Intu Metrocentre Fashion Live Spring / Summer 2018 VIP Preview*

I guess it goes without saying that I'm not really feeling myself at the moment, with my mum still in hospital I've been feeling more than a little bit down. There is a temptation when you feel like that to pull the duvet over your head and hide away and believe me I've done that but on Wednesday night I put a frock on, did my make up and received just the boost that I needed with the help of popcorn, Prosecco, and puppers. What am I talking about? Well the Intu Metrocentre Fashion Live Spring Summer 2018 Blogger Preview Event of course!

The team at Intu Metrocentre certainly know how to put on an event and treat their local bloggers and this one was no different, In a pastel, floral garden setting we we're treat to drinks, and canapes, and popcorn courtesy of the Odeon cinema, as well as make up advice from the team at Kat Von D in Debenhams, and a deliciously fragrant and relaxing hand and arm massages from the girls from Molton Brown in House Of Fraser (I had my massage with the new ish Coastal Cypress And Sea Fennel, which is a beautiful fresh and aquatic, unisex scent, which is perfect for summer).

As nice as all of these extras were though the real purpose of the event was to give us a sneaky peek of what you can expect to see if you head down to the centre this weekend. Yes, they are back, Intu Metrocentre's famous catwalk shows are returning from the 10th - 13th May to showcase some of the key fashion looks and pieces from a myriad of the centres stores, for spring / summer 2018.

Situated in the usual place in Town Square, outside of House Of Fraser there are 4 runway shows on Saturday and 3 on Sunday, giving you ample opportunity to get plenty of spring and summer fashion inspiration. Even if you can't make it onto FROW yourself though don't worry, if you're in the centre in the next day or so, make sure you pick up one of the Fashion Live leaflets from any of the information points, to get some fabulous discounts across the centre from stores including Simply Be, Cath Kidston, Ann Summer, House Of Fraser and more.

As per usual the shows will showcase a wide range of both ladies and gentleman's clothing accessories for all sizes, shapes, and styles. We had a sneak peek of just some of the shows and the brands that you can see over the next few days.

I'm not going to lie, with all the stress and what not I didn't have the energy to lug my SLR round so I ended up shooting the show on my trusty iPhone, well it didn't prove quite so trusty this time round, and a lot of pics either didn't come out so well, or quite frankly didn't come out at all, so this post doesn't have as many pictures as I would have like and I'm not 100% happy with the ones that I have included, never mind bigger disasters at sea, I guess.

The event was hosted by the lovely Anna Foster from BBC Radio Newcastle, who was wearing the Lipsy Amelia Print Floral Wrap Dress, which retails at £58. Lipsy's presentation was all about occasion pieces, with pretty dresses in brights, block colours and floral prints as well as more casual, but still smart and feminine tops, and separates.

Another brand that is synonymous with occasion is Coast, if you're looking for an outfit for a wedding, a christening, or even for the races, that Coast should be one of your first ports of call, especially since they now do a plus size range ;) Their presentation offered a beautiful range of dresses and jumpsuits, in bright, summery colours, and even neons teamed up with some fabulous hats and fascinators. 

If accessories are your thing then there is one shop that is should definitely be on your radar and that is Accessorize. What can I say about Accessorize other than summer in a shop! Everything about their presentation made me think of holidays, tropical beaches, and items that would take you straight from beach to bar, from strappy sandals, to brights, neons and beautiful embellishments, if your heading to the sun, anytime soon Accessorize should be your first port of call when it comes to holiday shopping. As perfect as they are for the little things that finish an outfit though, you can now get the top to toe look in one store, as this outfit proves with this cute neon embroidered cropped kaftan, and these cute embellished shorts. 

