Vintage is all the rage these days. Don’t have enough cash on hand for that Lanvin gown? Over-spending is out and chic originals are in. Library: Archives of Fashion in Charleston is a vintage showroom like no other. Yesterday, Library’s owner Lauren Lail had a trunk show at VanJean and the Shop Tart hopes you had a chance to go. There were so many things she wanted to snap up, but she limited herself to one fab textured gold and cream shift dress. Lucky for all of us, Lauren can be reached by email. Anyone want to take a road trip to Charleston for a little vintage shopping and restaurant hopping? The Shop Tart will join you. This is the gold shift she didn’t buy. It was a touch too short for her, but if you are younger, shorter or braver, you could seriously rock this.

Maybe even with a pair of leggings. This fab red Diane Von Furstenberg would be the perfect holiday go-to dress, n’est-ce pas?

A stunning Yves St. Laurent blouse is calling the Shop Tart’s name. She might have to call Lauren so it can come on home (to her closet).

And how fab would this be with a short skirt, black tights and those over-the-knee boots you know you’re going to want for fall?

The pièce de résistance - in the Shop Tart’s opinion - was this navy Chanel lace shell. She had lots of trouble resisting blowing her grocery budget for the next two weeks on it.

Although that particular top was pricey, most of the other things were not. There were plenty of dresses priced around $100. Lauren does the work that you don’t have the time - or the eye - to do. She travels to New York and beyond to find perfect vintage pieces in all price ranges. There were style-defining sunglasses for $25…

as well as like-new high-end pieces from designers like Judith Leiber for a little more…

That particular evening clutch came with the original silver comb. Love!

Even the higher-end items were priced much, much lower than their new counterparts. Most of them were in the “special birthday present” or “fight with husband in which he was definitely wrong” range. This Bottega Veneta bag made the Shop Tart wish she would have a big fight with her husband and that he were the sort of husband who tried to buy her love with material things. *Sigh* A girl can dream.

Vintage accessories are so on trend right now. That was a dumb thing to say. Aren’t they always? Bottega bags, for example, never go out of style. The changes each year are subtle and the style and quality are consistent. Check out the fabulous belts…

The pale gray belt to the right of the Bottega bag in the photo below is stunning and the Shop Tart thinks it would go with everything, at least three seasons a year if not all four. She would have bought it herself but she just purchased one in a similar color in Paris. The skinny brown belt with gold hardware to the right of that sent shivers down the Shop Tart’s back and around her waist. Lovely!

The Shop Tart is having a bit of a love affair with vintage sunglasses right now. She must give props to Mr. Shop Tart here, because he’s been ordering vintage frames for years.

That’s Lauren in the background, offering style advice to a customer perusing the racks. Wouldn’t you love to have her as your stylist?

Although the shop was bustling, the ladies found time to sit down and chat with a little bubbly. Of course they talked style, which was technically work. Wouldn’t you love their jobs? Susan Steiner, buyer for VanJean, scored that gorgeous red Yves St. Laurent she’s wearing. From left to right, the ladies are Susan, Lauren, Jackie Thomson of Leapfrog and Christina, VanJean’s store manager.

It’s easy to see how current vintage can look when it’s hard to tell the difference between what’s old and what’s new. This Milly dress is brand new and was not part of the Library sale. By the way, does anyone know when the new season of Mad Men starts?

This dress featured in the window of VanJean right now almost made the Shop Tart have a wreck. She’s all hot and bothered about it.

Both that dress and the print to the left could be vintage, n’est-ce pas? But they aren’t, so no worries about finding your size! The Shop Tart must admit the limited sizes are part of the fun of vintage shopping, though. Most pieces really are one of a kind, perfect for expressing your personal style. Tory Burch is fab these days. Love this cocktail dress.

And the skirt, please. Dressed down with flats for day or up for the evening with strappy sandals and a sheer top, we love it.

And the boots? Oh, Tory, we love the boots.

