Summer Madness

You know those couple of weeks of blistering sunshine that signals the start of the summer? Well although a bit late this year, they've been threatening to make an appearance any day now. So in preparation for the heatwave we've been busily getting in a sunny mood and we want you to get involved too. To kick things off, we've acquired some new menswear, including vests, tees and polo shirts from Cuckoo, Native Youth and Bellfield.

But if the thought of a brand new polo shirt doesn't make you dream of alfresco refreshments as the sun sets, then these cool new prints can't fail! What says summer better than a vest top with a tropical hibsicus print, or a crisp white tee with swordfish and sailboats.

And it wouldn't be summer without the most essential and ubiquitous of all accessories, the faithful sunnies. We feel there's only one decision for guys to make when choosing the right sunglasses. Wayfarers or aviators? Luckily, we have both styles, having managed to get our hands on the latest eyewear offerings from Bellfield Clothing.

Which style would you choose? At £18 a pair, why not get both. Bring it on sun!

A little bit of love for Gloucester Road

Yesterday we had a lovely visit from Molly Jones. She is a third year UWE student studying Graphic Design. As part of her final project she has 'branded' Gloucester Road in Bristol. Our shop is just one of the many businesses that makes up this street, the longest stretch of independent businesses in Europe. She delivered us a huge stack of hand-printed carrier bags, with beautiful designs and quotes that sum up what Gloucester Road is all about. We are passionate about independent retailing and the important part they play in creating strong communities and building local connections, and as such we are very pleased to be a part of this great project.

Check out her website to see other examples of her work.

Behind the Scenes

shoes for or male model

selecting and styling the womenswear to be modelled

checking the lighting

test shots of Amy

looking from this angle you can see our shop!

Charlie ready for action!

Amy starts to pose!

Our website is becoming a popular place for our customers to get styling ideas and keep up to date with what's new stock wise in our Bristol boutique. So I thought it might be interesting to show how we create the photo's we use online, as it is a bit unusual!

All the photographs you see on our website are styled and photographed by our little team at fox + feather. We don't have a big budget so we have a few little tricks to help us along the way.

Firstly, we don't use a photography studio. Instead, at 6 o'clock when the shop has closed, we clear out our shop floor and build our own little studio 'in house'. We carry (not drag...promise...) all the tables to the sides of the shop and set up our 'infinity' back-drop. This is basically just a huge roll of paper that hangs off a big roller. We have different coloured backdrops to suit the season and style of clothes we are shooting that night.

Then the photographer (also known as Scott, my fiance and website manager!) sets up our lighting and does a few test shots to make sure everything is looking good.

Our current womenswear model is Amy Burnett. Some of you may recognise her from working in our Bristol store, she has been a part-time sales assistant with us for the last 18 months. Amy's hair is usually done by the lovely girls at AKA hairdressers who are a couple of doors down from us on Gloucester Road, Bristol. Our menswear model us currently my cousin Charlie Harrison. Charlie is studying at Bristol University and we had to bribe him with beer and pizza to do this for us! His hair is normally done by the lads at Franco's. I think maybe I'll do another post about these hair stylists, as they are all so good they deserve a bit more then a quick mention.

The styling is done by myself and Nia (a fashion student at UWE), who also works for us part-time. We pick the outfits to be shot, and then go shopping for shoes and any other props we need to complete the look. We tend to find most of our women's shoes in Office and Zara, and we normally end up in Schuh for the men's shoes.

We do the make-up ourselves, so you will notice it is pretty simple!

And that's about it. We put on some music, start taking photo's and work through the night until the job is done.

And here is what we end up with! A great selection of photo's that we can use on all our social media platforms.

Gone Fishing!

Fishermen coat by Native Youth- £65

There are a lot of boys with beards at the moment. It is obviously the new hipster look. But as far as I am concerned a good beard belongs firmly on the face of a lovely Cornish fisherman. Yeah, some boys can pull the look off, and may even look attractive (though I would still think twice before accepting a bristly kiss)  but a beard should always be accompanied by wellies or at least some well worn elbow patches. Yes? Ok maybe just me there.

My point was supposed to be about fishermen being a good style to aspire to, hipster or not. So, our new menswear range (which by the way is available in our Bristol store and our online shop) has a bit of a nautical theme. Think waterproofs, stripes and hard wearing canvas. Our pick of the collection is this fisherman jacket by Native Youth. We love the yellow sleeves and contrasting navy body, with white detailing. The trousers are also online, they are the Bellfield Cooper Chinos and they look great with the jacket and the stripe breton top (also by Native Youth). 