As much as I'm loving the tropical vibes here, for me at least beach holidays are a distant dream at the moment, so spring, summer fashion to me means less of the beach vibe and more of the I want to look cool as hell no matter the weather vibe, and thankfully a lot of the showcased brands fitted the bill perfectly, with River Island showcasing some great on trend pieces that were perfect for the unpredictable British weather including everything from cute playsuits to the most fabulous pair of mustard / rust yellow paper bag waist trousers!

Mustard was also evident on the models walking for New Look, with a fabulous ensemble of I think trousers, a top, and a coordinating kimono style jacket in a mustard and red floral pattern. I can't find this outfit online but it's definitely worth looking out for and I'm gutted that I didn't get a good enough picture so that I could share it with you. Florals are always big for spring and summer, and they were evident in quite a few of the presentations including this one, New Look also showcased a lot of bright block colours, including a fabulous red trouser and black, graphic, slogan t-shirt combo.

If you're one of those trendy, super cool people, that most of aspire to be like, then Top Shop's collection was probably right up your street, with some really fun furry bags, and sequined bum bags, and joggers teamed with a graphic tees, and high heels. 

I'm not sure I could carry that look off but something I could definitely get on board with was this beautiful diagonal striped midi dress, which retails at £49, teamed up with an embellished denim jacket. I love stripes and since I've just picked up a new denim jacket this look was right up my street.

I do love a stripe and another Arcadia groups presentation was probably my favourite of the evening. Yes, maybe I'm biased because Evans is a plus size brand (the majority of their items do start at a size 14 though so don't discount it as just being a plus size brand though!) but their models rocked every single look. Although it's all looking slightly navy here, the theme was monochrome, not a typical spring summer look but it works, and I particularly loved this look, with these eye catching black and white striped wide leg pants, that are a steal at just £35. I'm not sure I could pull this look off personally but I'm seriously debating giving it a go.

Having so many exciting brands under one roof, House Of Fraser's shows are always worth waiting for and this one was no exception, as they showcased both smart and casual men's and ladies fashion, but for me the stand out piece was this beautiful jacquard wrap dress from BIBA

I know I'm all about female fashion but these shows really are for everyone, and as well as House Of Fraser, DW Sports and River Island, also showcased some of they key spring and summer 2018 looks for both men and women, and the boys also had a chance to go it alone, with a summery presentation from Burton Menswear featuring pastel pinks, and that summer staple the Hawaiian style shirt.

It wasn't all about that casual summer style though, men have special occasions too, and if you or your OH has a function to attend this summer then Moss Bros is the place to go, for everything from the traditional two and three piece suit to something with a bit more of a fashion vibe.

There really is nothing nicer than a guy in a suit, well apart from a man in a suit with a dog that is!

Clad in their swanky Moss Boss attire and perhaps a touch overdressed for a dog walk, 2 of the lovely male models helped 3 new, and all be it hairy models to shine, Winston and Churchill which you can see above and the lovely Sam who you can see below.

Yes, us North East blogger do love our fashion, our beauty, our bubbly and our canapes but the majority of us all so have a soft spot for furry things with 4 legs! All 3 of these lovely dogs are current residents at the Newcastle Dog & Cat Shelter, who are responsible for rescuing and re homing 1000's of animals every year in the North East of England.

If you're popping into the centre to do a bit of shopping or if your coming to specifically to see the shows, then pop down to Town Square and you can come and find out a little bit more about the work that they do, or you can find out more about how you can help and of course how you can adopt your own furry friend via their website, and of course if you do come down to watch the shows then you can watch these lovely, friendly doggies perfect, their runway walk over the course of the weekend.

Thanks to these puppies at least in part, I had a fab night that really lifted my spirits no end, I want to thank all of the Intu team, and of course all of the retailers for hosting and of course for the super generous goodies bags. So if you don't have any plans for the next few days and you want a bit of summer style inspiration or if you just want to meet some lovely fur babies than head down to Intu Metrocentre this weekend for your own fur and fashion fix x

*Press / Blogger Event 

Intu Eldon Square Fashion Spooktacular*

I don't know about you but the fact that another month starts next week terrifies me, at the moment I'm really feeling as though life is starting to pass me by! As scary as it seems though, it does mean that we're one step closer to my favourite time of year, Christmas. I love Christmas but strange as it sounds I've heard a few people say that it isn't their favourite time of year. There are loads of reasons I guess why that could be, but a lot of people seem to to prefer another holiday or special day and for that reason a certain day next week is their favourite day of the year, What am I talking about? Well Halloween of course!

