Don’t miss this chance to meet Dan Sullivan, the owner & designer of Irregular Choice (our favourite English shoes)!

Making his way from Brighton, England just to visit BUS STOP, Dan will be here for one night only, along with DJ Under spinning music with a British flavour!

The first guests to arrive will receive goodies from Irregular Choice! Nibbles and libations will be served.

BUS STOP’S BIRTHDAY BASH
Thursday, April 10
9pm - Midnight

We’re throwing a party to celebrate our birthday. Shoe cake, shoe cookies baked with love by Wally Scott & champagne while we get our funk on with dj rêve playing British tunes! Complimentary birthday gift - a pair of Look from London Hosiery with every purchase of an item on sale plus 10% OFF any one non-sale item!

Unveiling F Troupe spring collection just in from London, new to BUS STOP and exclusive to Philly! Mesh polka dot ankle boot, vintage pumps and flats you’ll go nutty for!

BRITISH INVASION
Friday, April 25
5:30pm - 8:30pm

Special guest appearance by Irregular Choice (our favourite English shoe designer) along with a live DJ spinning music with a British flavour! The first guests to arrive will receive goodies from Irregular Choice! Nibbles and libations will be served.

Cheers!

Philadelphia and London might not seem to have much in common (except for gloomy weather), especially considering the South Philly trademarks of cheesesteaks, the Eagles and Italian BYOs versus a city that calls soccer “football” and regularly serves dishes like mince pies.

Food and sports aside, there’s at least one frequency where the cities are on the same wavelength: Fashion. According to London native Elena Brennan, who opened her shop Bus Stop Boutique, 750 S. Fourth St., a year ago, the young, arty crowds in Philly are starting to look more and more like the Euro hipsters of East London. Brennan has decided to celebrate - and stimulate - the fashion-savvy connections between her new neighborhood and hometown. Zooming in on trends that have jumped the pond, the boutique owner will host a party April 25 that’s cleverly dubbed British Invasion.

“The original British Invasion was more about music, when the Beatles and The Kinks in the 60s and 70s invaded America,” Brennan, who now lives in Bella Vista, said, adding with a laugh, “Now it’s my British Invasion: Elena is here in Philadelphia.”

After years combing East London’s sprawling clothing markets, Brennan came to Philly eager to introduce overseas labels. During the Invasion, Brit-based designer Irregular Choice will make a special appearance and the first partiers to arrive will get complimentary goodies from its funky, colorful collection. The label’s trademark shoe design - which consists of playful images like a little girl with oversized bows in her hair talking on an old-fashioned telephone or dewy-eyed teddy bears printed on the soles - has been a hit, Brennan said, especially since it’s hard to find in Philly.

Although this event does drift away from the shop owner’s usual local-centric mindset (since opening, Bus Stop has hosted exhibits for local artists, First Friday shindig-sales and trunk shows for Philly designers), Brennan loves her Fourth Street home and is celebrating her one-year birthday April 10. An epitome of Philly-London fusion, Champagne along with a decadent display of shoe-shaped cupcakes and sugar cookies created by West Philly bakery Wally Scott will be served, DJ Reve will play British tracks and birthday gifts from Look from London Hosiery will be on offer.

Adding to the all-hail-Britannia vibe, designer F-Troupe’s spring collection will be introduced fresh off the rack from London. Along with handbags and jewelry, the label consists of shoes made from material found at garage sales and street markets that have a vintage-looking, ultra-alternative style. For example, Brennan referred to a pair of small mesh boots with rubber soles that are transparent and embroidered with polka dots of purple, gray, silver and brown.

London might be known as one of the world’s fashion centers, but it looks like South Philly just might be on the same path. And with shops like Bus Stop bringing over never-before-seen British designers as well as supporting local musicians and artists, it seems a relationship between two cities is quietly, stylishly developing on Fourth Street.

Now how’s that for filling a culture gap?

Being completely susceptible to all manner of local trends, I scored mine Wednesday night during a lil’ party at Bus Stop Boutique (and tacked on a pair of stupendous United Nude black ankle boots with Chevron stitiching for good measure). I told Romy that I was buying it for a gift. I lied.

Neckwarmers $58 - $68 at Bus Stop Boutique, 750 S. 4th Street, 215.627-2357.

