NYC Looks – Perfect Outfits for New York Pt 1

I’ve been exploring New York for 3 days now and have crammed in seeing everything from West Village to the Upper East Side.These have been my looks and most importantly where I got them!

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1 – Drinks in the West Village

Jeans – Mom Jeans, Topshop – £42

Top – Basic Crop Top (Tall), Topshop – £6

Blazer – Zara – £65

Shoes – Zara – £29.99

Bag  – Chanel, Handbag Clinic – £2300

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Look 2 – Exploring Long Island City

T-Shirt Dress9 – Cara, BooHoo.com – £8

Denim Jacket – Oversized Denim Jacket, Topshop  – £45

Shoes -White Classic Van’s (Dammmnn) – £45

Sunglasses – So Real, Christian Dior – £240

Bag – Chanel, Handbag Clinic – £2300

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Look 3 – Brunch

Sun Dress – Lace Insert Sundress, Topshop – £29

Denim Jacket – Oversized Denim Jacket, Topshop  – £45

Boots – Suede Heeled Ankle Boots (Tan), River island – £65

Sunglasses – Sideral,  Christian Dior  – £290

Bag – Chanel, Handbag Clinic – £2300

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Love Lottie xxx

Flight Essentials

I fly A LOT and usually long haul, over the years I have learnt how to make my flying experience as comfortable and easy as possible. These are my top tips for anyone jumping on a plane this summer:-
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Comfortable (buy stylish) Outfit – Every flight I used to get on I would be in heels, full face of make-up and jeans, always glam. After having to remove my shoes and run the length of 3 Heathrow Terminals, being delayed on the runway for 3 hours and deciding a value sleep more than looking good this soon stopped. Now it’s all about comfort!
Firstly underwear is so important, no one wants to be sat for 7 hours with an underwire poking them in the rib or lace slowly being imprinted on your bum. Thanks to the countless celebrities making Calvin Klein bralets and full briefs popular its now acceptable to not wear an actual bra to so many occasions (YASSS) and they are a must have for flying. Pink, Tommy Hilfiger and even Topshop have their own versions of these little beauties perfect for every style and budget.
Trainers are another must, Airports are huge and you never know when you will get that delay and need to run carrying all your carry on to make a connecting flight. My Nike Air Pegasus ‘83’s are my choice of foot wear for any flight, comfy and go with everything. For my flight today to New York I’ll be wearing them with some Ivy Park Leggings and my sassy “YASSS QUEEN” top from Betches.
Flights also tend to be a little colder so even if you heading out to 30 degrees and sunshine always pack a hoody or jumper for the flight as well as a pair of socks. I never fly without a pair of Hello Kitty socks!
Supplies – Even if you are flying on a flight were you get food and drinks as part of your ticket fare I would always recommend grabbing a bottle of water and a snack in the airport. You will never know the menu until you get on the flight and if they aren’t serving something you like then it’s a long time to go with nothing! Also the drinks on flights are small and they also don’t come round too often, especially if you are flying at night. If I have ever had to rush through an Airport and forget to pick up some water I spend the whole flight climbing over the person next to me to go ask for water, it doesn’t make you very popular!
Entertainment – Before you leave for the flight check the airlines website and look at what’s available on the entertainment package. Some airlines charge for the latest movies so look out for that as spending hours choosing between the bottom of the Netflix barrel is the worst. Checking the entertainment before you fly will allow you to download the latest box set to your tablet or lap top or bring enough books to keep you going.
Another must for entertainment is comfy headphones, if they are going to be on your head or in your ear for pretty much the full flight they need to be comfortable. Bose do a sound cancelling headphones are amazing, even if you need to sleep you can put these in and cancel out all the sound around you completely.
Don’t forget your chargers and make use everything is fully charged before leaving, there is nothing worse than 20% battery anxiety. Flights tend to have a USB plug so you can charge your phone or tablet and Business Class seats on British Airways have a plug socket. This is an American plug fitting though so if you need to use it you will also need an adapter.
Toiletries – Even though you can only take 100ml of any liquid on a flight its worth working out a way to get your skin care and toiletries on that flight. If you need to sleep on the flight it’s so nice doing your nightly routine before getting comfy and means you can freshen up before landing. I use Clarins skin care and whenever I can get a sample size I always pick my essentials, cleanser, day cream, night cream and eye make-up remover and use them for flights. I also pack a toothbrush, toothpaste, a moisturiser, lip balm, deodorant, comb and my basic make up items. Everything I need to get ready for bed, freshen up in the morning and feel amazing for arriving at my destination. They also come in handy in case your luggage is delayed (which has happened to me 4 times now!!!).
Set Up – You have to get your seat right, first selecting your seat always try to get a seat with that little extra leg room, these are at the front of the flight, emergency exits and at the beginning of any Class Cabin. Some airlines charge for these but others its first come first serve so check in early and grab those seats.
 Once you are in your seat you need to make sure you have everything you need in reaching distance, there is nothing worse than having to go through a mini yoga routine to reach up and pull all the overhead luggage out mid-flight, or even worse, the seat belts signs staying on for what seems like a life time while your left pining for your head phones. At about this time I would put on my Hello Kitty socks and press play on a good girly film ready to start my trip in comfort!
Enjoy your next flight!!!!
Love Lottie xxx
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The New It Mulberry

