Shop in the Spotlight: Gloriously British

I've been on a lot of trains this week, from London to the Midlands, to North Wales and back again. As soon as the announcer is jabbering on about reading safety information and I'm tucking into a rather pathetic baguette from Upper Crust, I'm happy staring out of the window watching the country whizz by. Then I get bored and spend two hours faffing about on the internet. Gloriously British was one of my train journey discoveries.

I really like this Big Ben silhouette clock. You can choose between the outlines (I like the one at the bottom). They're by Jolly Smith and they're £32. What a marvellously clever design.

Laura showed you some excellent James Bond Kindle cases earlier this week, but if you're not that much of a Bond fan, these old book Kindle cases are blimmin' lovely. They're £24.99.

I know I'm meant to be getting excited about her alpaca fingerless gloves (next to bloody useless outside, but handy for when it's cold in your office and you're typing emails), but I think this might just be a plea to my hairdresser: I NEED MY HAIR IN PLAITS LIKE THIS.

This gorgeous orange bag looks like leather, but it's actually made from a decommissioned fireman's hose (in active duty for up to 30 years). And the lining is made from parachute silk. It's the toughest, most kick ass handbag that there ever was.

Bag Lust: Ollie & Nic Green Lock Bag

Ollie & Nic manage to achieve something pretty great. They offer a range of smart, slightly quirky bags that do a great job of looking like leather. Not only that, but they're affordable and actually last as though they are leather. Most non-leather bags start to look tatty pretty quickly. I can't call them my go-to handbag shop because I don't need them to be. I've bought one and it's lasted years despite being used all the time and carrying around all of my junk (why are there three books in my bag today?) I'm consistently impressed by them.

And I'm in instant lust with this green lock bag. It's such a gorgeously rich colour. And actually, if I'd said it was leather, I think at first glance you'd have believed me. Ollie & Nic actually do a leather range (and my heart is aching over this orange tote bag that I can't afford), but this is the bag I'm most crazy at right now. And it's in the sale so it's £40 down from £60.

That bag is mine.

Totes Amaze

The only time it's acceptable to say 'totes amaze' without being ironic is when you're talking about amazing totes. Obviously.

I want a bag of tricks. Even if you just got rubbish in your bag (note to self: throw those damn chocolate wrappers away), everyone will think you've got magic in your bag. This is from Alphabet Bags and it's £12.

A tote from the Tate! Alice in Wonderland imagery was made for tote bags. I bloody love this and it's only a tenner.

Going somewhere? If you have a stalker, this might not be the best bag to carry around. If you're stalker-free, you can find these at Door 77 for a tenner.

Pigeons and jelly are high up on my list of things I want on a tote bag. Or anything, really. This is a classic thornback & peel design, and it's only £12 (sadly their images of it are teeny, but you know what a tote bag looks like). Put packets of jelly in it.

Everything is a good idea at 2am. (Note: NOTHING is a good idea at 2am.) This tote is from Joy of Ex Foundation at Bouf, it's £9.65.

Design Porn: Wolfram Lohr

I like a company that has a bit of a journey to where it is today. Seeing how design evolves, watching as trends influence a company in a positive way, helping it grow and shape itself into something new really interests me.

Wolfram Lohr is a little like that. Wolfram started out as a shoemaker fifteen years ago and then expanded his range into leather accessories.

Then he met Sarah Gardner, and their own partnership grew and evolved, just like Wolfram's business. Now they offer a range for women and they're based in Brighton where they live with their family.

I don't have an iPad, if I had one I'd want this satchel. I think I want an iPad just so I can buy an iPad satchel.

I miss pencil cases. I'd like this bright yellow one.

Prices start at £25 for a little purse, and whoosh all the way up to £350 for their post bags. Actually, the price ranges around the middle seem pretty reasonable for handmade leather goods - the iPad satchels are £125 (I've seen some very ugly ones for not much less than £100). They leather is Italian and my goodness, it'll age so beautifully.  I really like what Wolfram Lohr are about, they've got something very special.

Bag Lust: Floral Urban Outfitters bag

For Kat's birthday last year, I bought her the prettiest bag from Miss Selfridge. It was an embossed doctor's bag and absolutely perfect for her. But then it broke and since she can't use it anymore, I went on a hunt for a similar one. I found this briefcase bag and it's really quite similar. It's even got floral embossing.

Isn't it lovely? It's one of those 'look at my lovely bag, I might have important documents in here' kind of bags. I don't think Kat will put important documents in it. Maybe magazines and graphic novels. Perhaps an apple sometimes.

