Ballin'

I had my Summer Grad Ball at the Hilton last Saturday, so naturally thought I'd share the experience with you all.

It was a glamourous evening, with a glass of free champers on arrival, a 3 course meal, and a D-Jay to finish off. 

Being on a fashion course you can only imagine the parade we were expecting, girl after girl dressed to the nines. Some with loubi's, some carrying Chanel, and the not so subtle stares from head to toe, with a "what does she look like?" or "that dress does NOT suit her" to follow. 

Yes, it was bitchy.

My dress was from ASOS, it was a bargain I thought at £55, however having sent it to Jersey by accident (home), and my Mum having to send it back here, it got a nice VAT charge, which I was fuming about! 

I had my hair highlighted, and curled it myself (v.proud) and did my nails (below) and did my make up using my Benefit 'Primpcess" kit. 

I even wore heels! 

All in all it was a lovely send off, I even had a dance with my finance teacher!

Below is a mood board of the accessories and things I used for the night.

Ball by emilyrodgers18 featuring chinese laundry pumps

Company Fashion Forum

I know I'm about a week late but I've finally got round to writing up my experience from the Company Fashion Forum.

All in all it was a good evening, I wrote 6 pages of careers advice that all the members shared with us, which was really helpful. Unfortunately I arrived late as I was faffing around getting ready and then I got lost, oops! So I missed the champagne and photos and things, but at least I made it to the talk! 

The Speakers were: 

Kathryn Kenny – New Look – Senior Digital Content Manager

Victoria White - Company Magazine's Editor

Oonagh Brennan - Company's Associate Editor Fashion

Karen Jones Russell – Stylist

Jen Holmes – Blogger at A Little Bird Told Me and Freelance Writer

I read Jen's blog and she always make me laugh, and it was so weird seeing her in real life, and she made everyone laugh during the talk as well. 
The girl's all had different stories to tell and different pearls of wisdom to impart on us, and I'm sure I'll use a lot of it in my future career!

Some of the best notes I took from the night were: 

1. Never say no to an internship, never turn down an opportunity because at least you're out there, learning new skills and finding out what you like and don't like. Basically, always say 'yes' and be open-minded. 

2. If you live and breath fashion, it will come naturally to you. All the hard work and long hours will be worth it, and at the end of the day its either going to make you or break you. 

3. A degree is not important, what matters is work experience. (This one did not sit so well with me, I hope I haven't just wasted three years of my life!)

4. Never change who you are because of the job you're doing or who you're working for. 

5. Always have a positive attitude (no diva's!).

6. Always have confidence in yourself. There's always going to be people more talented, with more experience or a better degree than you, just believe you can do it. 

7. Learn admin skills in any experience you get, they are so important and you will carry them with you for life. 

8. People in the industry talk to each other, so being with a company for just one day can really boost your chances, if you make a good impression.

9. Be different/innovative. This is a creative industry, if you want a job, show how creative you can be. Some examples are making them laugh just by what's in the 'subject box' of an email, or sending them funny post such as a fashion survival kit. 

10. Learn to manage your time- the hours are long and the pay isn't great at first, but its fun and you're doing something different everyday. 

11. And finally, sorry to end on a random number, but I'm sure this one applies to a lot of you. Bloggers are now like partnerships to fashion companies, if your's looks good, if you have a big fan base and good content, that will get you noticed.

For the evening I wore my cropped Topshop monochrome jumper and leather skirt. I was surprised to see 2 extremes of pure caj and major stylin' ladies at the event but each to their own I guess. 

Above are the nails I did for the event, although I doubt anyone noticed!

I was not only too chicken to go up and speak to the ladies afterwards but there was crowds of fashionistas around them trying to shove business cards in their faces, so I didn't bother. They also basically said in the talk that its near impossible to get a job with them so I didn't take the chance.

To top the night off we were all given a fab goody bag with lots of fab goodies! 

My favourites which I cant wait to try are the nail wraps and nails tattoos, of course. 

I'm also loving the right guard (smells lush!) and the blue hair spray which gets everywhere but its so fun to play with. 

I would definitely of recommended going if you were on the fence, but if you're cash-strapped like me, and made the same mistake of not making the most of the opportunities there, it probably wasn't worth the money. 

Company Fashion Forum!

