Only a couple of days ago I blogged about how much the press loved our Padded Bullet Bra - and it's turned up again, this time in September's Vogue Paris! Real silver screen glamour is involved this time as it's worn by actress Marion Cotillard who won an Oscar for her leading roll playing Édith Piaf in La vie en rose. We've just introduced a nifty little gadget to our site: if we've had any press for a garment you'll see a 'press' tab on the right hand side of the product info card - click it and you'll see the related press pictures.

I spent last week in India working on samples in
our main factory. Normally I go alone, but this year I was joined by wholesale
manager Richard who instantly fell in love with the country (although he's still
coming to terms with the traffic which makes London rush hour look like a quiet
Sunday afternoon drive). A lot of lingerie companies make samples in the UK
before going into production overseas. We find it a lot easier to work on
samples in the actual factory that will be producing the garment, that way we're
instantly aware of any problems that might arise: and generally there are a few!
Spending time in the factories we work with also allows us to get to know
everyone and get to know the manufacturing process. It really is fascinating
seeing everything being made: it takes 6 different machines just to make a
bullet bra!

One of the most difficult things when starting a
lingerie company is finding a reliable factory: especially when you start at a
tiny scale like we did. Although initially we worked with a British factory we
had lots of quality issues (when we complained we were told our customers were
too fat, causing seams to break - as a footnote the factory is no longer in
business!) As we were so tiny no other British factory would even talk to us.
We've been working with our Indian factory for nearly 10 years and now there are
about 22 people who work on What Katie Did lingerie exclusively (a third row of
machinists to the left hand side isn't shown).

We spent our time working on our AW11 collection (which  we're keeping
under wraps a the moment) and also revamping some of our Glamour shapewear.
Richard is so excited about the new Glamour additions that instead of waiting
for the launch of our SS11 collection, he wants them out as soon as possible -
all being well by the beginning of December in time for the party season.

Our Padded Bullet Bra is featured rather prominantly in September's Vogue Russia. The shoot was styled by Katie Grand and as a dark, retro feel. Our Padded Bullet Bra is often used in shoots as it's ideal for smaller busted girls. It's been available in black for quite a while now, but recently we launched it in vintage peach.

We've been so busy preparing for the launch of our AW10 collection that we've forgotten to invite you to our little soiree! We're having a little get together in our London boutique on Sunday 5th September to celebrate the launch. There will be a 10% discount on all purchases made in the boutique on the day and refreshments will be served between 2 and 4pm. You'll also be able to pick up our brand new catalogue if you're not on our mailing list. Hope to see you there!

Where: What Katie Did boutique, 26 Portobello Green, 281 Portobello Road, London W10 5TZ

Contact: 0845 430 8943 or londonboutique@whatkatiedid.com

We're cheating a little with our press this week. The first image is a full page Jimmy Choo ad from UK Vogue (September). Clare, in our press office, noticed that the model is wearing our Glamour Longline Bra After a big debate about whether this counted as 'press' or not, we've decided it most certainly does! The second image is from UK Marie Claire (September) and features our Lulu Knickers which rather unluckily are credited to Damaris. The good new is that they're £100 cheaper than any Damaris knickers so grab yourself a bargain!

August has been extremely busy here at WKD HQ. Our Summer sale continues until the end of August, if anything grabs your fancy make sure you order it before 30th! A big thank you to everyone who came to visit us at Vintage at Goodwood. On the first day it looked as if rain might stop play, but then the sun came out and I think everyone had a lovely weekend and we're looking forward to next year when I'm sure the camping will be much improved. Behind the scenes we've been working on revamping our website (a dedicated US version will be launched in September) and are preparing for the arrival our our AW10 collection. It's all go!

A couple of months ago one of our stockists 'Pandora's Choice' got their knickers in a bit of a twist as US GQ called in some What Katie Did goodies direct from them for Mad Men actress Christina Hendricks. We rushed around to ensure they had the right sizes, but to tell you the truth I wanted to tell them not to get too excited as the vast majority of call-ins never get used. Well, it turns out that they were right to get excited as both the UK and US editions of GQ feature several pages of Christina looking very 'Joan Holloway' in our Glamour Merry Widow and Lulu Corselette!

All in all, it makes our UK September Vogue coverage more than a little weedy with just a hint of Maitresse Bullet Bra, and even less of our Harlow Bullet Bra!

It's been a crazy couple of weeks here at WKD which means that the non essentials, such as blogging, tend to be sidelined - although some of you have noticed a tiny picture of our Josephine bra in Elle, and our Antoinette corset in Diva magazine.

However busy we might be, some press just cannot be ignored, so when Italian Vogue came out with a fashion story photographed by Ellen Von Unwerth and featuring Diona Tabbers we just had to let you know.

Josephine knickers

Deco bra (yes, I know it's credited to Dolce & Gabbana but it's ours I promise! It's not online at the moment but will be in our Summer sale which starts on 2nd August.)

Kylie Minogue's new single 'All The Lovers' was released last Monday and it's accompanied by a suitably risque video in which Kylie wears some retro style lingerie you might recognise! Actually the bra and knickers aren't ours but made by a certain Mr Jean Paul Gaultier. However, our Padded Bullet Bra is very, very similar, as are our Maitresse Deep Knickers, and are a much more affordable option!

It's been super-crazy-busy here so I haven't had chance to put together a swanky blog post with pictures etc, so before it's too late I thought I'd better warn you about our grand seconds sale whichs starts on Thursday 1st July at 10am sharp.

Where?
What Katie Did boutique
26 Portobello Green
281 Portobello Road
London W10 5TZ
(0845 430 8943)

What?
What Katie Did lingerie which has minor defects, and major discounts!
bras £10
suspender belts and girdles £10
knickers £5
corselettes and Merry Widows £20
plus shop soiled corsets (sound so glam don't they?!) individually priced

Not online?
I'm afraid not. As the items are seconds you really need to see what you're buying even though the vast majority of defects are tiny.

Hope to see you there!

Katie

I've been a big fan of Viva Van Story's photography for several years now and thought I was finally going to meet her at Viva Las Vegas this year. Alas, things got a little crazy and the closest we got was when two of her glamorous assistants arrived at my hotel room to pick up a bag of WKD goodies. Viva sent over some of the pictures this week which, I'm sure you'll agree, look absolutely stunning. The model is wearing our Cabaret Morticia Corset with Harlow lingerie.

You'd be right in thinking that there is a little bit of competition between pin up photographers but I'm pleased to say that Tony Nylons (who is responsible for most of the photography on our site) is also a huge fan of Viva and has even gone so far as to put her new book on sale via his website. The book is slightly more risque than Tony's work, which should please Mr X who complained to him last week that his pictures weren't saucy enough! In case you're wondering, Amazon aren't discounting it (and currently don't even have stock) so you can support a small business without loosing out financially...