Come in and know me better man as I extend an early Christmas welcome to you to join me on a magical afternoon of Christmas party dresses, make up and, most importantly, a really good buffet with some excellent cupcakes! Where are we going? To the Very.co.uk #VeryParty Christmas Showcase of course! And who am I you ask? Well, I’m your friendly guest blogger and general photographer of this very blog…Leigh’s boyfriend! Although you can call me Mike as we’re all friends. So click this way and let’s get to it!

Whilst Leigh is busy driving up and down the country entertaining children on the run into Christmas in Pantomime, I was asked if I could cover the Very.co.uk #VeryParty Christmas Showcase. On a guarantee of one million brownie points and an afternoon of Xbox, I set off one chilly Saturday morning to Speke in Liverpool, home of Shop Direct, owners and operators of  Very.co.uk, as well as Littlewoods. Being a Mancunian this proved especially difficult for me…but with brownie points at stake it was no hardship.

Upon meeting with the other bloggers invited to the event who were a great mix of young, old, male and female, some with young children, I did wonder what kind of afternoon it would be. However, I need not have worried as we were in the capable hands of Samantha, who despite being extremely busy, did spare time with all of us to chat through what to expect from Very this Christmas season and was very helpful indeed.

We were guided to a mock up shop and was so well presented that to my mind it WAS an actual shop! Split between female, male and children’s clothes, there were displays and mannequins as you would expect in any high street store and this made it actually very easy to navigate without getting the way of the other bloggers, and more importantly, their photographs.

Brands on display included well known names such as Monsoon, Ted Baker and River Island but also Very.co.uk’s own brand V by Very. I was very impressed as I didn’t actually know they had their own brand and told the buyers who were assisting on the day as much. There were also two skincare brands offering make up tutorials and skincare advice in the form of Illamasqua and Skin Doctors. Plus of course the previously mentioned cupcakes!

With Christmas songs playing and a welcome glass of Prosecco, I perused the shelves and hangers, making notes of what I expect will be the main items of clothing to be worn at Christmas parties this year: The sequin dress! The sequin bag! The sequin jumpsuit! Sequin trousers? Maybe! However, they all looked great! Some plain black and some a variety of colours, ensuring you will be accommodated – whether you are a relaxed reindeer or a hardcore party peacock. Add in the mix a faux fur jacket and matching clutch and you’ll be set for the night in the finest partywear going! If you hadn’t had enough sequins, there were also some killer boots on display which could be paired with leather look or autumn embroidered dresses. Whatever your choice, you will definitely shine this Christmas.

Lola Rose provided the finishing touches to your party look, whether you wanted a watch or bracelet. And judging by the colours on show, you could definitely find one to match your gladrags! I especially liked some of the more dainty selection of jewellery they had in stock.

The male contingent were catered for in the form of suits and jackets made from some pretty exciting materials such as flock and paisley, rather than the usual wardrobe staple of a tweed jacket. Classically styled woollen winter coats, excellent knitwear and a variety of shoes including loafers and desert boots were mixed in with traditional brogues. Lots of choice to make any man more handsome at the Christmas party…at least until the free drinks kick in and the Macarena starts.

Lest we forget the real gift at Christmas: Children’s faces as they savagely tear apart wrapping paper to get to the currently most popular toy this year. At least we can make them look good doing it! Beautiful dresses, coats, shirts and capes(!) shrunken down to tiny sizes will make your princes and princesses stay toasty warm, stylish and perhaps put the parents to shame…I only wished a few items were in adult sizes. Not forgetting the cuddly toy either!

With fashion fiends catered for, beauty boffins were not forgotten! For those who want healthy skin AND killer contours this party season, Illamasqua had their range of highlighters, eyeshadows, foundations and their skin glowing gel…Beyond Veil. They also provided us with a demo of how to apply some of their products which was quite enlightening for me. Usually at this point of the make up counter, I’ll be deep into social media on my phone whilst Leigh empties my credit card!

What about after all that partying though? You’re hungover and not feeling great but that doesn’t mean you can’t look great! Skin Doctors were on hand with a number of products to help with our skin’s health on the way into winter, the days after those parties and into the new year. With different products for different times of day,from emergency spot zappers to face-lift treatments to keep the surgeon away for years to come, they certainly have you covered.

All in all, representing FDJ LDN solo for the first time was actually pretty good! The team at Very made me very welcome (no pun intended) and I had a fantastic time. And Leigh will also be pretty happy as I came away with a goody bag full of fun items, which I may or may not be wearing now a la Mel Gibson in “What Women Want”…

Until next time fillies,

Mike at Fashion Du Jour LDN HQ x

 

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