Lucy May Lingerie is a brand new fashion company that creates beautiful handmade underwear. They had their official launch party June 24th at the Old Chemist in Barnsley town centre where they invited ladies who have been their first customers, brave women who have had boudoir photos taken with Masque Photography, friends and family, local bloggers and press.
The launch party was co-hosted with Katie Portman, writer and blogger of Pouting in Heels, Helen Booth of Masque Photography and owners of Lucy May Lingerie, Natalie & Paula. The scene of the launch party was the top floor of The Old Chemist bar near The Civic. It's the first time I had been on the top floor and was surprised at how lovely the room was, a glass roof, classic wooden beams, large hanging light bulbs and with a quirky bar, which were handing out glasses of champagne and serving cocktails. Around the room were examples of Helen's photography, featuring beautiful women of sensuous boudoir photography, as well as mannequins showcasing some of the lingerie. The room soon filled up to 50+ guests all here to support this great occasion.
I brought my mum with me as my plus 1 to this ladies-only event and sat on the second row near the front so I could take some great photos. However after about 5 minutes, Katie patted on my shoulder and mentioned bloggers and press have reserved seats on the front row, so we got bumped up! We felt rather special as it's the first time I'd been invited to a fashion show as a blogger and then was bumped to the front row. We also had our pictures taken by Charlotte Kaye of Charlotte Elizabeth Photography, who was there taking all of the professional photos of the show.
Katie opened the evening by making all of the introductions to Lucy May Lingerie, a brand that is based in the Sheffield/Barnsley area and that they are named after their Grandma. They were using the hashtag #Discoveranewyou for the evening, which all of the bloggers used amongst their social medias. Owner Natalie was then invited up to give a more in depth explanation of the brand, they had been on social media for the last 3 years as they have been building the business, using Lucy May as a persona, trying to portray a particular lifestyle. They put up a video showing what kind of things they've shared on their social medias, including inspirational photos, quote pictures, showing ladies to give themselves time-out, their inner-selves and escapism. After this, Natalie went into explaining the design processes, handmaking the underwear and more with a second video showing their photoshoot pictures, products that will be available purchase and the finer details.
The first fashion show begin with a group of beautiful women of different shapes, sizes and ages, in soft silk black robes, all carrying an array of Masque Photography's photo boards. Many of these photos were the women themselves carrying them, proving they were already brave bold ladies. They all had their make-up done by Masque Photography's team Make-up Artist, which looked amazing! And all had personal fittings with Natalie & Paula for their underwear. After this, the ladies were invited back out and stood in a line at the front and did a cheeky de-robe wiggle before strutting down the catwalk in the Lucy May lingerie. It was such a momentous moment for everyone to be here supporting these women who were beautiful and bold in their own way. I know I would never have the confidence to do what they did but I felt so inspired by their energy and was fully rooting them on! They were showcasing the Maybella range, all were detailed black lace with flashes of red florals. All looked similar but with different detailing like straps, cuts and styles.
After the show, they were invited back out and had a little interview with Katie, to talk about them feeling empowered and to appreciate their own beauty. You could feel the atmosphere as they were gleaming with pride of what they had just achieved. We also had an interview between Katie and Helen to talk about boudoir photography and what it can do for your own self-confidence, whether you'd want to prove something for yourself or for your significant other, but ensured the experience has bounds of positivity.
I left the party feeling lifted and proud of the ladies that had strutted their stuff, proving that ladies supporting ladies will always be the way to go! Lucy May Lingerie also offers fitting parties in your own home, where the party can go from the Old Chemist to your living room! All-in-all, the launch party was a great success and the company is growing daily. We can't wait to see how they progress!
