hopping
Thou shat covet
Step inside this kitsch emporium and leave with your credit card in pieces
t's a common affliction among women of a certain age: step out
for a pint of milk . . . return with a bin shaped like a huge rabbit,
an ice-cream pink 19505 phone and a furry handbag. And your original mission (milk, remember?) is forgotten in a pink-tinged, impulsive shopping haze.
Paraphernalia like this, and much more, is within all-too-easy reach at Felix and Oscar, a staple shopping stop within Glasgow’s West End. Lots of shiny, wantable things abound in both the Great Western Road and DeCourcy's Arcade stores.
Sandy Welch, an actor by trade, and textile designer Sandra Payne got together and started Felix and Oscar in 1998. Originally opening in DeCourcy’s Arcade on Cresswell Lane and named after the owner’s two sons (aww), it‘s gradually expanded and has become a respected stockist of rare kitsch, sleek Alessi kitchen appliances. and luscious gifts. It also stocks beautiful cards by Payne & lnk, Bloom cosmetics and E Coudray toiletries.
Felix and Oscar has avoided with ease the usual pitfalls which have affected lesser stores. Nothing is too trashy to be embarrassing, and everything is just about affordable. The mugs, the jewellery, the tiny little T-shirts and even the ashtrays are all irresistible. If you're skint, why not invest in some designer paper hankies?
It‘s a cheerful gathering of every designer name and accessory ever pined after, from Dolce 8. Gabbana watches to Marilyn Monroe pencil cases. Fear for your plastic - possession becomes paramount, and whether you actually need it or not, it becomes joyfully irrelevant in the mists of comfort shopping.
In the wrong hands, something like Felix and Oscar could be dangerous; thankfully, it‘s only threatening to your overdraft. (Rowan Martin)
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Sweet sensations
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Products, fashion and style
concur: WARDROBE
Exclusive clothes. accessones. Jewelery, and much more.
317 — 319 Cowgate, Old Town, Edinburgh, EH1 1 A.
tel 0131 558 7130. Festival openin hours.
mon - fn 2-6pm, sat - sun 12-5pm.
concur: BUTTERFLY
Furniture, interiors and all you need for your home
THE LIST 41