Did you know you can now get a suit from Tesco for £15? Great value you may think, but for me this is not the way to go when looking to purchase a new suit. Value for money for me needs to give me something back. I have found a suit that does.
Before I unleash the fine piece of styling and craftmanship that is a Saville Row Mark Marengo suit on you, I need to go back to Tesco. We are in a recession, but where do you compromise on quality and at what level? A suit is meant to convey an air of professionalism and class. Can a £15 suit do this? What message would it instead send out?
As I have said, We are in a recession and that’s why there is an even greater emphasis on all things luxury. We should not feel guilty for splurging a bit of hard earned on something really rather special, like saville row custom suits. It has to be better to do this than go for second best (or in this case third, fourth, fifth…?)
Now, a bespoke suit from Savile Row taylors Mark Marengo, says everything to me. With every aspect of the suit is made to the your requirements, a bespoke suit is totally unique - Complimenting your build and reflecting your style. Arm yourself with the best as you move up the career ladder, reach important life milestones and really eek out an individual taste and style.
Using suiting cloth from the most prestigious British and Italian mills, Mark and his team of tailors map the body taking every single measurement, then subsequently work with the client and their unique personalised suit until it is exactly right.
Mark Marengo’s design ethos is neatly summarised in his own words as “Different in the detail, Classic with a twist”. Contemporarily bridging the gulf that lies between old style Savile Row traditionalism, and modernist show-biz gimmickry, Mark’s clothes are always beautifully made, but also absolutely wearable.
It is not just a question of fitting the suit to the physique, rather creating a piece that truly reflects the client. Bespoke suits start at £2,000, if your budget doesn’t stretch quite that far semi-bespoke suits are available from £500. Finish the look with a bespoke shirt, tie and shoes.
Sharp suits, ultimate fit shirts, classic ties and made to measure shoes. It’s time to introduce your wardrobe to some much required quality.
£15.00? Paaah!
(having said all of the above, I think Tesco do a really great job at delivering value produce to the Nation – don’t want to get in trouble!)
In the turbulent economic climate that we currently find ourselves, There is great interest in a product that does not seem to suffer too much in times of financial strife…Gold.
The Royal Mint has been producing collectable coins for years, but their new collection of value coins have raised the bar. Massively.
The range of Gold Proof coins starts with £76.00 for the “2010 UK Gold Bullion Quarter Sovereign” and goes right through to the impressive and highly collectable “The UK Countdown to London 2012 £5 Gold Proof 2009 & 2010 Two-coin Set”. A mouthful, yes, but as an investment, fairly appealing.
2010 UK Gold Bullion Quarter Sovereign £76.00
Going back to the Quarter sovereign, the base price of £76.00 represents fantastic value. Limited to 250,000 worldwide. This 22 carat Gold to Bullion quality coin features Original 1820s St George and the dragon design by Benedetto Pistrucci.
The 2010 UK £1 Gold Proof: England £650.00
Meeting somewhere in the middle is “The 2010 UK £1 Gold Proof: England”. Limited to 1000 coins, This 22 carat gold coin is impressive in its display case. This is nearly three times the weight of the Gold Sovereign and struck to flawless proof quality. I love this high value coin.
The UK Countdown to London 2012 £5 Gold Proof 2009 & 2010 Two-coin Set £2795.00
Each coin features the London 2012 Olympic logo in full colour and the coins are released in very limited quantities. The 2009 gold coin is limited to 4,000 and the 2010 coin to 3,000. Each coin comes with its own certificate of authenticity which, for those who purchase the coins in the four-coin case, will bear matching numbers.
There are so many more collections assembled by the Royal Mint, I urge you to have a look at their website - http://www.royalmint.com/store. A very attractive set of valuable coins.
With the value of Gold as strong as it is, combined with the natural rise in value of such collectables, The Royal Mint offers some wonderful sets. If this is just for investment, or for fun – well, that’s up to you.
The British Glass Biennale is an exhibition to showcase the rich array of British glass talent with a £11,500 prize fund.
The fusion of raw talent of the young students that exhibit alongside long established and commercially successful artists makes this exhibition fresh and at the forefront of Glass modern design. British Art with Glass has never looked so good.
A distinguished Jury panel selected 96 glass pieces by 62 artists (including 9 students) from 449 pieces entered. What you get is truly inspirational, elegant and contemporary art glass.
A significant amount of lighting has been put forward by the judging panel, notably the stunning, botanically inspired chandelier by the increasingly in-demand artist, James Lethbridge.
James Lethbridge
‘Physalia’ Chandelier £4350
The glass making technique known as lampworking is much in favour amongst contributing artists this year. This exquisitely detailed bowl by Ayako Tani is one such example. She is influenced by memories of watching her Grandmother knitting with wool. She describes her work as …”knitting glass into 3D shapes”.
Folks! by Ayako Tani, £1675
Totally stunning. I had no idea Art for glass could be so progressive.
