Red Faces at 40 Savile Row, M&S Bespoke Shirts Triumph

A test of made to measure shirts carried out by Which? has placed a £30 shirt from Marks and Spencer well above a £165 shirt from tailors at 40 Savile Row. The embarrasing results came after three bespoke shirts were ordered over the internet. The M&S; shirts apparently fitted well, whilst the shirts from 40 Savile Row were described as too “baggy”.

To find out more about the M&S; Bespoke shirt range, visit the Marks and Spencer website and select the Made To Measure option under Menswear.

Read more in the Telegraph

Bond Noël – Bond St Christmas Light Switch On

The countdown to Christmas really begins when lovers of the seasonal time will assemble at the corner of Old Bond Street and Burlington Gardens tonight for Bond Noël – the annual Bond Street Christmas light switch on.

There will be reindeer, christmas trees, carol singers and snow all the way down Bond Street and an as yet unnames special guest to do the honours of turning on the lights. It should be quite an event so pop along and get into the Christmas spirit. There’s also going to be a luxury tombola in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Bond Noël lasts from 5pm until 8pm, with the switch on scheduled for 6pm.

UPDATE: The unnamed celebrity turned out to be quite a good – Miss Kelly Brook! There’s some great pictures of the event on Flickr…

Mayfair To Feel Effects of Credit Crunch

Mayfair has long been the home of London’s hedge fund community. Many of these slightly secretive, sophisticated financial vehicles have taken a real hammering as a result of the global economic crisis, and this sector could be facing closures on a large scale.

The hedge fund community collectively have accounted for a major slice of Mayfair’s commercial property tenants, and they paid premium rents. We’re talking super prime rates which put even the City of London in the shade. They could afford to do this because, frankly, there was huge amounts of money sloshing about.

But as many firms close down or move out, and demand for office space set to fall with companies unwilliing or no longer able to afford previous rates, office landlords in Mayfair can look forward to a period of markedly reduced rental income and unlet space.

More on the effects of the Credit Crunch on Mayfair’s hedge fund community in the Telegraph.

Li & Fung Buys Hardy Amies

Li & Fung, a Hong Kong based fashion company, has done a deal with the Administrators of Hardy Amies to buy all rights to the brand and the lease of its Savile Row store.

The deal does not include the historic company’s other retail outlets and they look set to close.

Hardy Amies had been struggling and went into Adminsistration last month. Kroll were appointed to handle the company’s assets but were not able to sell the entire business as a going concern.

More on this story from Drapers Online.

Heywood Hill Extends Opening Hours For Christmas

Heywood Hill – specialists in old and new books – are opening late on the four Wednesdays before Christmas Eve, extending their closing time until 7pm. So take advantage of the extra shopping time and pop along on the evenings of November 26th, December 3rd, December 10th and December 17th to pick up an extra special present from this well regarded bookshop.

And if you’re one of those people that like to leave your Christmas shopping til the last minute – like me – then you will pleased to know that they are also staying open until 1.30pm on Christmas Eve.

Heywood Hill is at 10 Curzon Street.

Westfield Hits West End

According to figures in the Sunday Telegraph, footfall in Oxford St, Regent St, Bond St and South Molton st slumped by 25% during the Westfield’s first week. For those that don’t know – and there can’t be many – Westfield is the new shopping centre in Shepherds Bush which is packed with designer brands with the intention of attracting your typical Bond St shoppers.

The fall in shoppers is being directly attributed to Westfield, but since the comparison for footfall is based on year-on-year figures, could the credit crunch and apparent recession also be playing a part?

Have you been to Westfield yet? What did you think?

Spirit of Christmas at Grosvenor Chapel

“The Spirit of Christmas” annual event, featuring candlelit music and readings will take place at Grosvenor Chapel on the 9th December at 7pm. It will be held in the presence of HRH Princess Michael of Kent and will include readings from Charles Dance, Michelle Dockery, Patrick Godfrey, Pamela Miles, Tim Pigott-Smith and Amanda Walker.

This will be a followed by a champagne reception at Thomas Goode. Tickets cost £35 for the concert, or £75 for the concert and reception. The concert takes place in aid of Grosvenor Chapel and HFT.

For ticket information, contact the Grosvenor Chapel Office on 020 7499 1684.

Mayfair Townhouse Becomes Squat

A Mayfair townhouse with an estimated value of £6million has been taken over by eight squatters. The listed building in Upper Grosvenor Street has reportedly been occupied by the group for three weeks after they watched the building for months and noticed it was unused. The leasehold is owned by a company registered in the Virgin Islands, and they have so far not begun the legal steps required to have the squatters removed.

According to the Evening Standard, the squatters claimed that the building was falling into disrepair, and they have actually started to improve its condition in order to make it liveable for them.

What do you think about this? Who has committed the most wrong-doing – those occupying someone else’s property, or the leaseholder that leaves an amazing, listed London property empty and in disrepair?

Do you know the squatters? We’ve love to hear from them and get some pictures from inside.

See also:
Telegraph: Squatters turn £6.25million Townhouse into Anarchist Commune
Melbourne Herald Sun: Da! collective squatters live it up in Mayfair Mansion