tony blair

Tony Blair's Memoir Available In Expensive Limited Edition

Filed under: Books

Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister, is publishing his memoirs. Blair reportedly was paid £4.6 million (over $7.3 million) for "A Journey" which will be published on September 1. The book will be published in hardback, audio and digital download formats but there will also be a special limited edition available. The special version will be autographed and sells for around $240. The Daily Mail reports that this version, will be signed, slip-cased and cloth-bound in red and is aimed at American audiences. The content will be the same but it is a signed and numbered limited edition.

Last year a special edition of Ted Kennedy's memoir,"True Compass" sold for $1,000. A limited edition of President Clinton's massive "My Life" sold for $350 and a leather-bound version of President Reagan's memoir "An American Life" was sold for $1,500 back in 1990.

Tags: a journey, limited edition book, memoir, political memoir, tony blair

Tony Blair's Armani Shopping Spree

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Celebrity Shopping

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair recently did some shopping in the Knightsbridge area of London in fine style. Blair had the whole Armani store to himself. Giorgio Armani's entire flagship London store was opened an hour early just for him. A passerby told the Daily Mail that Blair was there with four bodyguards as well as a personal Armani shopper and a stylist. He spent several thousand pounds on men's clothing from Armani's top-of-the-range 'black label', including casual trousers and jackets but no suits. Blair is a smart shopper too, he got in on the first day of Armani's sale and so he picked up items at up to a 50% discount.

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Tags: armani, england, shopping, tony blair, TonyBlair

The Classicist: A Bastion of British Style in the Burlington Arcade

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Shoes, Men's Style, The Classicist

Photo by Andrew Dunn

Classic English shoe brand Church's was founded in 1873, but its roots date back to the late 1600s when a Northampton cobbler named Church first set up shop. The traditional shoemaker is known for its elegant footwear, which has been the choice of well-dressed British gentlemen for over 130 years. In 1999 Church's was acquired by the Prada group, and while some traditionalists bemoaned the end of an era, little of the company's core values have changed. Its high-end models, which have names like the Consul, the Diplomat, the Chetwynd and the Gunthorpe, are still handmade in Northampton and cost in the neighborhood of £300 pounds, or about $600.

Prada has certainly set about modernizing the brand however, which is known for durable style. The company recently redesigned Church's historic shop in London's Burlington Arcade, Britain's first shopping arcade, which was built by Lord George Cavendish in 1819 and houses some of the world's finest boutiques. The revamped shop incorporates some modern design elements while retaining the important historical fixtures. In addition to shoes, the store also stocks neckties, gentlemen's accessories and leathergoods. Part of Prada's plan to boost the brand's presence internationally, new Church's shops were also recently opened in Venice and Bologna.

Gallery: Church's & the Burlington Arcade

Tags: Burlington Arcade, BurlingtonArcade, Churchs, English shoes, EnglishShoes, James Bond, JamesBond, London, Pierce Brosnan, PierceBrosnan, Prada, Tony Blair, TonyBlair

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Is Tony Blair Buying Winslow Hall?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

Tony Blair has got some fancy taste in real estate, he already owns a five-story townhome in London's Connaught Square as well as a country house and other properties but he still has room for more. Check out the home that the Times Online says he is considering buying. Winslow Hall is regarded as being the finest surviving house built by Sir Christopher Wren and the only private residence he designed outside of London to survive unaltered. It sits on 22 acres of countryside in Buckinghamshire. The home even includes its own Roman Catholic chapel and priest's house that are currently leassd to the Catholic Church. The home was built for Sir William Lowndes and is Listed Grade I. The main house is 10,000 sq.ft. and includes six reception rooms and seven bedrooms. The property is listed at £3 million. It's an architectural treasure but as the writer of the Winslow Hall article on Wikipedia points out, it is situated rather close to a main road which could create some security problems for a public figure.

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Tags: england, real estate, tony blair, winslow hall, WinslowHall