Stars Best Shop Awards 2017
All was well, I was organised, I had ordered my dress in plenty of time and had found the perfect shoes to match (even though they were hideously uncomfortable and I knew they wouldn't be happy until they drew blood, but it was all in the name of beauty).
We had been nominated for four years running as finalist for the best shop awards, with a win in 2016 for "Excellence and Outstanding Achievement" by public vote. Our lovely customers had voted for us with vigour, we had a victory over the likes of Rigby and Peller and Fenwicks of Bond Street! This year we were finalists for the "Special Care Recognition" award for our work with post surgery ladies.
Special Care, lets just say it, BREAST CANCER! Horrible, horrible, horrible and continues to effect ladies from all walks of life. Our days are filled fitting ladies facing an uncertain future, we help to guide ladies through an area of bras I hope I never have to face myself.
We have ladies visiting us that are just about holding it together; they take a deep breath and need us to be brave too. We also have ladies that break down, we stand together in a tight embrace whilst she is allowed to sob her heart out. Its ok, there isn't a set rule, each and every lady is different. We have tissues and we have time to care, my little shop is a safe place to come and you can cry (and I will cry with you), you can melt down, you can be brave (and I will try to be brave too), you can be what you need to be.
We have ladies visiting us that are just about holding it together; they take a deep breath and need us to be brave too. We also have ladies that break down, we stand together in a tight embrace whilst she is allowed to sob her heart out. Its ok, there isn't a set rule, each and every lady is different. We have tissues and we have time to care, my little shop is a safe place to come and you can cry (and I will cry with you), you can melt down, you can be brave (and I will try to be brave too), you can be what you need to be.
Over the years my staff and I have been honoured to help so many ladies pre and post surgery, it was decided we would like to raise as much awareness as possible. We contacted the nice people at Coppafeel, a charity that raises awareness of breast cancer by way of checking your boobs regularly. With fun and innovative ideas, cheeky slogans and visual reminders with stickers for the shower and swing tickets on lingerie. We also felt the need to do something, so we entered ourselves into the London Moonwalk 2017. We raised awareness and funds in the shop by selling pin badges, they became a talking point, giving us a platform to talk about breast cancer and the importance of checking your boobs regularly.
We took to pounding the streets and training for our walk, wearing T-Shirts with bras printed on them and bright pink hats, tweeting our photos and generally looking a little odd on a Friday night (nothing glam about sweaty women in leggings and trainers on a Friday night). We wore our T-shirts at work, with heals and a pencil skirt to ensure we looked half decent for work!
The Moonwalk itself came around, we had a great night, walking with thousands of other ladies (and a few gents) all for the same cause. Raising much needed funds. If you ever want to join something amazing, do it! All the info is here and its really easy to sign up, get your friends involved and get the best bum and legs you've had in years! https://www.walkthewalk.org
Back to the fabulous dress......it didn't arrive......a girls worst nightmare! I couldn't possibly wear something I had previously worn, thats just ludicrous and was never going to happen. I had no other choice but to go to a red carpet event in my slippers and PJ's, I love a good drama surrounding a dress but the drama had stopped being entertaining, it had become an uneasy feeling lodged in my chest. I dashed from one shop to the next, I tried on a fabulous Union Jack dress at Caroline Chamberline, but I didn't have time for the surgery to remove some ribs for me to zip it up. http://www.carolinechamberlain.co.uk/Union%20Jack%20Dress
I packed my case whilst having a mini melt down, by this point I had started shouting at my husband (obviously, we've been married for a millennia and knows his role is to say "yes dear" to all of my dress melt down rants). My case was very light; it contained a nude thong, an enormous pair of hold it all in knickers, a black push-up bra and a pack of sticky bras. Non of which were attractive but if I had any chance of getting sorted, this battle armour was definitely required. https://www.clairewoodall.com/womens-lingerie/bra-solutions
I trawled the usual haunts in London, I was swallowed up in Topshop, not knowing what floor I was on or how to get out. I was no longer in a good mood at this point, I was sweating and my hair had taken on a Worzel Gummidge look (if your too young to know this character, look it up on FaceTube).
Then a beacon of light appeared in front of me and I could almost feel my credit card wincing in my purse. It was going to be painful and the type of shop you always tell your husband "it was in the sale". The kind ladies clearly took pity on me, they sat my weary husband down and placed a bucket of chocolate in his arms, a glass of something chilled and fizzy in my hand. It was going to be ok, the very kind ladies had clearly seen the likes of me before. They set about their work, fetching dresses, shoes, bags and more food and water for the weary husband. It was all going well, I felt Aunty Gok was with me in spirit.
45 minutes later, the kind ladies were steaming my dress for me. My husband was paying for the beautiful collection of sparkly things I had acquired whilst I distracted him with "Thats good, the dress is a sale dress". Thank goodness I had unearthed the nude thong from the depths of my drawer and the scary looking sticky bras.
We arrived at The Shakespeare Underglobe, a red carpet outside, the Oscars of the Lingerie Industry! Lots of photos on arrival, before you spill anything down your frock and your lipstick in still in place. Wedding day smiles are everywhere, lots of air kissing is happening, lingerie life is very kissy and full of "darlings" mainly because its tricky remembering everyones name.
Our meals were served, another nightmare was about to happen. The fabulous new dress was white, the starter that arrived was beetroot, this was going to end badly. My tummy was rumbling, do I eat it and risk the springy, curly lettuce covered in BEETROOT breaking free from the confines of my plate onto my lap or do I stave? Seriously, anyone that knows me knows I am always hungry, like "have you got worms?" hungry. Phew, I made it through the starter (if you are a chef, have a word with yourself, beetroot is not a good food for people dressed up), the main course arrived, yep more dark food, I had to eat my dinner without gravy this evening as my nerves hadn't recovered from the beetroot starter. Yum, pudding was just around the corner (desert if you live down South), to my horror, it was a dark chocolate pudding with dark chocolate sauce and brown ice-cream. Could I make it through 3 courses of the most beautiful food that shouldn't ever be in the same room as a white dress?
The awards began, I didn't for one minute expect to win my category. I know so many great independent bra shops doing such brilliant work, I aspire to be as great. Our award came up and my name was announced with the addition of "its a good job she got a dress", my husband had already turfed his jacket and his bowtie had gone adrift. Quickly we straightened our attire and hot footed it to the stage, I squeezed Jemma (probably a little too hard) and the guest celebrity comedian I still have no idea of his name and a German doctor with vigour, I did a little happy dance and then my best pose and cheesiest smile for the camera.
WOWZERS! Our second win in as many years, we had another trophy to find a place for (and dust). We are a little shop with a big heart in the centre of a great community, being the winner of this award is not about the glitz and glamour of a fancy sparkly shop but about how you go about your business with your lovely customers. It means the world to the girls and I, it really gives us a sense of pride that our work has been recognised as first class.
We all continue to work hard, we will feel pride in our work and we will always care about all of our ladies.
Claire..xx
.....and the other dress, it still hasn't arrived!
Award presentation from Anita UK
Me and my lovely husband.xx