There you go lads- nautical look sorted!

Clare x

Brand new Brand (that's brand new)

So, we may have been away a long time, but boy, have we been working hard!

After winning Best New Business 2013 by Drapers Independents Awards we thought we had better keep ourselves busy- so they didn't regret making us winners!

So first we introduced menswear to our gorgeous Bristol boutique fashion store including great UK brands like Native Youth, Bellfield and Hymn (which we will talk more about another day...) Then we set about launching our own in house label Ragged Robin (again, more about that another day....) Then we introduced some great new brands to our womenswear range. Which is what I really wanted to tell you about. Phew!

So brand new to us is Dahlia. Dahlia are a London based fashion label, making the most pretty clothes we have ever laid our eyes on. We totally fell in love with them when we first spotted their little boutique just off Carnaby Street, London. Since then it has been my mission to introduce them to our store. Finally, it's happened and we are so pleased :) The quality is amazing, and they all have cute little details, like special trims or keyhole cutouts. We just love it.

Here is what we currently have in our Bristol store, and on our website.

Daisy Dress by Dahlia- £65

Eadie Dip Hem Dress by Dahlia- £60

Dahlia Chiffon Lace Top- £62

Right, we will be back with more news soon. Take care peeps! 

We Love The Verity

This week the weather has taken a drastic turn and suddenly we are in Winter mode, for us here at fox + feather that can mean only one thing... a new coat! Each year we manage to justify a new coat to ourselves so we can keep warm and stay on trend and this years 60's trend combined with our love for Zooey Deschanel means we have fallen in love with this fur collared coat. Available in both forest green and burgundy, the fur collar and decorative bows give a stylish update to a flattering swing style, an item we can definitely picture Zooey wearing! We've teamed ours with one of our illustrated tee's from Bristol based artist Amber Elise and a classic black lace pencil skirt, a look that can take you from day to night. 

We are winners!

18 months after opening our doors to you lovely lot, Drapers Independents Awards 2013 have named us Best New Business in their glitzy annual awards ceremony. Yey! We are so chuffed!

We were invited to join fashion's finest independent retailers and brands at the Drapers Independents Awards lunch at the Waldorf Hilton Hotel in London on November 7. The awards showcased some of the most entrepreneurial individuals and businesses in the industry today, with the aim to put the UK's independent fashion retail sector firmly on the map. 

We went not expecting to walk away with an award, but just happy to have a good excuse for a gossip with our suppliers, agents and fellow retailers. Oh, and enjoy a glass or two of bubbly...When they called our name as winners of Best New Business category we were genuinely surprised, as the competition was tough.
Some fantastic shops were nominated including the gorgeous underwear boutique Dolci Follie. Have a little look at their website, they are a little bit naughty in the nicest possible way!

Other winners on the night included:

Best Independent Multi Channel Operator- Chocolate Clothing
Fashion Agency of the Year- Chiltern Street Studio
Lifestyle Independent of the Year- Anns Cottage Surf Shops

Here is little old me with my huge (and very heavy!) award.

I wore my favourite Poppy Lux pleated maxi skirt, which I teamed with some gorgeous little black ankle boots from Office.

If you haven't been into our Bristol independent fashion boutique before then now is the time to do it. We have got some beautiful new stock from our best selling brands Sugarhill Boutique, Poppy Lux, Louche and Armistice shoes. We also have the cutest range of Christmas gifts and presents for girls and boy, including stationary, jewellery and knitwear. See you soon! x

hello boys!

After banging on about it for ages we have finally got menswear in our store! The official launch is not until Friday September 20th, but we couldn't bear to have so much gorgeous stock just sitting around, so we started selling it last week. The reaction so far has been brilliant. We are stocking brands not easily found on the high street. As with our womenswear, all our men's brands are from the UK, giving them a fresh, distinctive style.

If you are new student in Bristol then you should some and say hi. We are fast gaining a reputation for being one of the best independent stores in Bristol! 

Our current brands include Native Youth who are from Manchester, Bellfield whose womenswear we also stock, Banker & Benefit who are two talented Bristol boys, Cuckoo and Friend or Faux. The collection is due to grow steadily over the next couple of months. Here is a little taster of what's in store already.

If you want to come along to our menswear launch party then please get in touch via our facebook page. It's on Friday 20th September from 6-10.

See you there!

x

Things are changing around here!

