May the road come up to meet you

I know now is probably a rare opportunity to discuss the Party leaders' journey to the election, assessing brand strength, fashion choices and social networking capabilities. But two things launched this week to draw my eye from BBC News 24.

First up TopShop launched a MAKE UP RANGE! Put that in your pipe Gordon Brown! The dreamy, indie packaging makes great use of the TopShop spots, while the hand drawn element gives it an accessible-yet-aspirational feel. As someone who was beginning to feel that M.A.C's seat was in jeapardy, TopShop's range might just be the vote for change my makeup bag was looking for. And, yes, that metaphor just happened!



Secondly, and much more interestingly, Aubin and Wills are opening a CINEMA and gallery space in Shoreditch. This is lifestyle branding gone nuts. I'll happily buy a cute top and imagine myself into the A&W world vision. I'll even consider a bit of A&W homeware, because it's post-modern ironic. But is an events programme a step to far?

Thinking about it, little brother Jack Wills manages to get away with a yearly Polo fixture. But that's Jack Wills - ostentacious Sloanies love that shit. Aubin & Wills are meant to be cool, demure, subtle. People who wear A&W generally pick at their new cashmere jogging pants and say "oh this old thing!" between mouthfuls of organic porridge.



But have no fear Camillastore readers, I'll hit up the launch on 20th May and get back to you.

Firstly, Happy New Year Camilla's Store readers!

And what better way to launch into 2010 with a slow stroll around the new Jack Wills store in Islington? Maybe I've been in the bosom of my North London "Intelligentsia" family for too long, but I fell upon the JW sale as if my Sloanie little life depended on it. Antiques lovers will no doubt be mourning the loss of the emporium at the end of Camden Passage, but the space does wonderful justice to the Fabulously British brand. JW is expert at working with a location, rather than against it. Like their townhouse in Marlow, which retains the original layout of the house to create a unique retail experience, the new digs in Islington highlight the high ceilings and ornate finishings. Downstairs, beside the roomy changing rooms, a small stage, no doubt for their "Unsigned" to play, has also been created. It's a fun store, perfect for the Yuppie Islington clientele.

Aubin v Jack

The usual Easter Monday sloth was briefly interrupted when, with heart in mouth, I spotted Aubin and Wills (the big sister of Jack Wills) open for business in Westborne Grove. Not having been in-store before, I dashed across the road - narrowly missing an oncoming Porsche being driven erratically by some Madoff-victim blonde.

I was hoping for a Jack-Wills-goes-to-work range of preppy basics, soft fabrics and sizing aimed specifically at the long-term anorexic. What I found, however, was Jack's sombre, less gregarious, and far less sexy, elder sister.



Jack made us feel that is was ok to wear a scarlet riding jacket on the streets of London, he made us truly believe that y-fronts on girls was hottt. As the more mature, seen-it-all-before, 50-notches-in-the-bed-post, Aubin shouldn't be pushing striped pajama pants and linen shirts. We want suits to match the quiffs of over-grown public school boys now slaving away in the City, and Sloane-tastic work skirts for the Lucinda's and Anabelle's serving their time as a PA until they get themselves married off, and slutty lounge wear for loafing around the flat in Putney we bought with our trust money.

Jack, I think it's time you took Aubin out to Mahiki and spike her drink!

To see how Abercrombie got it right with Ruehl, click here.

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

Ok, the good news is the spring Jack Wills catalogue arrived yesterday. Judging it as a catalogue alone it gets top marks - keeping true to brand while stepping forward from its previous one in terms of look and style. And how flippin' Sloane-tastic great is it that you can now buy JW tv blankets!?



The bad news is that they appear to be taking suspiciously sticky leaves out of the American Apparel book of 'barely legal' advertising. The opening page of the catalogue features the reproduction of a 'concerned' letter from a parent "aghast and disgusted' by the "blatant sexualisation" of JW's young female models.

Firstly, if they chose to go down this route they should go down it with bullish confidence, rather than poking fun at their nay-sayers like a reprimanded child who knows they have done wrong. Secondly, unlike the slutty American Apparel ads which feature proper models, Jack Wills have open casting calls at their shops and sponsored events. Without evidence to the contrary, I can only assume, therefore, that these scantily clad teens aren't professional models, capable of drawing a line, but willing wannabe's grateful to be part of the JW dream.



Careful Jack - we all love a bad boy but they always break our hearts in the end.

Where there's a Will, there's a way.

If there's one thing the British upper classes are brilliant at, it is exclusivity. Without the right surname, the right public school alumni, the right postcode, you're not allowed in. The adult upper class are bad enough, but look at their teenage children and you find a group utterly obsessed with 'fitting in'. Jack Wills, the fashion brand aimed specifically at young Sloanies, is more than savvy to the fact that wearing one of their hoodies instantly tells you its wearer's class, income and even education. Indeed, Jack Wills has taken the concept of a lifestyle brand and run with it.



Starting with its stores, Jack Wills creates homely retail environments through a combination of vintage homeware and non-traditional store design; their shop in Marlow is a converted townhouse which maintains its original layout of 'snugs', 'dining rooms' and bedrooms. By being the outfitter of choice to teenage Sloanies, Jack Wills has won sponsorship opportunities in areas usually dominated by older, more traditional brands. It sponsors club nights at Mahiki and polo events at the Guard's. It has 'Seasonnaire' teams in every hot ski resort in the world. On its website, it even has a online 'lending library' with a tailored reading list which includes the likes of The Great Gatsby, Richard Branson's autobiography, and P.G. Wodehouse.



Nor is Jack Wills resting on its laurels. Recognising that Sloanies must eventually grow up (if only for the sake of coming into their trust funds) Jack Wills is currently rolling out its sister brand, Aubin & Wills. Aubin caters to an older, richer shopper and has a corresponding website which purveys a more mature, cultured mindset and a look straight from the pages of Vanity Fair.



With old favourites like Abercrombie & Fitch in front and newcomers like I Don't Go To fast approaching behind, Jack Wills seems to have done the impossible by not only infiltrating that most exclusive of clubs, but dressing it as well.