LondonZest Tries Hollywood Glamour

How can one think about gowns, jewels and stilettos when the outdoor temperature reaches the zeroes and all you want to do is slap on some mittens and a hoodie just to brave the cold London wind? I am feeling awfully shabby these days, preferring to settle for the jeans and knit sweaters than the cute LBD and accessories combo. But the Hollywood awards season having kicked off already and Spring weddings and exciting travel plans coming up shortly, I am finding myself longing for the occasion to dress up and be glamourous. Done with the winter blues, hello to the bejeweled evenings out and parties. In comes the shopping.

Walking past the Merchant, the posh yet welcoming high end designer Vintage store on Ledbury Road in Notting Hill, I was immediately enamored with the beauty of the window. I saw Chanel, I saw Stella and Dior, I saw Louboutins, Choos and Prada.

I grinned. I immediately had a vision of myself, tall, confident, glamourous, donning a flowy frock and diamond earrings, an Oscar in hand, on stage, thanking my mum, my dad, God, and of course, the academy. I don't know how it happened, but before I knew it, I was inside the treasure trove, trying on dozens of items, garments, shoes and jewelry and forgot about it all, the cold, the wind, the mittens. And then I grinned even wider, the treasure trove sheltered a Golden chest filled with vintage jewels. 

And suddenly, the long grey gown I had chosen for my upcoming friend's wedding seemed much less dull. The earrings were on my ears - and there was no taking them off. I smiled to the clerk - and there was not much else to say but thank you. And have a good day.

These are no diamonds but I'll settle for these any day of the week. I wish I could tell you the name of the designer but he remains nameless- honestly the shop assistant had no idea what his name was. You'll have to go check it out for yourself. So off you go, zesties.

The Merchant

36 Ledbury Road 

London, W11 2AB

Yummy Mummy Heaven

I'm young. Okay, I'm not that young, but I often daydream about what my life could be like as an adult. I have this vision of life in London a few years from now- lovely rich husband and kids in tow and gorgeous Victorian house in Holland Park, no professional obligation. Country house, beach house, fancy car, walk-in closet, nannies, live-in help, first-class travel, dinner parties. The list goes on. But it's only a fantasy - an artificial dream. Is there a job in my dream? Nope. Are there problems, financial, professional and personal, in my dream? Not likely. I am a Stepford wife in my dream; and then I wake up, and I hate that dream - this isn't what I want! 

Certain areas of London sometimes feel like that dream. Not only are the women gorgeous but they just look so relaxed, fulfilled and perky! They go on daily walks around the neighborhood, stop for tea, or - a low-fat, no-foam, extra-hot cappuccino (just so), shop at the Matches around the corner, attend 3pm Pilates classes, and send their nannies to fetch the children at school. Yummy mummies have the best life! But do I really want this?

Yesterday, I took a leisurely stroll down to Holland Park and the dream state kicked in. Holland Park is the hood I sometimes refer to as Stepford Central. What a beautiful area, though. Norland Square has it all, the restaurants, the shops, the spas, the gorgeous people, the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the epitome of English elegance. Wait a minute, I like where this dream is going.

Julie's is one of the highly popular spots for the yummies of Holland Park. It's a lovely place to stop for a nice salad. No, but seriously, in reality, you can cozy up and sink into the delicious velvety sofas and enjoy the wintery feel of the dark-wooded walls in the winter and bask in the sunshine on their outdoor terrace in the summer. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this dream sounds amazing!

The dream doesn't end there. After lunch, comes the shopping! Virginia is one of those gorgeous secret gems only a handful of Londoners know about- and those who know about it covet it like a super exclusive members club. This treasure trove is filled with one-of-a-kind vintage designer dresses, shoes and other mysterious accessories from now back to the 1930s. The prices match the intimidation factor of the shop window and you can be sure to find many elegant fashion-forward yummies, and sometimes even celebs such as Kate, Sienna and Naomi, chatting up the very rude but brilliant shop owner, Virginia herself. I think I like this dream?

After the shopping, comes the spa.  If the dream hasn't been tough enough, what with the many coffee breaks and shopping excursions, there is no better way than to really work it hard in Holland Park's luxurious Cowshed spa. Enjoy a freshly squeezed juice or detox green tea to completely indulge yourself after your massage. Invite the ladies, the nannies, but not the kiddies. After consideration, these places sound great. But I like my reality better than my dream. What about you, zesties? Any fantasies of the yummy mummy lifestyle?

