Shopping frenzy hits the high street

Sky News[1] says shoppers are expected to spend £12bn in just four days as they make the most of slashed prices and promotions, according to retail forecasters. There’s going to be a big battle both on the high street and online.

About three-quarters of retailers are now offering deals and 13m people are expected to shop on the high street today, the last Saturday before Christmas, with many having finished work for the festive season yesterday. Clothing, fashion, jewellery and lingerie are always popular.

People are becoming more canny though, waiting for the sales and hoping the items they’re after are going to be reduced. In larger stores which stock many of each size and design, that’s possible but in independent boutiques like Get Waisted in Steyning and Brighton, it’s a different story.

If you’ve been window shopping recently or popped in and seen something you love, as we have room for a bijou selection of unique clothing and accessories, you might be disappointed if you think they’ll still be there for you in a few days.

We’ve all done it – we think we’ll grab a bargain when the sale starts but only found the few items the gannets have left when we turn up. Instead of hoping for the best and taking the risk of getting what you want, we say that our clothes and accessories are good value to start with and as you certainly won’t see them anywhere else on the high street, you’re getting a great deal anyway!

We’ll be open today, tomorrow and Christmas Eve until 2pm so there’s still time to pop in to say hello and look at the wonderful display we’ve put on just for you.

Meantime, everyone at Get Waisted wishes you a sparkly Christmas and fun-packed New Year.

You can see more about us on www.getwaisted.co.uk or contact us on:

Email: toni@getwaisted.co.uk

Steyning boutique, 98 High Street, Steyning, West Sussex BN44 3RD

Open 9.30am-5.30pm Tuesday to Saturday, closed on Mondays

Tel: 01903 812992

Mobile: 07947 497342

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[1] Source: http://news.sky.com/story/1185618/christmas-shoppers-to-spend-12bn-in-four-days

The Fashion Show Steyning has been waiting for!

We don’t think Steyning has seen anything like our recent Fashion Show.

Nearly 100 people came along, either sitting back enjoying the range of women’s dresses and accessories displayed on our beautiful models, or helping behind the scenes.

We had thirteen models altogether – ladies of all shapes and sizes – hair and make up team, lighting and music assistants, those serving drinks and canapés, selling raffle tickets, manning the welcome desk, not to mention the compère and those taking photos and shooting a video. It was a wonderful team effort, designed to make sure everyone had the best time possible.

There was much shimmying and sashaying along the catwalk as we showed the crème de la crème that Get Waisted has to offer in our boutique and on-line. We even auctioned a gorgeous black corset outfit modelled by Caitlin (see below).

The most important thing though (apart from showing that Steyning is clearly the centre of upmarket yet affordable glam and chic) is that we raised £300 for Chestnut Tree House (www.chestnut-tree-house.org.uk/) children’s hospice care.

This month we also took part in Steyning’s Late Night Christmas Shopping Extravaganza, where we welcomed more Get Waisted friends and customers with a hearty glass of mulled wine and festive mince pies. Once again, good fun was had by all!

We’re delighted we launched our arrival in Steyning with such a bang and we’ve certainly had many new visitors to our boutique in the high street as a result.

We still have plenty of unique women’s fashion clothes and accessories for those upcoming Christmas and New Year parties and we even have some you can hire. There’s just enough time if you need something special made bespoke too (but please don’t leave it too late!).

We’ve been up in London visiting buyers so we can bring you the very latest affordable designer and individually fashioned pieces before Christmas, so there’ll be new and exciting items arriving by the day.

Just give us a call on 01903 812992 or pop in to Get Waisted Boutique and we’ll tell you more.

Free Photoshoot AND 20% off when you Get Waisted for your Prom

At Get Waisted we like to do things properly. Prom 'season' is no exception. So we have got together with Phase Photographic to make an unbeatable offer.

Order a prom dress from Get Waisted before May 1st and not only will you get a 20% discount you will also receive a free photoshoot in your dress from Phase Photographic.

The photoshoot includes a 7"x5" framed photo (you can order more in a wide variety of sizes and frames) and is alone worth £100.

Make a splash with your prom dress

There is always a last minute rush. So this is Get Waisted trying really hard to give you a real incentive. Phase Photographic are the perfect photographers to capture you in all your glory and Get Waisted can cater to your every whim in terms of design, colour and fabric.