I must admit that as an adult I can take Halloween or I can leave it, I carve a pumpkin, and get sweets ready for the trick or treaters but I can honestly say that I don't get that excited about it any more. I think I was more a fan of it as a child, with my bin bag costume, my hollowed out turnip and my witches hat but Halloween has come on a long way since then, and maybe that's why some many adults get so excited about it and dress up and decorate their homes as if it was Christmas.

When things become popular understandably retailers jump on the band waggon and play a role in creating the hype. Look in any store or online and the words Glamourween, Do Horror In Style, Hauntingly Beautiful or Scream Queens will jump out at you as retailers promote their Halloween themed fashion, accessories and home ware.

Is that a bad thing? No not my eyes I'm all for people having fun, and whether you're a fan of all things spooky or not, and you live in the North East, take my advice and head to Intu Eldon Square over the next few days to get both some spooky home and fashion advice, and some fashion hints and tips for the Autumn and Winter seasons ahead

On Monday night, myself and a small, select group of North East bloggers were invited down to Intu Eldon Square to experience everything that the Fashion Spooktacular has to offer and to experience a little bit of what's going to be going on over the next few days.

Conveniently sited near to New Look, Debenhams, and Dorothy Perkins, Intu have created their very own spooky themed walk in capsule wardrobe. Step inside and you'll find rails of clothing featuring some of the seasons key fashion and accessory trends from stores throughout Eldon Square including Adidas, Top Shop, and Oasis, intermingled with Halloween themed accessories, such as masks and hats from the likes of Claires, Accessorize and Ann Summers, and even some Halloween home items including pumpkins, wreaths and even black cats.

With Halloween themed music including Thriller by Michael Jackson, Black Magic By Little Mix, and of course the Time Warp from Rocky Horror playing in the background, we started off the evening as bloggers do with some food and drink and some lovely paella, tapas and sangria, courtesy of Tapas Revolution which is now open in the centre new Grey's Quarter.

Then clutching our sangria and day of the dead, skull themed plates we then had the opportunity to get some seasonal themed style advice.

Over the next three days, the team from Intu Eldon Square will be giving you the opportunity to attend their fashion spooktacular and get not only some Halloween style advice but also some more general autumn and winter fashion tips. There are three workshops a day and they are free to attend.

27th and 29th October 2017

11.30am - Creepy Crawly Homeware 

How to achieve the chicest Halloween home

1.30pm - How To Pick A Wicked Winter Coat

Explore some of the seasons key outerwear trends and find out the style advice your need to pick your own perfect winter coat

3.30pm Autumn Winter Capsule Wardrobe Wizardry 

Personal style advice on to pick on trend pieces that can be paired together to maximise your look in the seasons ahead

28th October 2017

11.30am - How To Pick A Wicked Winter Coat

1.30pm Our Top Ten Must Have Autumn / Winter Items

Showcasing some of the key pieces for Autumn / Winter 2017 including boots, statement t-shirts and knits

3.30pm - Scarily Good Halloween Costume Ideas

Tips on how to find and create the chicest Halloween costumes, and well as fun costume ideas for the little ones.

All of the styling sessions and workshops will held by a member of the style team and if you're lucky enough you might get to meet the Fashion Fortune Teller herself, or as she's known in real life Emma, you can find all about Emma and what she does on her own website Stylissimo and let me tell you this lady knows her stuff. She is an image consultant and personal shopper, a fashion blogger and writer and she is also a personal and commercial stylist and she is going to be on hand to answer all of you fashion and style questions over the next few days. 

