Take Me to Funky Town

It may have been grey and damp outside, but last Thursday it was bright and sparkly inside Bolesworth Castle, venue for the evening's fashion delights. 'Bottega' lifestyle store, and 'Cleo B' brought a slice of Studio 54 glamour to Cheshire, with their 'Take Me to Funky Town' salon presentation. The event was to raise funds for 'Claire House' children's hospice, which needs £2.5m a year to cover its running costs.

I was lucky enough to get the chance to spend some time behind the scenes in the run up to the event. It was really interesting to see exactly what goes into organising such an event. The answer? A lot of style and an equal amount of hard work!

The fabulous goodie bags. Thanks to Selina Clark for the photo

Before the main event, all of the invited guests had the opportunity to peruse a selection of items from 'Bottega', 'Cleo B', 'Fancie's Vintage' and 'Rumpus Resport', all whilst sipping on raspberry mojitos. Although I had seen the run through, I was still excited to see the show for real. The presentation began with a few words from Abi from 'Claire House', who spoke about the work the hospice does, and who also thanked the guests for having already raised £750 by purchasing raffle tickets. We also heard from Sam from 'Bottega', who inspired serious jacket envy in me with her pink floral 'Elizabeth and James' Bruce blazer.

Love this blazer and its combination of bold print and neon colour

The first look of the evening was dedicated to Cleo B's 'Sucker MC' shoes, with their distinctive gold cassette heels. These are definitely a statement shoe, so they were perfect paired with a simple outfit of 'Des Petits Hauts' gold pleated skirts and bandeau tops. Funky but still feminine.

 

Next up was the poolside chic look. The simple block colour maxi dresses allowed the guests to focus on the footwear. My personal favourite was the 'Jam Master Jay' heel. I love a high heel (and these are VERY high!), but what really caught my eye was the great combination of fabrics (raffia; metallic leather and suede, in a combination of black, gold and nude tones. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a close up of the shoes during the presentation, but you can see them in the bottom right of the photo below.

The third look of the evening was "I'm in Miami, Girl". If the audience wasn't already in awe of the gorgeous models, then this section definitely gave us pause for thought. After wowing the audience with some gorgeous beach coverups from 'Rumpus Resort', they followed this by looking seriously hot in stylish swimwear, also from 'Rumpus Resort'. My personal favourites were the peacock print maxi from Vix, and the Missoni kaftans.

Perhaps my favourite look of the evening was "Le Freak, C'est Chic", and not just because I love that song, which was itself inspired by Studio 54. This might have had something to do with the fact that there was a large amount of 'Elizabeth and James' clothing in this section, and I absolutely love the label's latest collection. I love the combination of vibrant colours and striking prints.

If we weren't already in a disco frame of mind, then the "Saturday Night Fever" look certainly took us to the discotheque. My favourite looks were the red jeans and American Retro embellished blazer worn by Samio; Amy in the wide leg trousers and 'Elizabeth and James' pink blazer, and Janine in a silk top from 'Elizabeth and James', paired with 'One Teaspoon' palazzo pants.

The final look of the evening, was "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life". There were some great pieces in this section, but the pieces that really caught my eye (and the light) were the gorgeous 'Lorient' sequinned blazer from 'Antik Batik', and a vintage embellished tunic from 'Fancie's Vintage'.

Although there was a definite 1970s vibe throughout the presentation, and a number of vintage pieces were used on the night, all of the outfits managed to look really contemporary and wearable.

After the presentation had finished, we had the opportunity to get to take an even closer look at the pieces from the presentation, in one of the rooms adjacent to the show space. All of the ladies present couldn't wait to try on the pieces from the collection and to take a closer look at all of Cleo B's designs. There is such a lot of detail in Cleo's shoes, that I am going to devote a whole post to them later this week. Every single piece available got a fantastic reaction, which is testament to the fantastic edit that 'Bottega' offers. I don't think that the ladies present needed any encouragement to purchase, but if they did, then the fact that 10% of all sales on the night went to 'Claire House' was an added bonus.

If you like the look of the pieces in the presentation, then you will find them in 'Bottega' in Tarporley, Cheshire. But be quick! Judging by the number of ladies I saw ticking off items on their show programmes, the items in question might not be around for long! I am going to blog separately about my trip to 'Bottega' itself, and its fantastic 'The Birdcage' cafe, so watch this space!