2011 REVIEWS: APRIL 2011 – OCTOBER 2011

Tuesday 5th April 2011 6-9pm (8pm designer swish/8.30pm normal swish) New Venue

The Unthank Arms, 149 Newmarket Street, Norwich

This is a vibrant & spacious location and our first swish based in the city. Briony the landlady has offered her full support and is very excited to be hosting the event. Tickets £5*

Please note: This will feature a ‘Designer Corner’ for items of high value to you. *See Designer Swish tab for more details.

REVIEW: Fantastic night which flew by for Val & I, great quality, great brands, buzzing venue with loyal swishers and new swishers in attendance. Only wish Antonella Muscat was there again to capture on candid camera! Designer Corner will now be found as part of all our normal swishes.

Wednesday 11th May 2011 6-9pm (8.30pm swish) New Venue

Our first Kids Swish! More details to follow. The Unthank Arms, 149 Newmarket Street, Norwich (Parking now available at the rear of the venue)

We are inviting mums to bring along items that no longer fit their kids and exchange for ones that will. Expect quality at our events, items are accepted as nearly new & freshly laundered for newborn babies upto 12 years of age, along with maternity wear & baby slings.

Points system will be adapted and each item will be categorised into one of 5 grades from 10-50 points. Join our database at the style_revolution@yahoo.co.uk to keep most informed.

NEW MUMS-TO-BE OFFER: This would make a great gift for new mums who are starting to prepare for their new arrival. Pay £10 and receive 500 points to spend!

REVIEW

This is definitely one for us to build alot of interest however, the evening we chose seemed to clash for most parents. Still we saw some beautiful clothing, shoes & accessories. Highlights were definitely swimwear and swim floats and an immaculate set of baby grows that went to a new mum expecting a boy. A special mention goes to a complete christening outfit by Lapin – super sweet!

We were amazed at just how well looked after items were with many brands such as Diesel, Fat Face and a variety of organic brands along with a generous supply of maternity wear.

We are looking at further dates in 2011 and would appreciate you registering your interest and preference of day/time via email thestyle_revolution@yahoo.co.uk

Monday 6th June 2011 6-9pm (8pm – Designer Swish/8.30pm Normal Swish)

Swish with Designer Corner at Caistor Hall

REVIEW: This was an amazing double swish downstairs in The Coach House at Caistor Hall – 48 women attended (18 of which were new to swishing), our designer corner is becoming more fruitful and the normal swish saw many great quality items.  Antonella Muscat was there to capture the moments on camera – can’t wait to see the pics! What a buzz the night was, great energy, great feedback and we have to say the couple of items that nearly went to silent auction were resolved fairly between the swishers. A questionnaire is soon to be sent to those that attended that night and as always we welcome feedback, it’s the only way to make sure our events are on form and enjoyable!

Saturday 2nd July 2011 – 2-5pm

An OUTDOOR tea party for the girly girls amongst us who would like to swap dresses, skirts, shoes & accessories only. Dresses and shoes will receive 50 points, skirts 25 points and all accessories at 10 points.

Tickets £6.50 – All swishers need to bring at least one item but we can accept more items (were at the venue from 10am if you would like to drop them off earlier).

This event is set to be a truly enjoyable afternoon, we will be joined by some local businesses – firstly, we will be decorating the event in beautiful bunting with vintage cake stands filled with treats and teapots with good ol’ tea. Secondly, there will be complimentary massage treats, sweet foods (yes you guessed it…cake!), flower arranging demo, jewellery and fascinators to purchase direct from the ladies who made them.

The Unthank Arms, 149 Newmarket Street, Norwich – Outdoors (small car park at the rear, Bignold Primary School car park close by and even Chapelfield is only a short walk).

REVIEW: The sun was out, thank goodness! It shone very brightly on our girly afternoon – Becky from ‘A Most Curious Tea Party’ decorated our event beautifully and even provided vintage picnic blankets with parasols which were teamed with magazines and nail polishes; encouraging ladies to relax inbetween browsing the fashion. Talking of relaxation Yvonne from Perfection Skin Clinic kneaded away some knots with her massage tasters, sweet treats from Elaine & Carly of ‘Your Cake & Eat It’ and ‘Vanilla Cloud Bakery’ while Gillie’s Jewels and Nicky’s fascinators adorned outfits. Ladies really enjoyed the focus on skirts, dresses, shoes & accessories and our checking in system improved greatly with a category point system which we shall be implementing at the next swish. Same time next summer with this themed swish:)

Monday 1st August 2011 6-9pm (8.15/8.30pm swish)

Swish with Designer & Vintage Corner at Caistor Hall – New point system will be in place.

1. REGULAR STYLE TICKET£5 – Includes entrance to the normal swish only.Please note that if you bring items suitable for inclusion in the designer swish you will still receive the higher points on your style card.We will be accepting all brands of clothing, shoes, handbags, jewellery & accessories which must be in great condition and freshly laundered.
2. BEGINNER/BOOSTER STYLE TICKET £7 – Includes entrance to the regular swish and 100 bonus points. This is a great option for those who are new to our events and wish to experience it without bringing any items or for our regular swishers who have no items to bring but, wish to boost their style card points.
3. UPGRADE STYLE TICKET £8.50 – Includes entrance to both swishes and 200 bonus points. Swishers need to bring at least two designer/vintage items to qualify for this ticket option. Remember, when we say designer we are referring to brands such as French Connection, Ted Baker, Monsoon Occasionwear, LK Bennett, Karen Millen, Coast etc,…We have decided to accept smart/casual items however, no hooded tops, t-shirts, vest tops and other designer casual wear.Items must be in immaculate condition. Vintage is an open category – a treasure trove!

