NEXT PRESS OFFICE TAKE-OVER

Last Thursday I left work and headed into central London to meet up with the lovely Amy from Dolls are United. We were both lucky enough to have been invited to Next's SS13 press event in which bloggers had been asked to visit their press office and "take over". I love seeing where other people work, I find it fascinating and usually end up with serious "office envy"!

Being the politely punctual ladies that we are, Amy and I ended up arriving early so were first to enter the showroom and, not only did this give us time to look at the new collection before a sudden rush of beautiful bloggers burst through the doors, but it also meant that we were first to play in the photo booth!

I wore a blue paisley dress from the Spanish brand Pepa Loves, with an oversized, pretty knackered, secondhand cardigan that I picked up for €5 whilst in Antwerp a few months ago. I'd been at work all day so, I'll be honest, couldn't be bothered to wear heels, so I wore these tan leather brogues from Office instead - with ankle socks of course.   

The spring summer 2013 range looked absolutely great when showcased all together, it was clear and consistent with some stand out pieces. I really liked the "blue rail", which featured a variety of blue shades and some really fun patterns, perfect for the warmer months! They also had a really strong rail of monochrome which is very on-trend and bragged some beautiful black and white pieces including a pair of jacquard trousers. I struggle with colour in my wardrobe, unless we're talking my favourite blue or green hues, so this was probably the most wearable rail for me out of them all. 
 

There was also a very interesting selection of sports inspired pieces in greys and pastels. The slouchy, lightweight jumper dresses particularly caught my eye - I love how effortless they look and for some reason they bring Cara Delevingne to mind. Maybe I've seen her photographed in something similar? I can picture myself wearing the denim blue option below on a warm summer's day, with ankle socks and a pair of white, cut-out boots, *dreams*...   

Despite being home and tucked up in bed by ten thirty, I had such an amazing evening with the Next team and met some lovely new people! There was a "tuck shop" where you could help yourself to sweets, which I thought was a fabulous idea, and the delicious canapes and deserts looked and tasted amazing. The attention to detail really added to the evening. On top of all of this, the clothes looked great, there was an amazing vibe, AND we were given goodie bags filled with accessories on our way out!