Well, don’t judge. She had to drink that much because her feet were killing her.

If only she knew about Marcello Toshi Creazoni, a sexy line of shoes handcrafted by artisans in Peru. Rather than being instruments of torture, the heels flatter the foot - and your entire form - with exaggerated feminine accents (oversize bows with visible stitching; gathered ruffled leather; laces and braids) and cuts that are super low on the sides, drawing attention to the arch and instep without being unbearably steep.

So the wearer can dance the night away with her look - and, hopefully her dignity - intact.

Available at Bus Stop Boutique, 750 S, Fourth Street, (215-627-2357). To see styles, go to marcellotoshi.com.

I stumbled upon this lovely little shop on a recent trip to Philly’s Fabric Row. This new shoe lover’s heaven is owned by the bubbly and charming brit-import, Elenna Brennan. The store is filled with colorful shoes that are not only unique and striking, but many are built for comfort too. Many come from Spain…why do the Spaniards seem to do comfortable stylish shoes so well? Why ask why? If the shoe fits, wear it.

Sadly for my budget (but happily for my wardrobe) my drug of choice is shoes. These days, my supplier is Elena, the deceptively shrewd, instinctively trendy proprietor of Bus Stop shoes. Elena has an uncanny knack for stocking shoes that you won’t find anywhere else and that you won’t be able to live without.

Everything here is imported–the shelves are stocked with Terra Plana from the UK, Lolas from Spain, Repetto from Paris, Marcelo from Peru, and Morenatom from Brazil. Bus Stop also carries a line of eco-friendly shoes made from vegetable dyes, chrome-free leathers and recycled materials. And lest you think they are clunky-looking clodhoppers, think again. They are so stylish even Carrie Bradshaw would go weak in the knees.

The selection isn’t huge–this isn’t DSW Warehouse after all. But every single shoe there could easily have come off a runway. Really, if you can never hear “where did you get those shoes?” too often, Bus Stop is your place.

Keinice Samples!

Quick! Change your plans for tonight. Bus Stop is hosting a fashionably fleeting Keinice sample sale.

In the year since she moved to the States, Tokyo-turned-Philadelphia designer Keiko Ozaki has become the darling of you, our beloved, local fashion set. You’ve checked out Ozaki’s cool jumpers at Omoi. You’ve admired her vintage kimono-cloth shifts at Ecochic. You’ve coveted her cute jackets at Vagabond. Tonight - and only tonight - you can actually buy - or, as we say, invest in - some of the greatest samples from Keinice’s winter and spring collections.

Of course, Bus Stop owner Elena Brennan wouldn’t throw a sale for one without putting on a sale of her own. Look for deep discounts on chic Brazilian bags, cool Halian kicks - and hopefully those adorable boots with the open-zipper design detailing in size 37 (hint, hint, Elena).

For three hours only. Quick! Let us out of work early!

5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Bus Stop Boutique

What else are you supposed to think with all that heavy metal hardware and stiff leather digging into your shoulder, banging your hip, and weighing you down?

Dautore, a new Brazilian line of handbags, offers a comforting alternative: bags made from the softest, supplest leather with minimal but stylish details.

Oh, and they’re good looking, too. The slouchy, oversize shoulder bag has an arm cutout that will complete any rock-chick outfit. The crescent-shaped bag seems to wrap around your arm and has just one piece of well-placed hardware. And the rectangular bag in burnished brown will doubtless be your everyday go-to carryall.

Swing one of these over your shoulder, and you’ll never be stuck sacrificing comfort for style.

Which, as you know, can really be murder.

Available at Bus Stop Boutique, 750 South Fourth Street (215-627-2357 or busstopboutique.com). To see styles, go to dautore.us

For one night only, you’ll have the chance to personally meet Maiko Sembokuya at the art opening reception. Her paintings and illustrations will be available for sale and can be viewed at BUS STOP Boutique until the end of May. Come sip wine, mingle with Maiko, get a sneak preview of BUS STOP’s fabulous Spring collection just in from Faryl Robin, Irregular Choice, Corso Como, DAUTORE handbags, Look from London Hosiery while listening to the funky sounds of DJ Meeshu.