FRITH VALET SERVICE

So back in the days before The World According To... and before Shopgirl was SHOP round on Frith Street that was a little laundry next to Bar Italia where Max and Pippa first set up business doing service washes and selling clothes from a couple of rails in the window of the laundrette. Weird huh?

And here are the pictures of them from then:
Pippa Brooks in a cross between Madonna [the rosary] / Fiorucci model [the shades]


And here is Max Karie

No comment from me about the nipple ring. The thought of any body piercing except in the ears terrifies me!

A fabulous piece of press from Max's club DJ times

With 'Things That Make You Go Hmmmm...' in at number 4.

And speaking of Max's music taste, we are OBSESSED with this song at the moment.

Love Synchronicity by Sandy Marton. It is too incredible.
I think Sandy Marton is too skinny to be wearing such a baggy outfit but the mullet is a killer!

There are more photos to come but I just don't want to give them all to you at once! Besides, I have to see how much Max and Pippa are going to kill me for this first.

xx Lektrogirl

The Good Ol' Dayz!

So as I said, this afternoon I had to spend in the office filling in VAT forms with Nikesh. *YAWN* but CHECK OUT WHAT I FOUND UNDER A PILE OF PAPERS!!!:

Here is Max and Pippa back in 2001 in Somerset visiting the Babycham fawn when we produced a range of licensed underwear and sneakers.

How the hell Pippa climbed to the top of this giant fawn in those moon boots with a Babycham in her hand? I bet she didn't spill a drop! If I remember correctly, that is an old Silas sweater.

And here is a cheeky and giggly Pippa and Max saying cheers to their new deal with Babycham. Check out all those CUTE CUTE CUTE fawns all over the table!!

xx Emma

BODYMAP

Woohoo! Another Shop At Maison B exclusive! This time we have the new limited edition Bodymap hand knits from Stevie Stewart coming in mid November-ish. Pippa and Stevie have known each other for a long time so I will leave all the gossip and history of Bodymap to Pippa to write about.

Seriously, there will be a waiting list for these hand knits. If you want one email us = madame AT shopatmaisonb DOT com [sorry for not putting a live email link but we don't the spam] and Pippa will get back to you. i-D will be shooting the "Tit Jumper" on Monday. We are super excited cause we love i-D. When I was still at college back in Tasmania I would stalk my local newsagent to get the latest copy [there were only ever a few delivered a month] to the whole state. And even then the issues were 6 MONTHS behind!! Dear lord... I still have every copy back in my mothers house in Hobart and she keeps threatning to sell them on eBay.

So - Pippa and I did the "Tit Jumper" movie earlier in the evening. I have to admit that we were drinking rather large glasses of Blush Pinot Grigio [sp?] from a local establishment [but I can't say which one cause we didn't take the glasses back yet] and we went from silly to stupid quite quickly!!


Here is Pippa modelling her number one favourite dress of the day - an Eley Kishimoto silk tea dress. It is GORGEOUS and a lot of girls have had their eye on this one, and a black one that is quite similar. This dress will also look great in winter with an old Shopgirl long sleeve thermal or something underneath [if you are one of the girls who still have these kicking around - i know I have a few!!]

Oh I would also like to add a disclaimer: I do have a life, it is just that it revolves around CSI [all three series], Law and Order, Criminal Minds and the JEWEL in the crown The Sheild. When these are not on T.V. I am happy to make any kind of mischeif in a Soho basement. :)

And while I have been messing about with our YouTube account, here is another movie I uploaded from Trisha's the other night of Pippa's band All About Eve Babitz performing "Sunset Strip".


Finally - Max and Pippa are away in Paris and get back very late on Monday evening. Let's wait and see what pictures Pippa brings back with her for her Flickr pages!! I await with baited breath till Tuesday!

xx Emma

The Look: Adventures in Rock and Pop Fashion

Paul Gorman is a London writer who has recently released his revised edition of The Look: Adventures in Rock and Pop Fashion. The first version had Pippa and James Dearlove from their old band Shopgirl on the front cover. As part of London Fashion Week, Paul Gorman held a talk, Q&A, book signing at Borders on Oxford Street talking specifically about the history of Soho in his book.

Pippa and Max talked about the new shop and the reason why they started in Soho 11 years ago. Max really defended his corner about the struggle of independent business at the moment with the globalistion of culture and the fact that any city you go to, on the main street now will be all the same shops - H&M, Starbucks, Zara and a gang of mobile phone shops. OR guerilla stores set up with the backing of large businesses as a way to tap into "urban culture." Later on I learnt Max had never been to Belgium - he was trying to pour himself a Duvel beer and ended up with just a glass of foam. I'm gonna take him to Brussels one day.

There was another guy there whose background is that trained on Saville Row but in his fathers tailoring business on the floor above the Spanish Tapas Bar on Old Compton Street as it is now, they made the first new suits for The Beatles, without the lapel and the round neck. As worn in this video for Love Me Do. Paul Gorman said that this record went to number 18 in the UK charts, but I have to say that I checked the Guinness World Records Hit Singles 14th Edition which says that Love Me Do actually reached position 17 and sat there for 18 weeks. I only had to check cause I really hate The Beatles and couldn't remember the name of the song to look for a film clip. This guy, who's name I can't remember busted out a GANG of mega celebrities names that he and his father made the suits for. But they were all celebs I don't really like so I can't remember. Sorry for being a loser. :(

What I did remember was Mark Powell, world famous tailor to the stars, dropped he had been working with Usher for his latest video with the 30's inspired suits. I always like Usher even though he is a bit smooth and he looks great in this video here which we now all know was down to Mark Powell.

Paul Gorman's book The Look: Aventures in Rock and Pop Fashion is a great read - it covers all kinds of weird and amazing stuff. Next time you are in your local book shop you should check it out. And even better - BUY IT!! [Or even order it straight from amazon.com]

xx Emma