CAR TALK September 13, 2011 AUDI’S NEW A2: FIRST IMAGES These are the first official images of Audi’s new A2 model. This concept is a lightweight, plug-in electric four-seater with a 9.3-second, 0-62mph time and a top speed of 93mph. Audi claims a 124-mile range on a four hour charge. Most interesting, though, are the LED lights running down the [...]
Look East to the new destination for pilgrims who shop September 13, 2011 BORIS Johnson reached for the cultural high notes at the opening of Westfield Stratford City: boasting that the new shopping centre would trigger regeneration not seen in East London since the Middle Ages, he quoted Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, in which Madam Eglantine the Prioress spoke French “after the school of Stratford-at-Bow, for French of Paris [...]
Stratford is a smooth retail experience September 13, 2011 I GREW up in a suburb of Boston, USA, where the only places to shop were malls. Despite America’s reputation as a shopping paradise, these were terribly dreary places, department store complexes off highways. Sure, you could pick up a washing machine, get your ears pierced, eat a Cinnabon and buy a sixpack of white [...]
Mall brings fresh hope to struggling UK shopkeepers September 13, 2011 RETAILERS nationwide are facing tough conditions as the economy slows down, but Westfield will transform trade across Stratford and the wider borough, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Retail is currently hard hit. ONS figures for the year to the end of July 2011 show zero growth in the volume of sales. Footfall across [...]
WESTFIELD AT STRATFORD: OUR PICK OF THE SHOPS September 13, 2011 CLOTHES & ACCESSORIES ASPINAL OF LONDON The second standalone shop for this affordable heritage brand, Aspinal has a plum position at the start of the Street, and is a wonderfully windowy space, glinting with cufflinks, jewels and charms and full of its signature bright croc skin bags and wallets. FOREVER 21 There were nearly 400 [...]
House prices slip in August September 13, 2011 House prices in England and Wales fell in August and transactions slipped to levels last seen during the recession in 2009, a survey showed on Tuesday. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ seasonally adjusted house price balance inched down to -23 from -22 in July, in line with the median forecast in a Reuters poll. [...]
A man’s shoes are as crucial as his suit September 12, 2011 THERE’S an old saying that if you want to know if a man’s well-dressed, look down. It’s absolutely true: good shoes make an outfit and bad ones stand out terribly, and that’s especially true of the City. So what should you be looking for in a good pair of English lace-ups? First, if you’re going [...]
OUT OF OFFICE September 12, 2011 DEGAS AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY The great French Impressionist artist (though he rejected the term) is the latest Master to receive a retrospective at the Royal Academy. Opening this weekend, the exhibition focuses on Degas’ most famous subject matter: ballet dancers. In pastels, drawings and paintings, Degas explored the capacity for movement and expression of the [...]
Minimalism meets France’s Ancien Regime this autumn September 12, 2011 1. Brows If your eyes are the windows to your soul, then your brows are the curtains. This season eyebrows are big and bold, which apart from lending a more masculine look, also defines your eyes. Blinc do a wonderful Brow Mousse that not only defines them and builds body, but holds their shape wherever [...]
Episode 27: What to wear for the awards dinner? September 12, 2011 HOW about this one?” asks Noel, hauling a capacious green item into view. It resembles a hefty tarpaulin from my boy scout days. Emma looks at me. I’m idly fingering a rail of backless, ivory silk dresses. “Well?” she asks. “Darling, I don’t know why you want to come. I mean, I’d love you to [...]