What can I say, I'm a girl who loves luxury and the finer things in life! From fashion to food, travel to home, I have always been a girl who appreciates good taste and fine craftsmanship, and for me nothing encapsulates this more then the Fabulous Fashion Teas at the five star Merchant Hotel.

Returning for their tenth year (or twentieth season!) the Fashion Teas combines a weekend of decadent food, bubbly and fabulous fashion, and of course yours truly was there to check out all the latest looks!

For the event I opted to wear one of my favourite brands, Karen Millen. This lace and silk dress, with it’s obi style waist band and gold thread lace overlay is one of my favourite pieces from my collection, and was styled with a delicate gold necklace, a hand finished gold “Aurora” disc bracelet, Karen Millen sandals and my beloved Jasper Conran handbag!


One of the best parts of the Fashion Teas is checking out all the pop up boutiques, as it means I can catch up with all my fashion friends, as well as getting up close to all the latest designs at the Fashion Teas! I fell in love with Chloe Dougan’s leather and chainmail collection, and Petra has really outdone herself with her latest collection from her label A.P.D Jewellery!

I was however quite naughty at the Walk in Wardrobe pop up boutique and after catching up with owner Laura McPolin I snagged myself a stunning white jacket from designer Rebecca Rhoades (available from Walk in Wardrobe)! Then it was a quick nip over to Lunn’s the Jewellers David Yurman pop up to try on some major arm candy!

David Yurman’s bangles are to die for and for a die hard arm candy fan like me I was in my element layering up my own personal stack of covetable bejewelled bangles! I also had the opportunity to personally meet with David Yurman’s Director of Styling Events, Travis Ngo for my own mini styling session! I have to confess I was seriously in love with all of the pieces he picked out for me and I came away with a wish list as long as my arm!


Then it was off to the opulent Rita Duffy Suite with Cathy, Nuala, Lauren and the rest of the girlies for the David Yurman at Lunn’s the Jewellers show!


As always the models from Style Academy looked effortlessly chic, while their hair by Andrew Mulvenna and make-up by Lacôme perfectly complimented each stylish look!



The afternoon consisted of lots of Veuve Chicquot Champagne and delicious melt in the mouth patisseries as we were treated to an array of fabulous David Yurman jewels exclusively available at its UK and Ireland stockist, Lunn’s the Jewellers in Queen’s Arcade.

While I am naturally drawn to bangles and bracelets, I also found myself lusting after an exciting mix of statement cocktail rings and bold neckwear stacked together to create a modern edgy feel to the brands heritage pieces.

For someone like myself who loves fine jewellery it was wonderful to attend a show where exquisite jewellery was the focus rather than just the clothes and Travis did an amazing job at styling each of the jewellery looks! The only downside is that I going to need some David Yurman in my life!

I had such a wonderful afternoon catching up with everyone at the event, and once again I have to congratulate the team at the Merchant Hotel for putting on such an enjoyable and elegant event! I for one cannot wait to attend next season’s shows in October!

The Merchant’s Fashion Teas will return once again to showcase autumn/winter fashion trends from a range of top local designers and boutiques on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th October 2016. Fashion Teas with Harper at The Merchant Hotel, The Walk in Wardrobe and a joint show between local designers, Shauna Fay and Gráinne Maher have already been confirmed for the Autumn/Winter line-up. For further information and to book tickets, visit themerchanthotel.com or contact The Merchant Hotel’s events team on 028 9026 2717. 

Massive thanks to Sarah Fox for providing the press release, photo credit Kelvin Boyes at PressEye.

"In a Wonderland they lie, Dreaming as the days go by…………"

Alice Through The Looking Glass, Lewis Carroll.