Body Talk: 05/09/2011

SilhouettesREMEMBER THOSE LIFE-SIZE SILLOUETTES IN SPINNINGFIELDS, Manchester earlier this year? The 30, corten steel silhouettes based on celebrities from the fashion, music and sporting industries, were installed on The Avenue for two months, with the public invited to guess who each silhouette represented and be in with a chance to win a trip to New York. The competition may be done and dusted but the silhouettes live on...

Do you want to give one a home? The Avenue is auctioning off this public art installation to raise vital funds for the Wood Street Mission in Manchester. They may look a bit weathered now, but this is simply because the steel, which is the same metal used to create The Angel of the North, develops a rich red colour due to oxidisation and its exposure to the weather. The silent auction for the likes of Roberto Mancini, George Best, Marilyn Monroe and Liam Gallagher is open until midday on September 15. Prospective buyers can enter a bid online by going on to The Avenue website. There is no reserve needed and the highest bid on the closing day will win. A celebration event will be held following the auction for all the winners to come and collect their silhouettes and a certificate of ownership.

American Essentials Man GroFASHION GONE MAD? Selfridges has this week announced an 80 per cent increase in sales of nightwear at their stores. And to celebrate they’re launching ‘The Man-Gro’ in selected stores and online this October. Yes - it’s an all-in-one for men, designed to make them look and feel like a big baby no doubt. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the playsuit by American Essentials costs a whopping £95. It is however ‘made from 100 per cent soft cotton’ Selfridges add. Awwww.

A HOUSE MADE OF SHIRTS: T M Lewin has teamed up with Shelter to launch National Shirt Week - the housing and homelessness charity. With so many people owning a surplus of shirts that hang unwanted and unloved at the back of the wardrobe, organisers are encouraging you to give your unwanted shirts a new home whilst also raising money for charity. In addition T M Lewin will be building the biggest ever house made of donated shirts in Paternoster Square, London on Monday 26 September and in Spinningfields, Manchester on Wednesday 28 September. The houses will be at both locations from 8am to 6.30pm and there may even be a few celebrities donating their unwanted shirts throughout the day too, all to help raise money for Shelter.

T M LewinEach shirt received during National Shirt Exchange Week will be given to Shelter to sell in their shops. In return T M Lewin will donate £2 from the sale of every shirt purchased throughout the week to Shelter. The money raised will be used to help people in desperate housing need so that they can find and keep a home.

Customers who are unable to visit a T.M.Lewin store can still take part and donate through the online shirt exchange initiative at www.tmlewin.co.uk. Online shoppers will be sent a donation bag enabling them to take their unwanted shirts into their local Shelter store.

ElemisELEMIS EXPANDS: The luxurious brand is a firm favourite among spa-goers and this year they've launched in even more spas across the UK. Elemis will be offered in eight treatment rooms at the Macdonald Old England Hotel and Spa in Windermere from this month. Also in September, Elemis will launch in Lifehouse’s boutique spa located in Thorpe-le-Soken, Essex. The spa has 35 treatment rooms and 15 manicure/pedicure stations. Polurrian Bay Hotel in Cornwall is home to Purity Spa with two private and luxurious treatment rooms now with relaxing and reviving Elemis facials, massages and wraps on offer. Rookery Hall Hotel & Spa, Cheshire welcomed Elemis earlier this year. The luxury spa is designed to create the perfect space for wellbeing and relaxation with spa therapists now trained in the full menu of Elemis Face and Body therapies.