Buying at Chiltern Street Studio

Chiltern Street Studio

Chiltern Street Studio's beautiful courtyard

People often ask me what I do all day… well, if I’m not on the shop floor, I’ll be at a buying appointment, usually with Pascale, my assistant. So I thought I would give you a sneak peek behind the scenes buying at one of my favourite agencies, Chiltern Street Studio!

Usually I spend the whole day at Chiltern Street Studios, they have a host of brilliant collections housed in their beautiful Victorian school house, a listed building, located in the heart of Marylebone.

I get a lot of old fave ANNA brands, like Bellerose and Leon & Harper, from Chiltern Street, but they always have something new to tempt me with. Last season it was Mes Demoiselles, a lovely collection with a bohemian feel, perfect for summer. For SS15 alongside the usual white floaty numbers I picked out a fab black based flower print with lurex running through, the shapes had a real 70’s vibe  , I see the 70’s being big for SS15! My star piece was a beautiful drop-waist embroidered dress with a one off vintage feel. Love it, want to take it home now, an occupational hazard when working in retail!

Buying with Jane

Browsing the collections

Delicious salt cod fritters

Lunchtime at Chiltern Street Studio is amazing, multi-tasking Denise today rustles up delicious salt cod fritters with salad, yum… always great to have a good gossip with Jane and Denise... one can hardly call this work!

Leon & Harper always have a great collection, fab wardrobe staples and brill statement pieces. I was instantly drawn to the lobster jumper, so fun! I saw a lot of sweaters in the showrooms, the sport luxe trend looks set to continue, which suits me down to the ground! Leon & Harper also had a cool faded dungaree, which I just had to try on! I big part of buying is trying on to check the fit and feel.

I think a lot about colour when I’m buying, which pieces will go together in an outfit and how the stores will be merchandised, what the colour story will be... I am a big believer in wearing colour despite age or season, and always look to buy colour… which becomes difficult in winter buys where the propensity is towards blacks and greys.

Leon & Harper's lobster jumper

Choosing colours

Spotted a great aztec sweater by Odd Molly

My essentials!

My buying essentials are:

1. Pascale!
2. My notebook, mine is by Filofax. It’s fluorescent pink, so easy to find under piles of lookbooks and orders!

3. Pens. I’m very specific about the pen I write with, I love Muji gel ink pens. However, I was recently bought a beautiful Mont Blanc pen by my children, which I adore!

4. My Ipad for taking pictures.
5. A vest and big knickers, so I can strip off to try things on!