Debenhams AW press event

I know what you're thinking - it's wayyy too early to be thinking about autumn winter. It's barely summer as it is. Although with the gales and rain we're experiencing in London at the moment, I'd forgive you if you did think it was autumn. The Debenhams AW press day couldn't have come at a better time. I was especially excited when the invite read fashion AND homeware - for reasons perhaps best explained here.

My first impressions of the Debenhams press day? Complete awe over the autumnal decor.  Warm lighting with an orange hue, autumnal leaves, arrangements of wild flowers, flower pots and crates upcycled with gold and copper detailing... the visual merchandising of the event was genius.

The homeware department was really inspiring and got me even more excited about the prospect of owning my own place. I loved the neutral colour palettes - however the pink flamingo lamp was - and still is - is a brilliant statement piece.

 I loved the Mad Hatter tea party feel of this dining table set

... and my dream kitchen would be filled with copper pans like these

The homeware department was full of inviting looking beds that I wanted to slip under the covers of

I loved this end of the bed feature with the candles and champagne flutes - perfect for a night in!

 In terms of fashion, Debenhams presented my ideal wardrobe - capes, coats and beautiful boots.

 

... along with a whole host of party dresses ideal for party season in December

MOST WANTED

This coat. The warmest of shades. So autumn, don't you think?

The softest and cosiest sheepskin aviator jacket

Another must have for autumn - rust shorts

The camel coat - an autumn winter classic

And let's not forget these Mary Jane shoes. Very Alice in Wonderland.

... and then most of their lingerie. It was housed in the most atmospheric of settings with dim lighting, a white fluffy rug and a glass table (the latter two I seriously need in my life!) My favourites - as ever - are lacy affairs

Thank you so much to Debenhams for inviting me over that day to preview such an incredible collection. Is it so terrible that I'm willing summer to be over just so it's autumn...?!

Debenhams event #Faithis50

A few months ago, I went to a Jamaican themed Debenhams event that I really enjoyed so I was delighted when the lovely people at Debenhams invited me to another one. This time we were celebrating Faith's 50th birthday and what better way to celebrate than with shoes, champagne and cupcakes?! The way the shoes were presented was absolutely jaw dropping. Put bloggers in a room with pretty things and pictures aplenty are guaranteed. But oh my goodness. Never have I seen cameras / phones pulled out pockets and bags so quickly. Faith's shoe collection were suspended from balloons

It was pretty surreal bobbing and weaving through rows of floating shoes!

We were treated to champagne and a selection of canapés:

And sparkly cupcakes dusted with edible glitter...

.... which was very fitting as there was certainly a lot of sparkle in Faith's collection.

As well as falling in love with pretty much all the shoes Faith has to offer, it was lovely meeting other bloggers and discovering new reads. 

Do I have a favourite shoe from the collection? Nope. I have favourites. Plural. My top picks are the iridescent strappy heels, the rainbow courts and the silver and navy blue heels.

What is your favourite shoe from the collection?

Debenhams press day

I love reading about press days and have always wanted to go to one, but the ones I'm invited to are usually during the day. As I work full time, I always seem to miss out. When Debenhams sent me an invite to their latest - evening - press day it was music to my ears. Jamaican themed, the event would celebrate the launch of the S/S Call It Spring collection. I've written about my admiration for Call It Spring before so I jumped at the chance to go with one of my best friends as my +1. Alison and I arrived to summery tunes, summery nibbles, summery drinks and well, summery everything. The collection was beautifully presented alongside Martini glasses, neon coloured cups with curly straws, and friendship bracelets. We were in shoe heaven:

They also had an AW preview which looks to be very promising indeed:

Honestly, I can't pick out one single favourite item from the collection. It would be a close call between the hi-tops, black ankle boots, black courts with the gold chain anklets, the iridescent shoes... damn it, I loved it all.

Sadly the savoury food was gone by the time we got there :'( But we had some lovely pineapple and coconut cake and fruit skewers with our drinks (fruity ginger beer concoctions).

Complimentary beauty treatments were also available that evening. We didn't tan or get our hair done, but we did line up to get our nails done. Nail polish wise, the lady literally had every colour under the sun. Although I did question who on earth gets their nails painted bright yellow. The neon yellow one reminded me of when you're walking home with an Indian takeaway and the curry leaks and stains the bag that shockingly bright yellow colour! But the lady laughed and said that people actually do chose that colour. And that it 's nicer than how it appears in the bottle. Alison went for a gorgeous dusky mauve / grey colour, whereas I chose a pastel blue:

When we left, the lovely people of Debenhams gave us a goody bag to take home. Each bag was unique. Alison had a sparkly tiara / hair piece in hers, whereas I had sunglasses. We both had the same pretty scarf though:

The bags were chosen at random so I found it funny how the blue of my sunglasses matched my freshly painted nails

Thanks for having us Debenhams!

#JaJaJaJamaica