Bluebirds are so natural...

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and are gearing up for your new year celebrations (be that expensive or cheap, hangover guranteed or a quiet night in). I am now back in London where I belong after having a quiet Christmas with the family by the seaside and eating far, far too much. This festive season is all about excess but the January belt tightening is on it's way (oh dear) but fortunately we have the sales and the fashion weeks not too far away.

After my recent blog post you might have concluded that I would be out savouring the sales all day every day fighting over the rails and piles of so called bargains but that just hasn't been the case. I hate shopping in crowded shops, during the sale madness the clothes are scattered across the rails and floors and fellow consumers take on a more panic stricken animal attitude, either fearful eyes and a look of terror or they come out fighting, elbowing their way to the reductions. Sales can be a scene of desperation, style at times is forgotten. Some people enjoy shopping in this madness, sifting through all of the rubbish just to find that nugget of a bargain but not this consumer.

My first full day in London was spent wandering around Selfridges with EJ and the girlfriend, where last year I was fortunate enough to find some great things but this time I just wasn't in the mood. I'm sure there were some great bargains among the racks and rack of clothes but from my half hearted glances I didn't see anything, only the very fortunate or those who put in the most work succeed in arenas like the Selfridges sale. My mind was made up to vist b Store and the Shop at Blue Bird the following morning. In the interim I did venture into Liberty's and was seduced by some of the reductions, for example a Maison Martin Margiela navy suit jacket which despite the substantial price cut was still a little out of my grasp. A couple of APC items were tempting but my will power was strong enough to dissuade me buying things that I didn't really want or need.

Now onto more happier and successful tales and the wonders that were to be found within the Shop at Bluebird. Adam Green once chirped 'Bluebirds are so natural' in his song 'Bluebird' and it the shop felt very natural to me. It felt so far away from my previous shopping experience at Selfridges which left me questioning the whole sale thing. I walked out of the shop at Bluebird with a huge smile on my face, I had a bagged myself a white Givenchy shirt for £55 and a pair of wrap trousers from Unconditional for £125 but had also enjoyed myself within the shop, which is well presented and has attentive and extremely pleasant staff! There was so much to choose from, ranging from Raf Simons tapered trousers and that metallic shirt, Omar Kashoura cardigans and shirts (check out the scary myspace music) alongside rails of countless items that were great!

The sale purchases teamed up with a pair of old but quite rare converse (black with red trim).

The Unconditional trousers are unlike anything I have in my wardrobe. Wrap fly, tapered bottom, they are a play on proportions and so damn comfortable.

If you like me are dissuaded from most sales I would recommend visiting the Shop at Bluebird which was fruitful for me alongside ventures inside b Store and Concrete.

Let us know about your own success stories or nightmares with the recent sales.