Pretty Knickers and Gin? Ra-ther!

As I may have mentioned before, I am quite the fan of What Katie Did lingerie.  I have slowly built up my collection of stockings, shapewear and bras to have quite a nice little collection now (started with one of their fabulous Sophia corsets, not the most obvious starting off point).

Some of the lovely new things for SS13

Anyway, poured into various items from their A/W 12 collection and wearing a green lace dress I'd been altering until the early hours, I went up to their Portobello Green boutique after being invited to some sort of a show, and of course gin cocktails and cake...

 Along for the ride was Vintage Vessel and Kieren (it was technically work after all!)  In September, we'd taken a trip to the lovely boutique to see a preview of SS13 (and the launch of AW12) so I wasn't sure what this event would be if it wasn't going to be another catwalkesque  show.

The lovely Vintage Vessel,
also known as 'Snappy Browne'

We were in for a treat though as the faces of SS13,  Slinky Sparkles and Sophia St Villier did what they do best and performed burlesque routines wearing the Marlene and Coco sets, respectively. 

 

 

 

 

 Sophia also wore another new addition to the shop, a Bernie Dexter dress (the Beatrice dress in tiki mask print in case you were wondering).  I'd not actually seen any Bernie Dexter dresses in real life - just yearned for them via the internet, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that they are made from really good quality material, much better than you normally find in repro dresses.

 I was lucky enough to interview Katie again, the founder of WKD and she was lovely as ever.  She told me about the plans to stock Miss L Fire shoes in the near future - as if we need any more reason to go to that little paradise in Ladbroke Grove?!

 Here is the footage from our visit if you'd like to take a look.  Here is the link to the show in September if you'd like a better look at the whole collection, I even did captions so you know which piece is which - you're welcome!  And I may have treated myself to a little something after all the filming was finished, but I couldn't possibly tell you what...

 Do you have any What Katie Did in your wardrobe and what's your favourite piece from the new collection?

A Delightful Evening of Peculiar Dining

Sorry this post has been a bit late in coming, but I've had an awfully busy weekend which you will be able to read about in due course.

I was looking forward to the return of Hendrick's to the Brighton festival, as last year a large portion of my birthday was spent sipping their gin-based delights outside their Horseless carriage.

When we were invited to attend one of the many events Hendrick’s was hosting at their Library of Delightfully Peculiar Writings, one particular event stood out to us.  Along with lectures about the literary history of gin as well as few on more specific topics, there was to be a literary feast orchestrated by the culinary architects,  Bompas & Parr.  We were lucky enough to interview Sam Bompas before he was whisked away to add the finishing touches to the feast.   

We were able to have a look inside the dining area, which was set off by a beautiful crimson glow.  Along with the dining tables, one side of the room was dedicated to a tank of sorts which enclosed a breathable gin cloud. 

Adorning the shelves and cabinets that lined the walls were all manner of ephemera and curiosities that would have seemed more at home somewhere like the Last Tuesday Society’s Little Shop of Horrors  (incidentally, the society hosted a couple of events at the Hendrick’s Library).

The outside green (well Astroturf, but who’s telling) was open to the public and was as beautifully decked out as the dining room.

Jo (one of the Hendrick’s hostesses) was kind enough to supply us with a myriad of gin based beverages throughout proceedings.  It turns out I’m less rubbish in front of the camera if I’ve had a couple, at least that’s the story I’m sticking to...

Although we weren’t there for the entire meal (quite sorry we missed the exploding desert!) we had a very good time and look forward to Hendrick’s coming back next year.   If you would like to find out where Hendrick's will be unfurling their library next, have a look at their website, it’s rather good.