On the night Emma told us a little bit about the workshops and what exactly each one covers before giving us a taster of the Scarily Good Halloween Costume Ideas session. Yes I know you can go out and buy a costume off the peg but surely there are more glamorous ways to create a Halloween fashion statement? 

Well, there are and Emma gave us some great hints and tips on how to create a chic Halloween look by taking some clothing pieces from some of the stores in the centre and teaming them with cute Halloween themed accessories, and make up sets to create some both fun and stylish looks.

I'm all for versatility when it comes my wardrobe, and although it doesn't look like as times, I do try to shop carefully and consider things like cost per wear when I choosing more expensive pieces, so her advice was perfect for my way of thinking. Whilst a lot of the pieces could be worn as part of a stylish Halloween ensemble, a lot of them could also be dressed down or worn casually or they could even be recycled and used as Christmas party outfits, by changing how you wear them and by changing your accessories. She showed us some beautifully pieces but I fell head over heels in love with this black velvet kimono style jacket from River Island. You can't see it too clearly here but it's covered in pearls and beading and whilst it would look great over a plain black dress you could also dress it down and wear it over jeans and a statement t-shirt, it also comes in the River Island Curve range too which is a bonus.

As I seem to have said quite a lot recently I do love a blog and press events, but the ones that really stand out to me are when you actually get to do something, be it try a new product, learn a new skill, or get really involved in some way and as result the next part of the night was right up my street.

The team from Intu Eldon Square had teamed up with several of the centres stores to set myself and my fellow bloggers some challenges, either individually or in pairs, so after being handed a envelope with our names on, we all went our separate ways, some of us were making bath bombs in Lush, one blogger had an Urban Decay makeover, some went to eat, and some us went to stores such as John Lewis and Top Shop, to create seasonal themed home ware settings and seasonal outfits.

I was paired up with the lovely Laura, and we headed to Dorothy Perkins, where we were asked to create a Christmas party outfit with shoes and accessories with a budget of £100. I'm not going to lie I let Laura take the lead, I love her style, and some of things that she wears, so it was interesting to see how she puts an outfit together. We decided to go for something just that little bit different, sequins, glitter and sparkle are brilliant and they have their place but we went for something that you could actually wear again either together or as separate pieces on a day to day basis. We teamed a khaki (that's what it says online but it's really a vintage, bottle green) Pu mini skirt up with an oriental design, statement print bardot style top, and then picking out some of the colours in the top, we chose a pair of burgundy Mary Jane style, suede effect heels, and a black patent clutch to mix up the textures a bit, and then we finished the look with a pair of long black tassel earrings to compliment the oriental feel, and the off the shoulder top.

It was good fun not only experiencing how somebody else looks at clothing but also because we had a chance to have a good look around the store and believe me they have a lot of things in at the moment that I want!

After snapping a few pics and saying thank you to the team at Dorothy Perkins we headed back to the Fashion Spooktacular zone to compare our experiences with Emma and our fellow bloggers. The next part of the evening and the next thing that the team at Intu had treated us to was a potion cocktail experience at The Alchemist, which is a popular cocktail bar and restaurant which is  also located in Greys Quarter. Unfortunately due to my reliance on public transport on the night I had to pass, and headed home with my arms laden with goodies, including this beautiful flower arrangement / bouquet from Katherines Florists.

Apologies that this photo is taken in the amazing surroundings of Eldon Square Bus Station but I was paranoid that it wouldn't last the journey, thankfully though it did, and now both myself and my mum are getting the chance to enjoy the beautiful autumnal toned flowers and foliage. I'm particularly loving the orange Physalis that remind of little pumpkins.

