18.04.13 Cath Kidston 20th Birthday Party

Wearing: White bandeau dress (Zara), Wax jacket (Barbour), Cardigan just seen (TOPSHOP), Boots (TOPSHOP).

                                        


Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Cath Kidston 20th Birthday Party blogger event at CK HQ in Notting Hill, organised in conjunction with Exposure PR. I was obviously incredibly flattered to even be invited to the event, but also a tad nervous as I'm still trying to find my feet with this blogging lark!



The evening started once I had finished work when a car arrived to collect me and distribute me to the event. Once we arrived at the office I became very aware of how necessary the car was as there was no way whatsoever I would've been able to find my way to the office from the nearest tube station by myself! My sense of direction is non-existent at the best of times!

The Cath Kidston offices are exactly how you would imagine them to be- quaint, homely and pretty much identical to how I plan to decorate my home when I can finally afford my own place!! I felt like i'd died and gone to interior design heaven.... Now, coming from Gloucestershire, I have always loved Cath Kidston- her ranges are always so quintessentially British but with a very modern and workable twist, helping to bring 'pretty' into everyone's home!

Photograph courtesy of Cath Kidston

Cath Kidston knows how to throw a birthday party, let me tell you! The order of the evening ranged from beautiful (beautifully strong) cocktails (a gin based Tom collins/Mojito combo was my poison of choice), the lovely people at 'Cuppa-Choc Spoon' helping us make our own rose or birthday cake scented candles out of typically Cath Kidston mugs and the very talented Lily Vanilli teaching (or trying to teach) us amateurs how to make roses out of icing! My roses weren't too terrible for a first attempt but they were definitely not top of the class! The other party goers on the other hand definitely knew their way around a piping bag!!

 Beautiful but lethal cocktails

Not bad for a first attempt from Charlotte @ Betty Magazine

Cath Kidston turning 20 years old this year marks a very special occassion for any business, let alone one as successful and coveted as this one! To mark this momentous achievement, Cath Kidston is releasing a gorgeous new range entitled  'Coming Up Roses'- how perfectly apt! It centres around roses (quelle surprise!)- The print itself is so refreshingly modern but, at the same time, the typical Cath Kidston we all know and adore! What interested and excited me most however, was the 'Coming up Roses' autobiography Cath herself has written and will release for sale as part and parcel of the whole range. I haven't started reading it yet but I honestly expect to learn an awful lot from it about both life, interior and the trials and tribulations of building a successful business (no pressure there, Cath! I'm counting on you!)

I had a wonderful evening last night and I feel like i've almost lived out a dream of being allowed access the heartbeat of Cath Kidston, a brand I cherish and look up to so much! I was able to meet a lot of lovely, talented bloggers as well with whom I fully intend to keep in contact with. I read something recently that said that blogging could be a very lonely job, however thanks to events like the Cath Kidston 20th Birthday Party, I couldn't disagree more!

Big Love.
As Always.
x.

9.4.13 Selfridge's Shoe Carnival

Wearing: Jacket (New Look), Striped Crop (TOPSHOP), Joni high waist jeans (TOPSHOP), Frill socks (TOPSHOP), Black heeled boots (TOPSHOP), Earrings (New Look), Nails (TOPSHOP- courtesy of VitaminWaterUK), Lipstick (Diva- MAC)

Listening to: Jakwob- Fade

Last week the lovely people at Vitamin_WaterUK provided me with tickets to attend the launch of the Selfridge's Shoe Carnival, celebrating the launch of the largest men's shoe department in the world! Naturally I jumped at the chance to go as, if someone as iconic as Selfridge's is setting out to produce the biggest and best of anything, you know it's not going to disappoint! With designers ranging from Ralph Lauren, Prada, Hugo Boss to Tod's and beyond they have definitely achieved what they set out to accomplish!

Although by no means an expert on the subject, men's shoes have always fascinated me. I'm of the opinion that, with men, shoes are more often than not, the pinnacle of their outfit, often being regarded as that 'guilty pleasure' that many men will splurge on above all other apparel. After all, they do say you can tell a lot about a man from the shoes he wears....

As events go this one was, as expected, a delight- exactly what a launch event should be! There were many intriguing and exciting elements (circus performers, acrobats, leather flavoured candy-floss...I could go on....) with added bespoke touches such as shoe-shiners and Oliver Sweeney's 'Tattoo Your Shoe'! There was also an appearance by 'The Bumbles', a group from New York, who conduct a silent appraisal of you based purely on your shoes and appearance, which is then typed up there on the spot on their typewriters! An adult sized claw/grabber arcade game promising Selfridges prizes definitely brought out the child in a lot of people that evening as well!

Tattoo your brogues with Oliver Sweeney!

Like a kid in an arcade!

                                                     The Bumbles True Appraisals!

For me, this is what it all really comes down to, making shopping exciting again- not just a necessity or a chore. I think this is even more important for men, who often let shopping become a need and not a want....I sometimes think I could learn from this as, for me, shopping is never a need and always a want...Oh well- C'est la vie!