Julie's Restaurant & Bar
135 Portland Road
W11 4LW

Virginia Vintage & Second Hand
98 Portland Road
W11 4LQ


Cowshed Spa
119 Portland Road
W11 4LN

Back to the Retro Future

I'm normally not such a huge fan of the old rancid smell of vintage shops. It's nauseating. At times, completely repulsive and a huge deterrent in my ability to enjoy my time browsing through the racks of a shop. But my last visit to a certain vintage boutique made me feel quite open-minded about the whole experience. Yes, the smell of old clothes somewhat permeated the air above and around me, but taking it all in, I was more impressed by the quality of the garments than overwhelmed by the sweet smell of old clothing. Plus, it's always a nice surprise to leave a shop in London with only £40 less in your bank account.

Pinch your nostrils no more, zesties, as I am talking about London/Stockholm's one and only Beyond Retro, located in the West End and Brick Lane: the magical kingdom of retro shopping, and the best place to find a special something for a special occasion. Lately I've had quite a thing for vintage boots. I'm a big sucker for cool, riding-style boots, and I'm all about the summer dress-fall footwear combination. Check these out, for £35 or less.

Speaking of summer dresses, lately, and I don't know about you, I've been really eager to whip out that flowery summer dress from the dark corners of my closet. It's been just a tad too prickly outside though, and I haven't mustered up the courage or warm blood to slap one on. Here is an example of a summer dress, for less than £30, that will take you straight to the outdoors of California just by wearing it. Summer barbecue coming up, anyone? A chilled Margarita please, and some Mamas and the Papas as background music.

I've also experienced a sudden urge to acquire one of those awesomely cool felt hats - one with a feather sticking out from a silk ribbon on one side. The Bavarian-style one. Or just a simple English-style one like this one below. Gotta love the Alexa Chungness of this gorgeous piece of head-wear.

That's just it, isn't it? Alexa Chung shops here! Or does she? If not, does she even know that there are about a trillion denim shirts to choose from in this uniquely cool retro boutique? And that once you've got a denim shirt, well you pretty much got yourself an outfit. Oh, but smack something else on your toosh than a pair of leggings, please I beg you. There is nothing less sexy than a girl in just leggings.  Check out the rack on that girl! (or lack there of).

I mean, check out the denim shirts on that rack!

Beyond Retro - Vintage Shop

110-112 Cheshire Street, London E2 6EJ

58-59 Great Marlborough Street, W1F 7JY

Everybody's Got the Vintage Fever!

I've never considered myself to be a Vintage-junkie, finding the new and fresh scent of never-worn clothing on my skin much more exhilarating than the old and stuffy smell reminiscent of an old lady's medicine cabinet. I guess I'm a bit OCD that way, scrubbing every corner of my flat, shining the kitchen counter til it shrieks and picking at every ball of dust I find in my way. At the risk of sounding like a hygiene freak, I have to admit I find my skepticism towards vintage clothing to be at par with my obsession with cleanliness- and in my mind skepticism and obsession are equally hard to shake.

I have, however, been surprisingly more open-minded towards vintage shopping lately as I continue my journey through London's hidden gems and observe that vintage stores actually sometimes protect the city's most bejeweled objects and garments.The West End treasure trove, Fever, is one of those places, one of those fairy-land magical places. 

 

Filled with unique and old-fashioned pieces alike, the racks of Fever feature quirky dresses, blouses and blazers, with fashionable cuts and trimmings, and lots more to dream about, for prices even dreamier, and scents even lovelier. 

 

The sale season is calling your name and spelling it out on the glossy windows of the Eastcastle Street vintage clothing boutique. You can't escape the Fever!

A Little Bit of New York Zest

New York has been pretty awesome, what with the Christmas season being in full motion and all. And I've also just really enjoyed walking around Central Park, the Upper West Side and Chelsea, eating at my fave restaurants, shopping at my fave shops, breathing in the Christmas cheer, going to my fave museums, and just taking in all the cool things I used to love about New York. This is my top 10 list of everything from food, shops, walks and cultural bits that make New York, for me, a special and unique place in the world.

1. Best skyline view/ sunset walk: The most beautiful walk and view in New York takes place on the Brooklyn Bridge. I used to recommend this walk to all my friends/family that would come visit. The coolest thing to do is to take the subway to the other side of the bridge and walk (or bike!) back towards the city, at sundown when the skyline is a multitude of colorful patterns, lines and curves. That view, in my opinion, is the best view of the New York skyline.

2. Best neighborhood for an afternoon walk/shop/coffee stop: the Lower East has, over time, climbed its way to my favourite places to shop, walk around and grab a late afternoon coffee or early evening drink. Rivington, Ludlow, Essex and Norfolk are among the many funky shop-filled streets of the neighborhood.

