Bed to Beach and other Trends

Running a shop in the ever-so-chic Primrose Hill, does keep one up-to-date with the current trends. On a number of occasions we have had one lady coming into the shop looking for something specific, only to have several other ladies come in at various points, days after, looking for the same thing.
Recently we have seen a couple of re-occuring requests that have piqued oour interest.

Hen-do Knickers

It is apparent that we are in wedding season, as we have had an array of brides-to-be and other important members of the bridal party looking for lingerie, ranging from functional (smoothing out) pieces to be worn under the wedding dress to more sexy items for the honeymoon. This is a usual occurrence each year in the shop. More unusually, we have seen quite a number maids of honor and hen party organisers come through our doors, searching for single pairs of knickers. There is a popular hen party activity, in which all the party goers purchase a pair of knickers for the bride, who then unwraps them individually (all should be wrapped in the same paper apparently!) and then has to guess who bought her which pair. It was apparent in the shop that the buyers of these knickers were very keen to choose something that reflected their own personality, as to give a clue to the bride. I thought it a rather nice (and tame!) activity for a Hen-do.

This trend was adopted by one of my shop assistants, who was going off to Lisbon for a hen weekend (another trend it seems) She wanted something special and the perk of working at Keturah Brown is that I was able to provide her with a pair of knickers, handmade in purple silk. See how they stand out in the rather fun picture below. The bride-to-be does look happy as a girl can never have enough pretty pants!

Bed to Beach

On first thought, the suggestion that someone would want to wear their pyjamas out in public, whilst on holiday, may raise a few eye brows. But this trend does have some specific requirements in order to pull it off. We always stock a mixed range of sleepwear in the shop. From your usual warm pyjama sets, dressing gowns and nightshirts to more delicate silk nightdresses, silk pyjamas, vibrant print kimono style robes and shirts. It is the latter pieces that seem to have caught the attention of ladies who are looking for a rather chic style on their forthcoming holidays. Think in the realms of wearing a classy set of black silk pyjamas while sipping a cocktail in a bar on the seafront in the south of France. Or wrapping up in a printed silk kimono (two piece bikini underneath) whilst heading to the beach bar. You can start to get the picture.

It's not an original idea and is inspired by loungewear from the 20's from designers such as Coco Chanel. Some examples of the casual look below. I must say it does look lovely and comfortable, which is what you want to holiday. The no-fuss (yet has been thought about) look is what seems to appeal to the ladies we have had in looking for pieces that would work. I like the creativity of it.