You do know the Shop Tart can’t post about VanJean without mentioning her boyfriend Phillip Lim, right? There were so many gorgeous things, but she was afraid to even try this on, for fear she would fling her credit card at the ladies and run out of the store with it. You know, she’s on the committee for the Unmasking Colon Cancer Ball in March. Maybe she needs to buy the dress and save it? As an aside, she does hope you’ll attend the ball, which will include an amazing fashion show. The ball is right before Charleston Fashion Week and will be held at the Aquarium in Charleston, so the fashion vibe will be high.

When the trunk show ended, Susan, Christina, Jackie, Lauren and the Shop Tart enjoyed a meal at Rosso, where Susan’s fab new Louboutin lace-ups got lots of attention. They started the meal with a fried green tomato and fresh mozzarella appetizer along with Rosso’s antipasti plate (which is large enough to feed ten people). The Shop Tart loved her scallops and relish.

As usual, she loved her stack of arugula and light vinaigrette. So refreshing and perfect with a glass or three of bubbly.

All in all, a lovely evening. And the Shop Tart can’t wait to dig through Library’s archives again soon. And speaking of vintage, the Shop Tart was thrilled to hear LL Cool J’s Around the Way Girl on Kiss 103.1 this morning. Enjoy!

Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!

Last night the Shop Tart begged a friend to come over and entertain her while Mr. Shop Tart played tennis. In her dream world, the children would quietly slip off to their beds whilst the Shop Tart and friend sipped bubbly and told grown-up jokes. Ha. In reality, the most excellent friend made a delicious succotash of local field peas, tomatoes and corn which they ate over roasted quinoa. The unsuspecting friend was subjected to a family-style dinner, complete with yelping toddler. The children and adults alike loved the succotash* and it was so good and healthy they felt they had earned a walk to the Rosewood Dairy bar with the children where they enjoyed all sorts of delicacies. The french fries were piping hot, crispy on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. The cone dipped in butterscotch and rolled in nuts tasted like a frozen Butterfinger and the small serving of plain vanilla kept the toddler occupied for a good long while. Although the Shop Tart had ordered french fries, her favorite dessert, she couldn’t resist a milkshake made from fresh peaches to go with them. Excellent. her oldest child, who appears to be going through a growth spurt, ordered a chicken dinner. Ahhh, summer.

Speaking of summer, the Shop Tart would like to share a few beauty standouts. As you may know, she’s a fan of self-tanner. As the palest person alive in the world today she has to be. She loves St. Tropez tanning mousse from Pout for its even coverage and quick-drying action.

Before her recent trip to Paris, she went to Pout for more tanning mousse - she wanted to maintain her tan on vacation, mais oui - and they were sold out. The everyday lotion was recommended and the Shop Tart loves it. It smells fresh and clean, is very moisturizing and is a great choice for everyday use to maintain a glow. The mousse should be applied at night so you can shower in the morning to rinse off any residue. The lotion can be applied right before getting dressed. Do make sure it dries completely before you get dressed.

Before another trip to the beach, the Shop Tart went for more tanning mousse only to discover Pout was closed for vacation, which she should have known because it was on her very own calendar. That’s what happens to people who don’t read the Shop Tart’s calendar. Hmph. Several people recommended L’oréal Sublime Bronze Tanning Mist and it was a hit. It was easy to apply; she didn’t even have to ask for help covering her upper back. The color was fairly natural, almost as good as her beloved St. Tropez.

Neutrogena makes a great everyday lotion, the Build-a-Tan Gradual Sunless Tanning Lotion.

With all that fake tan, the Shop Tart has to be sure not to get any real tan, lest she mess up her perfect color. Banana Boat SPF # 85 Continuous Spray Ultra Defense was her favorite sunscreen for the body this summer. With an SPF of 85, it offers pretty good protection. Unlike many sprays, it moisturizes with aloe. Sprays are the easiest way to reapply at the beach without getting your hands sticky and caked with sand.

For her children’s faces and her own body when she didn’t want the oiliness of a spray, she loves Banana Boat Kids SPF 50 Tear-Free Sunblock. Although her children hate the humiliating white streaks of sunscreen on their faces, they were willing to suffer - rubbing it in thoroughly before they saw their friends - because it truly is tear-free. The Shop Tart loves the texture for her body; it rubs in nicely and is moisturizing without being too greasy.