Want to buy this piece of gorgeousness? It's a really very reasonable £28 from Urban Outfitters.

Shop in the Spotlight: Independent Boutique

It's not the catchiest of names, but Independent Boutique promises to have the best independent British brands under one (internet) roof. With a claim like that, I had to have a snoop with a cuppa this morning. I'm also singing the Toys R Us theme tune.

This handmade ruffled leather clutch is by Karrah Designs and it's just £30. It's such a gorgeous colour. and the leather looks super soft.

Could Comfort Station jewellery be any more swoonsome? This silver charm bracelet has the geographical co-ordinates for the Devonshire town of Hope. This would make the most wonderful gift (for me). It's £88.

This cord print dress is by Alice Takes a Trip. I'd never heard of them until this morning. They're a little bit quirky and will basically make getting dressed much easier. Especially when you go out on Saturday morning and don't come home until Sunday night. This is £68.

This is just a peek into a huge collection of designers. Independent Boutique is a bit like Etsy-meets-ASOS Marketplace-meets Joy. The prices are varied - I can't afford everything in the shop but it's not all so expensive that it makes me eyes water. It's going straight into my bookmarks. After I've treated myself to that handbag.

Oasis' 90 minute delivery for 90p is back!

Thursday is being crap. Thursday has made me shout a bit. Actually, Thursday nearly made me cry. Thursday and I are Definitely Not Friends. And Oasis are here to save the day.

Their 90 minute delivery service is excellent. I've never been let down by it. You can track a little motorbike as he whooshes to your desk (truly an excellent use of your time) and if you're in a hurry then it's well worth the £9.99. But today it's just 90p! Every time Oasis do this, I spend my money and get new stuff within the hour. Take that, Thursday. You little bitch.

I've had my beady eye on this shirt for a while now. I love the pastel colour blocking, but I like that's it's still preppy. Preppy shirts are the best. It's £45.

I do adore this lace dress. Enough to pay £85 for it? It's tempting once you factor in the free delivery. The scallop edging makes me happy.

There are some gorgeous bargains to be had in the sale as well! This spot-tastic jumper is just £25. And it's cold out, you're freezing in that summery top, aren't you?

I'm still on a pastel binge so maybe I'll get this shopper bag as well. It's £35 and is so big I could probably live in it.

You've actually got until 3pm tomorrow to take advantage of the offer, but if you order now, you'll have shiny new stuff before the end of the day. Go go go!

Bag Lust: ASOS Mouse Bag

This is a bag that looks like it deserves a name. No, wait. Not it. He. Isn't he cute? I instantly want to call him Monty or something like that. He absolutely looks like a Monty Mouse Bag.

I truly have no idea why the model has that look on her face, but let's move on from that and look at the bag again. He's not leather, although he's doing a pretty good job of pretending. He's also only £18 from ASOS, which makes him a lot cheaper than these Charlotte Olympia beauties.

Cat shoes or mouse bag? Which is cuter? I think mouse bag. Which is good, since the cat shoes are £375.

Thanks to Anne Woollenberg for sharing the mouse bag with us via Twitter. He's adorable.

Victoria Eggs Model London

When I was little I never got the fascination of Airfix models. I was too busy playing with She-Ra or building whatever I wanted out of Lego. As an adult though, I totally want an Airfix model of London to make up for the fact I'm not there as often as I'd like. That'd be an practical impossibility though - London is quite big. Victoria Eggs have taken some London icons and strung them together Airfix style which more than makes up for it.

These mugs are £10 each. If you have no space in your cupboards for any more mugs though, you can get the design on a canvas bag. Canvas bags are never not useful. These ones are £12 each.

Much more practical than a scale model of an entire city. And the good news? Because Victoria Eggs are, erm, good eggs, postage is free. Lovely.

Shop in the Spotlight: I like it here

It's nice when you find a little shop and think to yourself 'I like it here'. I do it with Utility in Brighton and Ryan Town in London. They're nice to walk around, the staff are friendly. They're full of surprising things. It's hard to translate that into an online shop. But the aptly-named online boutique I Like It Here have done a fine job.

Not only is this soap cube stylish, it's made in the traditional Marseilles method and has 72% olive oil in it. That's got to be good for your skin. It's only £4.

I know I can't afford this leather messenger bag (it's nearly five hundred quid). Why are you trying to ruin it for me?

Enamel, animal motifs. I want this entire range (it starts at £15).

That is one very sexy glass decanter. it's vintage and it's £64.

Yep. I really do like it here.

