Shoreditch Stores | Club Monaco + Number Six

A quick post on a couple of stores in Shoreditch.

First up, Club Monaco - a US brand that offers a level of style I can only dream to aspire to. Loafers, chinos, and slim-fit shirts, sit alongside more rugged sweaters and parkas. The store itself is like a miniature gentleman's club, with chairs and hatstands nestled between the well presented clothes, many a nod to it's heritage as a former gunsmiths, and even a small bourbon counter.

Second, Number Six. Perhaps not technically in Shoreditch, it's close enough and definitely decent enough to warrant the short walk along Brick Lane. Sat alongside the Truman Brewery, Number Six is in great company, with Son of a Stag almost next door and Albam only a stone's throw away.

While Club Monaco is a narrow and cosy store, Number Six is a wide-open, ceilinged room, where all of the colour and vibrancy of the clothes is immediately on show from the door. Just check those socks!

Last time I visited Number Six, I noticed some good-looking coats from Penfield and Patagonia, gloves from Barbour, and bags from Herschel.

Both stores are well worth a visit. Although, if you can't get there, both Number Six and Club Monaco can be browsed online - just don't expect that glass of bourbon.

Pictures: Club Monaco, Number Six Instagram, and my Instagram.

Twisted Time + Boxpark | Online watches in the real world

I doubt there's many folks out there who've visited Shoreditch and not visited Boxpark. It's a fantastic space to discover new innovations from bands you know well, as well as brands you might never have heard of before.

Twisted Time - a watch 'boutique' - have been online for a few years now, but have only recently taken a step into the physical world, with a store in one of Boxpark's pop-up spaces.

As you'd expect from a boutique store, the focus is on showcasing undiscovered watch brands and designers, sometimes from unusual sources. Braun, for instance, is a well known appliances brand, but not one I'd associate with watches. That said, I was put firmly in my place by my girlfriend and by Mat when I once displayed this shocking level of ignorance in public ;-)

Personally, I'd go there to hunt a Daniel Wellington watch, as my classic Rotary has long since died. A little too different for me, but I'd love to see the HYGGE 2089 series in action and might also be cheeky enough to take a shot with a Junghans on my arm.

If you have some spare shopping time before Christmas, or some cash to spend after, the Twisted Time pop-up at Boxpark would be a good place to visit.

Jack Spade | 'Buy more save more'

One of my favourite stores in London, Jack Spade, are running a four day pre-Christmas sale. The idea being, as with all sales, the more you spend, the more you save!

Mat is also a big fan and covered these guys with an excellent store shoot back in December 2013.

These guys do a good looking suit, but as I don't have call for suits too often, I'd go for the spencer crewneck sweater and their slim selvage jeans. What the hell, although it's a little bit 1990s, I'll take a messenger (record) bag too.

All of the links in this piece point to the US online store, but you can find the London store at 83 Brewer Street, Soho.

The sale runs from Thursday 11th to Sunday 14th December - a great excuse (as if you needed one) to avoid the Oxford Street crush. Off you go!