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

R.I.P T.W.A.T.

The decision was made today to change the old The World According To... website. The old shop is being turned into a falafel den as we speak. Completely erased. It was freaky when the hairdressers who used to work in the space came into the old The World According To.../Shop space and tell us where the sinks and mirrors were and now it will be pita and hoummous.

One thing that we are all sad to see get destroyed in the path of change are the incredible murals that James Jarvis - artist, cartoonist, designer for Silas and creator of the Amos Toys range - drew for The World According To... directly onto the plaster walls of in the stairwell. Fortunately Pippa had the foresight to document the day James Jarvis was in with his marker pens on video which I have just uploaded to YouTube [there are a gang of other James Jarvis videos FYI there to check out!] and here it is for you to reminisce:



How FANTASTIC!!


Oh! That reminds me!! Pippa's band All About Eve Babitz have a song in the movie "Love and Other Disasters" Directed by Alek Keshishian [you know - the one who did that Madonna movie!] showing at the BFI 22nd London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. the cast is only Cast: Brittany Murphy, Matthew Rhys, Catherine Tate, Stephanie Beacham, Jamie Sives, Santiago Cabrera [you get me!]

The song is "Fantastic" which is totally gorgeous and you can hear it on the All About Eve Babitz MySpace page.

Here is a little synopsis about the movie btw from the BFI website:

A star-studded romantic comedy set in London among stylish twenty-something sophisticates. Brittany Murphy plays Emily 'Jacks' Jackson, a fashion assistant who is constantly trying to find a boyfriend for Peter, her hopeless gay flatmate (Matthew Rhys - best known for his role in Brothers and Sisters). Like a sharper, gayer version of Love, Actually crossed with a pinch of The Devil Wears Prada with more than a nod to classic screwball comedy, this is a film that wears its quotations with self-conscious flair.

When Peter seems to fall in love at first sight with an arty-looking, floppy haired young man, the stage is set for a comedy of contemporary manners. Murphy is beautiful and seems to spend half the time naked or getting undressed before pulling on something chic. Their best friend Tallulah, played by Catherine Tate, gives a laugh-out-loud fabulous performance as a posh neurotic poet.

With memorable supporting roles from the likes of Stephanie Beacham, Dawn French and Richard Wilson, this is a wilfully clever, imaginative confection with plenty of beautiful people and some delightfully unexpected star cameos.

Jacks has her own emotional journey but can't recognise the potential for love that is under her nose. For connoisseurs of shoes, contemporary underwear, fashion and old-fashioned plotting with a modern twist, this is something of a departure for the video director who gave us the unforgettable In Bed With Madonna. Nothing in that film could prepare you for the warm-hearted, feel-good effects of this film with its punchy script and gold-plated cast.

Brian Robinson

Keeping up with madame....

I've got plenty of excuses why i haven't blogged in an ETERNITY but i won't bore you with them.....let's keep this up up up people!!!!! I've been to Paris since i last talked atcha, to buy autumn APC as it goes - you'll gag!!! - and it's always lovely to be alone in Paris i think, yes, so apart from my fashion appointment I was free to window shop (and actually shop!), compare the patisseries to Maison Bertaux...which always comes out on top!, read my Gypsy Rose Lee autobiography and consume too much cafe creme...

Not bad, but get a load of Maison Bertaux on Valentines Day.....

See what I mean?
This was strange and worth a mention, around the corner from the hotel I was staying in in the Marais district there was what appeared to be a herb garden on the side of a building...

Quite beautiful.....and odd.
Fashion week was great at The World According To... because Eley Kishimoto took the shop for a week and made it their showroom, and with a few swathes of fabric and a bit of blacking out of the windows made the space into a cross between Janus and Star Wars...


Max and I went for our buying appointment with Duke and Joe, which has become a bit of a tradition, Joe works his way through the shoes and Duke pulls karate shapes, while we have a few glasses of wine and try stuff on, well I do, not Max obviously...

Me in my favourite EK coat, the collection's so wonderful, some amazing oversize plaid coats and my favourite dress was a severe Joan Crawford number....very me.
Lilliana let the boys fiddle about on her computer, they couldn't believe their luck, i'm like the police every time the boys go near mine....!

Duke took a shine to Fiona......and now the shop's back to Silas sale mode.

February sucks in many ways but it's always lovely to get a visit from ladyfriends, Princess Julia and Hannah from the Pix zine came down during fashion week for a bit of a gossip and to try to use the landline for a hot interview for issue 6 of their 'zine with YOKO ONO!!!!!!! (available in Shop at Maison B hot off the press!!!)

