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!