Aspire Style - Sale prep

Morning Campers!

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and then of course it's The Big Day! We're open tomorrow, and then when we return to HQ on Monday it's going to be Sale-tastic so today is a day of mega prep. As I type, the Christmas tunes are blaring out, Libby is merchandising the shop and I am awaiting instructions on how to alter all of the prices on the system - and with a whopping 50% off masses of stock, it's a big job! 50% will come off loads of our clothes, gifts, shoes and bags, and we're also going to be taking 25% off the Autumn/Winter Orla Kiely range which will make them a real bargain!

We're trying to work out how busy we'll be today - has anyone still got Christmas shopping left to do? What's on your Christmas lists everyone? I'm heading back up to the office in half an hour and I don't think I'll have many orders so get in touch, keep me busy! :o)

And finally, if I don't get chance to say it tomorrow, Merry Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and thank you all so much for your continued support.

Christmas party, Aspire style!

(See what I've done there?)

Tonight the Aspire Style ladies are going to be causing a riot in the gorgeous Ardencote Manor and we can't wait! Naturally the only topic of conversation for the past six weeks has been who's wearing what and I can now exclusively reveal that the stunning, stunning, seriously you cannot believe how beautiful she is Lydia (Assistant Manager, Solihull) will be wriggling her way into the our Wiggle dress:

Wiggle dress, £69

Libby (Assistant Manager, Stratford) will be wearing a gorgeous vintage black halterneck pleated dress which will look sensational teamed with her very YSL-esque made-to-measure jacket and killer heels, Jen (Superstar, Oxford) has used the phrase "floor-length", Abbey is wearing a black and gold number not dissimilar to our TFNC dress...
One shoulder chiffon dress, £45

Sassi (best window-dresser in the world) tried on this little number but it's yet to be confirmed what made the final cut....
Silver sparkle one shoulder dress, £45

and as for me....well, who knows. Photographs soon if you're lucky....x

Orla Kiely bags - last minute shopping!

Well I don't know what I was getting so stressed about on Friday! Yesterday wasn't anything like as busy as the last couple of weeks (maybe clock-mania has died down?!) and lovely Libby was helping me out so actually it was a very pleasant day! Everyone's been busy shopping overnight so the orders are back up, and I'm getting tons of frantic emails from men wanting to purchase Orla Kiely bags and pleading with me to find some of the sold out ones from somewhere and send them yesterday! Tut tut, boys - you shouldn't leave these things to the last minute!

Expecting a huge delivery today which will include more of these gorgeous washbags which I love and which I might treat myself to before my upcoming weekend away...



Paper Plane vintage parcel washbag, £22.95








...and also some more hot water bottles which have almost all sold out now. They're a great Christmas gift though, a nice price and very apt for the Siberian weather we're getting! Also getting some more of the Hoshi dresses, as seen in Grazia and on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two....



Hoshi dress, blue/emerald/purple, £40









I love the purple one but I'm trying to work out how I could wear it and still be warm?! One-shoulder dresses can't really be thrown on over a long-sleeved tee, can they? Can they? Help me.

Right, best get cracking on the orders...have a fantastic day everyone x

Monday 13 December. Don't speak to me.

I'm writing this from the lovely comfort of Friday 10 December because by the time Monday 13 December comes, I will be enforcing radio silence in a three yard circumference from me. I haven't quite worked out how, yet, but I'm working on it.

Oh friendlings, I'm sensing that Monday may topple me over the edge of Busy Mountain into the dark depths of Breakdown Valley. Simple everybody will be shopping online over the weekend ready to bombard me with work. Not that I don't love my job! I absolutely do. And I'm a devil for leaving things until the last minute, so I honestly don't blame any of you for doing so, but really my life would be much more stable if just 1/12 of you could do your Christmas shopping in April/May/etc. Pretty please, next year spare a thought for me :o)

Oh gosh, I'm a miserable little kitten. Quick, someone buy me this little compact to cheer me up:

And snow bunnies - simply shower me in snow bunnies and I'll be giddy with happiness, I promise...

Christmas gift mania - this time for real. No polar bears.

So! Christmas gifts. Well the top sellers in terms of volume have definitely been the Bake-a-Like clocks since they were featured in the Guardian G2 Christmas Gift Guide thank you very much! We've sold something like 150 which is just sensational. If you want one, act fast as they've already sold out thrice over and I expect it'll happen again! Here they are:

Link here if you'd like to buy one - also available in brand new chocolate brown which is about as retro as it gets! They're £9.95 but you can have 10% off them (and indeed everything) by using discount code "G210" which I believe is valid until midnight on Sunday 19 December.

Well, the clocks may be shifting in quantity, but the fact is, just one sale of a gorgeous Orla Kiely bag (multi-stem midi sling has been the most popular in the last two weeks) is essentially worth ten clocks!

So in terms of hitting my targets, a big thank you to everyone who's been buying Orla! I must say the purchasers have largely been men so I expect lots of you ladies have been dropping hints - and I don't blame you! If you love it but don't love the price-tag then the purse is gorgeous, too. 

Other top five sellers:

1. Moomin hot water bottle - sales have been insane! Our supplier is now out of stock, but we still have some pink Snorkmaiden ones here, along with our Owl, Bird and "Tea&Sympathy" ones. Nobody wants to lose a toe to frostbite so get yourself a hot water bottle pronto!

2. Vintage envelope purse - as always.

3. Hoshi dress - featured in Grazia this week and worn by Natalie on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two.

4. New Wagtail clasp purse - gorgeous for kids, teenagers and of course us oldies who are a sucker for anything super-cute, so it's a perfect "buy-in-for-emergency-Christmas-present" purchase!

5. Scottie Dog hand warmer and Bird hand warmer - see previous note re: frostbite.

Now if you'll all congratulate me on sticking to the brief, I'll be off!

Christmas gift mania!

Oh lovely lovely people, I am so sorry for neglecting you for such an age. I'm sure you'll all forgive me though as you'll understand how crazy it is here at Aspire Style HQ.

I'm afraid I've had to amend my outfits accordingly - a girl simply can't be running around in the snow in 4inch heels and pretty dresses (actually, I'm certain I could, but my Mummy won't let me) and so today I've had to resort to...dare I say it...jeans. Eugh. Awful, I know. At least they're Diesel (dark, high-waisted, excellent fit around the rear), and at least I'm teaming them with my brand new, very pretty top:

At £35 it's bargainacious and it's all golden and lovely and will be perfect with my black capri pants and killer heels for sipping cocktails, although the thought of exposed ankles sends my teeth on edge. If only Global Warming could heat my office rather than deprive the lovely Polar Bears of somewhere to play. Where was I? Oh yes, it's available by clicking here on this lovely link and I think you should all buy one immediately!

Gosh, the title really no longer fits the post...where jeans and polar bears come from?! Tomorrow I promise to post about Christmas gifts.....