Well at least we've caught up a bit....I won't be a stranger for so long next time......madame xxx

HOLIDAY INFORMATION

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Shop at Maison Bertaux will be closed until January 2nd, 2007. Madame is taking some time to get the seams of her stockings straight again while sipping a couple of sherries over the festive period. When Shop at Maison Bertaux reopens the store will be in sale on selected items - Pippa give us the details in the New Year once her hangover clears from the Champagne cocktails...

The World According To... re-opens on the 27th December 2006 with regular opening hours. The World According To... continues it's Silas and Birdie sample sale and come January, we will have Silas menswear in stock!! Woo-Hoo!! Prices start for the men's and women's wear at £5 so come and check it out!!!

xx Emma

BIRTHDAY BURLESQUE

I rushed down to The World According To... to help out with the super sample sale after work at my other job. Between Max, Pippa and I we polished off two bottles of wine as a prelude to my birthday celebrations tomorrow. Regular readers of this blog will know however Pippa and I need little excuse to reach for the cork screw! Later all the girls from my other job met at The World According To... cause we planned to go for dinner at the Vietnamese on Wardour Street before they went off to the Lady Luck Club.







Here is Jo, Alex and Jess all raring to go to the party PLUS a shot of my birthday cake made by Pattacake herself Jane "Baps" Lewis. YUM.

Anyway I am sure there will be more ridiculous pictures after this weekend!. In the meantime come down to The World According To... we have Birdy and Silas t's ranging from £5 to £10 HOT! Jeans for £15 and £20! MENTAL and all our AW 06 is already on sale in a pre Christmas clear out. Pick up a Sonia sweater even though you probably shouldn't be spending your Christmas money yet Hahaha.

xx Emma

XMAS SALE SHOP

WHOO HOO!! You ain't gonna believe what we got for YOU!!!

EXACTLY what it says on the tin. Come December 1st, The World According To... will become a Christmas Grotto Sale Shop full of Sparkling Silas Mens and Womens, Kooky Katharine E Hamnett one offs and archive pieces for Men and Women and pieces like garlands from the bottom of Birdie's nest. Great for Christmas pressies or guilty shopping splurges while out shopping for everyone else.
Cash and Cheque only.
If you come down to either store and pick up a flyer, we will add you to the our Friends and Family list. People on our list are automatically invited to the secret sale on the evening of 30 November where friends and family to get first pickings over the one offs and specialty items we have available.
Our regular The World According To... stock is NOT going into the Christmas Grotto Sale Shop but will live over at Shop At Maison Bertaux come December 1st.

Now I know some of you Shop At Maison Bertaux customers still haven't checked out our original The World According To... shop. There are a lot of cool reasons why you should have come to say hello:

The amazing James Jarvis murals on the walls of our stairwell. AWESOME.

The weird stuff you can pick up for yourself or someone else like these Eley Kishimoto and Marjan Pejoski socks and tights

And more spots and stripes than you can poke a stick at.

Looking forward to seeing you all down to pick up your flyer for the Friends and Family sale!!

xx Emma

Butter Wouldn't Melt In Her Mouth...

Here are a couple of picture of the gorgeous Katrina Tran who has been our mainstay Saturday girl for 2 years now in our other shop The World According To... The other night we had some apres work drinks [more Blush! More glasses!] at Shop At Maison Bertaux to just hang with Katrina cause there just isn't much time before she goes back to Melbourne. Anyway - butter wouldn't melt in Katrina's mouth but it seems a lot of other things would!



xx Emma

Encore....

Je ne comprends pas pourquoi mais je suis fatigue.....I ALWAYS seem to begin a blog with how tired i am! "You've always been tired, girl..." i can hear the dulcit tones of Miss Murphy now!

Anyway Paris was tres fantastique - i know where the accents go honestly but how do you do that on a computer? (answers please to shop at maison b) - we spent time with Jean Touitou from APC, more about that soon.... I think my favourite story was the party he held with Maripol for Madonna in Fiorucci!!! anyone who knows me and Max will understand we were GAGGING!!

Here's Max and Jean Touitou, a couple of swells.
We also went to our buying appointments at APC and sonia rykiel. I fell in love with this dress and crazy dolly shoes - now i have to wait 6 months til we get them in! I hate that!!


Wierd coincidence; I was seated on the Eurostar next to a friend of mine, Antionette...she's a lovely girl who's been coming down to The World According To... and Shop before that for about 7 years or so, young girl to gorgeous lady, and i've always enjoyed chatting to her, but we got the chance to spend several hours together, even a couple of glasses of rose and got to know each other better, she was in Paris for much less frivolous reasons than me.....despite the circumstances it was great seeing her.

