You know the day does not bode well when the first thing you are faced with your laptop's failure to cooperate.  At this moment I have commandeered a friends laptop to let you that I am experiencing some technical issues right now but with some luck (and probably a whole load of coffee and words unsuitable for broadcast) normal service will resume as soon as possible, hopefully it won't take long as later this week I'll have some great new pictures for you.

Mary Portas aka Mary Queen of Shops is my shopping heroine.
Having just watched her new show Mary Portas: Secret Shopper (Wednesday 9pm Chanel 4) I had to come and blog because I could not agree with her more.

Customer service on the high street is dire, it no great secret but it's also something that nothing is ever really done about. In a time when headlines are dominated with tales of job losses, closures and general financial doom and gloom the high street needs every single penny it can get. For the customer, with their own worries and concerns, when they do decide to spend to their hard earned cash the experience should be a pleasure not another source of frustration.

The general corporate solution to concerns of a customer service nature is to send in the "Secret Shopper", however the Secret Shopper mission generally has such regimented criteria that their experience does not reflect that of the true shoppers. Good customer service is not bombarding people at the till with suggestions of store cards, magazines, mobile phone top up's, chocolate bars etc etc it's being friendly, it's offering help, it's a please and a thank you and ultimately it's really not that hard.

Well dear readers enough is enough and here's how you can help.

• If you are a twitter user then simply tweet about your customer service experience and add #secretshopper to your tweet.
• Alternatively you can also become a real Secret Shopper on the Mary Portas: Secret Shopper page just like the page and add your experiences there (don't forget to add I'll Take Both to like's while you're there!)
• Don't forget to swing by the Mary Portas website where you can actually rate the nations shops on their service, who do think is the best and worst in the UK?
• Finally if you want to leave a store review right here feel free to so get it off your chest it's time for the people to speak up!

MR PORTER, the soon to launched men's retail destination from Net-A-Porter, is giving you the chance to become one of it's founding members.

As a founding member there will be some perks such as

• Exclusive access to the site before it launches to the public
• Complimentary shipping on all purchases made during this period
• Seasonal previews and MR PORTER exclusives
• Access to a team of Personal Shoppers for expert style advice

The site is due to launch next month and my fiance, a man who likes to shop possibly more than I do, has already submitted his details. As yet the actual date for launch is not know but you will be emailed once the exclusive access is live. 
MR PORTER is a little slow to load at the moment but please be patient it's a brand new site and I'm sure they'll work this out.

If you have seen the new Mulberry Ad campaign and are curious about the featured Tillie bag, then wonder no further all will be revealed.


Tillie is newest family of bags from Mulberry and she's bursting with pretty practicality, she's roomy enough to carry all your things but still looks beautiful doing it.

Mulberry Tillie Beige Sparkle Tweed, £812

In the family there are three shapes of Tillie, the satchel, the tote and the hobo each with the signature details of trompe l'oeil buckles, rivets and eyelets.
With the exception on the hobo (shown below) Tillie has multiple straps for optional messenger, shoulder or hand carrying

Mulberry Tillie Hobo in Chestnut Matte, £914

Mulberry Tillie Hobo Black Matte, £914

If you are looking for a new city or work bag then you should seriously consider taking a closer look at Tillie, at current there are four colour/material options; Black or Chestnut matte leather, Powder Beige Sparkle tweed and Light Peach calf hair. Admittedly the latter two wouldn't be my first choice for a work bag although I do love the rose gold hard wear and think they'd be beautiful casual summer day bags.

Mulberry Tillie Tote in Light Peach Calf Hair, £2043

The Mulberry Tillie bags are available in stores or online at Mulberry.com or NET-A-PORTER.

You can find more pictures of the Mulberry Tillie family on I'll Take Both's new Facebook page, don't forget to "like" us

Pics: Mulberry

I love the first run of new ad campaigns and tend to spend as long pouring over all the little details as I do on the actual magazine's articles.  I used to cut them out and save them but that habit quickly got out of control and I'm not trying appear on an episode of Hoarders. 
When the latest edition of Elle dropped through my letterbox and had the new ad campaigns in I couldn't wait to share them (plus putting them online feed's my hoarding habit without actually living under piles of paper).

So here's a round up of the those all important first few pages from Elle. What's your favourite?

Love this Black and White Classic Flap Bag!

Woven, Studded, Punctured, Knotted Beautiful Gucci

The sparkle on the fans is amazing I can't wait to see these in real life

Mulberry in full bloom showcasing the Tille Bags.

Pretty Tri-colour Muse Two and I love the bracelet

To a shoe addict there are many styles that can be considered works of art, some so precious you'd rather display them then wear them.

Nicholas Kirkwood has taken the Shoe as Art concept a little further by actually adorning shoes with art by the late artist Keith Haring.

Working with the Keith Haring Foundation, a charity established in 1989 to assist AIDS-related and Children's charities, Kirkwood has created 12 styles including his first ever ballet pump which will be available from February.

Prices for the range start at £300 (the red heeled pump in the first pic retails for £785), for more details on the range or availability in your area please check out the Nicholas Kirkwood stockist's.

Pics: Style.com

A  little while ago I showed you the next group of Leopard Scarves from Louis Vuitton, however with this release there is a little change to the regular product.


In previous years the Leopard Scarves (etole) were a blend of cashmere and silk, the new releases will actually be Pareo's and are made completely from cotton.

This change is reflected in the price with the New Leopard Pareo's retailing for £285 v's the Etole at £475-£545 and even more for the Bond Street editions.

So what do you think? Will the change in material make you want the scarf more? or less? 

Louis Vuitton took a trip to the 1920's in the latest Pre-Fall collection, clothing featured the use of mixed materials including anything from Silk to Sheepskin and Sequins to Tweed.
Unless there are images not yet released the 2011 Pre-Fall seems a little smaller than in recent years with only three bags shown again featuring mixed materials in a somber colour palette.



Pics: WWD

Edited to add:  I just wanted to add a little update or more accurately a close up of the Pre Fall Bags.





Close up Pics: Style.com

Metallic One Shoulder Dress £289, Now £125

If you haven't reached sale burnout yet you may want to check out Secret Sales for the Halston Heritage sale. Running for another seven days the Halston Heritage sale is four pages of Studio 54 glamour at up to 60% off. You may recognise some of the styles from the Sex and the City 2 movie where it was so heavily featured the movie practically served as the lookbook for the line.

Pleated Cocktail Dress was £385, Now £170

Pics: Halson Heritage at Secret Sales, Sex and the City 2