My One and Only

On another afternoon filled with tea and cake I managed to watch My One and Only starring Renee Zellweger. Its a great little story and so easy to get lost in the fashion. Oh the fashion! Every outfit is stunning and yes I did have a bit of wardrobe envy.

So whats the story....
The beautiful but mercurial Ann Devereaux (Renée Zellweger) has just left her philandering husband Dan Devereaux (Kevin Bacon), a society bandleader, and taken to the road with her teenage sons, George (Logan Lerman) and Robbie (Mark Rendall), in search of a wealthy replacement mate. Although it's 1953, Ann is certain that her girlish charms will serve her as well as they did two decades earlier. But time has marched on since Ann's courting days, and it seems that the losers and playboys outnumber the eligible and willing bachelors. Ann never gives up hope, but a series of new schools for the boys, ever more humble lodgings and romantic misadventures start to take the gloss off their trip. Yet Ann is indefatigable, her pride matched by the flighty enthusiasm of her older son Robbie, a flamboyant boy who believes he is meant for a life on the stage, and the cynical wit of George, an observant aspiring writer. As the miles roll by, their journey veers from eccentric, to hair rising, to poignant, to comic. From her impulsive choices to the downright bizarre characters they meet on the road, Ann steers her sons on a narrow highway between excitement and panic. But ultimately, George discovers the determination, dignity and love underneath his mothers narcissistic exterior. And Ann makes a different future for herself and her sons than any of them had imagined.

Kitten D'Amour

What can I say except divine inspiration! This latest collection is a wonderfull world full of classic charm and cute to boot gowns. Lets just say there was way too much for me and I went a little into over drive and tried on almost everything….twice.

Apart from the fashion that captivates me every single time I go in to the store, I simply adore this seasons inclusions of mood boards in the displays. Personally I’m a big fan of the mood board as it can really help to get your thoughts together plus I have always found them great fun to make. So to have a few in-store to really help express the ideas and themes behind the collection was a wonderful touch.

The store itself isn’t exactly big, however they have provided one thing that I am very particular about. It is this one simply thing that can let any store, lingerie or otherwise down…..fitting rooms. So many places seem to build fitting rooms as if they were an after thought. In my perspective (and having working in retail fashion I have seen both sides) the style, size, shape and location of fitting rooms can make or break a woman’s shopping experience. Without the right mirrors, lighting and often ‘feeling’ people can leave your store actually sadder than when they came in. I used to know one brand who’s stores had the worst mirrors around, unless you went to one specific member of their group. 9 out 10 store mirrors would make you look ill or 10kgs heavier except for one stores, funny how that store always seemed to do better than the others. Thankfully at Kitten this is not a problem. Big fitting rooms welcome you and your entourage (if you shop with one) so you can try and play with the fashion, which means you will walk away with much more than you thought you intended.

The staff know their cuts well and can put together pieces with skill, and much more than that they listen to you when you give your reasons why something didn’t work for you. For instance I told the beautiful young lass that I loved these two very different dresses; one a semi baby doll and the other a fitted pencil dress, however one was a little tight in the wrong places and the other a bit big. She then went round the store and grabbed me new selection, explaining why these new dress would work, and offering me alternatives to my original including finding a skirt and halter top version of the same print which would compliment both my top and bottom and allow me to mix and match with more. Its with this simple skill of knowing your products that you can ‘soft sell’, however selling isn’t something that this store needs to do.

So with well versed staff and fantastic clothing it was time to get lost in the fashion. Thankfully I had KendieDoll with me to help save the bank balance but i still walked away one very happy little doll. Watch this space for shots of the outfits.

And before you ask yes I did try on everything on this wall, plus a huge amount of stuff from the other walls.