Wanderland Boutique

Pop up stores are all the rage these days and have been a firm favourite with fashion brands since 2004. The concept is just like a moving exhibition; find a venue, set up shop, display items artfully and then set off to the next venue. Smaller niche companies have all been there and done that with pop ups placed in cosmopolitan cities in Europe. So it was no surprise when large lifestyle brands such as Comme des Gar�ons, MTV, Nike, Sony Ericsson, Adidas and Levis decided to give the idea a try. However, beating them to the punch was Wanderland Boutique, a wandering pop up boutique that has been created out of a love for fashion and all things that a little bit different. The brand has been trading since 2003 but have now launched a shop in Manchester at the ultra trendy Afflecks Palace and are set to tour other cities such as Leeds, Birmingham, Sheffield, Derby, Doncaster, Birmingham and Dublin. I met up with founder, Barbara Ojeogwu to find out the ins and outs of brand new, vintage and handmade clothing.

What is the concept of Wanderland Boutique?
The concept of Wanderland Boutique is to provide fashionable & one off items at great prices. We're able to do this by handpicking all of the products that go into the boutiques. We're also able to do this by reducing our overheads. The pop up boutiques are a unique and inexpensive way for us to attract new customers and provide them with clothes that would otherwise cost that bit more. The fact that we are a pop up means that we are able to set up in unlikely places such as bars, park greens and even possibly even double Decker buses.


How did you come up with the title of the shop?
The title is based on two factors. The first being that we pop up all over the UK with the boutique. The second is that we also travel far and wide to find stock for the boutique. We wander the land.

Where do you source your clothes from?
The clothes are sourced from all over the world. An example would be handbags from wholesalers in Japan and New York. Dresses from Dublin and Morocco. Shoes are made up in Manchester. We also mix this up with hot vintage finds or great pieces that friends or family have found on their wanders.

Describe to me a typical Wanderland customer?
Our typical customer wouldn't be described as the most affluent of people yet when it comes to style and creativity they're rich. These girls and ladies don't buy their style, they put it together. They're not the clones that you often see as a result of high street marketing campaigns.

What is your work background?
I actually come from an IT Background, I worked as an IT trainer for a sofware company up until December 2008.


Who are your fashion influences?
My main fashion influences are mainly my mum and sisters; between them those ladies have style. I also take a lot from what I see on the streets, whether it's fabrics, items or just how certain items are worn. It's good to try out new things and and maybe mix them up a little. Today I went to work in one of my own tops that was missing a belt so I used the velvet lace from my ballet shoes. A belt would have been too bulky and the result was good.

Are there any celebs out there who you would like to dress in Wanderland style?
Kate Nash came into my shop in the first week of opening and loved it so much that she made a second trip up the three flights of stairs to make another purchase in the same day. So I suppose you could say I already have dressed a celeb. I'd happily do the same again for Kate or Lady Gaga.

You can find Wanderland Boutique at the following venues:

Afflecks Palace
Wanderland Boutique
Afflecks
3rd Floor
Short Street
Manchester

Mon-Friday 10.30am-6pm
Saturdays 10am-6pm

Dry Bar
28-30 Oldham Street
Manchester
M1 1JN

Saturdays 12pm-6pm

More dates will be added soon!

Adidas House Party

Now we all love that T-Mobile advert with people getting down at the train station but another commercial that has grabbed my eye is the Adidas house party. The three striped brand is celebrating 60 years in the business by throwing a huge house party and inviting celebs such as David Beckham, Estelle, Russell Simmons, Kevin Garnett, Missy Elliott, Katy Perry, The Ting Tings and skate boarder Mark Gonzales. Performing at the event are Norwegian hip hop band, Madcon with their hit single, Beggin. I really love the pop cultural references in the ad such as the graffiti, kids on skate boards and also on motorbikes. The ad is directed by Nima Nourizade who has made music videoa for Lily Allen and Mark Ronson. The advantage to Adidas not being as huge as Nike is that they hold a sense of allure and individuality. This gives them a sense of coolness that Nike could never match hence their strong affiliation with hip hop. The concert where Run DMC got everyone in the crowd to wave their Adidas sneaker in the air is legendary.

Check out the prologue of the advert below where we see the celebs being invited to the jam.

This scene below is where Kevin Garnett is challenged in a card game - the break dancing scene at the end is wicked.

It does make me wonder where creative agencies will go next with their concepts, they seem to be pushing the boundaries a lot and coming up with amazing stuff like the Virgin advert that never fails to blow me away every time I see it - which I wrote about here. Combine that to the T-Mobile ad that always makes me smile and the glamorous Marks and Spencer ones and adverts have become a lot of fun to watch. Spot al the celebs in the adverts and let me know if I have missed anyone out.

My Adidas

The iconic brand of Adidas have launched a new advert that traces the history of their trainers. The commercial, which airs this week sees Adidas creator, Adi Dassler in his workshop coming up with dynamic concepts. The short memorial goes on to feature other Adidas icons such as Muhammed Ali, Run DMC and Bob Marley. Now I am not a real trainer fan, in fact I have had the same pair of trainers for the last seven years; the Adidas original with three stripes. I bought them on a vacation in Sydney and these ones were white with light green stripes. To say that trainers are big money these days would be a complete understatement, the whole sport industry is worth gazillions. Nike is the big player of course with other brands following suit such as Reebok, Converse, Puma and of course Adidas. Apart from the Nike store which I really like having a browse through for inspiration, Nike does not really do it for me. I find their approach a bit too generic and their clothes very overpriced and unoriginal. I do admire their marketing tricks and find a lot of their adverts very engaging. The brand that is after my heart is Adidas as they represent everything that Nike isn't which is more edgy and slightly elusive. Basically Adidas is the Apple of the sportswear market and has a vintage image that was gained from the early days of hip hop. Rap legends, Run DMC were avid supporters of the brand and even penned a song called 'My Adidas.' Since then the brand has been through leaps and bounds and they broke through during 1998 when they produced some amazing adverts starring footballers Zinedine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero, Patrick Kluivert and David Beckham. Those adverts were beautifully shot and very dramatic. A few years later they followed with the basketball adverts where the likes of Vince Carter showed off some breath taking skills. Adidas was here to stay and they were not going anywhere. Since then Adidas have had a mouth watering list of sports stars on its roster such as Patrick Kluivert, Anna Kournikova, Zinedine Zidane, Kobe Bryant, Sergio Garcia, Donavan Bailey and of course David Beckham and they have all made their mark.

I have been wearing my old Adidas quite a bit lately on my way to and from work as my poor feet cannot do heels 24/7 anymore. Last year I decided that my old pair were a but beat up and went looking for a replacement. I saw a really nice pair of white ones with pink stripes, yeah really girly girly but I liked them. I was expecting to pay around �50 but I was surprised when the sales assistant told me that they had been reduced to �19.99. Not bad eh. The problem is that they are sooo white that I am kind of scared to wear them. I mean we are talking pristine white here At the moment they are still in the cool blue box that they came in till I pluck up the courage to put them on.