Pretty Spring Dresses

Morning morning.

Please forgive my absence, I'd like to start making a list of excuses but let's face it...I've just been busy trying on all of the new clothes and generally playing around with pretty new jewellery and trying to decide which new Orla Kiely wallet to buy.

But anyway, I have finally exhausted these activities, and here's the proof:

Fever Bluebell dress, £69 - perfect for weddings










Darling Adele dress, £55 - so cute for a date in the sunshine

Fever Le Mans shift dress, £65 - ideal for adding a splash of colour to your office wardrobe.

Also Nica Bowie Tote, £75 - gorgeous whether you're wearing a suit or jeans.




There are more but I'm starting to feel extraordinarily self-conscious so let's stop there!!!

Anyway, take a look at our new Spring clothes and if you're in the market for a bargain then check out the updated sale part of our website. I will be back on the blog now, I promise! Let's do a competition soon, yeah??

Comments are welcome. Abuse about how un-photogenic I am is not. xx

Just another Manic Monday

This morning has been insane! But it's 11:30am and I'm having a cup of tea and a few quiet minutes to blog and catch up and just generally breathe.

The 10% discount we ran this weekend went really well - I came in this morning to see 25 internet orders which is fantastic! Mondays are always busy but today is particularly so. Lots of orders for little purses, snow bunny keyrings and trinket boxes which I guess are some Christmas gifts. Also lots of party dress orders - I particularly love this Mariko Evie which is in the sale at just £22.50! I think we should bring it back out of the sale, it's great! Silver and silky with some shoulder detail - it's perfect for a Christmas party with black tights and glamorous heels like these from Poetic Licence. And of course, lots more orders for coats. Pavia and Betsy are the two favourites I think, although I love the new Fever Empress.

Right, five of my ten minutes are up and my tea should be at drinking temperature now (although we've got no milk so I might not be able to drink it if it's too strong) so I shall down it and get on with some more orders.

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!
Catie

Ginger Nuts

Morning campers!

Seeing Eat, Pray, Love tonight - anyone already seen it? Taking my Mummy as she's been looking after me very nicely indeed lately (i.e. for the last 24 years). She's got a lovely new grey coat so I'm also going to treat her to a sparkly brooch to make it even prettier. I'll be sporting my Fever Toulouse dress with a black belt and my Nica Clutch.

Feeling tired today, think it's a hangover from the immense number of Ginger Nuts I ploughed my way through yesterday. Seriously. Ginger Nuts. Even though I'm not a 76 year old man. It's just they were half price and I thought I could fancy a Ginger Nut. Then one turned to two, to three, to ten. Anyway, anyone working for a biscuit company should feel free to send me the kind of biscuits that self-respecting 24 year old women ought be munching on.

New stock in today for our new store - lots of Irregular Choice boxes and Darling coats everywhere! Will put anything new on the website ASAP.

Someone, anyone, come and confiscate the biscuits....
Catie

The Sale continues... and expands!

Now our Sale has ended in the shops, we've had a chance to count everything at Aspire Style HQ and put even more on the website!  Look at these bargainous dresses, all at 50% off:

Fever Cezanne side lace dress, was £69, now £34.50

Fever Copacabana maxi dress, was £65, now £32.50

Yumi Shana dress, black, was £55, now £27.50

Yumi Sequin Bobble knit dress, cream, was £50, now £25

Fever Jungle bustier dress, was £39, now £19.50

Darling Mackenzie skirt, was £49, now £24.50

Ruby Belle Madagascar bustier, was £39, now £19.50

Remember, sizes are limited and are selling fast, so make sure you hurry!

Until next time,

Ria
www.aspirestyle.co.uk
www.twitter.com/aspirestyle

Fever Sea Mist maxi dress - and 10% off!