We also received a lovely day of the dead, sugar skull themed loot bag full of goodies including Halloween themed sweets, a brooch from Tiger, a notepad from Accessorize, a NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream, a Lush Butterball Ballistic make up samples from Urban Decay and Inglot, and discount vouchers from Burtons, Dorothy Perkins, and Monsoon, a makeover voucher for Inglot and we were also very kindly gifted an Intu gift card which I will be putting to good use soon, what will I buy though decisions, decisions!

I'd like to say a huge thank you to Intu Eldon Square for hosting the event, on what was a very trying evening with fire alarms and what not, I also want to thank Emma, and the team from Tapas Revolution, and of course Dorothy Perkins and all of the other retailers involved. If you're in Newcastle over the next few days I would definitely recommend that you pop into Intu Eldon Square, and take advantage of the Fashion Spooktacular and get your self some style tips, for the season ahead. You can find out more about the Fashion Spooktacular and what Intu Eldon Square has to offer on their official website. Any questions please leave me a comment and I will see you tomorrow with a very rare outfit post x 

*Blog Press / Event 

  Some Photographs Kindly Provided By Intu Eldon Square

Intu Metrocentre A/W 2017 Style Event - Power Dresssing, Pizza And Printing*

Now as much as I love and appreciate every blog event that I get invited to, I always feel an extra surge of excitement when an invitation pops into my inbox from the fabulous team at Intu Metrocentre. I've been to quite a few of their events over the years, and I always feel blessed to work with such an amazing brand. Their events have ranged from the traditional fashion show, to more intimate beauty, fashion and lifestyle showcases. Whatever format they take though, they are always lots of fun and I always seem to learn a lot, be it about beauty brands, or fashion styling tips. A week or so ago now I headed down to Intu Metrocentre for their Autumn / Winter 2017 blog event which took both the educational and fun factors to the next level.

The event took place on the upper floor of Zizzi, which is an Italian chain restaurant situated on the second floor in the Garden Walk area of the centre, close to the cinema and perfect for a pre or post movie bite to eat.

Although it wasn't the main focus of the night, us bloggers like a feed and Zizzi delivered with trays of appetisers including olives, arancini, dips, salads, crudities and mini kebabs. We also had the chance to try out some of their rustic pizzas, and also some of their vegan pizza and garlic bread offerings. I didn't realise that Zizzi offered both a full vegan and gluten free menu so that's a thumbs up in my eyes and I'll definitely be back for a pizza and garlic bread fix in the future.

With a backdrop of food, nibbles and mocktails the stage was set for an evening of fun and education. While half the room was set up with tables, goodie bags, nibbles, clothes rails, accessories, an overhead projector, and subdued lighting, the other side of the room was set up with lots of light and tables full of goodies to explore and play with.

On the night we were lucky enough to have the ladies from The Crafthood with us to help us bring out our crafty sides. The Crafthood is a North East based company run by two lovely ladies Sharon and Kay, who specialise in making bespoke hand lettered pieces for weddings and so on, and other handcrafted and hand designed items. They also run crafting workshops across the North East teaching everything from brush lettering, and calligraphy, to block printing, Christmas crafting and candle making.

I love crafting but in all honesty I'm just not that artistic or dare it say it talented. If you've been reading my blog for a long time you'll know that from time to time, I do indulge in a little bit of paper crafting. When I have the time and the energy I love making my own greetings cards, and I also enjoy scrap booking, and I'm particularly proud of my NYC scrapbook. When it comes to anything with thread, sewing or fabric though it's a different matter entirely. I've never been any good it and my dragon like school textile teacher pretty much put me off for life and destroyed every ounce of confidence that I ever had in my own abilities with needle and thread.

You shouldn't let a lack of ability or talent get in the way of trying new things and having fun though, crafting is all about having fun at the end of the day and when I found out that we were going to be making things and getting our craft on I couldn't wait to get started.

Our task was a relatively simple one, we were going to decorate our own fabric pouches / cosmetic bags with simple block printing. I have a bit of experience with stamping on paper and of course I'd used a potato to print designs before but printing on fabric was something completely new to me, - all I'll say is thank goodness for the practise fabric!

