Sample does it.

Sample sale top tips.

A few months ago now I went to my first ever sample sale. I didn't really know what to expect and it really wasn't what I expected.
The next time I go I will take the following tips with me.

The early worm.... The sale started at 10.00am and I got there at 12.30pm (it was a two hour journey to get there mind) and most of the things had gone. All of the handbags most of the garments. Next time I will be in the queue banging the door down for when they open.

Sample sizes......... if you are a size 12 onwards don't go thinking you are going to be walking away with a cheeky new dress. All garments that I could see were sample sizes and are small. Just look at the models walking down the catwalk to see what size they are made for.
I went knowing that it was the shoes, bags and in the case of Jasper's AW11 season the hat,s I was going for.

Stage clothes...... and thirdly, and this is the thing that surprised me the most about sample sales being the complete novice that I am is, some of the garments are not fully completed wearable everyday clothes.
Some are press studded down the back, like quick change stage clothes,  easy to get on and off during a fashion show I guess. So if you are lucky enough to get into a sample garment you may need to send it to a seamstress to get it finished or if you are feeling brave leave as it is and wear some nice underwear underneath. :0)

The crush.....Finally don't think well heeled women are polite and considerate when hunting down a couture bargain, because first hand experience tells me they are not. A bargain is a bargain which ever way your bread is buttered. 

I had a great time, it was a fantastic experience, a great day out and I brought myself two pairs of shoes and a fabulous Stephen Jones hat all for under fifty quid. 

Bargain of the year I would say.

My new hat, walking down the catwalk February 2011 Somerset House. 

Photo kind permission from Jasper Conran and jasperconran.com

Shame On Me.

Its been nearly a year since I last blogged. That quite frankly is crap. I have a notebook full of things I wanted to blog about and haven't. I could of cause blame time or lack of it, but I always say you make time for the things you truly want to do.
So my very delayed new years resolution is that I will blog more regularly from now on.

And that is a promise.

Easter is coming.

Avid readers of my blog will know that I am a bit of a Jasper Conran fan. So I thought I would let you all know about the daily Easter calender that the studio team are doing up until Easter on their website with all things egg related.

Click on the link below,

http://www.jasperconran.com/journal/

Enjoy and Happy Easter.

Thought of the day

Its not how hard you fall off the wagon, its how quick you get back up that counts.

Claridges.

Yesterday I fulfilled one of my many life’s ambitions and that was to have a cocktail in the Claridges Bar.

I have waited many months to be able to do it, but every time Clive and I go to London we always have Cam so have been unable to go. And on the odd occasion we have arranged to go on our own this as never materialised.

So yesterday I was in London anyway for an event which I will blog about in a few days time, so I decided to go. Clive and I have a friend who lives in Kensington so I text him and asked him if he would like to join me for a drink. He jumped at the chance and a date was made.

When we arrived I was astounded by the front lobby. White, black and chrome hit you as soon as you walk in, making you feel as if you are walking into a 1940’s Noir film set and the warmth of the place overwhelms you, instantly putting you at ease and in a great mood.

My friend wanted to have afternoon tea, which would have been a real treat but we were told they were full and had no available tables. We laughed and joked later about it wondering if we had been Brad and Angelina would a table have been found?

Anyway I was quite happy just being there, so we were taken into Claridges bar and our waiter came over immediately and showed us to our table.

I was slightly disappointed with our table it was very much in the corner and I had my back to the room. I would have liked to have been a little more in the room, so I could have appreciated the ambiance of the space more and of course do a little people watching.

The room does have a lovely feel, its very dark in there with a single candle on each table with the dark red leather seats and benches and the dark green material lined walls, which was a great topic for conversation.

Many, many moons ago, someone recommended a Claridges espresso martini to me so that is what I started with and it did not disappoint in any way shape or form. In fact it went down rather a little too well and left me feeling quite squiffy. My friend had a pot of tea, all served in matching white china. The pot was huge and would have easily provided two or three people with a cup.