3. Best dress shop: Honey in the Rough: my lovely and bubbly friend Ashley Hanosh's quirky and secret dress and accessories shop on Rivington Street offers the most fantastic and unique pieces for ladies with style and sass. Stop by for a lovely shopping experience and you will not leave empty handed. And that's a good thing.

4. Best banana pudding/cupcake: The Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery on Rivington Street will leave you salivating for more. The sweet smell of icing and banana cream will knock you over with excitement. I've never tasted such heavenly banana pudding or red velvet cupcakes- and I'm no fan of bananas nor have never been one to go on and on about red velvet cake, mostly cuz I never got where that funky color came from.

 

5. Best 2 Italian restaurants: Bar Pitti on Sixth avenue and Houston (Soho) followed by Malatesta Trattoria (West Village) both offer some simple and inexpensive Italian dishes and pastas. Bar Pitti has the people watching, while Malatesta just has a kick ass tiramisu. Your choice.

Bar Pitti, Soho/West Village

 

 Malatesta Trattoria, West Village

6. Best brunch: Bubby's in Tribeca. Best green eggs and ham and eggs benedict south of Houston. This legendary joint has much more to offer than a mile long queue and Harvey Keitel sitting in the back room chatting up the waitresses and sipping on his beer. It's a lively place, really, with some good ol' Southern American food, but some normal American food as well. 

7. Best burger: Shake Shack at Madison Square Park and the Burger Joint at the Parker Meridien Hotel. New York's 2 unmissable burger places, both located in the lower to midtown areas.

Shake Shack, Madison Square Park

8. Best cocktails: Little Branch on 7th avenue and Leroy Street, serves the most funky drinks ( a la Milk & Honey) from the vamped up Pimm's Cup (go Britannia!) to the classic but sexy Mojito, Trinadadian style: The Queens' Park Sizzle.

9. Best manicure/pedicure: and this is for us Londoners who can't get enough of the Vietnamese style mani/pedi, just cuz it's quick and dirty, cheap and chic. Iris Nail on Broadway between 10th and 11th, does the job just fine. You get a little MTV reality junk, with a side order of NYU students' gossip. Love it.


10. One more for the road- Best Borough Market New York equivalent: Chelsea Market (on 9th avenue between 15th and 16th) is the luxury version of a department store food court, offering a wide variety of different food joints, Lobster shacks, delis and grocery stores and also housing the famous Nicole Farhi store and restaurant, known to all us Londoners as 202. 

That's it for now, zesties. Heading to Paris tonight for some New Years celebrations. I hope the Christmas festivities were warm and fuzzy for all of you. Enjoy the New York Zest. In the meantime, LondonZest will be on hold til further notice:)

Vintage Shopping-By Appointment

Thank you Daily Candy for leading me to this special place in Notting Hill, the second-hand clothing heaven on earth, Chic & Seek. Call up for a "relaxed" appointment (020 7229 4308) with lovely shop/home owner (that's right her shop is her home), Tara Nash-King, for the vintage ride of your life. Meandering in Notting Hill, you'll find her shop in a  "sleepy mews just stones throw away from Portobello Road and Ledbury Road." It's actually off All Saints Road, the coolest street in Notting hill where my fave Italian Restaurant, The Ripe Tomato, sits.

The mews house stocks the most beautiful dresses, shoes, handbags and everything vintage from the most exclusive designers and all for a quarter of the original retail price. She calls it "top-end fashion uniqueness available to all." Okay, okay, it's still expensive, you'll tell me, but the just for the experience, it's worth it. In one corner, you'll dig out a really special Roberto Cavalli dress while in the other you'll stumble upon awesome Gucci studded sandals.

Roberto Cavalli, size 8, £250

Gucci Sandals, size 36.5, £145

And it's not over! You'll also revel at the sight of last season's Louboutin platform sandals!

Louboutin Sandals, size 37.5, £135

Vanessa Bruno here, Isabel Marant there. Marni and Dries van Noten everywhere! It is truly as if you've stumbled into Ali Baba's cave, and without the weird men in Aladdin pants chasing after you!

Isabel Marant boots, size 38, £110

And guess what? You know that putrid old clothes smell that most vintage shops seem to carry around with them wherever you go? Chic & Seek doesn't have it! In fact, it smells amazing! 

Anyways, forget about the smell-bit...just hear me out. If you're not ready to spend the money, convince a friend to take you along with them, and take in all the beautiful colors, garments and sparkles around you. It's like waking up on Christmas day when the tree is more beautiful than ever and all you want to do is put your nose in it.

ps: if you're feeling cold and lazy, you can order online!
ps2: Spring cleaning is closer than you think. If you want to clean out your closet of some cool designer stuff, she takes that in too and you'll get a share of the money if she's able to sell it!

