Made in Portugal

Last week I was kindly invited to along with a few more bloggers to exclusively preview the new party collection DUO is launching for the festive season before they hit the stores. I figured that the combination of shoes, London, and the possibilities of meeting some interesting people and winning a great prize was too good to say no to. So I made a little mood board including my favourite pair of shoes from the collection (you might have seen it here before) and off I went to Covent Garden, right after work.

Upon arrival I was greeted with a smile and a glass of bubbly and I immediately got to chatting to the other bloggers there. It was fun trying to match up the outfits on the mood boards to the bloggers and I was happy that find that people quite easily matched me up with mine.

After a couple of drinks and a few nibbles we all sat around the store to hear fashion journalist and stylist Laura Puddy and Jem McNulty, Head of Design at DUO tell us a few things about their careers and the brand. Both ladies have many years of experience working in different areas of the fashion industry and I always find it fascinating to hear the path people take to arrive at a place where they are happy with what they are doing.

I have to say I was very impressed with the brand. I didn’t know about them before and that might have been due to the fact that this is a traditional British brand that only more recently started making fancier shoes, as they are better know for their good quality boots.

I was very impressed because this is a brand that is interested in catering to real people. And how do I know that? Well, they have 21 different calf sizes on their boots and 3 different widths of shoes.

(Is it just me or these shoes look like farfalle? I think about food too much haha)

I was even more impressed when I had a chat with Jem, the Head of Design and was I told all their shoes are made in Portugal. So here is a traditional British brand that is made in Portugal. Perfect marriage I would say! I felt a bit proud, I have to say. It is a bit silly but when you live away from your country it’s little things like these that make you proud.

They also gave me a pair of shoes of my choice from their current catalogue for me to try out – I picked these purple Elisha booties with a cute bow. Aren’t they sweet? I had to wear them as soon as possible so when I went to Newark for the day on Saturday I took them out for their first spin.

What I wore them with: Vintage 70’s Style Dress – Ebay, Fur Gilet and Tights – Primark, Ring – Ebay, Bag – Ahcahcum Muchacha, Boots – Elisha by DUO, Nail Polish – Assortment of H&M, Ultra Pro, China Glaze and Essie.

Aren’t they the cutest? I’m very happy with my new booties!

I added my post to Shoe Shine over at Citizen Rosebud’s blog, the place to be for shoe lovers of all sizes and ages!

PS: No financial compensation was received for this post. A complimentary pair of boots was offered by DUO and the opinions expressed are my own.