Winter draws on....

Phew, it is feeeeeeeerrrreeeeeeezing out there! I can feel snow in the air! And it sort of came out of nowhere (well, if you don't read weather forecasts...) So of course, I have no proper winter clothes out of storage. Luckily, if you are in the same predicament, we have some stonking vintage coats and capes in at the moment. My favourite is obviously the sable and astrakhan that has been gracing our mannequin all week. The type of coat that would have been a favourite with Ginger Rogers, i'm sure. It has just the right amount of Hollywood glamour and practicality to fit that particular leading lady. Here is a pic of said coat, expertly captured by super bloggers indiebath.wordpress.com

If the high end glamour of the above doesn't float your boat, how about an insanely practical cape? We have a number of different styles and lengths to suit. A long black velvet cape, a short brown capelet or a black with flame red lining, mid length. 

And if your other extremities are feeling the cold, we have a plethora of gloves just in-pretty much name your colour/fabric etc and we will have it. And they are a bargainluscious £10-£15 a pair, what's not to love?

So, there you have it. This Winter wind will not get the best of us if we have some vintage lovliness to snuggle into! 

Bond Girl... (I wish!)

Well, yesterday saw the opening of the 23rd Bond movie and I for one cannot WAIT to see it. This is Daniel Craig's third outing as the charismatic, yet "blunt", Bond and, by all accounts he is really hitting his stride with the character. Those naysayers that waxed lyrical about the fact he was "too blond" to ever play the role successfully must surely have their words served to them on a plate now.

Looking at the offerings on the carpet, we had a real mix of fortunes; Craig was impeccable (as always-yep, *slightly* biased), his new Bond Girl Berenice Marlohe really knocked it out of the park, IMHO, in her scarlet Westwood. Classic Vivienne, worn with minimal embellishment and heavy, smoky eyes. Go to the top of the class, Ms Marlohe. Good choice of colour too...
Next up was Naomie Harris in the finale dress from the 2012 Marios Schwab runway. If i'm honest, this didn't seem to have the impact that the Westwood did. It somehow seemed a little, dare we say, casual? I'm not sure how, being full length, with black chiffon and sequins, but there you go.

Shame, because she looked amazing appearing in the film in this classic Amanda Wakeley dress that we found on Vogue.co.uk. It had far more of the old school glamour about it, which of course we are going to LOVE...

In fact this dress did remind us of a few of our own golden gowns in store, along with some stunning vintage furs, that would satisfy the tastes of any Bond Girl worth her Walther PPK....  

It's Dior, Darling!

Continuing on the theme of fabulous new pieces in this week, I bring you...ta-dah! A vintage Christian Dior beaded evening top. Absolutely love this piece. Would work perfectly with slim black cigarette pants or skinny jeans, a la Ms Moss. The bugle beading around the bottom of the top catches the light and all those sequins just shimmer in the light. If you are looking for a perfect Christmas top (pop it in your bag and then throw it on over your work trousers, voila! Christmas office party ready! This is also lined with silk chiffon, so it won't scratch against your skin. It is around a size 8/10, depending on how you wear it and is priced at £185.

Whilst we are still on the Dior theme, how about this little beauty that came in a little while ago and is currently residing in our window. The original Dior saddle bag, created in 1999 as one of the first cult bags by John Galliano, this is a little piece of (recent) fashion history. Complete with all it's accoutrements (Dior logo key chain etc) it's a great size and in pretty good condition considering how well loved it was by the previous owner. We have it priced at £200.

J'adore Dior! 

Gorgeous Designer Gowns Galore!

As I am here, thought i'd start to post a few things that came in recently that have yet to make it to the shop floor, but will be getting there soon. 

First up today, a ST-HUH-UNNNING Jonathan Saunders rainbow gown;

(photo courtesy of Vogue.co.uk)

Gosh, this is just darn amazing. This really is one of those, "Who's that girl.." dresses. It appeared on the catwalk for Saunders Autumn/Winter 2007/8 collection (http://www.jonathan-saunders.com/collections-archive-aw0708.html) It was also used for the opening of Lulu&Co, under the Fashion East umbrella (the boutique that champions up and coming new designers). Saunders is one of Lulu Kennedy's success stories, hence why she chose to bring him in. He was part of the capsule collection of hand picked designer dresses at Lulu&Co in Harvey Nichols. Here she is in the dress with George Lamb at the launch night in October last year.

(photo courtesy of www.thetrendboutique.co.uk)

Created to really make an entrance, this dress is super dramatic, and was originally meant as a catwalk gown. Being 100% silk means it is not only spectacular, but comfortable and cool as well. You can't see it from the picture, but the main dress is panelled with satin pieces and the sleeves are cuffed with the same. I think this may have been worn once, but no more than that. It is in amazing condition. This would have retailed at over £1000 and is a size 10/12. We have priced it at £480.

Jumpsuits, baby...

Love it when one of my fashion idols starts rocking a look that we are stocking in Scarlet! When Rachel Zoe launched her "major Must Have's" range at Jockey today, she chose a black lace maxi dress, but when spotted earlier in the day, she was rocking a black, sleeveless jumpsuit. I think this may be from her own range, the Edith and retails around $500. 

But hey! You don't have to travel to the states and fork out all those spondoolicks when Scarlet has one in stock for a FRACTION of that price! (£45 squid to be precise) Voila!

Werk it like Zoe with some ankle breakingly high heels and some colour pop accessories. Sooo relaxed and sexy for a night out. A sort of version of le smoking for 2012. Perfect! xx 

Long time, no see...

Gah, been ages since I have done me any blogging and sooo much has happened! Here at Scarlet Towers we are gearing up to the imminent relaunch of the website-very exciting! Have to get as much as I possibly can photographed, measured and described in time for the relaunch. Also had some AMAZING things brought into the shop to sell. I'm talking as old as the 1860's dress, or the 1920's day dress and, in the designer section, lots of stunning Leonard of Paris, Jonathan Saunders, Armani, Balenciaga and Lanvin-eek! All to be put on the site when it goes live-so stay tuned!

Been loving the pics of Vic Beckham at 31 Rue Cambon (the lucky so and so...) Admittedly a petite peu of air brushing went on, i'm sure, but the pics are very pretty nontheless!

Who can blame Vicky for loving a bit of  Coco? A teensy bit of Chanel is enough to brighten anyone's day, non...? 

Oo, look what we found in the shop....xxx

Private Vintage Fabulousness!

Well, it's been a while since I blogged, so many apologies! But it's been busy at Scarlet Towers! Those of you lucky enough to get a ticket to our Private Vintage Club in April (see above pic) will have witnessed at first hand the fruits of our work-and we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did! It truly was a fab night with our glamorous guests being treated to champagne, nibbles, stunning lingerie and gawjus vintage from Hannah Dulcie (www.hannahdulcie.co.uk) and ourselves. Even though the British weather did it's best to put everyone off, Opa was still packed to the rafters (we even had two ducks come up from the river hoping to get in!). 

The models were the epitome of professionalism and gorgeousness and the venue (www.opabath.com) was utterly perfect. We of course also were honoured to be helped by the fabulously creative Artizan Hair (www.artizan.co.uk) and the ridiculously talented Sophie Bee make up artist. And also along for the ride this time was Re:treat massage therapy (www.saltyourselfout.co.uk) and Hot to Pop popcorn! With the addition of the Little Theatre's usherettes to hand out the half time canapes, we had ourselves some amazing collaborators! Have a look at the photos at  http://www.hammondsphotography.com/  And, hey, as soon as we have caught up on sleep, we shall be seriously considering the next event, so watch this space...