Colette is the original concept store. Situated on the desirable Rue St. Honoré, Colette is a fashion mecca in the heart of Paris. SO imagine my disappointment/confusion when we arrived there this summer to see the store boarded up and closed but emblazoned with signs proclaiming, “We are still open.” This referred to their e-store and Colette Mini – a small boutique, found just around the corner, where you could sample a miniscule selection of the delights Colette usually has to offer. On the 24th of August, Colette reopened; refurbished, dazzling and offering me a very good excuse to return to Paris very soon. Visit Colette’s e-store and see the refurb on NYLON’s blog.

Topshop is dipping its toe into the U.S. market and to celebrate this foray it has launched a street style blog in conjunction with McCarren Pool Parties. These pool parties do not seem to hold much style promise in their name but the blog has proven me wrong. They turn out to be a hub of cool; a mix of music and quirky style. With this collaboration Topshop is stamping its fashion credentials on New York, ready for the fall opening of its flagship store. My one concern, how difficult it’s now going to be to spot the Brits abroad, especially if Topshop’s global domination continues!

Urban Outfitters markets its clothing impeccably. In the vein of American Apparel, it’s staff are now aiding the marketing machine. Closet Space allows a glimpse into the wardrobes of its designers and buying team. You can then click through to the Urban Outfitters store and buy any of the stocked items; you too can attempt to be as cool as the UO staff. I was exposed to the inane sense of cool that many shop staff seem to possess while we were in Paris on our trek. American Apparel in the capital, seem to only employ the über cool staff with the best hair, insane tattoos and unique sense of style. This can work two ways – intimidate you massively, as you realise the AA clothes do not and will never look like that on you….or offer you an achievable style option; the former seemed to affect me! So, can employees offer style solutions? It seems they can and boost their company’s profits too; just be careful you don’t suffer from low-cool-esteem as I did!

We began our trek in Milan, where we stumbled upon the famed 10 Corso Como. Concept store extraordinaire, this little enclave of calm also boasts a café, restaurant, adjoining 3 Rooms Hotel, gallery and book shop…phew! I could have spent the day there (or week!) As my Flickr set shows, 10 Corso Como is set in a unique space, with an outdoor terrace and rooms over multiple floors, surrounding the courtyard. Brainchild of former fashion editor Carla Sozzani, everything is sold there, from perfumes to ready-to-wear fashions, books and gadgets. The shop itself is a revelation – colour coded sections, matched with unique lighting, make for a sublime retail experience. Stand-out items are displayed strategically at the end of rows; seeing the Prada fairy dresses truly showed their magical, almost child-like appeal. What impressed me the most was that there was no air of snobbery or pretention. Anyone could shop there and not be bothered or made to feel intimidated by the high-end appeal of the store. If you have the opportunity to visit Milan, the Corso Como is a fashionable boulevard, with hidden delights lurking behind the entrance to number 10. (If you want a fuller view of 10 Corso Como this link, despite being in Korean, is more informative. The .com url is currently under construction.)

On my return from the Travel, in a moment of possible madness, I gave away almost all my back copies of Vogue. I have slowly started to become disenchanted with the fashion bible that seems to become slightly more mainstream, offering evermore unobtainable lifestyles, with each issue (it feels almost blasphemous writing this!) I still adore Vogue and will no doubt continue to buy it but in a cathartic moment realised I no longer use my back issues for reference but instead to prop up a coffee table! The plethora of cutting edge European magazines that I was exposed to, no doubt greatly influenced my purge. Even the most mundane of newsagent seemed to carry some oddity or fashionable lifestyle magazine that jumped off the shelf. One that has been around for quite some time but that I have never got around to buying is hobo – a bi-annual, avant-garde magazine comprised of collections of interviews, essays and stunning photography. The magazine was expectantly, a joy to look at but surprisingly, a delight to read – also very heavy to lug home! So will I keep my hobo magazine, in a contradicting bid of snobbery, ON my coffee table but my Vogues underneath?…I’m yet to decide!

I am returned! Married, travelled-out and overwhelmed. The wedding day, a joy that seemed to fly by in a blur. The honeymoon, a visual onslaught that took us from Italy to France, on to Spain and finally Morocco. I shall endeavour to get some photos on flickr soon but the whole experience could be summed up as a tale of concept stores, galleries and walking, all mixed together with heat! Reality now seems strange but I have plenty to post about to hopefully keep you enthralled.

I know, posts have been lacking…but this wedding business has been busier than I thought! So, this Thursday’s the day and then we’re off on our travels. Things of Random Coolness is looking forward to our little trek through Europe, with some well deserved respite in Marrakech to end our jaunt. So I shall be back in 3 weeks, with some photos and lots to tell…wish me luck.

Those of you that have perused my Random Flickr Coolness (right), will have noticed my appreciation for Joy Division and how I was particularly blown away by the inspirational biopic of Ian Curtis, Control. Its star, Sam Riley, extends his talents beyond the big screen, as he becomes the face of Burberry’s Fall ad campaign. Alongside English rose, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, a striking duo emerges in the beautifully shot stills, by Mario Testino. I shall await their appearance in the ad-filled fashion bibles soon.

When the original founders of uber-high-street-brand All Saints launched a new venture, Bolongaro Trevor (yes really) was born. Kait Bolongaro and Stuart Trevor launched the new eponymous label to rapturous praise from the fashion press; perusing the website, you can see why. I am particularly taken with the new Autumn/Winter collection, that promises to be affordable, yet stylish. Not yet available online, Bolongaro Trevor is now stocked globally, so go search them out.

Although the British may not have had much opportunity to don their swim-suits, in our eternal stoicism, we await the sunshine with patience. If we have forgotten what a true British summertime can be like, Manoush provides us with an idealised view. Bohemian floaty dresses, ice-creams on a pebbly beach, striped beach apparel…perfect. Manoush’s view is actually French and probably photographed elsewhere in Europe but still appears stereotypically “British.” See Manoush’s nostalgic campaign here and prepare yourself for that possible chink of sunshine!