Festival Fashion

With about 200,000 people making their way to Glastonbury this weekend, festival fashion is overflowing every billboard, website home page and newsletter. Feeling left out, the girls in the office have dug out some bunting and donned some festival-esque outfits to get us through our Glasto-less Friday.

This September, I will be heading to my first ever proper festival (Bestival) and I'm excited about the new experience, if not a little apprehensive about the lack of home comforts (think tents, portaloos, hangovers etc.). But if there is one thing I'm not worried about its finding the perfect festival clothing as  it really is EVERYWHERE.

Prints are huge this year. Wear more than one print and you've more than likely hit the nail on the head. Here are some of my favourites...

Photos from Company Websites (Linked below)

1. Spider Floral Jumpsuit £60 Topshop
2. Hackney Empire Silk Shorts £100 (was £220) House of Hackney @ Urban Outfitters
3. Floral Panel Dress £70 Topshop (Part of their Reclaim project which I hope to write about soon)
4. Ecote Printed Maxi Dress £55 Urban Outfitters
5. Boutique Sandrine Oriental Jumpsuit £30 Boohoo
6. Honey Flower Print Shorts in Black £19.99 Misguided

Team any of these with denim, another print, and a load of accessories to get festival ready. You may remember my post a while back (Smart Wear, Statement Hair) where I showed you a flower hair garland that I had made myself. Although it was beautiful - if I do say so myself - its probably a little too high maintenance and far too delicate to survive a weekend of camping, dancing, drinking etc. Fear not... they are so easily found at the moment. Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head (or hopefully all as big as your head as that is their purpose) there are so many different styles that you can go for a statement or something more discreet but still pretty. This one is £12 from Topshop and is one of many of their different styles. And if flowers aren't your thing theres always a variety of ears to choose from!

Photo from Topshop.com

There's also some great bags out there too - over the shoulders, bum bags or rucksacks, make sure you snap up a good one to help you keep everything safe and free up your hands for drinking, dancing and eating! I love this bold backpack from Topshop (£32). They also have some more muted ones too if you fancy going a bit more subtle but this summer we should be dressing by the rule that "bright is right".

Photo from Topshop.com

I can't wait to get shopping for my summer breaks although I'll be avoiding any sale shopping in person by staying firmly behind my computer screen searching for online deals or sticking to new season stock in store. There are few things worse than trawling through rails of clothes that are either too big, too small or too ugly to buy in a sweaty shop where the poor staff are too busy picking clothes off the floor to be of any assistance!

Wonderland

So this week the time finally came for the University of Nottingham's Graduation Ball *queue thunderstorms and torrential rain*. I luckily had been well prepared with my dress (see 'ASOS Saves the Day' post)but I still found myself running around town in the torrential rain to find shoes and bags for Arabella and myself. I finally managed to sort us both in New Look - the last place left to look (why does that always happen?!)

Arabella and I taking advantage of the two minutes of sunshine

After popping across the road for a celebratory glass of champagne, we headed off to Colwick Hall.

Taking advantage of the bright colour trend with the dresses!

The theme this year was Wonderland and we were greeted by a very tall white rabbit and 'Alice' - a man... in drag... on stilts...

Lucky table 37

Goats cheese to start...

And chocolate tart to finish...

(The main course wasn't pretty enough for a photo!)

Will and I enjoying dinner

One of the themed marquees

We then moved to an enormous marquee where Nottingham favourite, Tom Wardle, and Zane Lowe entertained us for a few hours. After a wonderful evening with food, friends
and checking out all the lovely dresses, we headed to Rescue Rooms for the after party and danced the night away!

A Drop Of Honeydew

Founded in April 2012 by the lovely Emma Prentice, A Drop Of Honeydew brings a delightful collection of silk and cotton clothing. With fabrics sourced in India, the beautiful clothes are vibrant and colourful and definitely stand out. From the beach to festivals and even just a day in town, these clothes suit any occasion and can be dressed up or kept casual.

Emma in one of her gorgeous Athena Mini dresses
Photo from adropofhoneydew.com

The philosophy of the company ticks three boxes - A Drop Of Honeydew produce ethically sourced, high quality clothing at affordable prices. Emma started the collection with dresses and expanded into scarves and silk shirts. Everything is 'made with love' in a family run business in India and the clothes are available in an exquisite range of bright colours and patterns.