Big Love.
As Always.
x.


Selfridges Shoe Carnival tickets were complimentary from Glacéau vitaminwater, who supplied soft drinks for the event. Try the new 'Sunshine' citrus and guava flavour for a much needed burst of summer even when the sun hasn't yet got his hat on!

London Fashion Week A/W13 #3 The exhibition

London Fashion Week A/W 13 tickets were complimentary from Glacéau vitaminwater, the official soft drink supplier to London Fashion Week.

Wearing- As previous post.

Listening to/watching - The Canon cinema screen at LFW exhibition (Somerset House)

After the bright lights and excitement of the Holly Fulton studio show, I decided to take a stroll across the road to the wonderful Somerset House where the London Fashion Week official exhibition was being held. If for nothing else I really wanted to spend the rest of the morning fashionista watching! And, in true LFW form, the beautiful and the stylish were out in force- as were the bloggers, magazines and photographers ready to get a snap off those walking through the gates!

At first I was a little bewildered by the whole thing- everyone looked so...'fashiony' for want of a better word! The exhibition itself was really great, showcasing an array of different designers, trends, colours and pieces. Again, there was a great focus on new experimentation with textures and mixing fabrics to add further interest to the garments. Dusky pink hues were a constant colour trend running through A/W13 and these could also be seen throughout other collections over fashion week (Topshop Unique immediately springs to mind). The Topshop NewGen section of the exhibition stole the show for me. With like likes of J.W.Anderson, J.JS Lee and Christopher Raeburn being celebrated this season by Topshop NewGen it is looking to be a very strong A/W! The beauty of NewGen is that it is exactly that- a wonderful celebration of the new generation of designers (just look where Christopher Kane has got so far through the initial recognition by NewGen!!)

Just a few of those being celebrated by NewGen this time around!

Glacéau vitaminwater keeping all the fashionistas, bloggers, designers and models refuelled throughout LFW

The pop-up MAC studio at Somerset House for a fast beauty fix.

Casual- It's not every day a model comes straight from the catwalk for an inpromtu photography shoot en route to the next show!

J.JS Lee outfit/model board fresh from the catwalk! Again, that gorgeous dusky pink shade making an appearance!

Next weekend I will be going to London Fashion Weekend at Somerset House so stay posted for my next blog concentrating on that and how these trends are filtered down onto the high street.

Big Love.

x.

For more colourful content go to: www.facebook.com/vitaminwater

London Fashion Week A/W13 #2 Holly Fulton

London Fashion Week A/W 13 tickets were complimentary from Glacéau vitaminwater, the official soft drink supplier to London Fashion Week.

Day 2- 
Wearing- Grey Dress (Vero Moda), Fur Collar Cape (NEXT), Leather Jacket (Miss Selfridge), Black Boots (TOPSHOP), Necklace (New Look), Socks (TOPSHOP), Sunglasses (ASOS courtesy of Glacéau vitaminwater @Vitaminwater_uk).

DAY 2-

Sunday was the day I was well and truly excited for! So much so that I couldn’t sleep the night before and was up at the ungodly hour of 7am deciding what to wear! Glacéau vitaminwater managed to get me tickets to see the A/W13 offerings of the wonderfully talented Holly Fulton and the show definitely didn’t disappoint. It was full of the gorgeous graphics you would expect to see at an aesthetically exciting Holly Fulton Show- however, it was the eclectic use of fabrics and materials that really impressed and inspired (for example, sequinned feathers and burnt black petrified wood used for jewellery to name a few!) Holly Fulton's A/W13 girl exudes a new sense of confidence and I really got the feeling that this new found confidence will be an undercurrent running throughout all A/W clothing next season! The soundtrack of the show was also beautifully fitting for the empowering atmosphere Holly Fulton's collection managed to conjure with the sounds of Jonjo Jury & Hannah Holland (check them out if you get a chance!)

My Holly Fulton guestlist ticket!

Run through at Holly Fulton

One piece that really stuck out to me was a black leather dress which looked surprisingly feminine and soft due to the use of garment shape and embellishment. It was refreshing to see that leather could be something other than tough and used for something other than ‘Biker Chic’. There was also a gorgeous pop colour mid length skirt teamed with a grey printed tiger face tee which gave great inspiration for how to wear prints without looking too casual in A/W13. The crowning glory of the entire collection was the final piece- a floor length, blue and white floral gown (pictured below) and, my gosh, did it steal the show?! I swear I’ve never seen so many cameras flash all at once! It must be a worth piece!

The finale dress- absolutely stunning and so luxurious!

Fashionistas including the ladies of Fashion Monitor were drinking fashion favourite Glaceau vitaminwater on the front row at Holly Fulton.

Later on i'll try and upload some videos I took from the Holly Fulton show- I need to condense them down as i got a bit too camera happy!!

Big Love.

x.

For more colourful content go to: www.facebook.com/vitaminwater