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What Katie Did

Katie Halford


Last Updated: 9/28/2009

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Gender: Female
Status: In a Relationship
Country: UK

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Friday, November 06, 2009 

It's hard to escape the incessant doom and gloom of recession when it's plastered all over the newspapers and beaming out from every television set. The good news is that there are a few products which can truly be deemed 'recession proof', and one that is a legendary morale booster... lipstick! The idea of using makeup to 'put on a brave face' has seen us through two World Wars and several recessions. And the 'Lipstick Effect' is clearly in force today, where, despite many luxury brands suffering, makeup sales are still going strong.

Once, as well as cheering us up, lipsticks and compacts themselves were true art forms. But over the years, the stylish designs of yesteryear have given way to dull, mass-produced plastic, although the formula and staying power of cosmetics have of course vastly improved. However, there is one modern makeupcompany trying to revive the art of beautiful vintage packaging: America's Besame Cosmetics. How very apt, then, that lingerie designer house What Katie Did, who are already highly regarded for reproducing gorgeous period underpinnings with all the benefit of modern comfort, are now stocking Besame, their cosmetic counterparts, in their Portobello Road Boutique!

Just like What Katie Did, Besame produces products with a real old Hollywood flair. The beautifully crafted metal containers, etched with art deco flourishescontain period perfect lipstick shades like Carmine and Noir Red and blusher that would produce cheeks as peachy as Rita Hayworth's. The chic little Classic Enchanting Lipsticks come in a 1940s style bullet-shaped tube (perfect for a small evening bag), and are specially shaped to help you create a film star pout. The newly introduced Voluptuous Lip Colour sets contain a full-sized, black enamel-clad lipstick, along with a matching lip pencil and ergonomically designed brush... the ultimate gift for a glamorous girlfriend!

The rest of the line features equally stunning products with evocative names: Enriching Lip Glaze, Vintage Boudoir Rouge, Vintage Alluring Eye Shadows, Classic Masterliner Pencil and the Signature Compact with Cashmere Pressed Powder – which looks equally at home on a dressing table or being pulled out of your vintage handbag! If that wasn't enough to tempt you, Besame pride themselves on only using the purest, natural ingredients, and never test on animals meaning their products are as ethical as they are elegant.

The What Katie Did boutique is stocking a wide range of the luxurious Besame products, all of which are not only highly collectible, but take the art of perfect grooming from carefully covert to an overt fashion statement. And if you fancy a pillar-box red pout, but don't know where to start, you'll be delighted to hear that almost every staff member at the boutique is a trained makeup artist! We guarantee you won't find any better vintage makeup advice anywhere else!


12:40 PM 
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Friday, November 06, 2009 
 
I've a bone to pick with that Perez Hilton. He's not being very complimentary about the new fashion for 'cone bras'. He says that he's never seen anyone in LA wear one. I think he's just jealous that they don't look good on boys! Victoria Beckham (currently a resident of LA) is December's Harper's Bazaar cover girl and pictured wearing our Padded Bullet Bra on the opening page of a shoot which uses a lot of vintage inspired lingerie and the odd 'cone bra' (still with us Perez?!) I wish that Harpers had done one of those super-posh folding out covers as the cover picture is the one that features our bullet bra - but poor old Victoria has been decapitated so we can't see it! Here at What Katie Did we're so pleased that Victoria has found her niche. The fashion journalists were waiting to scratch her first collection to pieces with their perfectly manicured nails. Victoria kept calm and concentrated on what was then her secret talent, and  now has them swooning at her Louboutin heels!

We've been waiting with baited breath for December's Harpers as it was our 'big call-in' of the season but you never know if anything makes the final edit until the magazine is published. It's the first time we've had any editorial in Harpers and as an avid admirer of their fashion shoots it's a privilege to see What Katie Did featured in one.

10:47 AM 
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Thursday, November 05, 2009 
 
A couple of days ago John Lewis announced that the sales of their 'cone bra' (by which they mean a soft cup bra - nothing to do with what we class as a cone bra!) were up 10% on the preceding week. For some reason this has resulted in a press frenzy and today's Daily Mail has put three of them to the test.