For her own face, she Shop Tart loves Skinceuticals Active UV defense every day of the year. Urban Nirvana, H2, and Tonic at Hampton Hill carry the sunscreen with Mexoryl, a miracle ingredient. The sunscreen offers excellent protection and goes on smoothly under makeup. It doesn’t eat up makeup like many others do either.

To refresh the face, nothing is better than a mist. The Shop Tart found one in France she loved, but she hates ordering stuff - delayed gratification is the worst. On a recent trip to Illumination MedSpa, she discovered they carry another French brand she loved in Paris, Avène. The Thermal Spring Water is a lovely, light mist, perfect for spritzing over makeup to set it and throughout the day for continued refreshment.

Although the Shop Tart loves it year-round, she is never without Kiehl’s lip balm with SPF 15 in the summer. The tinted ones are perfect for the beach or pool, providing a hint of color along with plenty of sun protection. The colorless version is great for softening lips before applying lip pencil.

Her favorite waterproof mascara, hands down, is Tarte’s Lights, Camera, Splashes, available at Pout. This stuff is the bomb, not drying like so many other waterproof mascaras.

Waterproof mascara can be a real b*tch to remove and these Almay Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover Pads are the first ones the Shop Tart has used that don’t sting her eyes or leave a greasy residue. How gross is it to wake up in the morning with black circles under your eyes you didn’t earn with late-night shenanigans? The Almay pads remove all of the mascara so that doesn’t happen.

Want great lashes so that mascara has a place to go? Revitalash to the rescue. The Shop Tart never knew the joys of growing her own lush lashes before Revitalash. She’s been using it forever and is still on her first tube. Love, love, love!

No summer would be complete without copious amounts of cellulite cream. Although it won’t perform miracles, a good cellulite lotion can certainly “reduce the appearance of cellulite” by tightening the skin. Guinot’s Double Slimming Targeted Treatment is the Shop Tart’s current favorite. She made another discovery: It makes a great de-puffer for under the eyes. Really. Why did she never think of this before?

The nail color she keeps coming back to this summer is O.P.I.’s Parlez-Vous O.P.I.? What a lovely color, subtle enough to be tasteful and odd enough to be interesting. Soak carries it, so the next time you go for a pedicure there, you should pick up a bottle to take home for touch-ups.

With all that sunscreen, the Shop Tart is working hard to avoid sun damage, but it happens. Might be those years spent soaking up sun while sucking down Diet Coke and cigarettes. Why, oh why, did she do that? Oh well, water under the bridge. This PCA pigment gel is fab. She’s been using it for a few weeks and has noticed a subtle difference; her dark spots are lightening. Hooray!

What are your fave beauty products for the summer? Do share. The Shop tart loves beauty secrets!

Happy Shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!

P.S. There are two things you really shouldn’t miss today. They are so important the Shop Tart doesn’t trust you to read them on the calendar. VanJean is hosting a Library trunk show. Library, based in Charleston, offers mad chic, high-end vintage clothing and on trend accessories. They’ll be at VanJean from noon to 7 pm. If you miss it, you’ll be depressed and sad for weeks, so just go! The second thing you must do is attend Unforgettable’s Christmas in July party this evening. They’re having a fabulous sample sale and offering food, drinks and a free gift to every guest. See you there!

* Maybe she’ll share the recipe on her blog. We should all write and ask.

Well, she’s been home for a few days but only just ran out of vacation stories. Never fear, life is as thrilling in Columbia as it is in Europe. On Monday, la famille went to Garden Bistro, one of the Shop Tart’s absolute favorites. The food is excellent, but we’ll get to that. Part of the beauty of Garden Bistro is the parking lot. Maybe you don’t have a lot of time for lunch; maybe you have three young children and don’t want to wander the streets with them after parking a mile away. Maybe you just want a totally awesome lunch in a cute restaurant.

Sometimes writing about a meal makes the Shop Tart want it again, right that second. Garden Bistro offers meals like that. Their food is fresh, the portions are just right and the sandwiches are original without being too showy. Both Mr. Shop Tart and the X-Man ordered the Sinbad wrap with hummus, feta, black olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and romaine lettuce. The X-Man had a side of Sun Chips. His dad had the magically delicious Asian slaw.