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Mulberry have certainly been doing some revamping recently, from bringing back their vintage stamping to renovating their classics and ditching styles such as the Del Rey to make room for some new pieces. Mulberry has grown from strength to strength over the years and always seem to bounce back with new styles that quickly become a must have item.

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As I buy Handbag’s for Handbag Clinic everyday I see a huge mix of Mulberry but nothing beats the Bayswater. Bayswater’s that come into our stores fly out with in minutes of being posted online or being placed on the shelf. The one photographed below was placed into our Newcastle store and sold in just 10 minutes!!! I’m sure the new sleeker, Celine esque Bayswater will be a huge hit.

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If you are looking for a great quality, authentic, pre owned Mulberry (for roughly 50% less than in Mulberry) then keep you eyes on Handbag Clinic’s Facebook and Instagram, @handbagclinic . Bags will soon be available to buy online also so look out for that at the end of June.

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In honour of the Bayswater’s new look here are some cool facts about how it came to be Mulberry’s most iconic bag:

  1. Mulberry usually named their bags after rural locations in England but the Bayswater was one of the first Mulberry icons to venture into the city. The name Bayswater is taken from an upmarket, leafy district of London.
  2. Mulberry was launched with just £500 in 1971 by mother-and-son team Joan and Roger Saul but the iconic Baywaster was designed by Nicholas Knightly who joined the company in 2002.
  3. The Bayswater’s was inspired by a practical Doctors bag and the stylish Hermes Birkin design. This hybrid perfectly mixes practicality and style making it the perfect modern woman’s bag.
  4. The Bayswater was crowned the first ever British “It Bag”.
  5. The Bayswater has been carried by a huge range of celebs, Kate Moss, Alexa Chung, Fearne Cotton and Michelle Keegan are huge Mulberry fans and have regularly been papped with a Bayswater on their arm. The bag has even made it stateside on the like of Lauren Conrad, Blake Lively and Emma Roberts

 

Love Lottie xxx

 

 

One of a kind

This week I met with an artist who is offering his services which allows you to make your bag as unique as you are. Rocky Mazzilli is the man behind these amazing pieces pictured below and soon you will be able to book an exclusive appointment with him in our store in Islington.

Rocky is certainly one of a kind and has been taking the fashion industry by storm with his brand Year Zero for many years. His clients include Pharrell Williams, Jason Derulo and even Queen B herself (that’s Beyoncé in case you don’t worship at the church of Yonce).

I sat down with Rocky and his super cool Mum Louise Michielsens in the Blue Bird, Chelsea to see what he had created with three Louis Vuitton bags I recently sent him. I was blown away!

I know there will be some Handbag lovers who may feel this is sacrilege as these are beautiful bags to begin with but I personally think if you want to make something completely yours, make your mark, express yourself then why not. I definitely love the results and cannot wait to create my own design!

These amazing designs and many,many more will be available from Handbag Clinic very soon with prices starting at £100.

Love Lottie xoxo

 

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Girls Night Out

I spent most of April and May planning an event for Handbag Clinic. We teamed up with Capital Radio North East to run a competition to win a Mulberry Handbag worth over £1000. The final of the competition was to be held in Aveika, an amazing bar/restaurant serving Japanese food under an impressive chandler. To host the evening we had Scarlett Moffatt, originally being introduced to the public eye on Goggle Box but now also an Author and Radio Presenter.

