It may still seem like quite a long way away until Christmas but we all know that it isn’t. If you are not careful the same last minute stress of shopping for Christmas presents, buying your turkey and finding a new sparkly outfit for yourself will simply repeat itself once again this year… as every previous year before in your lifetime history.
Every year I tell myself to be more organised than last year but every year I fail to achieve my goal. I occasionally buy an early Christmas present in September and pat myself on the back for being so organised. I often brag to my friends too and get lots of oohing and aaahing followed by praise.
However, come mid-december I suddenly look in my diary and can’t quite understand what happened to my well-intended plan to be more organised let alone what happened to three months?

So remember I said that we weren’t going to let Karen fill the shop with Christmas tunes yet…well Angela came to restock the shop on Tuesday and they both thought it would be nice to put some Christmas songs on whilst we moved everything around! I have to be honest though, and say that it was actually quite an enjoyable day despite all my whinging and moaning. The Christmas music did put us all in that festive mood and really helped us bring the shop together! It looks absolutely fabulous, we have loads of really gorgeous dresses from the likes of Ted Baker, French Connection and more. We have glittery tops, satin finishes, beautiful metallics and all the trimmings to go with them including gem encrusted shoes and cashmere wraps. So if you’re already thinking about the festive season and that all important Christmas party, pop down and see us. But don’t worry; we’re going to hold off on the Christmas tunes for a little while, Tuesday was just to keep Karen quiet! Although I suppose if she’s lucky we might let her put on Fairytale of New York by The Pogues, which she has dubbed the world’s best Christmas song ever! Bless her.
George

Just a very quick message to let you ladies of luxury know that we now have some snugly cashmere pashminas from Caroline in store. They’re fine and light, making them perfect for a quick cover up over party and evening wear, and are great for adding a splash of colour to your little black dress. But being cashmere, they’re lovely and warm and are fantastic to pull on as an every-day scarf.
 At the moment we have them in red, white and cream but watch this space for the addition of charcoal grey and a soft taupe to the collection.
Laura x

If like us here in Torquay you are dedicated watchers of X Factor you will know that one of the band members of Hope is from Torquay- Emily Biggs. If this wasn’t a good enough reason to support the girl group then the fact that Emily and her mum are frequent visitors to our shop is. Emily and her mum Sue visited Diva to get her an audition outfit and she appeared on TV a few weeks later in a gorgeous French Connection tunic. Emily was one of the lucky few that got picked to be part of girl group Hope, and before heading off to London, Emily and her mum popped into the shop to buy some new bits and pieces to take with her as Hope had been put through to the live finals! Emily’s purchases included a white T-shirt by Anglomania and a wrap top by Wale Adeyemi which she wore for a photo shoot for Look Magazine (see picture). We are glad Emily and the rest of Hope are doing so well and would like to wish her the very best of luck and urge you all to support them, so if you’re watching on Saturday make sure you vote Hope!

We’re looking forward to the party season here in Torquay-the Christmas party’s booked and less than six weeks away! It may seem a long time, and Karen may have been banned from playing Christmas music (for now…), but we’ve noticed how our favourite dresses always disappear before December and have been forward planning! This little black dress from French Connection bottom right suits Mel’s petite frame perfectly, and embellishment updates the look. Patent’s also huge-add it to your party outfit with this Firetrap clutch; bottom left, only £20. George is the only one of us blessed with the height to carry off this gown from Ted Baker, top left, £140, and all of us are after a pair of party pumps, £25. They’re available in gold, silver or purple and fold into a tiny pouch, fitting in your handbag for when those “taxi to table” heels just get too painful. Genius!

Pictures from top left; Beautiful strappy dress with grey under-lining covered over with a layer of grey animal print chiffon, £60, Great Plains. Top right; French Connection Fragrance Eau de Toilette in a 30ml bottle, £10, French Connection. Bottom right; Stunning print tunic with a wide satin tie belt, £36, Numph. Bottom right; Wide leather waist belt with a bronze metalic snake-skin finish. Fabulouse wide buckle with diamante detail, £65, Caroline.

URGENT NEWSFLASH- We have put out some seriously yummy new pieces today including several essential little black dresses in different styles and lengths. There’s a 50’s inspired style from Great Plains with a fitted bust and waistband and a full knee length skirt boasting some subtle flower detail. Next, there’s a heavenly longer-line netted dress from Sandwich with pleated chevron detailing at the bust and the skirt bottom (that comes just above the ankle). A serious plus point for those of us with shy arms are the three-quarter sleeves in sheer net, which gives us much desired coverage without being too heavy. Then there’s my personal favourite, an easy to wear jersey number from Noa Noa which is slightly Grecian in style due to a satin empire waistband and wide shoulder straps. (It’s also an excellent one to eat in due to being so comfy!) Scarlett’s LBD must-have’s a chiffon number from Numph which is seriously fitted on the waist with billowing bat style sleeves. This one comes up just short of the knee.
 If dresses aren’t on your menu at the moment, then fear not. There’s also a gorgeous pair of cotton / wool mix high waisted trousers from Noa Noa, a slinky little red satin skirt from Avoca, a pair of classic black slim-line trousers from Sandwich and enough choices of dressy or woolly tops to match to keep you busy in the changing rooms until the New Year.
 Come in and kit yourself out for a party.