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 Metrocentre Fashion Live Spring / Summer 2017 VIP Event*

As an established blogger I'm lucky to get invited to the occasional blog event, I've worked hard to establish my blog over the years but even now invites and samples aren't something that I take for granted and I really do appreciate how lucky and how privileged I am.

When I first started blogging over 10 years ago, blogger events were few and far between, and up in the wilds of northern England, they were almost non existent. Thankfully over the years things have changed, and brands, companies and even individuals are now recognising the power of the blog and the influence and the power of real people.

Nowhere in the north east has embraced the power of the blogger more than Intu Metrocentre. and this week I was lucky enough to attend a VIP preview of this weekends, Spring / Summer 2017 Fashion Live Event.

All of the previous Fashion Live events have been themed and this one was no different, think tropical beach bar, come kitsch heaven and you're probably thinking along the right line. With contributions from various retailers including Wilko, and Primark, the team had created a truly tropical, and exotic setting, with light up palm trees, ball pools, pineapples, deckchairs, and flamingos! A lot of bloggers I know are slightly obsessed with Flamingos and at this event they were in their element. There were literally flamingos everywhere from the inflatable pool float, to the string lights, to the napkins, and even the pick n mix bags.

This season Intu Metrocentre have made a return to the traditional catwalk styles shows for their Fashion Live events and as much as I've really enjoyed their other events I really do enjoy the buzz that I get from witnessing a proper fashion show. Shooting a proper catwalk show though is hard especially when your camera skills, like me are shall we say, lacking something so we all had the opportunity to give ourselves a pre show energy boost, with some food and drinks. Everything had a slightly exotic feel with fruit kebabs, doughnuts made to look like pineapples, mini cupcakes, and a range of chilli bowls from the fabulous team at Barburrito. Drinks were on hand courtesy of TGI Fridays and we choose from some mini milkshakes, some mocktails and a cocktail or two. I was trying to be good and I only had a couple of fruit kebabs, so I couldn't resist trying one of TGI's signature cocktails, the Apple Passion - a mixture of blue curacao, passion fruit and apple juices, and black vodka, and I also had a mini Birthday Cake Shake which was incredible. Forget about the food I'm going to TGI Fridays to drink cocktails and shakes - they really were that good!

At 7pm at was time to take our place on the FROW and wait for the show to start. We were welcomed by our host for the evening, the lovely @Ladyannafoster from BBC Radio Newcastle, clad in Top Shop and New Look and whose hair had been freshly styled by SHOW Beauty in House Of Fraser, then it was cameras at the ready and the show began.

The fashion show showcased a wide variety of Spring and Summer looks, from stores throughout the centre including Top Shop, Burton, Karen Millen, Accessorize, New Look, Cath Kidston, Primark, Tessuti, Miss Selfridge, House Of Fraser and Coast. On show was everything from swimwear, to beach wear, and occasion wear. There were so many beautiful things on show, covering all of the major trends from prints and florals, to stripes, lace and colour blocking.

Top Shop 

Karen Millen

New Look Men

Cath Kidston

Tessuti

Miss Selfridge

Coast

As you can see there were some fabulous pieces on display, I literally fell in love with everything from Coast, and Karen Millen, I just wish I had a wedding or a special occasion to attend this summer. I also loved the prints at Cath Kidston and the navy blue jumpsuit at Karen Millen. There really was something for everyone and all occasions. 

So if you're up in the North East and you fancy your own FROW experience, then pop down to Intu Metrocentre this weekend, and head to Town Square. There will be four shows a day both tomorrow and on Sunday, so brave the bank holiday shoppers and pop in for a bit of fashion inspiration. You can find out more information and show times on the Intu Metrocentre website. If you are popping in this weekend don't forget to pick up one of the leaflets that are at the customer service points and dotted around the centre to grab yourself some bank holiday weekend discounts. This season Intu Metrocentre have also teamed with a fabulous North East based charity St Oswalds Hospice, so if you want to make some room in your wardrobe for all the new things that you want to buy then you can pick up a donation bag at all of the customer services desks. You can find out all about the fabulous work that St Oswalds do, and find your local branch via their website.