Manipulating glass to create fabric-like structures is a key theme amongst successful exhibits at the 2010 British Glass Biennale.
Kathryn Wightman is currently undertaking a PhD in glass but her creations have strong connections to textiles and fashion. Her recent work ‘A little bit of Lace’ strives to give a familiar object a new and unexpected perspective. The resulting object is rich in texture and beautifully tactile, certainly not what you might expect from glass.
Cathryn Shilling Kathryn Wightman
‘Synergy Series ii’ £870 each ‘A little bit of Lace!’ £650
Cathryn Shilling fuses strips of glass to form a flat sheet that resembles woven material. These are returned to the kiln for further shaping and the result is a fabric-like glass piece that appears to ‘hang’ and drape just like the real thing.
I didn’t realise just how versatile (and beautiful) Glass could be until I saw these pieces. The inventiveness of these highly talented glass artists is in clear evidence at this exhibition.
Everything that is on show is also available to buy. Prices range from £85 to £11,000. How could you miss this?!
Exhibition dates: 27 August – 11 September 2010The British Glass Biennale is held in the former Royal Doulton - Webb Corbett factory at Ruskin Glass Centre, Stourbridge, West Midlands, For more info, please go to http://www.biennale.org.uk
Yves Frey is well known for his passion in pursuit of the most spectacular coloured stones. The mini natural fancy coloured diamonds used in his latest collection are just simply beautiful.
Yves Frey has just launched Les Mini Adorables. A bespoke service that allows you to design and build your individual diamond-encrusted jewels.
Fancy coloured diamond specialist Yves Frey give buyers access to something extraordinary. Les Mini Adorables collection is designed on a stacking ring theme with infinite combinations that creates elegant, playful and most importantly, individual pieces tailored to the buyer. These bespoke rings are truly special.
Each ring comprises a mini natural fancy coloured diamond set in a ring encrusted with tiny white diamonds. These can be worn in a combination of as many as you like or one at a time as you build your own collection over birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions.
Each fancy coloured diamonds stones not only holds its unique essence of beauty, but it is also extremely rare. For each fancy coloured stone at least 10,000 colourless diamonds exist.
To design your ring or collection of rings simply set your budget with the guide provided by Yves on http://www.lesadorables.com, choose the colour of the stone and the setting you desire. Finally select your size and then email your request to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or talk to Yves on 0207 2425 511. Whether your budget is £2,000 or £20,000, you will be delighted by your own, individually-created Les Mini Adorables.
Now…Lets have some fun!
Small Luxury Hotels Of The World is running a superb competition where you can win a 14-night trip for two together with £8,000 spending money. To enter the competition, all you have to do is choose three destinations from their great website. Small Luxury Hotels offer a vast choice, over 500 independent luxury hotels.
On paper, this seems easy. Then you look at each and every luxury hotel resort and realise that each one has its own merits. With Hotels this good, it is hard to choose between them!
The Aleenta Resort, Thailand
For me, the ultimate holiday destination has to include Thailand. For all the luxury hotels Thailand have, there is nothing like the Aleenta resort. The Aleenta resort and spa Hua Hin represents a modern take on all that is typical with Thailand. Custom built huts with thatch roof, authentic Thai food at its very best and a Thai spa for some real pampering.
The Modern twist of this destination is the huts come with a plunge pool and balcony….and even an iPod dock!
Would you maybe go for the Baros Maldives? A tiny tropical island set in a beautiful and naturally exclusive shallow lagoon, Baros Maldives is a scuba diver’s paradise with a reef vibrant with marine life, warm and crystal clear waters and a PADI dive school. Maldives luxury hotels are a-plenty, but The Baros goes on the list for the following reasons;
Baros Maldives
A fantastic selection of over-water restaurants, fashionable bars, lush vegetation and a pampering spa add to the charm of this idyllic retreat.
Thatched-roof villas with spacious verandas, the signature spa ritual aptly called Baros Indigenous Bliss, perfect white sands and clear blue seas…surely, this has to be on your wishlist?
What about Sun Rocks, in Santorini, Greece? If you are looking for a luxury hotel Greece offers an absolute paradise. An idyllic hideaway carved out of the cliffs of the Caldera with endless views of the azure Aegean Sea and the volcanic islands. The service level at this stunning retreat is well documented. Forget the gourmet food, This goes on my list, just for the awesome cliff side pool.
Sun Rocks, Greece
The competition, which is now live at http://www.slh-competitions.com, closes on 1st September 2010 and the lucky winner will be the entrant whose itinerary has received the most votes. To enter, simply choose your top three Small Luxury Hotels.
The runner-up will enjoy a luxury five-night stay in a Small Luxury Hotels property and there is also a luxury five-night holiday from the group’s worldwide portfolio up for grabs for the most original holiday photograph.
Luxury Hotels resorts like these make for a very difficult top three, but you will find great pleasure in trying to decide.
