It's not too often that I get to attend a blogger event, but over the years I have learnt how to spot a good one from a bad one. Spoiler alert: This was a bloody good one! When the email pinged into my inbox for the La Redoute Summer Party, I couldn't say yes fast enough. That email, and the ones that followed, were very secretive; it only specified the date, time and meeting place for the event. It turned out that we were going to meet in Leeds train station and be whisked away to a secret location, all set up for their summer party. I have to say, they did very well at keeping us all guessing, and nothing at all was given away about the venue. It certainly made us all very excited and curious to see what was to come! I arrived at the station just after 6pm on that Saturday night, to be met by Beth, from the PR team. After a few more bloggers had arrived, we were led out of the station and onto a minibus (We must have looked quite funny to passers-by), and off we went to our secret venue. We were promised that it wasn't far away, and they were right. The venue turned out to be the New Craven Hall, just out of the city centre, which I believe has only opened recently and specialises as a wedding venue. It was the perfect space for the event, and as you will see in the photos, was decorated beautifully.






Once we had made it inside and stopped gawking at the twinkling fairy lights, we were handed an Aperol Spritz (one of my favourites - yum!), and given a chance to look around and snap those all-important pictures. It was all kept very minimal, but with plenty of space for mingling with other bloggers, it just worked really well. Dotted around the room were clothing rails, with items from La Redoute's Autumn/Winter collection. A quick sneak peek threw up a few favourites for me that I couldn't wait to have a proper look at later. There was also an area displaying their beautiful homeware collection; I have to admit that I didn't know that La Redoute had such a range, and they had some truly gorgeous pieces that wouldn't look out of place in a Parisian's boudoir. I absolutely adored the geometric cushion covers that were on display, as well as the matching chairs. Also available to hand were more pre-made drinks, and also a bar that could whisk up a number of delicious sounding cocktails - we were well and truly spoilt. The event was quite relaxed, which a much prefer to a regimented affair: We were able to browse their collections at whatever pace we liked, drink in hand if we were so inclined, and really get a feel for the products. I've been to fashion events in the past where items were just held up by the organisers and talked about - I'm pleased to say that this definitely wasn't the case here!






In case you were thinking that was it, well, think again! Also at the party were a couple of lovely ladies from Molton Brown, one of my favourite brands, offering hand massages using a range of their products. I'm already very familiar with the brand so passed up the opportunity to let someone else have a go, but it was really nice to see La Redoute working with another brand to offer us the best possible experience. It helped to bring the whole party together, and it fitted well into the evening. We also weren't left going hungry at this event - popcorn and other sweet snacks were readily available for us to stick our teeth into, which somehow I managed to keep myself away from altogether. However, another surprise sweet treat was going to be coming along later in the evening, which I'll tell you about a little further down the post! There was also little dishes brought around throughout the event that well and truly kept any hunger pangs at bay - each of them as unique as the next, and extremely tasty too. I may have had two servings of this dish photographed above, it was so good!




Now onto the main reason why you're reading this blog post - the clothing. As expected from an Autumn/Winter collection, there was lots of deep russet tones, with flashes of mustard yellow and deep burgundy. However, I was surprised to find some pretty, delicate pieces within the range, with shades of periwinkle blue and sparkling gold. We were invited by La Redoute to choose an item from the range, to try on and have photographed by the resident photographer, David Lindsay. Not only that, but once we had found our perfect item, we were allowed to keep it too! There were two pieces that caught my eye; the first being the atelier R Printed Button-Through Dress. I fell in love with the print, and I'm starting to really enjoy blue in my wardrobe so it was love at first sight for me. However, being a button-up dress, I had a feeling that I was going to struggle with it over my bust. Sadly I was right - it fitted perfectly on the arms and waist, but there was no way it was going to do up over my bust! However, my friend Rachel tried it on and it looked stunning on her. The second item that caught my attention was the R édition Printed Maxi Dress*. I loved the print and the bow detail on the neckline, but worried that it might drown me. It turned out to be the perfect length, but as I had to size up (not available in my usual size), it was a little looser than I would have liked around the waist. However, I knew that a slim waist belt would fix that, so this was the one that I decided to keep! It's unlike anything else that I have in my wardrobe, and not what I would usually wear as a result. I know that looking online I would never have chosen this dress for myself, but I'm glad that I took a chance on it in real life! I swished about in it all evening, and thoroughly confused Martin when I came home, wearing a different dress to the one I had left in.




As if we weren't being spoilt enough, there was yet another surprise for us. I was sat outside with some of my fellow bloggers when I spotted an unusual vehicle pulling up. If you hadn't already guessed, it was an ice cream van! A proper old-fashioned one too, with '99' ice creams and as many sprinkles as you could manage. It didn't take long after it started playing it's twinkly tune for all of the rest of the bloggers to run outside to see what was going on - we were like kids on Christmas Day! Soon enough, we were all stuffing our face with our ice creams, trying ever so carefully not to spill any on our beautiful new clothes (I can proudly say that I managed to avoid this). I think we were all guilty of snapping our rapidly-melting ice creams, to put all over Instagram and Snapchat; well, we're bloggers, it's to be expected! Afterwards, the evening was rounded off with the handing-out of many generous prizes. This included amongst others a £250 La Redoute voucher, and a styling session with a top hair salon. Sadly I didn't win myself any of those, but no one went home empty handed as we were all handed a generous goody bag as we left. Included in mine was a beautiful black, suede, fringed backpack, which unfortunately I can't find a link to online. However, I will try and feature it in a blog post in the future!



I think it's safe to say that I had a wonderful time at the La Redoute Summer Party. I got to catch up with some of my favourite bloggers, drink amazing cocktails and eat delicious food, as well as try on some beautiful clothes. I've even got myself some inspiration for home décor, thanks to their gorgeous homeware! Make sure to check out their latest collections online; at the time of writing, selected items from their Autumn range have 25% off with the code NEW. Thank you to everyone at La Redoute, and the PR team for putting on such a fantastic event, and for your incredible generosity throughout the evening. I can't wait for the next one already!