The bags are here!

The bags are here! Finally! It’s all been very exciting this week, I’ve been grinning from ear to ear! The bags are now on the website at last. We’ve also given the website a little bit of a spruce up for Spring with some of the new images from the last shoot we did.

Then the PR confirmed that we are to get a mention in April’s issue of Marie Claire, which we are delighted about. Plus, this week we got a mention in Closer magazine (page 45)! And, I’ve just got back from posting some of the lovely bags off to a stylist who wants to use them in an Aveda campaign (fingers crossed).

So it’s been a pretty good week so far x

The Great Escape

Ok, it wasn’t so much of an ‘escape’ but it felt like it. After the demise of the snow I finally managed to leave my town, and not only my town but I actually got beyond Hertfordshire for the day. I felt like I should be taking my passport it had been that long since I’d left my road, let alone my county. I only went as far as Kent, but still it felt like an adventure compared to the last few weeks.

Actually it was a bit of a white-knuckle ride, you see, I’ll tell you a little secret. I am absolutely petrified of the QE2 Bridge, and will, at all costs, avoid crossing it, even if this means settling for shopping in chavy Lakeside instead of the more up-market Bluewater. I know it’s pathetic and irrational, and I’m not even scared of heights, but something seems wrong about driving at 50MPH that high up.

I can’t drive next to the edge for fear that someone will drive past me too fast and whoosh me off. I’ll end up crashing into the Thames and I’ll end up in the stinking water that probably still has Victorian sewage floating in it. I’ll end up with all manner of horrible injuries, and I’ll need to be rescued by handsome coastguards who will have to take me to a hospital, where horror of all horrors will happen.

They will discover that my underwear doesn’t match.

Postman Love

I nearly kissed my postman today when he arrived with three large parcels, I could tell one was some books I'd ordered on Amazon, and the other I could tell was a tap thing I'd ordered for my bathroom, but the third! Well, the third looked like a box large enough to contain the Lally's bags! I was so excited I rushed up to the office and ripped the box open, hardly containing my excitement, only to be bitterly disappointed. It was, in fact, not the bags that I lovingly spent hours designing, not the bags that I had spent months researching materials for, and not actually bags at all. It was a vintage drawer thingy I'd forgotten that I had bought on impulse last week.

I just know the bags will turn up tomorrow when I'm not in my office.

Today I ventured out of my house for the first time in two days to walk my dog, neither of us were too happy about facing the sub zero temperatures, but as I explained to the dog we need to man up and face it, or we are in danger of becoming hermits.

So out we went. Thankfully the ice has now become slush but the dog does still do his best husky impression, the trouble is he is pulling me not a sledge.

I was getting some funny looks, and then I realised to my horror that I had left my house in what can only be described as car crash couture. Bright red wellies, with a fur coat (vintage of course), an over sized woolie hat, baggy jeans (yes baggy jeans - oh the shame) and a hoody. I looked like the lovechild of Pat Butcher and Dappy from N Dubz. Not a good look.

So I have promised myself that no matter how cold it is outside, no matter how few people I encounter on work at home days, I will never ever allow such a fashion faux pas again.

Still Stuck at home

I've now lost count of the number of days I have been marooned in the small Hertfordshire market town where I live, due to the snow. I can't get my car off my drive way because my road has become an ice-rink, and to be honest my driving isn't the best in good conditions so I think it is best all round for everyone if I don't attempt it. From my house there is only a small number of places reachable on foot that are worth visiting so I have spent a great deal of time indoors.

On the plus side this has given me the chance to get some things done that I have been putting off. I've been looking into doing a Sunday at the Sunday Up market in Shoreditch, to try and get some more awareness of Lally's Closet, I think this is something I will do once the weather is more market stall friendly!

New Photos

Today has been a great day, despite the fact that I'm still stuck at home due to the weather! But my lovely postman cheered me up when he delivered the disc of photography from the latest Lally's Closet shoot, I'm absolutely thrilled with it, Mary Spencer our photographer is fantastic.

I'll be putting the new photos on the site soon, but here is a sneeky preview.

Lally's Bags

I'm very excited today, I've just found out that bags I have designed for the shop are very nearly ready! Hopefully they should be online by the end of next week at the latest. They are a small collection of clutch bags inspired by art deco, I love the opulence of that era and hopefully the bags reflect this.

Plus Marie Claire magazine and Closer have both requested images and samples from our PR, so fingers crossed for some press coverage.

The reason I have decided that I should start a blog is that I have just launched an online shop, not such a big deal I guess, but for me it was something I've always wanted to do  so I thought why not blog about it!

It's been hard work setting up Lally's Closet, but I've enjoyed every minute of it most of the decisions were already made in my head years ago when I originally dreamt it up. Basically it's an online boutique selling vintage clothing, re-worked vintage clothing, collections by brand new designers and some own brand accessories.

So here I am now blogging about my shop!