The Fever Sea Mist maxi dress has been one of our bestselling items - both online and in our shops - since it first came in a few months ago, even though the weather back then was still on the chilly side!  We know why you love this dress.  It's beautiful, for starters, and the fit is stunning - a lady even bought this as her dress for her own wedding from our Stratford store last week.  We sell this dress cheaper than any other retailer, and always offer free delivery over £50.

We've now managed to bag the remainder of Fever's stock of the Sea Mist maxi, so once they're gone, they're gone!  Get yours before they go so you can look smug (and amazing) when we sell out.  And the best news?  If you buy this bank holiday weekend, you can get 10% off with the code MB10.

Hurry!

Until next time,

Ria
www.aspirestyle.co.uk
www.twitter.com/aspirestyle

What to Wear Wednesdays - the LBD

There is no rule which states the Little Black Dress (or LBD if you're "in the know") should be reserved for winter-time cocktails and office parties.  The fact remains, the LBD owes its popularity to its colour - or rather, lack of; a badly cut dress in black will look miles better than the same style in a different colour.  Especially if that colour's luminous yellow.  Black is flattering.  I don't know the exact physics behind it, but I'm sure if you've got the time, Wikipedia could help you out there.

Don't be scared to wear black in summer.  It's not ideal for the daytime because black absorbs heat, but if you're going out in the evening, a LBD twinned with a healthy tan can make you look the bees' knees.  The Tolouse dress is also good for covering up any unsightly tan lines you might have developed during the day.

Nica Rosie clutch purse, black, £22
Bead and corsage bracelet, grey, £8.95
Poetic Licence Girls Night shoes, black, £69
Fever Toulouse dress - black, £59
Crystal and double fabric flower necklace, £13

Use those Girls Night Out shoes for their true purpose in life and treat yourself to some cocktails with your lady friends!

Until next time,

Ria
www.aspirestyle.co.uk
www.twitter.com/aspirestyle

What to Wear Wednesdays - Casual Maxi

I've already written about the many winning features of the mighty maxi dress and the Summer Fern maxi by Fever (£65) is no exception.  It's a beautifully light cotton, which makes it ideal for the hot hot summer I'm sure we'll be experiencing soon enough, and it's versatile too - you can wear it as a strapless bandeau dress as shown below, or you can add the shoulder straps which are included.  I've gone for a casual look this week with this maxi dress, and I reckon this outfit would look brilliant at a festival (one with lots of sun and no mud) - especially if you're hanging out backstage.  I'd be tempted to get a straw hat involved as well to shield my pale skin from all that nasty UV radiation.

WTWW - Casual Maxi by Aspire Style featuring Jeepers Peepers sunglasses

Items in this set:
Flat cuffed sandal, brown, £29
Jeepers Peepers Natalie brown sunglasses, £15
Fever Summer Fern maxi tube dress, £65
Mischa Barton Sydney tote bag, tan, £55
Flower and bird scoop necklace - gold, £9.95

Until next time,

Ria
www.aspirestyle.co.uk
www.twitter.com/aspirestyle

Friday Floral Fix - Fever Scribble ruffle dress

As soon as we got this Fever Scribble ruffle dress (£49) in, the fight began between the Aspire girls to see who would buy it.  I swear, it was like that scene in Mean Girls where they're all fighting in the school hallway after the contents of the Burn Book came to light.  Well, maybe not that bad, because we all love each other dearly (and there were customers in the shop).  It's a fantastic floral print with a pretty ruffle collar, and it's super flattering.

Laura, the Warwick shop manager, wears hers with navy leggings, which look great.  It would also go really well with a bright cardigan in red, yellow or blue.  Embrace the colour!

Until next time,

Ria
www.aspirestyle.co.uk
www.twitter.com/aspirestyle

Friday Floral Fix - Cezanne side lace dress

Back in stock as of today: the STUNNING Cezanne side lace dress by Fever - a brand our customers love for their flattering designs and high quality.  This dress has been featured in A Change of A Dress and has been one of our best sellers in the shops and online this season.  It's ideal for summery weddings, picnics and parties, or even if you're just going to Tesco and want to be the prettiest lady there.