The idea was that we created an on trend monogram, initial style design, which sounded easy enough but it wasn't quite as easy in the flesh, and one little error in my eyes lead to a complete change in direction from the simple, Gucci esq monogram design that I'd planned in my head, to an eclectic star and star burst design.

It may not have gone to plan but it's an original and nobody else will have one that looks like mine :) It may not be perfect but it's mine and I had a lot of fun creating it. The two ladies from The Crafthood were incredibly helpful, walking around and offering suggestions and advice, and in particular helping us bloggers make our tassel's - as I said I shouldn't be left alone with thread as the residue in the picture probably shows! I really enjoyed the session with the ladies and I'm really hoping that this experience will help reignite my crafty side!

As well as our session with The Crafthood, the Intu Metrocentre team had also arranged a speaker for us for the evening. Our speaker for the night was Meridith Towne, a bespoke dressmaker and costume historian. whose speciality is women's history through fashion - The topic she spoke to us about was Women In Power and The Art Of Power Dressing.

How can I summarise such a fascinating and in depth talk in a few lines, I don't think I can in all honesty, but her talk basically covered the history of powerful women and the role that clothing has played in both defining women and creating and defining their roles. She touched on so many things including how the definition of power dressing has changed over time, and how it changes in different countries and in different cultures, and on how social media can be used as both a force for change and as tool for enforcing ideas and ideals.

As well as using as overhead projector and a power point presentation (operated by her lovely mum), Meridith also illustrated her points with clothing, costumes, fabric and accessories from her own collection including a beautiful Victorian gown, 80's suiting, pussy bow blouses, and beautiful hats and African tribal style prints.

She also illustrated some of her points with clothing and accessory pieces from some of the many fashion stores that Intu Metrocentre has to offer, including Top Shop, Aspinal, Accessorize, and House Of Fraser. There was so many beautiful pieces on the rail that perfectly illustrated the concept of modern power dressing and how things come back into fashion. The rail and the bags were particularly lust worthy and I couldn't help but fall in love with the ISSA Maisie Printed Jumpsuit, that Meridith used to illustrate her point about prints - it has cats on it - what's not to love?

Source

As someone who loves fashion and history, and who studied a lot of both gender and women's studies as part of both her BA (Hons) and MSc I found Meridith's talk both fascinating and eye opening - a lot of people think that fashion is just fun or frippery but it really does tell a story and it really can both make a statement and define you with just one glance.

If ever you get the chance to attend one of Meridith Towne's talks then I would fully recommend it. She's very knowledgeable and very passionate about the things that she talks about, and I definitely came away from her talk feeling as though that I had learnt something, and that I'd learnt something that can and will effect me in the future. You can find out more about Meridith and both her costume designer service and her talks via her own personal website.

It was another fantastic event from the team at Intu Metrocentre, and it was probably the most fun, the most tasty and the most educational one to date. I would like to thank, Zizzi, the ladies from The Crafthood, and Meridith Towne for a varied and enjoyable evening, and of course I'd like to thank the team at Intu Metrocentre and all of the stores that were involved in the event and that contributed to our super generous goodie bags. We were kindly gifted a French Connection Monogrammed Fabric Bag, which included a Hotel Chocolat The Yumpkin Milk Chocolate Pumpkin, a travel sized Aussie Shampoo, skincare samples from The Body Shop, skincare samples from Estee Lauder, and Elizabeth Arden, perfume samples from Valentino, and Dior, and make up samples from Benefit, Bare Minerals and Smashbox. We were also generously gifted some bits from Intu and a very generous discount card which I will definitely putting to good use.

Huge thanks again to Intu and if you have any questions on anything that we got up to, or if you want to tell me how wonderful my crafting attempt was ;) then please don't hesitate to leave me a comment below x

*Blog / Press Event