Let’s talk Asian slaw for a moment. The Shop Tart is pretty sure you won’t find this dish anywhere in Asia, but get off your high horse and enjoy, Miss Fancy Pants. It has a nice light dressing and little bits of crunchy Ramen noodles. YUM!

The Shop Tart enjoyed one of the specials, the Upstate wrap with turkey, apples, feta and sweet mustard.

Often, the Shop Tart orders the same dish at a restaurant. She gets stuck on her favorites. At the Garden Bistro she rotates, because everything is awesome. She loves the Garden Bounty wrap and the Athena wrap and the Bird Nest salad. She is sensing a strong possibility of lunch at the Garden Bistro again today, are you? With children? Get them to order the Ants Delight wrap, a warm whole-wheat tortilla filled with peanut butter, bananas, cinnamon and honey. If you are like the Shop Tart, you’ll demand the Mommy Tax (a bite of anything super-delicious on a child’s plate or in their grubby little hands).

The littlest Shop Tart had fruit salad and a bag of Sun Chips. Although this isn’t really the place to offer toddler nutrition advice…the Shop Tart would like you to know that she never made her older children eat their vegetables or anything else they didn’t want. In public, she’ll give them whatever food is most likely to occupy them so they won’t interrupt her lunch. Guess what. They grew into great, adventuresome eaters. A cup of fruit and Sun Chips is not the worst lunch, nor is a cookie and a bag of Lay’s. Or an ice cream sandwich. Or two ice cream sandwiches.

Just so you know, this allowing-children-to-eat-whatever-they-like technique does not extend to bringing outside food into a restaurant. Children need to learn to choose from what is available. The Shop Tart has seen fast food bags in numerous restaurants around town. All of these places serve something plain enough for the pickiest child - pita bread, rice, cheese quesadilla. Bringing in outside food is just plain rude. If there’s a reason your child absolutely cannot have something on the menu, get takeout or get a babysitter. In fact, the Shop Tart will keep your children for an hour or two if you bring the fast food and include and extra burger for her. The Shop Tart hopes you aren’t offended - and is sure a few of you are - but she really feels strongly about this one. The only exception is something dry and not crumbly to occupy a toddler before the food arrives, like Cheerios. Will someone hold the Shop Tart’s hand as she steps gingerly off of her soapbox in these four-inch heels? Thank you.

Speaking of children, the oldest child elected to build his own sandwich, roast beef and provolone on whole wheat, mustard only. The Shop Tart would have liked for him to include tomatoes and lettuce, but she’s no control freak. Besides, he did get Garden Salsa Sun Chips on the side. Those have vegetables, right? What?

She spent the rest of her afternoon at Leapin’ Lizards because it looked like rain and she had no desire to apply sunscreen to three children and trek to the pool just to turn back around and come home. Leapin’ Lizards rules. It’s so loud that the screams turn into white noise. They have free wi-fi and enough snacks to keep the kids happy. On the other hand, they don’t have so many snacks that the kids spend their whole time begging for them. Perfect! Be prepared, though: You can work on a laptop, but you cannot return or field work phone calls. You won’t be able to hear a word. Texting only, please.

Although she loves Leapin’ Lizards, she was more than ready for a friend’s birthday party on the roof of the Sheraton that evening. They had created a cocktail for the occasion - fresh mixed berries doused in Prosecco and served in a red sugar-rimmed glass. Yum! After the party, the Shop Tart needed one more snack. She and Mr. Shop Tart headed to Garibaldi’s with a friend. Did you know their kitchen stays open until 10:30 pm on Monday nights? The Shop Tart hopes they won’t be irritated with her for sharing that. She lurrrved the shrimp and fried risotto cake with country ham gravy.

True to form, she also ordered fries and asked the waiter to bring whatever yummy sauce from the kitchen that would best complement them. In fact, he brought three. Clockwise from left: creamy horseradish, tomato remoulade, and good-old ketchup.

The remoulade won, but horseradish mixed with ketchup was a close second.

