about us

Click:
- here to read feedback and comments about nina&lola

- or here to see what the press says about us & our designers. 

nina&lola opened in April 2007 with a start-up list of nine designers, some lovely vintage sources and a flat full of clothes. The aim of my shop is to reduce the fashion-clone count, and instead promote individuality and people who follow their own instinct by stocking the best independent, high-end designers.

Since fashion is about personality I only work with people I personally like and respect for the talent and integrity. Frankly, there aren't that many who fit the bill, so nina&lola will always remain a small, personal, independent boutique.

I don't do celeb trends and 'must haves'. (Why does everything have to be a 'must-have'? Where's the fun in running after the same stuff as everyone else?) My oft-used descriptions are 'sexy', 'ultra-luxe', 'note the detailing', 'can go easily from day to night', and 'I got this for a friend'.

 
My name is Nina May. I did pretty much all jobs commonly associated with blondies – advertising, PR, fashion journalism, TV producing/presenting and vintage sourcing.

In 2005 I wanted to do something slightly more worthwhile and started volunteering for an Oxford-based charity, some even call it a think tank. ‘Oxford Muse’ was founded by Theodore Zeldin, a historian and author of ‘An Intimate History of Humanity’. We are developing a book containing written self-portraits of fashion professionals, and the philosophy of nina&lola is a direct result of what I have learnt from this project. The book is due to come out sometime in 2028 at its current pace.

Lola is my beloved flatmate, fibreglass model and face of the site. Not sure where exactly she’s from (somewhere County Ebay), but she adapted to London style quite quickly. Never mind that she’s the laziest business partner I could have chosen, at least she shuts up.

(First image by James Lyndsay. I wear a Penkov Sleaze dress with a Nishi 'Halo' necklace. Lola wears next season's Hannah Marshall with a Fiona Paxton necklace )                                                           

color community

Little brothers – they grow up so fast these days. It seems like yesterday that we got him drunk for the first time on an Easter break. Now he’s not only largely sober, he’s also quite a fine young art director. Niklas studied print-making and taught himself a whole lot of useful creative programmes, which he now employs as a freelancer. He put his knowledge to excellent use by working with me on this website. Apart from being quick to the point with crazy little ideas he is also very fond of ignoring briefs and coming up with something way better. When I sent him things for my logo I wanted girly colours like beiges and pinks. Worked well, huh?

Niklas trades under the name Color Community, and you can call upon his services here. 

nina&lola from a to z

Autumn: my favourite season. Summer is either so in your face or so disappointing - the most complained-about season. Autumn is pleasant. You know it’s over. The leaves turn into the most beautiful shades, you can start sorting out the fireplace, and it’s just one steady slope towards the party season.

Beauty: to be beautiful is a very useful thing. People are nice to you, men are more likely to buy you dinner, and if you are very beautiful fine young builders might interrupt their daily routine to whistle you a love song. In terms of physical beauty, Lola has an extreme beauty regime of total fibretox and a total face make-up job once a year. Drastic, but she’s not the best for nothing.

Contact us: this is our favourite function. I could email with customers all day. Some even send us pictures wearing their new outfits, which Lola files neatly in ‘hotter than me’ (they will never be seen again – trust me) and ‘ok with me’. ‘C’ also stands for our three essential food groups chocolate, cake and coffee.

Dog: this is a dog household. I grew up with a dog, cat and pony. Lola likes penguins, because they stand around a lot like her, but they make rubbish pets. ‘D’ is also for Danish men, of whom there are quite a few cute ones, and for Descartes. Apparently the philosopher spent most of his life in bed and questioned everything – our hero.

Ebay: that’s where Lola and I met. She had problems with her ex and needed a new home pronto. I was bored of talking to myself, and so she moved in fairly quickly. Still waiting for her to do the dishes once. ‘E’ is also for the environment, which we are great fans of. There can never be enough of it. We take as much care as we can. The wrapping material is recycled/recycable, we take public transport and buy organic.

Fibreglass: Lola’s moral and general fibre. It’s much more accident-prone than one might think. ‘F’ also stands for fur, which we don’t sell.

Graduates: from the beginning I wanted to work with some young designers who just got out of college. By stocking graduates I'd like to give them an opportunity to dip a toe into the rough waters of retail, get customer and press attention. The selection took longer than anticipated to put together as not everyone who leaves college is ready to produce and sell. The final four designers I feel comfortable working with and offering my customers: they have talent, produced amazing graduate collections and are professional enough to succeed in a difficult industry.