REVIEW: Wow what a great swish and the first time we welcomed vintage into the designer section and it truly was a treasure trove and really opened our minds and enhanced our wardrobes! Our existing swishers enjoyed the new points system and we welcomed a good number of ladies new to swishing.

One main highlight was jewellery – we checked in some fabulous pieces and ladies commented on the great quality available in accessories and some wonderful dresses which have inspired our next swish in only a couple of weeks.

Monday 26th September 2011 6-9pm (8.30pm swish)

Swish with Designer Corner at Caistor Hall

Review:

Wow, swishing just gets better and better. Following an earlier ad hoc interview on Radio Norfolk which encouraged some new ladies along we welcomed our regular swishers that simply enjoy evolving their wardrobe regularly – Two comments on the night 1) ‘I don’t think I have shopped for clothes since swishing’ (now that’s a huge saving:) 2) I take more risks when swishing, I try different looks knowing that if it doesn’t work out I can swish it back! (freedom in fashion is what creates your own style and there is nothing better than finding your style:)

A number of ladies kindly purchased tickets for the Charity Fashion Swap next month where more women will swish – imagine how many items there will be…over 1000 items, hurray!

Sunday 30th October 2011 6-8.30pm – Holiday Inn – North, opposite Norwich airport

 ”CHARITY FASHION SWAP” with The Style Revolution

Local charity Leeway Domestic Abuse & Violence Services have teamed up us here at The Style Revolution team to hold the largest swish in Norwich yet.

Review:

A great girly evening full of fashion and our raffle prizes were truly fabulous from the lovely beauty team at John Lewis to win goody baskets filled with products from Dior, Elizabeth Arden, Clarins & Lancome. Bluebella dedicated a goody box, Beau Hair & Beauty vouchers & Waitrose flowers & chocolates.

We raised an amazing £1300 for the charity so we extend a huge thank you to those who attended, swished & supported the event.

Monday 21st November 2011 6-9pm (8.30pm swish) – Caistor Hall

Last swish of the year at Caistor Hall. Every items point value was reduced therefore more items for your wardrobe! Upon check in you will receive full points on checkout it will be reduced by 50%.

50 ladies swished tonight which is the most we’ve ever had at the venue – the swishing buzz is certainly spreading!

We had some lovely local businesswoman joining us at this swish;

We had a live demonstration and  makeover from Claire Bunton an Image Consultant – Norwich’s answer to Gok Wan! – Who dresses one of our regular swishers Charlotte – not only showcasing her great figure but also warming her skin tone. A couple of general tips were thrown in for good measure such as selecting necklaces to follow the contour of your face shape and that the colour black is not as slimming as we think – in fact blocks of colour are more effective than a patterned top with black trousers.

Claire from Alterations Plus based in The Dixon Centre in Hellesdon was a very inspiring addition to the night as she encouraged ladies to try out more items and consider the potential of items and how simple tweaks can make it a perfect fit and compliment to you. She also mends all fashion items I witnessed some great recovery of a numerous amount of Valeries handbags:)

Gillie’s Jewels displayed individual bespoke jewellery – check out the images on Facebook, her daughter Sarah offered beautiful nail paint designs for only £2.

Bridie from Brown Cow Tanning made ladies look like they had enjoyed a holiday in only a few moments by spray tanning with Sienna X for only£10 spray tans.

Donna from eco snack wrap came with some fantastically designed and ethically sound food wrapping solutions www.ecosnackwrap.co.uk

Lucy & Maggie from showcased Natures Sunshine products – be sure to take the health analysis online to establish your needs http://www.naturessunshine.eu/uk/lucypalmer/lifestyle.asp  Maggie joined the company as she felt so passionate about the results she had experienced that she wanted to share it with others.

As it was our last swish of the year we bagged up 14 bags of stock and gave to charity – we kept items that were newly added on the night or are simply fabulous and waiting for the right swisher to swish them. This means that we start the new year with fairly bare rails and stock is refreshed so start building up your swishing bags be ruthless! Be brave and bring along items that you love, are in great condition but are simply not worn and swap them for items that make you look fabulous! See you next year:) and thank you to all those who have supported our business and we wish you a happy festive season, Claire & Val

We never take anything for granted and appreciate that for some of you out there it is still an air of mystery as to what is swishing. As said on our homepage it stems from America and is simply a great way to evolve your wardrobe at very little cost and alot of fun.

The swish is the official term used at the time of swapping. Throughout the event items are checked in , tagged with points and then displayed. Swishers then browse these items right up until the swish time and are only able to select items when the swish is announced.

The event is stopped 5 minutes before the swish where rules are explained essentially be kind to others and items are on a first come, first served basis – if an item is rarely selected by more than one person then it will go to silent auction. The item is taken to the checkout while you continue to swish and then when both swishers are ready they write down on a piece of paper their bid for the item – highest bid wins.

The swish is announced 3,2,1…Swish! There is an initial grab for the item that you would really like, you then have half an hour to select your wardrobe and checkout. On checkout we deduct the points from your style card and any leftover points will be carried over to a future event held by The Style Revolution. If you don’t have enough points and would really like to take the items home then you can buy points for 50p.

We hope that explains all but we are always happy to answer further questions just send us an email:)

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