As soon as I saw this advertised on my FB newsfeed, my ticket had been bought 5 minutes later.

For the past year or so Company has fast become my favourite mag. 

Unlike others, it focuses on the reader, making the connection between you and the industry stars, to reinforce that we CAN make it, and showing us how.

I'm so so excited for this event taking place at Manchester Uni on the 18th of April. 

As I'm quite a shy person, I am already ringing around to see if I can drag anyone with me, but I will happily go on my own for such an amazing opportunity to rub shoulders with the experts I so greatly admire and only dream to work with (gush gush). And the goody bag and bubbly is obvs a bonus.

This ticket is £27.50, and seeing as I'm already living on rice and soup, I had to dip into my savings, but I know it will be worth it! 

And of course the only question on my mind right now is, WHAT THE F*** AM I GONNA WEAR?!

Here are a few of my favourite outfits from last years event in London, a post without pictures is not very narce! 

If anyone is going to the Manchester event, please pipe up and let me know, would love to meet some of you! 

(I'll be the six foot awkward blonde one in the corner no doubt.)

Nicole Farhi Event at Harvey Nichols

               

Just a quick post about the event I attended the other evening at Harvey Nicholls showcasing Nicole Farhi's new Spring Summer collection with the designer herself as a special guest! Champagne was handed to us on entry (I could get used to that) and we took our seats among the increasingly bustling scene in the ladies wear department. 

Canapés were then handed out and as things got under way the chatter diminished and Nicole took her seat in front of the crowd along with the host. 

A run through of some of the designers favourite outfits from her collection were presented to us with a short description about the inspiration, the design, the style, the colours and even the construction of the garments. (below)

 This print features in a few of Nicole's pieces, the florals patterns and tones would look perfect in a Spring wardrobe. 

 Nicole sat next to the host, a freelance journalist in Manchester, who described what the models were wearing.

 I loved this jacket, made from parachute material and lined with mesh it fits perfectly into the sport chic trend. 

 Another popular print, grid like texture, belted with a hat screams effortless elegance. 

  This was definitely my favourite, the white floral laser cut shift dress, although I wouldn't have gone naked underneath as the model dared to do. 

 After the presentation, the guests got a chance to shop the collection with a special discount. Despite my love for the structured peach dress, (£350) the price tags were a little over budget so we just admired the models (below) and pondered how they could be real?! perfect skin, hair and the clothes to match, we were almost starstruck. 

 

 Our jealousy and lack of funds quickly drove us out the door and into the loving arms of Boots, were I proceeded to spend a hefty amount, including my very first pot of anti wrinkle cream! (post to follow) But back to the event, all in all, it was nice to see the collection and amazing to see the designer up close, but unless you had the bottle to go up and talk to her, there wasn't much else on the agenda! 

We attended this event through manchesterfashionnetwork.com. I would recommend an RSVP to local events as they are a great way to network especially if your a fashion blogger! 

Love for Mulberry

Last night me and my fellow fashiony friend, Kirby, attended the Mulberry event at Spinningfields, Manchester, after entering a competition through Grazia Magazine, to celebrate the launch of the new Spring/Summer collection, and I must say it was a celebration indeed! 

Pink champagne with floating raspberries was handed to us on entry, and already the scene was a bustling mixture of luscious bags, stunning waiters in candy aprons and many many safari balloons. There was a 'day at the seaside' theme to tie in with the collections inspiration, which included a grab machine with jewellery goodies and cute mulberry teddies, which Kirby managed to nab (one of a select few with the right grabbing technique!). A flipper book booth was also causing much excitement, which gave guests a chance to dance around with inflatable animals and the 'Oooh' mulberry glasses for 7 seconds, the frames then get printed off and made into a flip book! One of the many free goodies we walked away with as well as our very own balloon, (above, can't see my face but I'm happy!) canvas bag filled with mulberry postcards, a stick of mulberry rock, the latest issue of Grazia, £50 voucher, look book of the new collections and assorted make up gifts!

Unfortunately one of the free goodies we didn't walk away with was the mulberry tan satchel (£1,100) from the tom-bola prize draw, it was free to enter and one lucky girl got to take it away! A combination of this as well as Mini fish and chips, hotdogs, and ice cream tubs as the choice of food really topped the night off! I can safely say I will definitely be entering another Grazia comp for a guest list event, thank you Mulberry! x