Here Here Baby Gazelle, Come to Mommy

Ladies and gentlemen, the day has finally come for me to tell you all that I am closer than ever to achieving my dream of owning a Gazelle Dutch Style bicycle. The model in question is a modern make of the 1940s original version. It is a true piece of art and I will cherish it, cradle it, caress it til I am on my deathbed. Cross my heart.

Sunday afternoon, I went to the, and I quote, Most Beautiful Bicycle Shop in Britain (that's what they call it there so I'm not just making it up...and I agree), Bobbin Bicycles, on St John Street, in the heart of cute and quirky Islington. The place is filled with vintage two-wheeled jewels, retro helmets and funky bicycle accessories. The store director, Tom, is a delightful sweater-vest sporting character, and knows his product like his own child.

Not only that, the selection of bicycles is mind blowing. And I kid you not, zesties, the Gazelle Oma is a true beauty. It is sleek, it is simple, it is retro and it's feminine and it rides like a vintage Jaguar. The driving on the left side of the road is what is scaring me for the most part, but it's my belief, that after some practice runs around the block, a couple rides in Hyde Park and a few scratches and scares on the street, I will be riding my new Gazelle baby like a true London lady.

The Classic Gazelle 

My Gazelle Oma will be the cream version below. The below picture is a wee bit small but hopefully you get the idea. Add to that a smart looking helmet and a mailman-style panier, and I'm ready to roll.

 All in all, it is a magical bicycle. And in less than 2 weeks, it will be mine forever!!!

Sunday Lazy Sundays

Gotta love those lazy London weekends. The ones where you put on your lazy shirt and no one judges you...or do they? Those weekends filled with nothing...well, not nothing, but nearly nothing. Let me explain. No, I am not bumming around, relishing in the freedom of unemployment. And yes, I'm trying very hard to get my act together. My weeks are active and dynamically-charged and jam-packed with the usual gym, blog, job hunt routine. I work very hard at that and I plan on keeping it that way. But stuck in limbo between finishing grad school and starting a career, I find myself, on weekends, to be filled with boundless and incredible energy to do absolutely nothing, especially when nothing consists of lounging around in my new gorgeous and very very adult flat. Veggying out in bed on Saturdays (and Sundays) reading girly mags, surfing the net and the blogosphere. Renting movies from the indie flick Notting Hill Gate Video City. Having friends pop by for some Pringles and tea. Visiting friends/family in Islington. Strolling hapharzardly from Islington to Primrose Hill and making awesomely zesty discoveries without expecting to. Looking forward to Monday mornings so I can blog about them. Then blogging about them. Yeah, it's a nice feeling.

So after all of this ramble and nothing-talk, I must share my unleashed excitement for Primrose Hill. It is absolutely not surprising how, over time, celebrity and non-celebrity residents alike, have chosen it as their neighborhood over any other neighborhood in London. From Kate Moss, Agyness Deyn, Rachel Weisz and Enrique(!), to Spice Girl Geri Halliwell and Jude Law, all have lived at one point or another in this gorgeous area. In my view, this is why: first of all, it is blessed with one of London's most breathtaking views from the top of its hills, beating the LondonEye's view by a landslide. Second, its houses and buildings live and breathe pure Londonness, offering the most exclusive sneak peaks into its residents' living rooms (have I mentioned how much of a voyeur I have become ever since I've moved here?) Third, it offers three of the most important things an area should offer, and those include: an awesome neighborhood pub, a cupcake shop, and last but not least, a gem of a vintage boutique, and all of these are located on one street: Gloucester Avenue!


The pub, for one,  is called the Lansdowne . And this is no ordinary pub. It is what I call a girl-friendly pub, a pub where girls like myself can feel comfortable in and drink a glass of wine, or a half pint of light beer, without getting the evil stare from the beer snob sitting next to you. It is also one of my faves because it offers oh so yummy pizza, with oh so zesty toppings.

The cupcake shop is called Primrose Bakery. It is lovely and delicious and you will love it. Need I say more?  

And this below is Shikasuki Vintage Boutique. These photos speak for themselves. Though I thought I could add a couple of reasons as to why this is a must-go, must-see. As you walk in, you all of a sudden belong to another planet, another world, a place where twirling and zipping back to childhood are not only allowed, but encouraged. There is almost a jewel-like quality to this place. The boudoir, sparkly,  glittery and cozy decor adds to its quirkiness as a clothing-and-other-stuff shop. Because not only will you find all of these dresses that you played dress-up in as a little girl, but you will also end up believing that you are Alice and Shikasuki is your Wonderland.


               Shikasuki Vintage Boutique, Gloucester Avenue, Primrose Hill