Bag Lust: Beautiful Box Bag

Handbags seem to be getting an elegant touch this autumn. Chains instead of straps, a little bit of Chanel-esque quilting, and boxy shapes that look very classy indeed. I want them all. You can't have enough handbags. I think I have more bags than I do shoes (but I use the same two all the time, obviously).

I like this navy bag so much that it's ended up on my birthday list (tomorrow, have I mentioned that?) It's £15 from Dorothy Perkins and it's gorgeous. Navy and mustard together make for very happy bedfellows, don't they? There's something very preppy and classic about the combination that suits the bag perfectly. It also looks roomy enough for lots of stuff. Like birthday cards.

Shop in the spotlight: Sophia & Matt

Sophia & Matt are a bit of a local success story around Sluttery HQ parts. They started out in Greenwich Market, and their gorgeous bags in quirky prints have done so well that they've set up shop in my little part of London. In one of the best locations too.

As you can see, they're all about the spots and stripes and bright colours. All things that I approve of.

You can buy any size of bag - from tiny coin purses to handbags, shoppers and baby changing bags.

The shop might be small, but that doesn't mean that Sophia & Matt have forgotten the little details. Their mosaic shop counter is divine. It's just the two of them - they quite literally do everything and 98% of their stuff is made in the UK. It's nice to know that when you buy something from them, it's been designer, cut (by hand) and in some case sewn by Sophia herself. They built their website, they'll write you thank you notes if you order online.

They'll put a smile on your face.

Pop in and see them next time you're in Greenwich. They're at 28 Greenwich Church Street.

Bag Lust: Oasis Colour Block Leather Shopper

Some facts about this insanely beautiful range of colour block shoppers from Oasis.

They're £50.

They're made with supersoft leather.

They're big enough to put a laptop in.

I'm buying one.

Etsy Pick: HeatherJean

When my friend Tom told me his lovely girlfriend Heather was setting up her own business to recycle fabric, I was intrigued. I was imagining some kind of industrial recycling plant (my mind works in mysterious ways sometimes) but I was infinitely more pleased to find out he meant that she was making very useful bags out of vintage fabric. A much nicer way to recycle, no?

I'm particularly taken with this wash bag made from an old scarf. It's £16.

I also like this shopping bag. You can fit a lot of stuff in there time and time again which makes £15 a bit of a bargain.

Heather makes cushion covers too. These ones need to be on my sofa ready for winter period drama viewing. They come as a pair for £10. She can supply the actual cushion bit too if you ask nicely.

All the pieces are one offs as you'd expect from being made from vintage fabric but I'll be keeping my eye out for what she makes next!

She died of indecision

Fashion is always more fun if you can construct some sort of story around it. On one level, it's the dress you put on to appear like your confident self, or the glasses you wear when you want to be taken more seriously. On a whole other level, it's the elaborate fictions you can construct around a range of bags. Just me? Start dreaming up your very own melodrama, and throw in the name of the company She Died of Beauty for inspiration.

She Died of Beauty have printed their name, and a host of other dramatic deaths, across a range of t-shirts and tote bags. The bags are £20 each, the T-Shirts are £40 each and the gruesome details of the back stories are up to you. Does this bag illustrate the fate of a beautiful lady, so stunning people were afraid to speak to her? She dies alone, one perfectly formed tear trickling down her perfectly formed cheek.

It's quite hard to pick a favourite design/story. Was this victim smothered to death with kisses? Or did she suffer from an unfortunate allergy, triggered in a tentative first peck?

How about this one? Lured to her death by a cad's elaborate plot? Or simply overcome by the pains of a broken heart?

And finally, did this poor woman suffer a cruel side effect of too much Botox? Or could she have been killed by a jealous rival?

I had so much fun speculating on the stories that could lie behind the bags I was a little disappointed to learn the company was set up by the model Erin O'Connor and her friend, stylist Kate Halfpenny, rather than some long-haired damsel desperately screen-printing away in her lonely garret. My little daydreams died from a healthy dose of reality. Oh well - well done ladies anyway, I really like your bags. 

Bag Lust: Freeload Accessories Messenger Bag

Freeload Accessories are responsible for some very covetable bags. The kind that make you run down the street to ask where the wearer where you might get one. The kind that will make the wearer not want to tell you.

This is my favourite bag. I love the colour, I love the shape, I love that my brain now thinks £165 is perfectly reasonable. But you can tell just from looking at it that it's very good quality leather. It comes in a tan colour, as well as classic black, but it's this one that might just make me part with my pennies.

Apparently it's big enough for A4 files, which means that my little Macbook will just fit in there too. It's unisex, but they do bags for men and women in their range and they offer a bespoke service too. Every single one as beautiful as this one.