Mr. Shop Tart tried to make the ladies feel guilty by ordering a salad. They didn’t feel guilty and were graceful enough to share their fries. The salad was delicious.

The Shop Tart is really enjoying her late-night grown-up moments this week, because her sitter is traveling in Europe until next week. Taking care of children is exhausting, even when they’re your own and nearly perfect. She’s looking for fun activities that don’t take too much effort. Leapin’ Lizards was a good one. Yesterday they enjoyed the water park at Fort Jackson. Although the Shop Tart loves hot dogs, she loved her picnic from Fresh Market even more. Please feel free to recommend your favorite easy activity with children or your favorite evening activity without. It’s going to be a long week. The Shop Tart is considering the sangria social at Dianne’s tonight or Mr. Friendly’s two-course (three-wine!) meal for only $25. Or both. Want to be her driver?

Happy shopping and don’t forget to tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!

P.S. Speaking of thrilling things in Columbia, did you know that VanJean is hosting a Library trunk show tomorrow? Library is a vintage showroom in Charleston and the Shop Tart can’t wait to see what they bring! The vintage goodies will be there from noon to 7 pm tomorrow. Get there early for the best selection. And don’t forget Unforgettable Fine Jewelry’s sample sale tomorrow evening, bling at prices you won’t believe. There will be drinks, snacks and a free gift for everyone. Mwah!

Once again, la famille Shop Tart called on the concierge. They requested a great Thai restaurant and were told to wait until the expert S– arrived. He was the genius who sent them to Tamarind the night before, so they were happy to wait. He recommended Mango Tree, just a few blocks from the hotel. La famille was so lazy they took a cab. It was drizzling, the Shop Tart was wearing cute shoes, and they did walk back after…are they pardoned? Whatev. The cabs in London are so fabulously roomy and clean they are hard to resist. And the drivers are so charming, like a new best friend every time.

They were so excited about Thai food (which they have regularly at Baan Sawan in Columbia), they failed to make a reservation. There was a bit of a wait - OK, it was an hour - which would have been nothing had they not had a very brave but tired eight-year-old along. The Shop Tart adored people-watching in the bar. There were lots of young, smart professionals, just like the ones she imagined in her beloved Brit-Chick-Lit books. Luckily they were able to obtain these snacks, which enabled the eight-year-old to wait until 9:30 for dinner*.

Those peanuts were sweet and a little spicy, the perfect complement to the Shop Tart’s bubbly. Thanks to an extremely kind and understanding hostess, they were seated a little bit sooner than they might have been. The job of a hostess by the way, is one of the most difficult and thankless in the world. The Shop Tart suspects that good hostesses - as opposed to nasty ones that make people feel bad - go on to become diplomats or excellent divorce attorneys. They can placate anyone and make seating a large restaurant appear as effortless as downing a glass of bubbly in the bar. They seem to be the personal advocate of every customer while actually running the entire show. The hostess at Mango Tree was brilliant, Mary Poppins crossed with Anna Wintour. In fact, it could be said that no greater hostess has ever walked the face of the earth. It could also be said that the Shop Tart had had two glasses of bubbly and was feeling enthusiastic. Ahem.

When they sat down, these delicious crunchy things arrived almost immediately. They tasted like fresh black pepper and disappeared rather quickly.

The Shop Tart, who had moved on to a bottle of Sancerre, decided to let Mr. Shop Tart order everything. He started with two appetizers. The first was som tum, a green papaya salad that was d*mn, d*mn good.

The second appetizer, larb pla with tuna, was a welcome dose of protein and yumminess.

The X-Man, who was and is on a big-time soup kick, tried to order tom ka goong. The waitress recommended he try something else, as the soup was extremely spicy. Please pardon this interruption: Once again, the Shop Tart was extremely impressed with the level of personal service at such a large, crowded restaurant. Anyone could tell they were American and unlikely to become regular customers. The staff still went out of their way to ensure la famille had a lovely time. *Sniff* The Shop Tart leapt at the chance to order pad Thai. The X-man was easily convinced, probably because he was very, very hungry and his mother said, “Pad Thai is a classic dish. You really should try it.” Food is kind of a hobby for him; he couldn’t resist the chance to try a classic dish. The Shop Tart is a tiny bit obsessed with pad Thai, and this one was thoroughly respectable. The web over the top was made of egg (or something like egg) and the Shop Tart loved it for the drama factor.

