Clothes shopping in Stratford

On Thursday I took the car up to Stratford Upon Avon because I'd been invited by Gemini Fashion to come and try on some party clothes they have in their shop, have my hair & make up done and have some professional photographs taken. Like the keenest kid at the front of the class with 2 hands in the air I was there like a shot (actually that's a lie because the traffic on the A34/M40 was not good in rush hour).

It was my first trip to Stratford and I knew NOTHING about it apart from the obvious Shakespeare historical reference. What an amazing town! Each of the stores (lots of independents) are housed in original 800yrs+ buildings and it absolutely adds to the feel of the market town.

Gemini is a VERY LARGE shop in Stratford. I was amazed at how big it is (3 shops knocked into one huge space). It is home to over 30 fashion brands covering formal and casual wear, accessories for you and for the home.

CUSTOMER SERVICE IS KEY - I was amazed to find out through chatting with Claire (owner) that they have lots of staff on hand to help their customers. Customer service to Gemini is KEY to their success and I have to say that we (there were two of us) were bowled over by the attention we received by the staff. Everyone was so happy, smiling, saying hello (but not in that in your face annoying sales person way).

My partner in crime for the day was the beautiful Donna from I Won't Wear Sludge Brown. When I found out Donna would be coming too I squealed with delight. She's brilliant. I adore her.

I can't stop 'chatting' because I really did have THE BEST DAY EVER!

Right, on to the visuals. Today's blog is about the photos I took - so selfie's and informal shots. Next week I'll bring the professional ones they took.

Make Up by the lovely lovely lovely ladies at space.nk in Stratford. They chose bronze to bring out the blue in my eyes and I was SO impressed by what they did I spent £50 on 2 products! Let it be known right now that I haven't spent £50 on makeup in the past 41 years in one go. I don't do expensive make up but I was bowled over by the effect.

Hair by the talented staff at Matthew Curtis. What this beautiful girl (she was young, she was stunning and she is SUPER talented) did to my hair is beyond words. Who knew I could rock a beehive like that?

Now to the clothes. We had free reign of the whole shop (think thousands of items of clothing and accessories) but our fantastic hosts had hand picked some key items for the season ahead.

Here are SOME photos .. next week there will be more I promise :-)
Jacket (French Connection), Top (French Connection), Boots
Ooooh look at Donna in the background focusing on what to wear next!

Dress (Sandwich), Shoes (Sasha London)
This dress was AMAZING. I urge anyone after a party frock to buy it. It fitted very well, it had stretch (side panels) and yet was fitted.

I can't wait to show the other outfits, let's say there are burgundy boots, animal print pencil skirt, a cream blouse that Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen would be proud of, leather and furry ankle boots and a whole lot more.

OK then, have a cheeky look at Donna and one of her outfits (more on her blog now and next week).

Do check out Gemini online and if you are in Stratford then you must pay the team a visit.

Fiona
xoxo