Competition: Win a Playful Promises tea dress

We love our floral tea dresses because they are just so versatile! Whether it's lovely and warm (lucky you), or a little bit chilly, the tea dress is ready for anything.

We want to hear how you would style this dress! What accessories would you wear with it? Shoes? Stockings, tights or leggings?

And not just on the outside, but tell us what Playful Promises lingerie you would love to wear underneath! 

We've made entering the competition easy peasy! You can enter in up to 3 ways:

1. Comment on this blog post with how you would style the dress and which PP lingerie you'd wear underneath.

2. Like our Facebook Page and comment on our facebook post with how you would style the dress and which PP lingerie you'd wear underneath.

3. Follow our Tumblr and reblog the post with how you would style the dress and which PP lingerie you'd wear underneath.

 Make sure you get your entries in, as the competition closes this Sunday 30th September!

Time for Tea: The Tea Dress

We all know us British love a good old cup of tea; it has become a miracle elixir prescribed by every English person in every conceivable circumstance that you could think of, curing anything from a bump on the head to a broken heart. So, with this in mind it is no wonder that an entire culture developed around tea, which was embraced whole-heartedly by our nation of tea-lovers and is still, in some form part of our culture today!

The origins of the Tea Dress is inextricably linked to the fashion of Afternoon Tea, which was a tradition believed to have been started by Anna Maria Stanhope, the seventh Duchess of Bedford in 1841. At the time, lunch was served at midday and dinner was then served at 8 or 9o’clock at night, so the clearly starving Duchess began having tea and other nice little titbits brought to her private chambers at about 4o’clock.

When Anna’s habit became public knowledge the craze of taking Afternoon Tea spread like wildfire throughout the upper classes in England and soon ladies across the land would dress up in their finery and visit each other’s houses to have a good old natter over a cuppa (not at all different to today!).

Well, with a new social craze, a new wardrobe was essential – hence the Tea Dress! Any excuse to enlarge our wardrobes! Etiquette books at the time contained entire chapters devoted to the proper etiquette of Afternoon Tea and the Tea Dress was created to be worn at such events.

The Tea Dress started life as a garment made solely for informal entertaining within the home. The main characteristics of the Tea Dress were unstructured lines and light fabrics that was easy to put on, creating a comfortable dress that was easy to manoeuvre in. Originally, Tea Dresses were inspired by the Orient and Asian clothing and the kimono was a primary source of inspiration for the design. The dresses were not worn with corsets, and so were a form of liberation for the women of the time with the beginnings of a slightly more relaxed style of women’s clothing.

Clearly, Afternoon Tea became a setting for the new freedom advancing both women’s clothing and their place in society.

Afternoon Tea slowly began to take on some rather raunchier connotations as the French christened it ‘le fif-ó-clock’ or ‘four to five’, becoming an acceptable time in which a lady could entertain her lover in the knowledge that her husband would agree not to enter the drawing room in that hour. Oh la la.

The Tea Dress became an essential part of any self-respecting, fashionable woman’s wardrobe and became a way for a lady to express her tastes. They were luxurious, loose and floaty often accessorised with parasols, fans, fur, handbags and jewels, to fully portray status and wealth to any observers.

Tea dresses have of course altered slightly during the course of history to become shorter, however the loose skirt and fitted bust harkens back to the original Victorian style. 

Here at Playful Promises, we think that Tea Dresses are too gorgeous to only be worn indoors! So strut your stuff in our offerings of the Abstract Print Tea Dress and the Vintage Floral Tea Dress and show us how you accessorize to entertain ;)

All About Aztec

If there's one thing I love about Summer, despite all the sunshine and cocktails in the garden, it's seeing gorgeous printed patterns everywhere!

But why stop there? I see stylish girls rocking these prints all year round! While the Summer prints tend to be in either pastel or neon colourways, we can see darker colours pushing through for Autumn.

Playful Promises have brought out a stunning aztec print that is already available on a skirt and dress and will soon be cropping up in their resort (perfect for those going away on holiday this winter) collection swimwear, which you can see a sneak preview of here!

I love how this print reminds me just enough of Summer, with touches of colour inbetween the bold black and white geometric shapes. 

Seems I'm not the only one that loves a good aztec print! Check out how these celebs rock the trend!

Jessie J

Beyonce

Kim Kardashian

Psst! Grab yourself 20% off Playful Promises Clothing with code "CLOTHES123" until 19/9/12!

A shift in fashion: The Shift Dress

The Shift Dress is an iconic, timeless item of clothing that is still as much of a must-have today as it was in the 1920’s! And Playful Promises is here to help keep you all bang on trend this season with their clothing line.

Yes, Playful Promises also offers clothes as well as underwear for all of you who did not know!

The Shift Dress is still a really prevalent trend in today’s fashions and never fails to appear every year. Not only are Playful Promises offerings delectable and help release your inner flapper, but they make you so ready to hit up a jazz club that you will be doing the Charleston down the street!

After researching the history of the Shift Dress I have come to realise how this fashion has managed to stay popular for decades, and I think you’ll agree that many of my findings are still relevant today.

It all began in the 1920’s, so a massive thank you must be said to all the fashion forward women of that decade as I think the ‘what to wear’ dilemma would be that much worse without the Shift Dress!

There were many factors that can be attributed to the development and success of the Shift Dress in the 1920’s:

• Economic prosperity led to the Roaring Twenties, allowing women more spending power and women began to buy their clothes instead of making them themselves, meaning that fashion trends spread quicker and changed faster.