Guess which one they decided was the best? Well, we do have nearly 10 years experience! The 3 brands they featured were What Katie Did (our Lulu bullet bra below), Rigby and Peller (who's bra was returned to us by mistake and is identical to ours apart from a little padding) and in third place, John Lewis.

9:55 AM 
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Sunday, November 01, 2009 
 
Today's Fabulous magazine includes a rather delicious fashion shoot inspired by Cabaret - all ostrich feathers and faded glamour. We're lucky enough to have our Mortica corset in peach, and Sophia corset in black, featured. It's been a tough week in the What Katie Did press office as we've had to deal with a few difficult stylists: you would expect the bigger publications to be a bit snooty, but the opposite is true - so I'm sure this coverage will cheer everyone up! If only all stylists could be as fabulous as those who work for Fabulous!



3:01 PM 
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Thursday, October 22, 2009 
 

 What Katie Did designer Katie Halford began her career as a corset fitter over 15 years ago, before going on to develop her own collection. A decade on from the launch of her company, What Katie Did's now-famous corset range has grown from one style to an impressive eight; with the A/W 09 collection boasting what must be the largest choice of corsets around. There's a cut to suit every shape and size; and a style that will appeal to everyone - from glamour queens and tight-lacing Dita-wannabes, to those simply looking for something saucy to wear on a night out... or a night in!

Overbust Corsets

Sophia is the most popular of What Katie Did's corsets, with a gently curved silhouette that's neither too extreme-looking or constricting to put off corset newcomers; but with just the right amount of cinching to satisfy experienced wearers. Its curved cups ensure that A-E-cup breasts are pushed delicately upwards and together. Those who are considerably more endowed needn't despair though, because decadent Dolly combines the same classic cut with slightly more room in the bust; perfect for those lucky ladies whose D+ cups runneth over.

These two have a naughty big sister, Laurie - an overbust style with real va-va-voom. It features the same shaped cups for perfect uplift, but with WKD's signature gored hips, Laurie gives a fantastically well-defined waistline. It's enough to make even Jessica Rabbit jealous!

The 18th Century-inspired Antoinette is the WKD's newest overbust style. Its balconette bustline and innovative pointed sides mean that even the most well-upholstered needn't fear an overspill of fulsome flesh - simply a ravishing pair of (well-supported!) heaving bosoms. With gored hips for a truly ravishing silhouette, it's just like its antique counterpart, but considerably more comfortable. 

Underbust Corsets


Gina was the very first corset that What Katie Did designed, and it's still a firm favourite amongst their customers. It gives a smooth and defined shape, but, like Sophia, not one that's too extreme. The addition of the signature gores to this basic underbust created Mae. The beauty of the goring is that hips are not compressed, and waists can therefore be cinched down even further, for a very pronounced hourglass shape. Those with a large waist-hip ratio look particularly spectacular in the gored hip versions of What Katie Did's corsets for this reason!
  

Wickedly tempting, Morticia is a slightly longer-line style based on the Mae shape, and the latest version to incorporate goring. The longer busk and lower hip-line ensure that shapely derrieres are shown off to their full advantage, while the waist is pulled in as tightly as desired. Morticia is so well cut and designed, that many customers find they can actually go down a size!
  

The newest underbust style, Baby, is a little 7” waist cincher designed to be worn under clothes. It's directly inspired by Christian Dior's post-war New Look fashions, and the boned waist-nippers that his models were tightly laced into to achieve that incredibly dramatic silhouette. Baby's clever cut allows the waist to be substantially reduced, but its small size makes it incredibly comfortable.
 
12:47 PM 
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Friday, October 16, 2009 
We're in the Daily Mail today!  Summer Strallen is set to play the Ooh La La girl in composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and director Jack O'Brien's new  musical Love Never Dies, which follows the Phantom from the Paris Opera across the Atlantic to Coney Island, where he calls himself Mr Y and runs the Phantasma funfair attractions.

Our Raw Silk Sophia corset in claret and Striptease Ballet knickers certainly add a little ooh la la!

