Petits Bisous 1st Anniversary Party!

 

   Luxury lingerie boutique, Petits Bisous, celebrated its first birthday on the 13th February and in honour of the occasion, a glittering party was held at their King's Road boutique. Since launching, Petits Bisous has garnered increasing attention from the Press; its lingerie has featured in top publications such as Vogue UK and it has been seen on celebrities from The Saturdays to Kate Moss. Having spotted Petits Bisous on Made in Chelsea a little while ago, I have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to visit the boutique, so when an invitation to their anniversary party popped up in my inbox, I accepted with great anticipation!

   The boutique is perfectly located in the heart of Chelsea, at 187 Kings Road. On arriving, I was met by a Valentine's window display, which was steamed up due to the cold weather, but which fit aptly with the Valentine's/ racy underwear theme! 

   The event was peppered with an array of celebrity attendees, such as Sophie Anderton, Jason Gardiner and Lucy Mecklenburgh (who arrived just before me and who was literally pounced upon by waiting paparazzi!)

 (Credit right: Petits Bisous)

   On stepping in to the boutique, I was delighted to be met by a glass of champagne and a decadent-looking interior that exuded the feel of an upmarket Parisian boutique. The boutique was filled with the excited chatter of party guests and a live singer serenaded guests with her acoustic guitar. Exquisite luxury lingerie adorned the rails and it was only moments before I was drawn into a dream of lace, silk, satin and chiffon...

   Petits Bisous is a veritable haven for lingeristas with a penchant for exquisite undergarments. The boutique boasts a delectable array of bras, bodies, corsets, sleepwear, shapewear, swimwear and accessories, alongside a personal service that offers lingerie stylists and an in-house tailoring service, which caters to bespoke lingerie requests. 

   The boutique is host to highly sought-after lingerie brands such as Bordelle, Damaris, Fleur of England, Nichole de Carle, Made by Niki, Lascivious, Dirty Pretty Things, Empreinte, Bijoux Indiscrets, Shell Belle Couture and many more, with a growing DD+ selection that includes Harlow and Fox, All Undone and Mimi Holliday. 

   Petits Bisous is owned by Esther Fieldgras, an expert in the beauty industry (with over 30 years experience) and founder of EF Medispa. Esther cherry-picks her brands, always keeping an eye out for emerging lingerie brands that will add that 'je ne sais quoi' to her boutique collections. Esther's love for lingerie is apparent by her desire to provide clientele with jaw-droppingly beautiful lingerie and the 'styling experience' to go with it! 

(Credit: http://esthersbeautyblog.co.uk)

Esther cuts the Petits Bisous birthday cake!

   The decadent soirée was held in partnership with Mozafarian (purveyors of fine jewellery). After I had finished perusing all of the lingerie on the ground floor, I spotted some stairs and descended to the basement boudoir, where more lingerie, sparkling diamonds and lingerie-clad models awaited...

(Credit: http://esthersbeautyblog.co.uk)

There was even an amazing pressure-sensitive 'bottom' light, created by Joseph Begley, which definitely brought a grin to my face! (Apologies for the very short video clip!)

   What could be better than an evening spent amongst diamonds and designer lingerie, with a side helping of sparkling champagne, cake, live music and glamorous lingerie models? 

Bon anniversaire, Petits Bisous!

Love,

*****

Check out the video coverage of the event: here!

Visit the boutique at: 187 King's Road, Chelsea, London, SW3, 5EB

Shop online: www.petitsbisous.com

*****

Halloween Style File: Corsets, lace and vampire fangs!

   Halloween is nearly upon us; a night synonymous with ghoulish goings on, trick or treating and scary movies! If, like me, you enjoy Halloween as a good excuse to 'paint the town red', then you will undoubtedly be excited to get costume planning!

   People tend to go to varying lengths for a Halloween fancy dress party.. witches, zombies, skeletons, cat women, devils, vampires and ghosts are quite common, but you also come across some very original outfits that are more kooky than blood-curdling..

('Barbie and Ken', 'Shark Attack', 'Sexy Corn' (what!?) and 'Rubix Cube')

(Couples costume via Tumblr)

   Whilst the above costumes are a great laugh, I decided to take a more 'traditional' Halloween approach to my outfit this year, choosing to be a vampire for the 'Lost Souls II' Halloween party at the London Aquarium! Whilst there's the temptation to buy a 'pre-made' Halloween costume from a shop or online, I decided that I was going to fashion a spooky costume from my existing wardrobe, incorporating my love of lingerie.

   One of the difficulties with Halloween outfits is striking a balance between looking scary and sexy at the same time.. particularly when lingerie is involved! I wanted to channel 'underwear as outerwear', rather than 'gone out in my underwear', so keeping things classy was a 'must' for my outfit choice.

   I started with my 'base' piece which was the black 'Vintage Stitch Corset' (size medium) that I bought from Playful Promises. This overbust corset is plastic boned with metal front fastenings and it boasts glamorous Art Deco style stitching at the hip. It features a traditional lace up back, which can be tightened as much as desired to draw in your waist, accentuating your curves.

   This Playful Promises corset gives a great hourglass shape and it is surprisingly comfortable to wear on a night out (I didn't need to adjust it at all)! As you can also see from the picture, there is a pop of red and black lace peeking out from underneath the corset and Curvy Kate aficionados may recognise this bra as the 'Tempt Me' (Scarlet and Black) from the 'Showgirl Range':

   Although it's not 100% necessary to wear a bra underneath a corset, I felt like I would feel slightly more secure and supported in a bra as well..especially for a night out that involved running through a 'scare maze' and busting some vamp-tacular moves on the dance floor! 

   I chose to wear the Curvy Kate 'Tempt Me' for a few reasons, namely that it is a great plunge style that lends itself to a lovely cleavage, but also because the seductive red colour and black lace detailing just screamed to be worn by a vampire on Halloween! The flash of red underneath the corset also gave a bit of contrast to the predominantly black outfit that I chose and also complimented my red 'Dorothy's friend' court shoes from Office, red lipstick and fake blood!

   I also wore a figure-hugging black 'fishtail' skirt from ASOS which has a slightly gothic looking lace overlay. I  accessorised with black earrings, a statement necklace from Topshop, some black satin gloves from Claire's Accessories and, of course, some Vampire-esque makeup and fangs!

(Black, blue, bronze and white smokey eye makeup with black liquid eyeliner and purple under eye liner)

(Scarlet red lips, vampire fangs and a little trickle of fake blood!)

I finished off the outfit with a long floaty cardigan/shawl to keep the chills at bay:

   I certainly had fun with this lingerie-inspired Halloween look, but what do you think of incorporating lingerie into your Halloween costume? 

Whatever you're planning, have a very HAPPY HALLOWEEN, LINGERISTAS!

Love,

Kitty xo