Hamburg: I am a Hamburger. It’s one of the most beautiful cities in the world. If you don’t believe me, go and have a look. ‘H’ is also for hair, which Lola doesn’t have. She shaved it off when she got to London and realised the 80s were over, and the wig she was wearing till then was hideous.

I: as in ‘I really can’t find anything to start with I’. Sorry, seems to be impossible. Oh hang on, my aunt’s name is Imke. She's pretty much my mum, and really rather fantastic.

Jobs: the way it works at the moment is this: Lola looks pretty, but refuses to talk, move or even pick up the phone. She’s illiterate too. So I do the buying, writing, emailing with customers, sending out orders and taking pictures with Lols. ‘J’ stands also for James, Lyndsay, who is a fab photographer. Lola feels very much at ease shooting with him (bit too much if you ask me), and so he does our studio-based fashion shoots now.

Kermit: I’d love to find my Kermit. He was always my favourite, alongside Snoopy, when I was little. Lola is obviously dreaming of finding her Ken and make little plastic kids.

London: our home. I jumped off the ferry in Dover in 1998, and after having been sick for a day I went to London College of Fashion. It of course also stands for Lola. I am not entirely sure if this is her real or artist name.

Manufacturing: we take great care in making sure our stuff is made in an ethical and socially responsible way. M is also for May, my second name. If you are called ‘Be’ or ‘Ormaynot’ please get in touch to discuss marriage arrangements.

Nina: most great names begin with N, such as Niki, Nisha, Nathan, Niels, Nalex, Nandra and Neorge Clooney. In Paris most bridges have ‘N’s on them, which was such a nice gesture for my first visit. ‘N’ also stands for New York, where my auntie lives and where I spent many a great holiday.

Oxford Muse: the charity I work for writing this never-ending book containing self-portraits of designers for. Theodore Zeldin, the founder of the charity, is a brilliant human being.

Post office: that’s where I go about once a day. Carl is always funny, no matter how many loonies are there talking to the second class stamp they just purchased with pennies. P is also for ‘Pop’, our favourite magazine because they put Miss Piggy into custom-made Prada. Long live la pig!

Quiet: as in ‘quiet noise’, the name of Hannah Marshall’s first collection. Of course I named it ‘quit noise’, which my spell check thought was a great idea.

Returns: it happens. Some of you have been so lovely to include hand-written notes. Thank you!

Sleep: It’s the best. Hands down. We love it. Loads. ‘S’ also stands for Spijkers en Spijkers, our lovely Dutch twin girls who were the first label to say ‘yes’ to being stocked in our shop.

TV: don’t ever believe anything you see in it. Ever. Unless it’s in the Simpsons. I used to work in one, and it’s really not very reliable. 'T' is also for Thawte, a security seal that we employ to make sure your credit card details are encrypted. 'T' could also be for Thirties, my favourite vintage period. It just fits so beautifully.

Uganda: that’s where Illuminati, Noir’s sister venture, is setting up its organic and socially responsible cotton fields. Both companies were set up by Peter Ingwersen, who was design director at Levi’s for 15 years. He wanted to make sure that his companies are as virtuous as possible, and therefore signed up to the UN Universal Convention of Human Rights and the UN Global Compact Principles.
 
Vintage: a way of life. (I am wearing a vintage Balenciaga cape in this picture.) You are by default unique, and what’s more it’s not just about buying, it’s about finding. I try to have quite an edited selection of vintage on the site to make it less confusing.

Wham!: my first ever record was ‘Wake me up before you go-go’. And no, I am not ashamed to admit it. ‘W’ is also for Wedge Card, a loyalty card for London’s independent shops. I encourage our customers to have one and use it when shopping here, cause you get 10% off all regular-priced clothing. I suppose ‘W’ should also stand for ‘www’ – why do people still say that when giving a website address?

Xxx: When did ‘x’ start standing for ‘kiss’ in written communication, and ‘xxx’ for ‘lots of love’ or ‘lots of kisses’? If anyone knows the answer please contact us. Thanks, x

Y: the Y chromosome. It marks the mediocre half of the population.

Zero: size zero is pathetic. It’s unhealthy and unattractive. We don’t stock it, and if we find something very cute and very small we’ll open a kids section.