The beautiful Millie in her Athena Mini
Photo from adropofhoneydew.com

Her male friends started feeling left out and so A Drop Of Honeydew has now branched out to meet the demand for menswear by launching a rande of brightly coloured cotton shirts.

Mens Cotton Shirt in Deep Purple - £25
Photo from adropofhoneydew.com

Mens Cotton Shirt in Orange Pattern - £25
Photo from adropofhoneydew.com 

Emma refers to fans of the beautiful clothing as her 'honeys' and there is no doubt that as A Drop Of Honeydew grows, people will be jumping at the chance to own their own piece and join the following of honeys.

Another honey in my favourite shirt!
Photo from adropofhoneydew.com

I was lucky enough to be given a dress from the first collection and now I can't wait to get my hands on a shirt and an athena mini! The clothing can be purchased through thecontact details on the website or at various markets in London. A Drop Of Honeydew have made huge leaps in their first year and I can't wait to see the company grow. Follow Emma on Twitter to keep up to date with news and events.

Everything Stops For Tea.

B and I headed to town (Nottingham) for brunch today following recommendation from a friend. We were devastated when we arrived to find it had closed down and we set to the cobbled street in search of a replacement. As we wandered between Jamie's Italian and Carluccio's trying to decide where to eat I spotted this little archway directing us to Thea Caffe, a gorgeous tea room hidden away down a gated alley. As you can imagine, I couldn't contain my excitement!

I think I looked a bit like Charlie standing at the entrance of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory and I hurried through the gates, dragging B with me.

"Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things."

- Chaim Potok

We walked through the courtyard (which you can make out in the reflection of the lovely welcome sign)...

It was slightly too chilly to brave the outdoor area but as soon as the sun is back out I will be sitting in the courtyard with a pot of tea and a slice of cake. I can't wait. So we ventured inside...

The courtyard

We were greeted and served by a lovely waitress dressed in a pretty, traditional apron and a lovely smile. The staff all seemed very passionate about the shop and who could blame them - I can definitely think of worse places to spend my working day! The tea room was much bigger than expected and almost every seat was full - and yet I still felt like I'd uncovered a hidden gem. How none of my friends have found this before I do not know but it will definitely be a regular stop in from now on.

Every details is perfect and the different speciality teas were displayed on a table as you walked in.

Once we had read the 'Specialist Tea Directory' and selected our drinks, there was the pressing matter of rumbling tummies to deal with. The menu was filled with pastries, brunch, afternoon tea and lots of delicious treats. I opted for the Eggs Benedict and was not disappointed.  They even had the option of gluten-free muffins. Finally! Somewhere that offers soy-milk AND gluten free without restricting the menu!

The waitress arrived shortly with a tray full of mismatched chinaware and some delicious tea! By this point we were feeling very English which was quite fitting with the greying clouds that were passing by out the window.

Gluten-Free Eggs Benedict

Mountains of cakes, scones and other yummy treats temptingly displayed on pretty cake stands were very hard to resist although I just managed to keep enough self control to pay the bill without caving at the sight of the lemon drizzle slices.

Scones, cakes and other delicious treats!

The room was decorated with delicate wallpaper, art, potted plants and, of course, some tea pots.

A pretty little tea pot display - I wonder if they would notice me smuggling the green one away with me?

We had a wonderful brunch and I am already looking through my diary to find the first opportunity to take someone to afternoon tea at Thea Caffea! I'm now in search of a tea pot of my own as I'm not sure I can really call myself a true English lady without one! I might even through a tea party of my own.

Some of the lovely chinaware

“If you are cold, tea will warm you;

if you are too heated, it will cool you;

If you are depressed, it will cheer you;

If you are excited, it will calm you.” 

― William Ewart Gladstone

And another pretty cup and saucer

"There is no trouble so great or grave that cannot be much diminished by a nice cup of tea."

-Bernard-Paul Heroux

One thing is for sure - now I've found this little tucked away tea room, tea at Thea Caffea is the answer for everything.

And as their sign quite rightly says...

Everything stops for tea.