I meant to post a picture of our boutique window a couple of weeks ago but it's lucky I didn't get around to it as the run up to Halloween has been rather frantic. I think the residents of Notting Hill are a theatrical bunch who love getting dressed up in corsets for the big night... or maybe they just like our black cat. From tomorrow, we should be back to our relaxed selves and you'll be able to shop in comfort, aided by our extremely knowledgeable staff. If you want to know more about our boutique, watch this space, as they will be posting their own shoptalk news soon.

We usually get a couple of call-ins from The X Factor and I was just thinking that we hadn't heard from them this year, when sure enough, they called in some of our corsets. Girlband Belle Amie looked stunning in our Cabaret Sheer Mortica and Baby corsets (both in peach). I held a press day a couple of weeks ago to show stylists how to fit a corset and what it should look like and it looks like it's paid off. Although the Baby was slightly too big (or not laced tight enough) both of the girls had clearly defined and obviously corseted waistlines, whilst they were still able to sing live. A job well done!

I had an email out of the blue from model Sabina Kelley this week. She's just launched her 2011 pin up calendar and one of the shots features Sabina in our (alas, discontinued) Dorothy lingerie and corset. I wasn't aware that we were going to be featured in her next calendar so it's a really nice surprise. We're not doing a What Katie Did calendar for 2011, so highly recommend Sabina's instead! It costs $20 if you're shipping within the US, or $27 if you're shipping outside the US.

If you haven't anything planned for Halloween and want something a little more glamorous than the standard witches and wizards we urge you to take a trip to 'Don't Dally with the Devil' which takes place on Saturday 30th October at The Fox - a hop, skip and little jump from Old St station, London.

Featuring:

Albert Ball's Flying Aces
- Originally formed in 1916 by the aviators of 266 Squadron RFC, to relieve the stress and horror of their daily aerial dog-fights
high above the trenches, this splendid 7-piece band plays early jazz and a repertoire of French, German,
American and British songs of the time - music which epitomises the spirit of that lost generation.

Scandalous Poetry - Dirty verses will be read in a suitably sultry fashion by Tallulah Tempest and Emerald Fontaine,
culminating in a special burlesque performance by Emerald herself.

MC Fruity Hatfield-Peverel
- Our devilish DJ for the night will be playing a selection of spooky tunes and good old-fashioned dance band music,
guaranteed to get your feet tapping.

And we're very excited to say we'll also be featuring...

The Extraordinary Absinthe Fountain
- Courtesy of our friends at Pernod Ricard, we will be offering FREE ABSINTHE from our upstairs Green Fairy Bar between 8.30pm and 9.30pm. Absinthe will be served in the traditional way, using sugar and ice water dripped from a glass fountain, which is as elegant as it is unhurried... so arrive early to avoid disappointment! You will, of course, be able to buy glasses of absinthe, and participate in the ritual all through the night, but the free drinks will be available for only a short time. We're delighted to say, though, that we will have subsidised cocktails available throughout the evening.

Dress Code:

Anything goes, as long as it's peculiar and old-fashioned! Victorian Steampunks, WWI soldiers and aviators, Cabaret Voltaire performers, Dadaists, surreal artists & their muses, elegant & otherworldly creatures. Vintage outfits from the 1920s to the 1960s are all welcome.

We have an upstairs smoking terrace, so pipes, not-pipes and lobster telephones are all welcome.

Click here for all the info.

I have to say we were rather disappointed on Sunday as our Padded Bullet Bra was on the cover of NOTW's Fabulous magazine: uncredited!!! Oh dear, these things happen. It was a fabulous picture anyway (you can see it by clicking the 'press' tab by the product description). However, our excitement levels returned when Cara received a telephone call from New York asking which of our garter belts was featured in New York Times. New York Times! Here it is:

From referring to the call-in sheet it's our Maitresse Suspender Belt, but we are credited in another picture which has a skirt pulled tightly over the straps which make it look more like a girdle - so if this is the look you're after our Glamour Girdle might be more suitable.

Yesterday we held a corset press day in our London boutique and spent our time lacing stylists tightly into corsets. It was great fun, but I'm rather concerned for the models they'll be lacing in as apparently we go a lot tighter than the stylists ever would - until now!

Angel from Vintage Patisserie was kind enough to send us some What Katie Did corset themed cakes and chocolates to keep our energy levels up. For those of you who aren't fans of Dragons Den, Angel gained backing from them earlier this year and had her follow up story shown last Sunday (you can view her original pitch o the Dragons Den site here). For those of us who have been following her story it's been a very exciting time and we can't wait to see what happens next! Over the last three years she's been supplying cakes and chocolates, along with glamorous vintage hostesses (that sounds a bit saucy doesn't it!) at various corporate and private events, on of which is 'Tart at 40 Winks' which I've been to a few times this year and always seems to be packed full of inspirational women.  One of her clever little tricks is to print messages and images onto cakes and chocolates (as seen below)and now you can upload your own artwork on her website to be printed on cupcakes and chocolates which are then delivered anywhere in the UK. It's a fabulous idea for birthdays and other special events.

Oh, I'm so silly, I nearly forgot. Now, I know what you're thinking: why is she telling us all about this lovely stuff as we weren't even invited to the press day? Well, the good news is that we have reserved lots of chocolates for this weekend so if you visit our boutique on Saturday or Sunday (or if it's a quiet weekend, maybe even Monday) you'll be able to try some for yourself.

You might be surprised to learn that whilst we work in a so called glamorous industry, we generally don't get to spend our days drinking gin and eating cupcakes. Of course, there's always an exception, and last Wednesday I headed up to Hendrick's Horseless carriage who moved their train carriage, car, bar and bathtub (!) into a disused petrol station as part of national cocktail week. It was extremely cold that day, and despite everyone starting slowly: 'just a small one please', to 'oh, I'll try one of those too!' I was given a few cocktail recipes on the day, but have to admit that everything was a little fuzzy by that time, so I swotted up at Tart's Hendricks masterclass which
conveniently took place a few days later.

Let to right,

Notorious Kitsch, Katie,

Retro Chick

When driving old cars it's always
a good idea to have emergency supplies in case of break downs.

We're looking into the future now, as our padded bullet bra is going to be on the cover of next Sunday's Fabulous magazine (17th October). I don't know if we've got anything inside the magazine but Coronation Street actress Katherine Kelly is certainly vamping it up on the cover!

Last week the press were crazy for our Hollywood range, this week it looks like our cheetah print Josephine lingerie is the hot favourite. We were extremely lucky to have it featured in Sunday Times Style magazine last Sunday.

Our Swiss Dot lingerie was featured in The Daily Mail yesterday as part of a 'Fab Fifties Lingerie' feature. We still get excited to see our lingerie featured amongst all the big brands! It's our first press coverage for Swiss Dot, but I'm sure it won't be the last!