An occasional series of interviews with members of the online fashion community.
Jemma Tibbals works on the fashion desk at
Handbag.com, and is a freelance stylist.
What are your favourite shops online and on the street?
I am a little allergic to buying online, but I have been lured in by
The Outnet a few times. I love the
V&A shop for fun accessories (I've just bought
this hat) and although I’m yet to buy from it,
Claire Incorruptible is an amazing site, selling vintage Alaia, Balenciaga and Chanel. Vintage fairs (Hammersmith vintage fashion fair is a good one) and charity shops are my ideal places to shop, because they’re cheap so you can buy something flamboyant and not feel guilty if you only wear it once. My favourite shops include
Liberty,
H&M and
Petit Bateau; I also really love the dance shop
Freed on St Martins Lane for wrap-around cardigans, which are a staple in my wardrobe.
Other than Handbag.com, what are your regular go-to websites for fashion info – including blogs, online magazines etc?
WWD,
Style.com,
The Business of Fashion,
The Telegraph and
Vogue.com are my everyday ports of call for news.
Refinery29,
New York Magazine,
The Daily,
T Magazine,
On the Runway by Cathy Horyn,
Fashionologie,
Fashion Copious,
Shala,
RDuJour,
Fashion Gone Rogue,
Curiouser and Curiouser - the list is endless. Guilty pleasure:
The Daily Mail website - don’t knock it 'til you’ve tried it!
What's the most successful thing you've ever published online?
My
trend translated stories on
Handbag.com get the best reaction. It’s a similar idea to
Polyvore, which has proven ridiculously popular.
What are your favourite London hangouts?
Marie’s Cafe on Lower Marsh does delicious, cheap Thai food. Just down the road from there is ScooterCaffe - recently voted one of the best secret cafes by Time Out - which is a nice place to go for a drink. They have three cats - it’s a bit like someone’s front room. Do book shops count as hangouts? For the best unique finds I go to the ones on Charing Cross Road. I basically ride everywhere on my bike, you get to see loads more of London that way.
What's the future for fashion and the internet?
I think more of what we have now: Continued access-all-areas from fashion houses and fashion editors through the insights on their blogs, and lots more magazines going down the interactive route.