I just want to say thank you again to everyone at Intu Metrocentre for the opportunity to flamingle and for hosting such an amazing event, and I also want to think all of the companies and brands that contributed to the amazing show bags, that included amongst lots of other lovely things, a shampoo and conditioner from SHOW Beauty, beauty samples from Murad, L'Occitane and Urban Decay, a shoe care kit from Ecco, sweeties, candles from Primark and Skandinavisk and an amazing fabric Intu Flamingo bag x 

Is your wardrobe Spring and Summer ready yet? Has this post given you any ideas? Let me know in the comments x 

*Press / Blogger Event

Letting My True Fashion Colours Shine Courtesy Of Intu Metro Centre Fashion Live 15

Although I don't post that many outfit of the days or style posts anymore I still consider myself at least in part to be a fashion blogger. Although my blogs not as fashion focused as maybe it once was, I've been obsessed with clothing and accessories for as long as I can remember, and despite my unwillingness to share too many pictures of myself at the moment, nothing has really changed.

For someone who loves fashion and likes to write about it, one of the most exciting things that you can possibly do is to attend a fashion show. Like any true fashionista I would love to attend one of the big shows like Chanel in Paris, or Prada in Milan, even if I was at the very back, behind the cleaners! Dreams, dreams, dreams! we should all have them, but it's best to start small and this week I had my first, proper, fashion show experience, and even though I didn't have the opportunity to schmooze with Posh and Becks, and Kim and Kanye I still had a fabulous time.

On Wednesday night I attended an exclusive VIP Blogger Preview of Intu Metro Centre's Fashion Live Event 2015. The theme of this years event is colour - colouring yourself fabulous and finding ways to integrate more colour into your wardrobe is the way to go for Spring / Summer 2015.

With cocktails, wine, vodka shots and nibbles on hand, and selfies being taken, we really did feel like VIP's or should I say VIB's (Very Important Bloggers) as we were allowed past the cordons, and directed to take our seats on the fabulous, multi coloured FROW.

Yes I did say FROW, to be fair we all did get front row seats, but it still added a touch of excitement to the occasion and no doubt numerous tweets and instagram pics of us all shouting "I'm on FROW" I was so busy settling into my front row seat that I forget to take a picture of it so thanks to Intu Metro Centre for this Picture. ( you can find out more on  about what's on the seats later ;)

Once we were all seated we were introduced to out compere for the evening,  BBC Radio Newcastle presenter, and all round fashionista Anna Foster, who was bedecked in a new Spring Summer skirt courtesy of Top Shop and a cute biker jacket and top combo courtesy of House Of Fraser. After a short chat in which she praised the influence of blogging and You Tube, we had a general introduction to the event and found out a little bit more about the work of Centrepoint. 

Following on from the success of their empty shop campaign last year (read my post here) Intu Metro Centre have teamed up again with Centrepoint, which is the leading charity for homeless young people in the UK, for The Big Intu Clothes Drop Campaign. All you need to do is head down to Intu Metro Centre before 29th March and donate your own, pre loved items - a perfect opportunity to have a clear out and to help someone less fortunate at the same time x

Next on stage was Intu Metro Centre Stylist Michaela Dale. Michaela is one of the centres stylists and a member of their personal shopping  and style team. If your in a style rut, you want to integrate colour into your wardrobe or you're shopping for a special event or occasion then you can book either a one on one session with Michaela or one of the team for £15 an hour. or if there are several of you, you can sign up for a group session with champagne and nibbles. I think this a great idea, they are completely impartial and you have every single store in the centre at your disposal.

After a small interval for wine and macarons in my case, it was time for the main event, the fashion show, involving several of the centres most fashionable stores, showcasing some of their spring and summer collections. Both watching and photographing a live catwalk show is really new to me, but all I'll say is I have a renewed respect for professional photographers - this is not an easy task and I think it requires a bit of practise.

First to the catwalk was Superdry, Superdry took over the old Primark store, in Red Mall, and they are well known for their sporty, casual male and female fashions. As you would expect there was lots of bright colours and casual looks, but I have to admit I was surprised by the pretty, Lace Meadow Skirt that you can see on the model on the right. Very girly, and perfect for summer and smarter occasions but styled here in quite a casual way, that would be perfect for a festival .

