HOBBS A/W14 Collection Preview

Whilst I am still awaiting my college grade results, I decided to go on a little trip to London where I was lucky enough to be invited to view the Hobbs AW14 Collection and it certainly lived up to it's name. We were let loose in the press room where delightful cakes and Prosecco awaited our arrival.

Ruby from Modus and Hobbs chief designer Jason talked us through the 3 collections and their inspiration. First was the Invitation collection which was probably my favourite, full of detailed and elegant evening wear. There was a lot on emphasis on how these fine evening pieces could be transformed into daywear by adding a textured knit to the equation. Latest Exclusive: Hobbs have now teamed up with the Royal Palaces to allow them access to their archives, which is the root of their inspiration for A/W Invitation collection however its all very hush hush, but once more is revealed, you will be the first to know!

MY FAVOURITES OF THE INVITATION COLLECTION

The Hobbs London Collection; tailored and polished to perfection, this collection was  full of camel, navy and granite coloured tweed jackets, thick pencil dresses and skirts. Perfect for a winter work wardrobe, although styled with a casual tee or some converse and these pieces can easily be put to everyday casual use as-well.

MY FAVOURITES FROM THE LONDON COLLECTION

NW3 is much more playful and casual than the other two collections, mainly for its use of colour. To be honest I was very intrigued by this collection as previously my only thoughts of Hobbs were "classic everyday workwear and elegant evening outfits made for a more mature generation" however NW3 completely smashed through this pre-misconception and showed me that Hobbs also caters for the more "relaxed at home" type of person and for a younger audience as-well.  NW3 was filled with similar styles and trends that you would see in favourite high street stores such as Topshop, Zara, River Island and New Look however you can tell that the clothes at Hobbs are made to a much higher standard.

MY FAVOURITES OF THE NW3 COLLECTION

One of my favourite parts of press gatherings is meeting new people/bloggers!

Here are some of the lovelies I met that day:

Bessie from FashionNoodle

Justine from FashionMixBag

Banke from A Style Diary

Jasmin from What Defines Us

Cristina from ChrissaBella

Tricia from Thread and Mirror

Tolu from FashinateMe

Thank you so much to Hobbs for inviting me to the event! and also a big thanks to all the team at Hobbs HQ for putting on an hosting such an amazing preview! Go check out the Hobbs Site HERE as they have a big sale on right now, and some of their A/W pieces have already started to be released. Go! Go! Go!

(P.S. I uploaded some more pictures from the event up on my Facebook Page for you guys to marvel over as-well so go have a look HERE if you're interested)

My LUSH Recruitment Evening

A couple of days ago I spotted an advert for a retail assistant in my local LUSH window and popped in to apply straight away! The girl I spoke to was lovely however she did "grill" me a little, asking my age, availability (apparently I wasn't likely to get the job because I couldn't put down "full availability" as I go to college 2 & 1/2 days a week) and finally she asked me to sell a product to her right on the spot. Even though I haven't done much in the way of selling before I blitzed this stage by reciting all the ingredients and pro's of the product (impressed her quite a bit apparently). She then finally invited me to a LUSH recruitment evening!

I swear I researched half the internet in preparation for the evening because I was so nervous, however I managed to pile key information down so I could remember it all. We were also told to bring an item that represented us in some way (I'm guessing to show what kind of person we are). 

I headed off to LUSH, and arrived about 20 minutes early and already there was a line forming. Over 40 people turned up for one job! I was quite surprised by this considering it was such a small shop. We bundled in and were given a form to fill out with our details; the sheet also had an random question, mine was "If you could have any actor/actress play you in a movie, who would it be?". I hate this question so much, it makes me want to scream every time I see it! I have no idea who would play me, so I scribbled down a quick answer "Anna Paquin" and handed it in without a second thought. 

The group was then separated into half to introduce themselves and their "item", I have to say there were some interesting one's! I brought a picture of my edge walk experience (see my post here) and that seemed to be "individual" enough.

The second activity split us up into group of 4's and 5's, we were then oven a scenario and were told we could ask two question's to help us find the perfect gift for this scenario. My group did well on this activity and I was allowed to impart some of my LUSH product knowledge. However when it came to presenting our gift I could hardly get a word in edgeways, which really annoyed me as the staff didn't really notice me because of it.However all of them were lovely and really hospitable and it was a very relaxing atmosphere.

That was the end of the evening! It was really fun and different, and even though I was anxious I really enjoyed it. However I personally think they should of conducted 1 to 1 interviews as well  because a lot of the girls there (myself included) couldn't really get their view's or knowledge of lush across in simple group exercises. I had spent 5 whole day's revising my butt off learning about the company and the products and how to sell, but the staff never got to see any of it which I think was a real shame. I'm still waiting for a phone call so you never know!

 I do however have some tips for you all who plan to get a job at LUSH one day! 

Be outgoing/confident - You can't be shy in these kind of things! From experience I can say, the people who were noticed were the one's who talked whenever there was an opportunity.

Be humorous - Don't be afraid to slip a joke into conversation, it will give off the image that you're relaxed (even if you're really not!)

Lush Knowledge - Wherever you can slip in your knowledge of the LUSH company, it's ethics, the ingredients they use, as staff love to see someone who is passionate for the company (a little LUSH can go a long way).

and last but not least

Be individual - Whether it's your clothes, hair colour or personality, do whatever you can to stand out and be noticed (in a good way!)

HAPPY LUSHING!

p.s. all stores will be different in the way they conduct recruitment evenings as Lush is a franchise not a company!