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Out of the 487 competition entrants 50 were selected to attend the event with a guest. Aveika kindly provided canapés and cocktails for our VIP competition winners, Capital FM were handling to competition and I handled everything fashion!

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I secured Novo London to provide the clothing, their stylish structured designs were perfect to team with Handbag Clinic’s fabulous bags. I selected our most impressive pieces to take part in the event including this python skin, electric blue Celine Phantom.

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Models…I needed models!!! Luckily my Facebook and phonebook is filled with models I have worked with in the past. They were all willing to help and I also organised for them to be glammed up for the evening by Glam Squad Express, a new salon providing a day to night turn around in record time!

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The night came, Aveika was already busy with people sipping their 2-4-1 cocktails and securing their seats for the evenings entertainment. I mainly ran round like crazy making sure everyone was happy and everything went as planned. Our pop up was set up and ran by the Newcastle Store staff, the models were upstairs practicing their strut and Capital FM were at the door greeting people and snapping pics with our big pink bag.

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Soon the time came for the entertainment, my girls strutted their hearts out and looked amazing. Walking to 6 inch by Beyoncé they owned the runway and looked fabulous in their outfits complete with designer accessories. 

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Next up was the competition, Scarlett selected two names out of a jar at random and two excited handbag lovers headed to the stage. The pair of lucky ladies were told three bags modelled by our models were £3075 if they were to be purchased in a department store and they had to guess how much the three bags would be if they bought them from Handbag Clinic. The girls examined the bags and jotted down some workings out but before they knew it time was up and their answers had to be collected. Scarlett took the mic and announced the closest to the bag was….Lisa Guthrie, who immediately started jumping up and down celebrating her win. The disappointed runner up was soon cheered up by being told she had won a makeover by Glam Squad Express for being runner up.

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The next day a blog caught my eye, www.triedandtesteduk.co.uk. Our winner was a successful blogger and had wrote a lovely piece about her experience. Check it out.

Love Lottie xx

Crazy about CoCo

Calling all Handbag Lovers,

This week I’ve planned a Social Media event for Handbag Clinic all about Chanel. Chanel will always be my absolute favourite. I dream of the day when I buy my first Chanel Double Flap Classic that’s actually for me.

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I authenticate Chanel’s on a daily basis and it never gets boring. Call me dull but I love the fact I know which brand of press stud should be on a 1988 Chanel classic or how many stitches per inch that iconic quilted pattern should have. Each bag is made to the highest standard and every element of a modern day of the classic 2.55 relates back to Mademoiselle Privé’s original design from February 1955!

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I’ve saved these little beauties for the event, which will be available to purchase from today in Handbag Clinic stores.

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Contact details of the stores can be found at https://www.handbagclinic.co.uk/ or you can follow us on Facebook or Instagram, @handbagclinic .
If you love Chanel or any other brands and want more information leave a comment and I will happily write something up!
Love Lottie xxx

 

A little about Lottie

This is my first ever blog post, wish me luck!

So a little about me, I’m Charlotte, 26 from Newcastle. Like most girls I love style, beauty and travelling and I’m lucky enough to travel some of the most amazing places and I work in fashion so thought why not write about it.

My job is buying Handbag’s (pretty cool I know), I buy designer handbags in all shapes and sizes which are all available to buy at Handbag Clinic. Handbag Clinic is a company started by my husband after he had amazing success with Furniture Clinic. In short we buy, sell and restore handbags. I will definitely will be doing a post on this as its such an interesting concept and of course a huge part of my life.

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Outside of work I’m huge on fashion, the only thing I love more than finding the perfect outfit is planning the perfect outfit and of course, hair and make up to go with it. Handbags are my first true love, I have always been crazy about them. When I was 16 I used to save everything I had to go buy a DKNY handbag from House of Fraser and have been obsessed with bags ever since. So if you like handbags you’re in the right place!

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The only thing that I’d rather do than shop for handbags is travel! If you get the opportunity to go any where in the world and I mean ANYWHERE, go see it, experience it. You wont regret it. I’ve been to some places I never would have chosen and fell in love instantly. There is nothing better than those kind of trips!

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I hope my future posts will be helpful and of course entertaining! If pictures are more your thing you can follow me on Instagram @lottie_helen

Love Lottie xx