The Little City with the Big Dreams Xo

This year was my 3rd year being involved with the Truro Trend Fashion Show, and each year I feel more and more proud.  I look forward to the show so much and am always so excited to see the outfits and trends for the new season.

To me, the fashion show represents a collective of real community spirit.  It feels like the city is one big family and the shops, owners, designers, models, and most importantly, the gorgeous attendees of the show have all come together to support each other.

For 1 night of Truro Trend Fashion Week, the cathedral is transformed into a stunning fashion spectacle.  As always, the catwalk snakes along the nave of the cathedral and provides as the epicentre for the show.

I have to say, I have made some amazing friends through being involved with the fashion show and I am so grateful for this.  Friends who I am convinced will stay friends for life!

My day of fashion fun started at 4pm, when I visited the very talented and amazing ladies at No8 Hairdressing in Truro.  They transformed my locks into the most amazing high quiff with a back plait.  The ladies worked their magic for 4 shops and everyone looked amazing!  The show oozes professionalism and its really amazing to be apart of.

Sue at No 8 styled my hair in a lightning speed 30 minutes!  Sue is an amazing stylist and cuts and colours my hair outside the fashionista world too!  She is fabulous, I feel totally at ease and have so much confidence in her to know that whatever she creates, its going to be beautiful!  Below is a picture of my hair,  we joke that the blonde bit is a golden curl!  My Cruella twist!

Next up – Make Up!  I head to Jaeger to be beautified by the amazing Hannah of ‘Made up by Hannah Symons’.   Hannah is amazing at what she does and she is one of the most loveliest people.  She adds colour and smoke to my eyes to make them stand out on the catwalk and we go for a bold lip.  I love my eye palette, its very classic and I think the make up compliments the hair perfectly.  Like Sue, Hannah is so natural at what she does and makes you feel completely at ease.

So pampered, prepped and preened, I head to the cathedral for rehearsals at 6pm.  The place is buzzing and gaining the momentum of people setting up their stalls, the bar being stocked, models practising their strut on the catwalk and all the organisers making everything look like its seamlessly fallen into place. I have to give a special mention to Charla who organises this amazing event every year with Truro Trend, without her and her team, the whole thing literally would not be possible – amazing achievement every single year.

I rehearse shaking my stuff on the catwalk to get a feel for the runway again.  It never fails to amaze me just how beautiful it is and the impressive stature of how it aligns the naive of the cathedral.  It really is and quite rightly so, the centre piece of the entire event, it works so well!

Before we know it, 7pm arrives and we gather backstage to start getting ready.  My first walk is for Jaeger and I am modelling a gorgeous cashmere jumper, super stylish but super comfy black joggers, a black 3D art pendant, a soft gilet and  high heels.  This was styled for me but the amazing and lovely Aimee, store manager at Jaeger in Truro.  I was so excited that the hanging rails for Jaeger are perfectly organised and each of outfits have our name tags on – so chic!  So fashion show!

This outfit is a perfect style combination and showcases the effortless interchange between casual and smart.  The joggers add a sporty chic element to the outfit, and wearing them with heels convinces me that this is a look I should explore more often.  The jumper and pendant are so versatile that they can be perfect for work, drinks down the pub or even paired with a faux leather skirt to ooze city style.

As always, the time whizzes past, and before we know it, we are heading to the catwalk!   I still get butterflies, but I am super excited too and can’t wait to showcase these beautiful clothes.  Music ready, models ready, in 3…2…1…we are off!

The cathedral is packed full of fashionistas and the crowd are buzzing, cheering us on as we make our way to the top of the catwalk.  Its such an amazing feeling knowing that you are apart of something so special, something unique, and something which has the potential to grow for the community every year.

My next outfit is for the gorgeous boutique store, Plum.  Plum is owed and run by the gorgeous and super sweet Sam.  Outfit number 1 for this chic store is smart casual, and I wore light grey jeans by Maison Scotch, a stunning check shirt and a utterly fabulous woollen coat.  I could totally see myself in this outfit, the jeans were super comfortable and its a perfect transitional coat from Autumn to Winter.  I would wear this outfit with heels for a glass of fizz with my Mr, lunch with the girls or with ankle boots for a shopping day.

The crowd are such a joy to see and I can’t help but give a air fist pump as I walk along the catwalk!  It’s a fab feeling and when you are in an environment where everyone has come together for the same mutual appreciation of fashion,  you feel all warm and fuzzy!    The fashionistas are in town, and I am loving every moment of it.

Each label does their one run along the catwalk and 30 lightening quick minutes later, we are ready for the interval.

During the second half of the show, I am modelling for Plum Boutique first.  Now, this outfit is simply wow.  It’s a long sleeved lace cream blouse, which I wear with only a black bra underneath and a black midi length skirt with a split to the thigh.    We set off for our second run along the catwalk and I love love love modelling this outfit.  Its incredibly feminine, shows just the right amount of skin and oozes glamour.  Sam finished the outfit off beautiful with a long length pearl and gold necklace.

I felt the need to shimmy along the catwalk in this beautiful skirt!  I’m not normally so brave, but wearing this exuded my inner lioness and made me feel fab – so I shimmied and sashayed all the way up and back along the runway!

There’s nothing better than clothes that make you feel ‘you’, like an outer skin and something tangible which speaks a thousand words about you, without you having to say a word.  That is exactly how I view this outfit.  I view clothes not as a necessity, but of an expression of ourselves.  They say a lot about us and give us the opportunity to tell the world who we are.

My next and final outfit of the night is for Jaeger.  This is another outfit which is very me and I would happily wear this as part of my daily wardrobe – a very glamorous and chic part of my wardrobe!   Its a mid length pinstripe shift dress with a calf length gilet (which is reversible – 2 tops for the price of 1!).  Amy finoshes the look of gorgeously with a pair of grey Carvela ankle boots – so beautiful!

I feel so comfortable, chic and sophisticated in this outfit.  Its so versatile and would suit all ages and styles.  I guaranteed it will sharpen up your work wardrobe, and everyone will be asking where you got it from.   I particularly love the length of the dress,  its sassy without making you feel conscious that its too short.

As the rest of the labels make their way down the runway on their second sashay of the night, the Truro Fashion 2016 is almost at close.

We all gather backstage and take to the catwalk for a group fashion show finale!  There is a fantastic atmosphere and the crowd are so amazing, and give us all a big hurrah.

One thing I am always certain of – I can’t wait for the next, it just keeps getting better and better and I am so proud to be apart of our little city with the big dreams.

Lots of love Sunshines

D xxxxxxxxxxxxx