My second drink was the ever so faithful slightly wet Vodka martini with a lemon twist that was really strong but served in a fabulous chilled glass and that went down very well also. Again my friend had another pot of tea.

We were there for around two hours and I had a lovely time. It was all that I imagined it to be and more. We had great service, great conversation and a great time.

Next time, I would like to sample the Fumoir room, a very art deco, interment bar that looked stunning when I stuck my head around the door on the way out.

The bill came back at £47.50 yes a little pricey for two martinis, two pots of tea and a bottle of water oh and the little nibbles that arrived at the table without being asked for, but come on its Claridges after all and I forgive it all its sins.

D Day number two.

Yesterday I officially got back on the diet wagon and I would love to say I feel fantastic but I feel...well.... hungry to be honest.

Three months of eating what I want when I want as not only left me 5lbs heavier but also living without rules and boundaries, and that is now my problem.

When before, if I was hungry I would reach for the snacks, tonight I am sitting here thinking I might go to bed before I do or eat something I will regret in the morning.

I really do need to do something thou. The weight is creeping back on and my beautiful new clothes are getting tighter. I am blowed if I am going to put all that weight back on and of course my fabulous new dress is waiting to be made.

There is a roll of material somewhere with my name on it, and I am determined to have it hang in my wardrobe within the year.

So lets start again, on this long, tough sometimes lonely road, together and see where it takes us.

Thank you to Diet Chef. My weight loss savour.

 

Can people like me have it all?

Something happened today that has stirred up a few feelings and made me quite angry to be honest.


Its quite complicated how I’m feeling in my head so I may ramble on a little but I feel as if I need to get it all out to make it seem clearer and so I’m able to park it and move on.

I am not going to tell you the situation and who it concerns because that would not be fair to them and to be honest that’s not the point of writing this post to "name and shame".

Concerning a company that is high end.....

Did not return my of emails over the last few weeks until I went thou another channel to reach them, then I got a reply within 20 minuties.
A reply which I feel to be offhand, very vague and not answering the points I raised.



If I was a multi millionaire or Lady Far Quar would this person have replied to me instantly? Would they have found the answer to my question that same moment? Would it have needed two emails and a another way to get a reply?

Why ignore me? Do they think I can not afford such luxuries that I am wasting there time? Or maybe that I don’t fit their image, perhaps?

I think it’s maybe the first of the two. which makes me beg to ask the question, Are people like me allowed to have high end items? Or should I put up with my lot and stop looking above my station?

Northern working class views tend to be, you are what you are given. If you are born working class and into a blue collar family, that is what you stay. There is not much social movement and if you do have visions of going to university or to move on the career ladder and do well for yourself then you can be deemed as a dreamer or a snob even. (Because my husband has done alright for himself and went to uni, oh and is from London and talks correct, my Mother thinks he is a snob and that he thinks he is too good for the likes of her and far better then her).


For the first 23 years of my life I have had this drummed into my head, then I met Clive. (Of course he is from a middle class family, both his parents went to public school and Clive and his sister waned for nothing. Living in a lovely big house in Surrey. First cars brought them when they learnt to drive. Deposits given to buy their first house ect. ect). But he showed me you can want nice things and get them if you work hard for them. No place. No object, no experience is out of question if you have the money to pay for it. Of course money doesn’t come easy to all but if you work hard and have a goal insight you can achieve and obtain anything,

Well that’s what I thought but today’s incident as knocked that confidence out of me.

But of course, its me we are talking about… fall over, get up, dust off, start again.

Well it’s been left that I will be in touch when I am ready to move forward...And I will be moving forward, I will get this and become a very, very good client.  And my money will be the same colour as everyone else’s, only mine will have blood, sweat and tears on it.

But the worst thing is, I really expected more from them...thats what really hurts.



This post is of my own views ans is taken from an original piece of writing I have decided not to publish in full.