So call me, Toni, now on 07947497342 or email at toni@getwaisted.co.uk to discuss your requirements or arrange an initial (free) consultation.

I look froward to hearing from you.

Toni

Get Waisted watches London strut its stuff at LFW

So, here we are again! Valentine's is over, romance is dead...but London Fashion Week is here again!  And, dear readers, Get Waisted feels honour bound to let you know what (or who) is up. I even managed to get myself up there for the first day this year with all the attendant hullabaloo. I loved it. What an exciting atmosphere. London is really making its mark - perhaps even leaving traditional top tier events such as Milan Fashion Week trailing (London is expecting to attract over twice as many attendees to its catwalks - importantly including some of the top names who previously favoured Milan). Anyway, enough blowing our own trumpet. I enjoyed the shows from KTZ , PPQ and John Rocha all featured in the image below. The KTZ afterparty was pretty cool too - but hey ho, some of us had work to do so couldn't stay long.

KTZ, PPQ and John Rocha at LFW

As I have discussed here before, fashion is big business for the UK (estimated to be worth about £21billion!) and supporting some 816,000 jobs. Well, it seemed like nearly everyone of those people was in one queue or another on Friday - but it was certainly all worth it. It seems to me that London is getting back its (rightful?) crown that it held for fashion and creativity in the 1960's (and don't you dare go saying "I should know, I was there" - cheek!). With 'A' listers from Rihanna to Tom Ford choosing London this year we have to be doing something right.

Speaking of Tom Ford, who designed for Daniel Craig/James Bond and the Skyfall movie, I have one more piece of news for you. Get Waisted is delighted to again be working with Brighton College and the girls from Fenwick House to present a fashion show in aid of Chestnut Tree House children's hospice. Last year we raised more than £1500 and we aim to smash that record this year. The event is Bond themed and will be lots of fun. Check out the event on Facebook for more details and mark your diary for March 13th.

I think that's all for now fashion fiends. Of course, if you are inspired by something you see on the catwalks and would like your own interpretation don't hesitate to get in touch.

All you need to do is call me (Toni) on 07947 497342 or email Toni@getwaisted.co.uk and Get Waisted would be delighted to help.


Love Toni.

Love is in the air (and maybe a little snow)!

So here we are, snowbound as I write, and Valentine's Day is almost upon us. But before I start trying to get those creative juices flowing and showing you a few ideas I thought I would just give a little history.

If, like I did a few years ago, you thought Valentines Day was just an evil capitalist scheme dreamed up by Hallmark you couldn't be more wrong. In fact its origins can be traced back to pre-Christian times and the Pagan festival of Lupercalia. It seems Roman and subsequent Christian cultures 'adopted' Lupercalia on the basis of 'if you can't beat them, join them. Lupercalia was celebrated from 13 to 15 February in Roman times.

Whilst Lupercalia involved the 'encouragement' of female fertility through men stripping naked and whipping the backsides of young females with goatskin this can hardly be considered romantic love...although I can think of a few former...enough of that. The first linking of romantic love to Saint Valentine seems to have come with Chaucer in 1382 and his Parlement of Foules celebrating the engagement of Richard the II and Anne of Bohemia - "..for this was on Saint Valentines Day when every fowl cometh there to choose his mate" (rough translation).

The first recorded passing of a Valentines note seems to have been from a Frenchman (of course) captured after the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 to his lover and subsequently imprisoned in The Tower. Throughout the 18th century the passing of notes became customary in England and in 1847 Esther Howland of Worcester Massachusetts starting producing cards in the US. In 1913 Hallmark produced their first cards and we were on the slippery slope. By 2010 the market was worth almost $15bil in retail sales in the US and over 1 billion Valentine cards sent worldwide making it second only to Christmas in this regard.

OK, and breathe. Hopefully you're still with me and we can take a look at a few ideas to get those pulses racing (now that's what I call target marketing).

A Get Waisted creation for Valentine's Day

As you can see we have moved on a little from Chaucer - you don't have to go all out 'vamp'. Here is a nice selection from Tight Flavor to illustrate the point.

At Get Waisted we like to add our own spin. As I may have mentioned, I just love corsets and what they can do for just about any woman. There are a few ideas (all from Get Waisted) above - I hope you like them.





Of course, if you want one of these or something similar with your own twist, well that's what bespoke is and the Get Waisted 'Raison d'etre'. Just call me, Toni, or email on toni@getwaisted.co.uk