b'COS i love you...

One thing I miss most about London is the availability of this particular brand---COS. For the uninitiated, COS stands for Collection of Style, and it is owned by the Hennes and Mauritz group, the same group that runs H&M and is the 3rd largest fashion conglomerate in the world, just behind GAP Inc and Inditex---the name behind Zara and Massimo Dutti.

Unlike H&M, COS is the anti-trend high street brand, prefering to stick to quality classics with a twist. Think Jil Stander, Helmut Lang, ck Calvin Klein and Balenciaga.

I didn't know of this brand until I started studying in London and saw it mentioned many times in Instyle UK. I thought the clothes rather stylish---the quietly elegant look that I love---and decided to seek out this elusive brand.

It was love at first sight.

Now that I'm back in Singapore, I still scout the brand's website every single day (yes, withdrawal symptoms are that bad) hoping to get a glimpse of their spring/summer 2010 collection. Unlike COS' menswear, where the key SS 2010 looks have been posted out, the same doesn't hold for womenswear.

Alas!

Still, there are some crumbs to keep me satisfied till they do their balldrop. So here goes my tribute to this fantastic FANTASTIC (anti)-high street brand that changed my style from more French Gamine to a more artsy, edgy mix.

These are some pictures of their shop in Covent Garden which I used to visit whenever I had time to spare. It was snuggled right next to Massimo Dutti---another of my favourite shops---so it was a match made in Heaven for me, especially since

1.my school was near Covent Garden.
2. my dorm was near enough Covent Garden---it was a short bus ride there, though I could walk if i chose to
3. Covent Garden was one of my favourite shopping haunts in London, especially for it's quaint cobbled stoned streets and it's slower pace, especially compared to Oxford Street (hate that area).






Won't you agree that the interior design is just gorgeous? I have rarely seen a shop (either high street or designer) so beautiful. The sales staff were very friendly too, particularly one Indonesian girl and this other British salesgirl. I don't know their names but I remember their faces and enjoyed their fantastic warm service. The British girl introduced me to this pair of cropped black pants---she said she had introduced it to many a shopper and they loved it---she can add me to the list of happy customers.



Two SS 2010 looks from them that I love love. Artsy and elegant.



These are from last year's winter collection. I especially like the look on the right---the bunching, the play on proportions (though I wouldn't have worn a black bra!). It's quite difficult to make a pair of such unusually shaped pants not look clownish, but this look just nails it. Quietly quirky.



This is also from last year's autumn/winter collection. I have a similar top---bought from them in 2008. The top is wool but the skirt is chiffon, so a nice mix of textures.

Anyway, for the new pieces out this week, there are...


very nice anorak. I can think of so many ways to pair this! Cropped pants with black platform pumps. With skinny navy blue or grey jeans and gold sandals. With crisp cream or white shorts and pretty K Jacques or Musa sandals.

Or these Balenciaga ones!



Then there are the nautical stripes...




I bought a dress that looks similar to the one on top last year. But somehow I think mine looks nicer. In my case, the placing of the stripes at the bodice is not linked to the stripes on the shoulders, thus breaking up the stripes---a look a prefer---as compared to the linking of the stripes in this dress.

The red and white stripes are very stereotypical French chic. Just add a beret and you're good to go.

Photographs from: cosstores.com, brownsfashion.com