Next up was Top Shop and Top Man, this is probably the worst picture in this post but I couldn't not include it. Despite the colour theme of the event, they show cased a lot of mono chromes and muted tones. The models outfit on the far left was probably one of my favourites of the night, The cropped top, jacket, and heels were in such a contrast to the almost utilitarian khaki joggers. Although I can't get into a Top Shop, size 16 at the moment I'm very, very tempted to buy these and try to slim into them!

French Connection were the next store to showcase, and although I know longer fall into their size range I love browsing in their concessions and in their Red Mall store. This was probably my favourite presentation of the night. Patterned trousers again are a big look and I loved the pleats, and the vibrant turquoise shades, perfect for when you have a tan. It was a hard choice but the Isla Rippled Flare Dress below was probably my favourite item, and I love how is was styled and how it looked on the model.

One of the biggest department stores in Intu Metro Centre is House Of Fraser. With lots of different brands to choose from and concessions under the one roof, it must have been hard to choose just four outfits to showcase the entire stores Spring / Summer offerings but I think they managed it. The coloured shirt trend is here to stay and bright colours, and clashing prints are as strong as ever in 2015. My highlight though had to be the black, v back embellished BIBA dress. This looked even more stunning in real life, and it goes up to a size 20, if only I had an occasion to wear it and a spare £135.

Another one of the Metro Centre's more designer lead stores is Tessuti, selling brands ranging from Ted Baker, to Michael Kors, Vivienne Westwood and Armani. They showcased a range of smart casual menswear, and some show stopping dress including animal and floral prints, and tassel's

From designer to high street and the next presentation was courtesy of Warehouse. Black never goes away and nowadays its perfectly acceptable to wear black in the summer. The split leg and side jumpsuit was fabulous, and again I love the bright colours and pleats but my highlight was the floral jacquard dress that you can see below. Perfect for a wedding or any special occasion this is another dress that looks better in the flesh.

The final presentation of the night came from high street favourite, River Island. Colour was largely absent again as monochromes and khakis dominated. My highlight here was definitely the khaki jumpsuit,  and the jumpsuit is one trend that I intend to embrace this year

After a model finale, some competition winners and a few rounds of applause it was all over, and it was time, to pick up our goodie bags and head on our way. On our seats like in all good fashion shows was a goodie bag full of fabulous samples, courtesy of House Of Fraser, including some Clinique and Decleor items that I will be reviewing for you as well as some Dior, Molton Brown, and Guerlain.

Also on our seats was a lovely, specially commissioned notebook, and a pencil courtesy of notepds, which featured the bloggers mantra "Eat Shop Blog"

As well as these lovely goodies we also received another canvas goodie bag from Intu Metro Centre and some of the other event sponsors including Hello Fashion.

This lovely bag contained some more lovely samples, and lots of promotional material, pens, a nail polish and nail files, as well as the latest issue of Hello Fashion.

I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in the event for the invitation, I had a really fun evening and it was nice to feel a bit like a VIP or VIB. If you're in the Metro Centre this weekend, Intu Metro Centre Fashion Live 15 runs until Sunday 29th March, so head to towns square, to take some selfies for a chance with a £500 prize (see my grumpy attempt above) , to donate to Centrepoint  and of course to have your own FROW experience and see how you can let your true colours shine by visiting one of the 4 fashions shows on Saturday and 3 on Sunday. 

My one regret was that the catwalk show didn't include any plus size models or anyone as chubby as me but never mind after my fashion overload I'm certainly feeling a little bit more inspired so who knows maybe some more fashion posts and some OOTD's will be in the offing soon x  Are you a fashion fiend? Have you been inspired to wear more colour this season? Leave me a comment and let me know x 

February And March Haul - Clothing, Shoes And Accessories

It's been a little while since I've done a haul post but that doesn't mean that I haven't been hauling, in I've bought so much stuff over the last couple of months that I'm having to put it in to two posts.First up clothes, shoes and accessories.

