Charity Fashion Show Autumn/Winter 13
Here at Chloe James Lifestyle we love a good excuse to dress up and celebrate the new season! We often do a fashion show for charity and, in fact, with the help of our wonderful customers, have raised over £10k for charities in our 3 years of trading! This Autumn we decided to raise money for two charities – The Hospice of St Francis and ActOneDanceBase.
The Hospice of St Francis is a charity that provides professional support and care for people with terminal illness. They bring peace, comfort and dignity to people and help them live life to the full, for whatever time is left.
ActOne ArtsBase runs vibrant all-ability dance, theatre and arts projects all over Hertfordshire and the surrounding area. They work in inclusive spaces where everybody feels valued and create inspiring performances with people from all backgrounds, whatever their abilities. Their goal is to make the performing arts accessible to all, regardless of disability or circumstance.
A lot of work goes on behind the scenes when putting on a fashion show & it’s not all as glamorous as you might think!
We held the fashion show at Cote restaurant which is just opposite our shop on High Street, St Albans. Guests were greeted with a glass of Kir Royale and were soon seated and waiting for the fashion show. A representative from both charities gave a short speech and then we were ready to roll!
First off, here’s Elaine working the up-to-date version of the animal trend in this gorgeous Tiger Print Knit from Soaked in Luxury and a pair of Indigo Skinny Jeans from Byoung. We think she looks a million dollars but, amazingly, this whole outfit comes in at £100!
Still relaxed, but a little bit smarter, this outfit is also from Soaked in Luxury and Byoung. The Pale Pink Blouse is in this season’s must-have colour and the fabulous scarf looks so expensive and yet, whisper it, it’s all yours for a mere £25! The scarf is one of those amazing things that seems to work with a whole array of colours. It looks lovely with pink and indigo, but also lifts greys and black. It’s a very small investment well worth making!
Metallics feature highly in the Autumn/Winter looks this year and manifest themselves in a variety of ways. This metallic open knit from French brand Sinequanone comes in indigo and wine and is actually super soft to wear. If wearing the metallic trend is a bit too much for you, how about carrying a metallic bag like the one shown here.
Or just wearing something with a little bit of metallic trim like this lovely slub knit from Culture. Check out Tracey’s accessories too – the Wings Clutch Bag has been a huge hit and is already almost sold out!
Because the show takes place in a restaurant where there are other diners, we are unable to have loud music. This does, however, enable us to talk through all the outfits and give prices and styling suggestions. The audience seem to really like this and often write a mental shopping list of what they’re going purchase after the show!
Moving on to dresses, this lovely little number from Spanish brand Indi & Cold works really well here with bare legs and ankle boots, but would look equally good with black opaques now the weather has turned.
This Side Panel Dress from Sinequanone almost caused a fight amongst the models! It really is the most flattering dress – slightly puffed sleeves bring the shoulders out, while black side panels bring the waist in, creating an hourglass illusion – stunning!
We finished with eveningwear and party dresses and the crowd loved it! All the models were customers or friends (or both!) and they ranged in age from 18 to 50, and from a size 8 to 14. It was a great night and we managed to raise £1200 for the 2 charities. What’s not to love?! Mwah!