For the main course, Mr. Shop Tart chose vegetables with Shop Tart favorite green curry**. She didn’t get a photo, because she was too busy egging on the X-Man while he played with the head of the prawn that garnished his pad Thai***.

Ahem.

As you can hear, the restaurant was loud and loads of fun. The X-Man’s parents talked him into dessert back at the Park Lane Sheraton, where the glamorous yet cozy bar beckoned. They walked, getting lost in some tunnels along the way, saved by the kindness of an Englishman. The cliché is true; English people really are the nicest in the world and those accents are dreamy. On the way back, the X-man spotted a fancy car.

The guy who owned the car was not happy about the X-man posing beside it and asked him to stop. He and his parents ran away, cackling like goofy high-schoolers high on Mountain Dew, Skittles and adolescence. None of them are in high school, but that’s neither here nor there.

The guy was seriously freaking out,

“Hey! Hey, KID! Don’t touch the CAAAAAR!”

For the record, the kid was not touching the stupid car, because he’s far too well-behaved for those sorts of shenanigans. It was funny as hell. You kind of had to be there.

At the hotel, the Shop Tart ordered one more glass of wine - they had a lovely Sancerre, which she sancerrely could not resist, although it was highly unnecessary. The X-man had this ice cream sundae garnished with sticks of white chocolate dipped in balls of dark and milk chocolate.

This was exactly the sort of dessert every child should enjoy in a glamorous hotel bar in London.

They went to sleep in their comfy beds for the last time, resting up for the insane packing spree in the morning. The packing went well, actually. Although they had bought loads of souvenirs (like, um, shoes and stuff), they managed to cram everything into their original luggage except for the Shop Tart’s trainers****, which were getting old anyway. One more glorious taxi ride and they were off to America.

Jolly shopping and do tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!

* Yes, that may seem like bad parenting. But they’re much better at home. Really.

** By the way, whenever you see a fish special involving green curry at Baan Sawan, just order it. You will be so happy.

*** Yes, more less-than-stellar parenting. But it was vacation!

**** Yes, the Shop Tart has decided to go all British-like and refer to her sneakers as “trainers”. Want to fight about it?

The Shop Tart spent a little time in the morning sleeping in her big, comfortable hotel bed and working while Mr. Shop Tart and the X-Man went on the London Eye. The Shop Tart didn’t think the London Eye was Ativan-worthy, so she passed. After a trip to Hamley’s Toy Shop, de rigeur for les enfants, la famille* Shop Tart wandered towards Soho in search of a real pub lunch. They came upon the Dog and Duck, which looked perfect. How do the British manage to look so chic standing on the street smoking when those of us on the other side of the pond just look kind of cheap? Hmph.

They went upstairs for table service and settled into a corner near a window overlooking the street below through a window box filled with cheery red geraniums.

They were determined to order fish and chips, but…but…everything on the menu looked so good, including the fish and chips. In retrospect, they should have ordered them as an appetizer, but that will have to happen on their next trip. The X-Man, enjoying his parents’ loose vacation rules, gleefully ordered a Pepsi Raw, whatever that is.

The Shop Tart had a glass of crisp white wine and Mr. Shop Tart ordered a glass of dry rosé. Then he remembered he was in a pub in England and ordered properly, a half-pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord ale. Incidentally, Madonna drank Timothy Taylor’s at the Dog and Duck. How cool is that? According to him, it was the best beer he had on the whole trip. Look how happy he is.

For the record, the child is sipping a Pepsi, which is bad for him, but not as inappropriate as beer. This bread was delicious. The Shop Tart took more than her fair share of the one of the right with dried fruit and nuts.

Mr. Shop Tart’s salmon croquette over salad was delish.

