It’s funny how one phone call on a cold, dull Monday afternoon can totally uplift your mood, as soon as Olivia rung to say I had won the New Look Style star competition I was bouncing around the room with excitement, in fact I spent the next few days telling anyone who brushed past me that I had won! So Thursday really couldn’t come quick enough for me (and my friends who were most probably sick to death of me by that point!)
I boarded the train from Manchester Piccadilly armed with some glossy mags and a can of red bull-not that I was short of energy, far from it! I think the hardest part of the whole experience was staying quiet and attempting to sit still on the 2 hour train journey! I arrived in London Euston and at first was quite daunted by the prospect of tackling the tube, however luckily for me New Look gave me clear and simple instructions so I managed to make it to the wonderful Zetter hotel in one piece, albeit I did take a wrong turn and ended up on my own mini excursion through Clerkenwell!
The Zetter is a lovely boutique hotel that reflected my own style – colourful, quirky and with a touch of vintage- perfect! I soon made myself at home by pouring myself a cup of tea and watching come dine with me and then before I knew it was 6 o clock. I made my way downstairs and met Olivia and Sara and we got to know eachother over a few cocktails in the Zetter Townhouse before we made our way to the Bruno Loubet French restaurant located in the hotel.
The menu was very grand and sophisticated and none of us really knew what to order so the helpful staff suggested some recommendations. I was feeling experimental and went for the Guniea Fowl to start and followed by Veal for my main, both were very delicious and cooked to perfection (not that I know what a perfectly cooked gunie fowl is….). The food was accompanied with wine and laughter, the perfect combination for a great evening! After Desserts (I went for homemade ice cream!) we had some hot drinks and parted ways, Whilst Olivia and Sara took a taxi back home I was dancing around my room eagerly waiting for the next day to arrive!
I woke up on Friday morning feeling very excited and couldn’t wait to get started, I started the day by meeting Kathryn and Olivia for breakfast in the hotel, the breakfast menu was just as sophisticated as the evening meal. Not wanting to appear bloated for my shoot I opted out of The Zetter full English - as tempting as it was- and went for the scrambled egg and smoked salmon, (I guess these are the sacrifices even Kate Moss has to make!)
After breakfast we headed straight to the New Look store where I got to run around picking up anything that took my fancy- which was a lot! I felt like I was on a supermarket sweep trolley dash, but instead of beans and cereal it was dresses and shoes! After I raided the whole store we went to see “where the magic happens” – New Look HQ. The offices were amazing, colourful and had a great atmosphere. I even got a sneak peak at some of the summer stock which isn’t even in store yet! I’m not going to give anything away but all I can say is you won’t be disappointed!
We then made our way to the studio, in the taxi I was feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement, but as soon as I stepped in the studio and met everyone my butterflies fluttered away and I couldn’t wait to get started. First on the agenda was my hair and makeup, which were both done beautifully and I even picked up a few secret tricks of the trade which i'll be utilising on my next night out!
Me and Sara then took to the clothes rail and started to piece outfits together, Sara’s “stylist eye” really helped when combining clothing and I felt like I was 5 years old again playing dress up, but instead of a Barbie it was me! Once we had whittled the outfits down to my favourite 5 (which was a task and a half!) I got dressed into the outfits and did some fantastic posing and strutted my stuff! The amazing outfits combined with my makeup and hair really helped make me feel great and boosted my confidence. We then choose 3 outfits which I showed off “catwalk style”. I had several cameras filming me and I really did feel like a supermodel, I even had an industrial fan blowing at me to give me the windswept look!
Once the filming had finished we celebrated with a bottle of bubbly, it was a great way to end such a fantastic day. New Look were kind enough to let me keep one of the outfits, I decided to go for the last outfit I tried on which was the light grey tailored trousers with the coral sleeveless blouse, I loved the colour combination and I’ll be debuting the outfit this Friday night when I go for a few drinks with girls!
I had the most incredible time with New Look and I can’t wait to see the final video, it really was an experience I will never forget so I would like to say thank you to everyone who voted for me in the competition and a massive thank you to New Look for giving me such a fantastic opportunity.
More pics to follow xxx
We then made our way to the studio, in the taxi I was feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement, but as soon as I stepped in the studio and met everyone my butterflies fluttered away and I couldn’t wait to get started. First on the agenda was my hair and makeup, which were both done beautifully and I even picked up a few secret tricks of the trade which i'll be utilising on my next night out!
...But then is started raining. I know it sounds strange but I just don't know what to do with myself, I have another few days of holiday left until I start Uni again and instead of cherishing every last second I'm just lying in bed doing nothing!! I planned on today being different, I got up and got dressed - (playsuit and tights... this horrible weather does not mean I have to wear jeans every day) and then looked out of the window. No thanks - back to bed! I suppose this is what holidays and days off are for... doing nothing!