10:17 AM 
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Friday, October 16, 2009 
 
Ruka makes pasties for some of the most  well known lingerie companies in the UK  (we're talking far posher than WKD here!)    and also has her own lingerie company: Sugarlesque. Ruka has recently relaunched Sugarlesque which explains why we have   had a little gap between workshops recently.
Those of you who are regular visitors to our boutique will also recognise Ruka as she also manages to find time to help us out:  she's a busy girl!

 

Sunday 1st November : make your own nipple tassels !
1-4pm, £30
Learn all the steps involved in making a pair of your very own nipple pasties, to take home and keep. Rifle through an extensive collection of sequins, feathers, ribbons, crystals and trimmings.

Sunday 6th December : make your own fascinators !
1-4pm, £45
Choose from either a mini tophat or a sinnamay hat-base to create a beautiful fascinator to take home and keep. Learn how to manipulate feathers, attach ribbons and trimmings and pick up tips and tricks for creating glamorous and individual headwear.
At both workshops you'll have access to the WKD fabrics in case you'd like to make a pair to match a corset, and also a receive a 10% What Katie Did discount voucher to spend in the boutique on the day of the class. Tea and cakes will be served.

Location : What Katie Did Boutique, 26 Portobello Green, 281 Portobello Road, London W10 5TZ
All materials inclusive

To book, please email sugar@sugarlesque.com
9:51 AM 
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Wednesday, October 14, 2009 
 
It's time for our monthly Vogue appearance (we've been lucky with items in British Vogue recently but I don't know how long it'll last!) This month's Vogue is devoted to all things thrifty and I'm looking forward to snuggling down with it as soon as I have a free evening. One of the features; Vogue Shops, More Dash Than Cash; is an A to Z on bargain hunting. L is obviously for lingerie and they say:

'The Vogue fashion team often visits whatkatiedid.com for vintage-reproduction lingerie for their shoots. We love the beautiful fifties-style satin Harlow Bullet bra, £27.50'

Thank you Vogue, we don't think it's too bad ourselves!


2:36 PM 
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Monday, October 12, 2009 
 
We're in Look magazine again this week, cover dated 12th October - the one with Angelina Jolie on the cover. I have to feel a little sorry for Brad Pitt as it seems that Look feature either Angelina or Jennifer on the cover every week, with the only respite coming from an occasional appearance from Posh or SJP! I have to admit that I haven't had a close look at the magazine yet as I was away sampling until yesterday, but the shoot features our Maitresse Bullet Bra.


I was excited to learn last week that our Glamour Longline Bra might be worn by one of the singers in Kandy Rain on X Factor. It can just be seen on the redhead, far left, in this clip. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to save them and they were the first to be voted out!


The first review of our book has just been published in Inprint magazine (which focuses on Military Vehicles!) Good news: they love the book, giving it 10 out of 10. They say:
'It gives a lot of history on what is worn underneath etc with lots of stunning photos to add. It's not a rude, top-shelf book, but a tasteful look at the lingerie of the 1940's/50's. Nothing explicit, but perhaps seductive would be a better word for it. The ladies will love it, and I bet the men will too!'
12:43 PM 
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Thursday, October 08, 2009 
 
Paris fashion week, showcasing SS10 rtw collections, has just finished. I was very much looking forward to seeing what the designers would come up with, espcially Dior, after seeing it's couture AW09 collection which was a complete 1950s lingerie fest.
 
The ready to wear collections tend to be a lot more wearable and commercial than the couture collections but Dior again featured a lot of lingerie as outerwear for SS10.
Two of my favourite outfits were the sheer orange dress over vintage style peach lingerie (try our Glamour bustier and Glamour girdle for a similar look) and black bra under sheer red (try our Maitresse bullet bra).


Jean Paul Gaultier is a well known fan of vintage lingerie. The bottle for his first perfume was inspired by his grandmother's foundation garments whilst he's also famous for designing Madonna's conical bras of the early 1990s. He has tended to go for a more 1940s look than Dior - below right (try our CC09 bra for a similar look), although I couldn't resist showing you a picture of his long peach dress with bullet bra cups - I love it!

To see more of the SS10 collections go to Style.com. I don't need to tell you 'where to get the look' but be quick as The Daily Mail featured What Katie Did early this week as Vogue's secret source for vintage style lingerie!
5:24 AM 
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