Then it was glamour all the way at Sonia Rykiel, where there's a huge Warhol portrait of her at the end of the entrace hall, past a whole corridor's length of scent bottles all lit by lilic light - they must be filled with coloured water though, even still the temptation to pop one of those gorgeous bottles in the pocket is overwhelming!!!!


We hung out with the Eley Kishimoto gang, they'd been partying like crazy all week and we had some fine french sancerre with them and Richard from the George even shared his japanese hangover meal with me - how kind!
Lots of exciting things happening, Emma's told you about Bodymap...I'm djing with max at the Hoxton Bar and Grill on friday night with Pinky Brown and the Lovely Jonjo, it's called Fun City like the Soft Cell song...Trash Fashion are playing http://www.myspace.com/112274396. I'm loving it down at the cake shop and we've got lots of plans for the next few months which will unfold.............soooooon!!

what a week!!

Wondering why i'm feeling so tiiiiired today but the last couple of days went so fast with not much sleep and lots of excitement so, one minute i was chomping hula hoops feeling a bit spare
down at Maison Bertaux, then Kumi and Miyuki turned up from Japanese Elle to shoot the new shop...and Miyuki brought her little boy down who slept like a ragdoll all through our last shoot at The World According To... and this time was like a little dervish sliding across our lovely shiny floor squealing and being really hilarious!!


Then had to organise with Emma a mini-shoot with Alex, one of my best friends for a newspaper piece on our favourite shopgirls, and she stepped up to the challenge in an ensemble almost entirely bought at Maison B and TWAT, what a trooper! Then Rebecca came down too so they had some light refreshment upstairs at Maison Bertaux - it's so great having a cafe upstairs!!!

That night my band All About Eve Babitz played at our favourite drinking den Trisha's on Greek Street. I think it went really well, Emma's already been a complete star and put some footage up here. This is her and her husband Paul, they filmed the show and Katrina pouting for Australia!

So many good friends showed up, it was the most shitty rainy day, wanted to thank everyone for braving the rain, especially Glen Matlock and Howie who i don't know very well yet but made my night by showing up......
pippa xxxx

Champagne and Eclairs - Here I Come!!!

I just got a phone call from Max. He is in Soho at our new Shop at Maison Bertaux with one of the builders finishing up for the opening day tomorrow. He must be as nervous as I am anticipating the launch cause he just rang to tell me what records to play at the party tomorrow night.



On the way home the other night I visited the Shop at Maison B and couldn’t believe the transformation when I stop and think how the shop looked last time I visited it! Paul Long and his boys have been working non-stop!!




Everybody has been working so hard to get this shop open. Pippa has been on the phone ordering building materials, getting phone lines connected and searching for new staff. Mark at Eley Kishimoto has had his team in Brixton delivering wood and wallpaper and printing the cake boxes we will use for packaging. The doily logo for Shop at Maison Bertaux was also designed especially by Wak. Michelle at Maison Bertaux, the famous Soho Patisserie, is still serving her customers with all of us running under her skirts. Every time I see Max he is covered in sawdust or plaster… Who said working in fashion was a glamorous life?!



In the last week, I have been working furiously on the Shop at Maison Bertaux website and booking in all the stock from Eley Kishimoto that was delivered – so many fantastic things. I always get a bit excited when there is new stock! And new boy, Chris, he has been covering our other shop The World According To… on Brewer Street, listening to either The Pogues or Morrissey at any available opportunity. Chris is from the REAL O.C. in the USA and is totally covered in tattoos.



Check out the wallpaper and printed wood we are using - all from Eley Kishimoto!


So the party is tomorrow night! Monday 18th September from 6pm to 9pm with cakes and champagne. Nicky and Louise from Village Press who do all our press, came into The World According To… on Friday and picked up some Eley Kishimoto frocks to wear to the party. Louise picked up a vintage Stag and Roses print dress that made her look like she was out of Virgin Suicides and Nicky left with a orange and yellow floral silk number that looked fab with her A.P.C. shoes. Speaking of A.P.C. – the girls freaked when they realised that we were also carrying the full A.P.C. range and not just the jeans. We even have some of the exclusive piece that the A.P.C. store is not selling. Louise couldn’t resist one of the red checked smock dresses.
All that is left for me to do now is pick my records and decide what I am going to wear to the party!!! I’m super super excited!!!

xx Emma