Gosh, it's pretty, isn't it?  And at £69, it's a lot of pretty for your money!  It's got a tummy-flattening panel so no-one will notice if you've had one too many scoops of potato salad, and ties on the side of the waist to cinch you in.  Aspire owner Emma wears hers with a pretty green cardigan, which is ideal for the Spring sunshine we've been having.

Until next time,

Ria

www.aspirestyle.co.uk

All change at Stratford and Warwick!

Customers of our Stratford and Warwick shops are in for a bit of a treat as both shops have recently had their clothes rooms refurbished and now have a greatly increased capacity.  Do you know what that means?  That's right, more clothes.  Which is probably a good thing since we went a bit crazy on the ordering front for this season - at least now we have space for all the pretty pretty clothes we have coming in!

Both stores now boast two-tiered rails, effectively doubling the amount of clothes which can be displayed, and new forward-facing rails allow us to show our maxi dresses in all their glory!

Here's a few pics for those who haven't had a chance to pop in and see us yet...


Warwick

Those of you who have been into our Warwick store before may remember the window in the clothes room - if you do, hold onto those memories!  They're now limited edition because...

...the window is no longer there!  We've now maximised space in the Warwick clothes room by boarding up the window so it can be used to house more pretty clothes.  Here you can also see the two-tiered rails in full effect!

The back wall in the clothes room has now been painted in a colour I like to refer to as 'Aspire Pink' (the paint company probably call it something else).  Look at the lovely new light fittings - they really give this room a unique boudoir feel!  If you can't take your eyes off the beautiful Fever Sea Mist maxi dress on the back wall, don't fret, it's available here for just £65, with free P&P!


Stratford

The change in Stratford didn't involve any boarding-up of windows, but has been dramatic none the less, and not just because we've moved the wardrobe:

We've also replaced the bulky shelves above the rails with nicer thinner ones, and now the scarves have their own custom-built rails (you can just about see them at the right of the photo).

The shoes have their own individual glass shelves, which make them look gorgeous!  Here we have (from top to bottom) the Kim Oh No shoes (£79), Oz Shoes (£65) and Pep In Your Step shoes (£79), all by Irregular Choice, and the Genteel shoes (£75) by Poetic Licence.

Look, space designed specially for holding maxi dresses!  Here we have the lovely Fever Amazon maxi dress (£65).

We're getting new stock in all the time, and hopefully in the next few days we'll be able to announce the arrival of a lovely new brand!

In the meantime, don't forget to follow us on Twitter for updates and exclusive competitions, and feel free to email us with any comments or questions - we love to hear from our customers.

Until next time,

Ria
www.aspirestyle.co.uk

Mother's day customer evening: Thursday 11th March

New season clothes!

Once again, sorry for the extended absence; it's been pretty manic here at Aspire HQ with the winter sale and arrival of much of the new season's clothes.  Now I've had time to update the clothes on the website and gather my thoughts, here's my pick of the stock we've received in the last few weeks...

Ever since Darling dropped last week, their clothes have been flying off the rails.  One in particular flew into my hands: the Laurel dress, which I think is an absolute bargain at £45...

The Owl tea dress by Traffic People is another dress which may be entering my wardrobe very soon, especially since it's only £49.  I love its interesting straps and big bow...

Traffic People have also scored massively with the Maxi Ra Ra dress (£79) - we've nearly sold out in Stratford already, so hurry if you want to get one for yourself!

Another maxi dress which is proving popular is the Sea Mist maxi by Fever, who do maxis very well indeed.  This beautiful creation is no exception and well worth the £65...

As usual, Yumi have come up with some lovely pieces that are ideal for everyday wear.  My personal favourite is the Jinkie cardigan (£39) made of yummy soft jersey with pretty lace detail...

There's so much more at Aspire Style, be sure to check it out.  Next up - this season's hot shoes!

Until next time,

Ria