I've been trying to be good and not buy too many clothing bits while I've been losing weight but there are a few bits that I just couldn't resist.

You've probably already seen this on instagram or twitter, but this season Next released a couple of blog related items. This is one was from the nightwear section but due to the colour and density of the fabric you could just as easily wear it as a t-shirt but I think I'll be keeping this one for bedtime. Unfortunately I can't find it online anymore but you can still get these..

Sales are annoying things at times aren't they, I paid full price (£16) for the navy and just £8 in the sale for the Ecru version, and now yes there both back to £16. You win some, you lose I guess. If you're a blogger though you need this t-shirt. For me I'm going to use it for motivation because yes I am a big deal on my blog :) I'm trying to do a few more fashion posts so I took a quick pic of the outfit that I wore today - I need some serious posing and photography practise, but I think you get the idea :)

What I Wore

Indigo Jeggings - H&M

Navy Blue T-Shirt - Next

Black Harper Flatform Sandals - Top Shop

Work in progress I think :) The most expensive thing that I've bought over the last couple of months was a pair of shoes, surprise, surprise they are the ones that you can see above. 

I think these will be a love / hate thing for most people but I love them. They are the Harper Flatform Sandals from Top Shop. They're very chunky looking, with a flatform sole, and have a Velcro fastening on the ankle strap. I'm useless with heels, and I normally have awful issues with ankle straps so these are ideal for me. I'm not a 100% sure how I'm going to wear these but I know I will wear them a lot during the summer. They were £28 which I think is a bit steep but I liked them - just a note I did have to size down on these as they were absolutely huge - Excuse the unpainted toe nails yuckkkk

Another clothing item I picked was something that I'd shown you in my recent post on Batiste Floral, but this time the sales did work in my favour.

I'd lusted after it ever since I featured it in my post but I'd never managed to get into an Asda Store to pick one up, by the time I did though it was half price at just £5. I love, love the colours, and the textured fabric it's so bright, and fresh and I think it will be great for the summer months. I have a fab bright orange bag that I'm going to accessorise it with but other than that I'm not sure what to wear it with so if you have any suggestions please leave me a comment.

Over the last few months I've been on a real H&M love in, I only picked up a couple of accessory bits in February and March but I can see myself buying a lot more as we role into spring and summer. First up a scarf..

Oh god my scarf love in just never seems to end, I've really lost count of how many scarves that I have. My mums exactly the same as it's her fault that I got this one really :) I saw a lovely one on the website which was a mix of blue, white and black that I knew my mum would love for Mothers Day and I couldn't resist adding this heart patterned number to my basket. This is a real multi use scarf, it's so big you could use it as a wrap, or even as a sarong. I can't find it on the website any more but it also comes in a cream / grey colourway.

I also got a couple of jewellery bits from H&M including this slightly Mr T esq necklace.

It's a pretty chunky gold tone chain, with two gold tone dog tags that are engraved with inspirational phrases - Honest, Precious, Faith, Dream, Courage, and Trust. I love message and inspiration pieces like this and I know I will wear this lots.

My final H&M purchase was a set of crystal earrings x I was looking for just a plain diamond /crystal stud at Christmas and I couldn't find anything in my collection so I decided to go for these, and because you get four different sized pairs, you have bling for all occasions.

Speaking of bling what do you think of this?

Okay I have no idea why I bought this but it was cute, it's quirky so why not. I've seen them on other people but I'm not sure I can carry it off. It was only a £1 in Poundland so it no great loss if I never wear it :)

The next thing I got isn't quite as blingy but I still love it - I love natural gemstone jewellery and I love layering bracelets.

This is the Shika bracelet from Avon, I already have the Tigers Eye version, but they were both in a recent sale catalogue so I got the rose quartz version too :)

My final two purchases came from Primark - they had loads of great stuff last time I was in because but trying not to buy clothes I only ended up with two bits - My favourite hair bobbles

and some Muppets socks :)

So that was my February / March clothes and accessory haul x Please watch the video that I've made to accompany this haul, below



and as per usual if you have any questions please leave me a comment xx Thanks for reading xx