explore.

Fast forward to February of this year, Tazz and I cross Chinatown and spot a giant pencil printed above a glass shopfront, through which we see pencils of every colour surrounding a checkerboard floor. On closer inspection, CW Pencil Enterprise is nothing less than a pencil paradise, with pencils of all grades and sizes - from countries around the globe - neatly bunched in transparent pencil pots. Scented pencils from Portugal, bi-colour pencils made in Switzerland, and pencils from Japan crafted to resemble cigarettes are just some of the wonders on the store's shelves, alongside an array of HB and No.2 pencils.

Displayed among this handsome collection are all the accompanying stationery a pencil enthusiast would desire, including erasers, sharpeners, and notebooks. And to one side of the shop is a testing station with samples of every pencil on sale. As I chatted with two of the store's "Pencil Ladies", Caitlin and founder Caroline Weaver, Tazz settled down at the desk to scribble vigorously.

In a world in which computers have become the standard tool for many creative works, CW Pencil Enterprise is certainly a curiosity, but its triumph as an independent business goes to show the resilience of the faithful pencil. If you ever find yourself on the Lower East Side, do pop into this stationery heaven and pick up a pencil or two.

CW Pencil Enterprise is located at: 100a Forsyth Street, New York.

Tabl at Clerkenwell London

Beyond this blog, another of my greatest passions is food - specifically the cooking and devouring of said food. Admittedly I don't share much of my foodie habits on my social channels, I suppose because I don't have the desire to flatlay and photograph every meal in front of me, however pretty it may look on my plate. Also, because I'm far too busy shoveling it into my face.

That being said, I'm all for feeding my food porn addiction with a little blogging of my own. Last week, I along with a guest list of food bloggers and dining enthusiasts were invited to an exclusive event in Central London, headed by supper club start-up Tabl. Set against the stylish backdrop of Clerkenwell London, a luxury fashion and lifestyle store on Farringdon Road, guests were introduced to delicious food and drink from various new and exciting brands. Among my favourite discoveries of the evening were spiced chocolate from Cocoa Hernando, beautiful canapés by 698b Supper Club, and the delectable Brighton Gin, served - if not rather quaintly - with a stick of rock. With plenty to be had, thank goodness for my extraordinary metabolism.