Mini Mystery Shop

So today i went off on my merry little way to Sloane Street in search of the Chloe store!

Here it is!

Quite easy to find! right on the main road on the corner.... Sorry, not the best angle in the world of shop windows, but as soon as the shop assistants noticed i was not there to spend money i felt their eyes burning me so didn't want to annoy them further so this image will have to do.

....Just have to say, fell in love with the door handle! Look at this!

(ironic how an image of a horse has ended up on my conceptual board... not a stolen idea from Chloe may i just add.)

The shop overall was soooo nice! Clean, fresh, neat, humble (although i did feel slightly out of place) completely captured the right ambiance for Chloe... Rails were selectively spaced out displaying neatly hung garments. Feature stands were strategically placed around the store showing off some of Chloes finer pieces. This included a crystal embellished jacket...

This jacket is a lot different to anything else that was in Chloes store. Her colour pallet is mainly very muted, pastel tones with a small amount of depth. This jacket caught my attention, one because it was displayed on a mannequin, and two because it is embellished with crystals! I got quite excited as shiny bits do not tend to crop up a lot with Chloe...

The handbag and shoe sections were just as fabulous. The "Paraty Python bag" is now my favorite!!!

I wanted to try the Chloe boots on that have been featured in so many magazines this season, but i couldn't pluck up the courage to do so! Instead i watched a lady take off her Topshop ballet pumps and slip into the shoes that should have been on my feet! ;-)

By taking a closer look at the garments in store revealed to me how intricate the detailing is. Tiny tiny pin tucks, delicate smocking, luxury fabrics and the softest leathers i have ever felt. These kind of details you cannot appreciate by looking at their website or flicking through the latest Vogue... This pushed me to go on a little hunt for some fabric samples of my own, to kick start the creative juices for my influence on the Chloe brand!

** First stop, Cloth House!! **

I thought i would start to look for colours that have been apparent on my conceptual board. As well as the colours, i wanted to collect samples that had a texture or an interesting surface. There was many fabrics that i wanted samples of, but they limited me to four! So many more trips will be needed!

Here are my first swatches..

The first stone colour swatch seems quite mundane but i love it. This is the kind of tone i want to see in the new collection as a base tone. It appears quite often in my conceptual board and relates quite well to Chloes original handwriting. The second swatch is again very Chloe. I envisioned layering this fabric on top of a contrasting colour so the floral cut shapes would become more apparent.

The photo does not give the darker two fabrics any justice where colour is concerned. They look as if they have a brown tone to them, but in daylight a slate/purple tone is what i see.

** Now onto leather shopping!! **

As i want to infuse some texture and structure into Chloe, also teamed with my recent knitting skills, i had the idea of trying to knit with leather..

hmm... not too sure if this idea will look good, or even work, but i am willing to give it a go. I'm thinking cut long thin strips of leather, tying them altogether and away i go, using it the same way as a yarn??...

Off to Bricklane to rummage through some skins!

Here is what yummy leathers i found.

Still trying to stick with my colour theme and not be tempted with the rest of the colours in the rainbow. Or metalics, or an abundance of embossing that had caught my eye. I managed to select the appropriate leathers which i may go back and buy. (depending on how well my knitted leather turns out)

The shop keepers were very friendly and helpful to an inexperienced leather buyer, so i didnt leave empty handed. I got myself a £15 ivory colour leather, with an imitation ostrich skin embossed onto it... Next step, get knitting!