It was not as good, however, as his wife’s potato and fish gratin. Unfortunately she cannot recall what kind of fish it was and she forgot to get a copy of the menu. She assumed it would be online. Frankly, she finds it charming that it wasn’t. The Shop Tart wants to move to London, if only to enjoy this lunch every day with a glass of wine. But if she actually lived there, she would probably have to get a job and wouldn’t be able to drink at lunch. The fish and potato gratin was perfection and she’ll try to recreate it at home soon. She might use smoked trout. What do you think?

After some debate, because the little gourmand really wanted to try authentic fish and chips, the X-Man ordered a veggie burger, because he loves him some veggies.

The Shop Tart - as you may remember - loves her some cheese fries, so they had those too. Mayonnaise, by the way, is the only true condiment for fries (or “chips” as we say in England). Cheerio!

There was a little history in the menu (click on the photo for a larger version).

After lunch, they were ready for more wandering. The lovely Shayna Katzman, a London native living in Columbia, had told them about a fab vintage shop on Goodge Street, Bang Bang. Ooh! When the Shop Tart saw the labels - Vivienne Westwood, Celine, Lanvin, Stella McCartney, Alaia, Chloe, Marc Jacobs, Prada and even the elusive Kate Moss for Topshop - she thought it would be too pricey for her dwindling vacation budget. Au contraire. There were loads of affordable things, but Mr. Shop Tart was watching, so she just bought one (and is kicking herself for not buying the vintage Celine silk blouse). This Prada shirt had the original tags.

Mr. Shop Tart scored a suit, an actual suit, for well under $100. After a quick stop at an outdoor fruit stand for a snack, they headed towards Topshop.

Topshop! Ohmygosh, y’all, Topshop! Frankly - and she knows she’ll get emails about this - the Shop Tart has never understood the allure of H & M. It’s absolutely possible she doesn’t have a good enough fashion eye to find the right things there. Topshop, on the other hand, she loves. First of all, she had been suffering with bushy eyebrows for her entire trip. She had forgotten to bring tweezers and was afraid to try to explain in French what eyebrow shape she preferred. In London, she simply had no time…or so she thought. Right there in Topshop, there were two ladies doing eyebrows - waxing, plucking, dying, shaping, all of it, even threading. Squeeee! The Shop Tart has wanted to try threading for a long time and here was her chance. Yes, it was slightly embarrassing as the brow and lash bar was right out in the open, but she was out of town and didn’t care. For only fourteen pounds, she had her brows shaped in under five minutes which left her enough time to shop. She only had forty minutes in the store, because there were other things to see and do, so she had to work fast. The place is huge and packed with awesome stuff.

In the end, she bought two necklaces for fifteen pounds each. This one…

And this one…

which also looks cool tied in a knot…

She also scored a black silk jumpsuit, not pictured because she has already worn it twice. You can see it when it comes back from the cleaners. Jennifer Romolini of Lucky Magazine recently asked the question, “Are denim dresses ever OK?” The Shop Tart has asked herself the same question. Tentatively, she’s going to say, “Yes,” based on this one.

She’s already worn it once, with these boots. She’ll probably wear it in the fall with black tights and low black boots, if that look doesn’t scream Gossip Girl 2008. Her last purchase at Topshop, grabbed in a rush on the way to the checkout, was this bag. Although it was an impulse purchase, she’s in love.

They spent the rest of the day wandering, stopping only for a double-decker bus tour for the X-Man. By the evening, they were tired and hungry. The concierge who steered them in the right direction the night before recommended a Thai spot, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to hear about that.

Jolly shopping and do tell them you read it on the Shop Tart!

P.S. Ayoka Lucas’ interview with Charleston Fashion Week finalists soon to be on Project Runway is up, so take a look. Would anyone else like to attend the premier party at Caviar and Bananas she’s hosting? Sounds like fun! By the way, the new school year starts around the same time as the new television season, so take some time today to pick up school supplies to take to the fountain in Five Points tomorrow for the school supply drive. You know you love shopping for school supplies, so here’s your chance. Make sure you include some practical things with that Hello Kitty Trapper Keeper. Five Points merchants will be offering discounts and prizes to donors. You can also drop off supplies at Sid & Nancy or Revente.

* Was that too much French for one English sentence? Whatev.

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• Recent Posts

  • Fashion break!
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  • A yummy breakfast and two cheap treats.