As usual we have been busy little bees. I'm going to keep it short and sweet and tell you the basic facts of fox + feather new news!

1. We have had lots of staff changes in our Bristol store. Some of our old girls have moved on to exciting new things in various big cities around the globe. And we have a lovely new team member called Sophie who writes a fab blog called Opal Wren and now does a couple of days a week helping out in our little Bristol shop.

2. We have been busy finishing off our AW13 buying and the first new bits have just started arriving from our favourite and newest brand Poppy Lux. My pick from the new collection is this super cute Gemma skirt. Check out our website to see more of their very lovely clothes.

3. You can now follow my every move on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Be warned, I do tend to have days where I talk A LOT about cake. My life looks a little like this:

4. We are launching Menswear in about 4 weeks time! Agh! Tell everyone! And argh! So much work to do! We are planning a mini re-furb of the fox + feather store for the official launch. But I am so behind I am starting to sweat just thinking about it. I'm sure it will all come together at the last moment (she says hopefully). Anyway, look out for brands like the amazing Native Youth coming soon.

Right. Done. I'm off to eat cake and panic.

Clare x

it's been a while eh?

oh hello :)

You may have noticed some changes around here! The last few posts were written by Jess (the fox + feather store manager) as I took a blogging break. However, Jess now has her own lovely blog One Foxy Lady so I am back in the driving seat over here.

Jess's blog- One Foxy Lady

I've been spending my time updating the fox and feather website. It is looking a bit fresher now I hope you will agree. I've tried to make it a bit easier to navigate and added a lot of new product, including some gorgeous festival jewellery, sunglasses and cool bags. There is still a lot more to be added which I am working on, promise! It just takes sooo long, please bare with me..

We have also introduced a new brand to our store. It is called Poppy Lux and has so far proved to be really popular in our Bristol shop. We literally cannot get enough of their playsuits and shorts. They keep selling out! What do you think? The brand is based in Brighton and I think that is reflected in its vibe. Kind of cool and laid back but with a bit of an edge. I think we will be seeing a lot more of their stuff in fox + feather in the future!

Poppy Lux Rosa Shorts

The super fans amongst you (arf) will probably already know about our work with artist Amber Elise. We have already collaborated on 2 collections exclusively for fox + feather and I can now reveal the 3rd collection is in the pipeline! It is looking amazing. I won't tell you too much just yet, but here is a little teaser of one of the new tee designs that will form part of the new Circus themed collection. It should be in store by end July fingers crossed.

Little Muscle Man by Amber Elise

There is some other exciting news to be announced about BIG changes happening in store in August, but I'm going keep quiet about that for now. All will be revealed soon...

Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think! xx

Summer is here!! :)

Gorgeous Amy modelling at our fashion show.  She is wearing Nancy Dee Beth Trousers, Louche Wyette Blouse, Louche Trent Coat and Jeepers Creepers Ella Sunglasses

Hello my foxy lot!  Sorry it's been a while, all go in the Fox and Feather headquarters!  We had such a fabulous night at our fashion show!  Such a nice vibe and turn out and managed to raise a good wedge for the lovely Sue Ryder Charity!  Huge thanks to everyone involved, you know who you are!

Now summer has finally hit us (touch wood).  It's scorching outside whilst I'm writing this!  Lucky for you guys we have had lots of new summer stock through the door, so get on down here and breath a bit of sun into your wardrobe!  One of my favourites in store at the moment is the Miss Patina Good Egg Dress pictured above.  How cute is that...and it has eggs on?! Any fan of Haribo is going to love it ;) It has our signature vintage feel and is a great little summer dress, worn in the day with flats or heels for those lovely summer garden parties you are going to go to! 

If you are more of a casual summer person grab the amazing Louche Winnie shorts! Pictured at the bottom of the page, you can see they have cute little anchors on them, team them with a little tee and pumps and be a little nautical without going over board! ;)  (Sorry couldn't help it) :D

My absolute fave at the moment does have to be the Louche Badger Dress!  I have taken a little selfie today for you to see.  It is so flattering, I've been blessed with a few curves and the stripe lines and attached waist belt really help draw you in in the right places. Yay! It's a blue and cream and today I have teamed it with a Victorian style navy jacket and baby pink bow kitten heels.  Don't forget to add a bit of our vintage style with a head scarf and some funky jewellery, we have great styles in from Louche at the moment so come and see and get foxy!

Love to you-One Foxy Lady xxx

Louche Badger Dress

Louche Winnie Shorts