• Social norms began to change throughout the 1920’s, becoming less rigid and enforced. Although alcohol was banned, people were allowed to drink a little within the home and soon women began to socialize and drink in public at illegal Speakeasies. Fashions begun to change becoming more revealing and freeing – a scandal at the time!

• The textiles and garment industry became more advanced due to industrialization and women’s fashions became accessible to all consumers at different levels of the social spectrum.

• As clothing was becoming easier to manufacture and produce in mass volumes, stores began selling ready-to-wear fashions in a variety of sizes and colours.

With these factors all playing a role in women’s fashions throughout the 1920’s, it’s no wonder that’s styles changed so drastically from the restrictive fashions of previous generations. Enter the Shift Dress.

The Shift Dress is not only an iconic piece of clothing it also represents a change in the way women were perceived in society. As well as this, it embodies and symbolizes the 1920’s; with its loose style and androgynous appearance it quickly became a favorite style of the infamous Flapper Girls of the 1920’s.

As well as being obviously stylish and big supporters of the Shift Dress, Flappers furthered the popularity of the style itself. Flappers were the iconic female representation of the 1920’s as a decade and were symbolized by their reputation for smoking from long cigarette holders, applying make-up in public and dancing wildly in short, shapeless Shift Dresses that exposed their limbs and created a flat-chested, androgynous look. This is the first example in history of women actively defying social conventions and instead of accentuating their figures through the use of corsetry; comfort was at the forefront of women’s clothing choices for once.

All this is pretty impressive for one style of garment don’t you think?! Not only was the Shift Dress stylish and comfortable but it stuck two fingers up at society encompassing clothing and revolutionary mind-set for women! Power to the people and all that!

As well as being an important fashion throughout the 1920’s the Shift Dress made a huge resurgence in the 1960’s. Audrey Hepburn often wore sleeveless shift dresses both onscreen and off, which had a major impact on 60s fashion.

The style was updated by designers such as Mary Quant, altering the length to create the Mini Dress. The Shift Dress became popular with women all over the world due to its simple style, adaptability to any situation and the way it suited all women. It even became a firm favorite with Jackie Kennedy!

Bound to be the most useful dress in your wardrobe, it’s a perfect choice for so many occasions because you can dress it up or down with your choice of accessories.

Why not experience the wonder of the Shift Dress for yourself and pick one (or more!) of Playful Promises offerings! The Digital Sunset Print Dress and the Swinging 60’s Lace Shift Dress are perfect for all you classy ladies out there. 

Based on all my research, I can’t help feeling that I was born in the wrong era! I would have fitted in perfectly in the 1920’s or 1960’s – not only do I love Shift Dresses, but I’m also flat-chested! Oh well, looks like I’m going to have to go on another Playful Promises shopping spree to cure my need for a Shift Dress!

Back to Life, Back to Reality

So, the most depressing part of the year is upon us yet again - the brief summer we had has come to an abrupt end and the rain is back, everyone is returning back to England from a variety of far-flung exotic places, and you’re back to work, tan fading. We’ve all been there, and inevitably it makes you want to cry.

We know you don’t want to return to ‘normal life’, but the time has come, so instead of planning next year’s holiday and protesting about returning to the everyday, embrace it! And here at Playful Promises we know exactly how to cure you’re post-summer blues.

The first step to cure your blues is to dress like the confident, able, take-on-the-world siren you are! Okay, so we know you don’t feel ready to put on actual shoes instead of sandals and flip-flops and get your business head back on, but with the range of clothing Playful Promises offers, you’ll be running back into the office to show off your new wardrobe!

Whatever you prefer to wear for work, Playful Promises has you covered! My personal favourite is the Charlotte Houndstooth Dress – you’ll look every bit the together business woman you are and have no trouble keeping people’s interest in a meeting in this number!

We also offer a range of adorable Chiffon Bow Blouses in Purple, Red and Black as well as the traditional pencil skirt which is a definite must for every working woman’s wardrobe!

Why not brighten up your work wardrobe using our limited edition kimono jackets? Both the Geisha Digital Print and the Rorschach Kimono Jackets are stunning and add that special something to an otherwise plain outfit. Hurry up and grab them before they go, they are limited edition after all!

Playful Promises clothes are so good, you won’t want to limit them to just office wear – but don’t worry, we don’t blame you, you will look and feel so fabulous in all of these offerings you won’t want to take them off. Ever.

Now, the next step in curing your post-holiday downer is underwear – every girl knows that to look its best, an outfit must have a great foundation, and what better foundation to a gorgeous outfit, than a gorgeous set of Playful Promises undies?

The Vamp Black Multi-Way Bra is essential for any lingerie collection, and can be manipulated any which way your heart desires! As well as providing you with endless possibilities, the Vamp Bra also gives your bust a boost and defines your curves – what more could you want?

The Dominique Longline Bra is another investment that will help speed your healing process. Its subtle decorative features, such as the use of mesh and the strap design provide you with the chance to feel sexy and supported all day long. It’s such a gorgeous bra; why not show off the straps under your clothes at work? We’re sure your boss won’t mind at all!

So there we have it, follow these simple steps and you will glide back into work with a confidence that wasn’t there before! We know it’s not as good as a holiday or sunny weather, but if you feel fabulous, everyday is like a holiday!

What do you do to combat your holiday blues?