Thursday 22 October 2009

What Katie Did corsets

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.

 

Friday 16 October 2009

What Katie Did Corsets in The Daily Mail

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!

Fascinator and pastie workshops at What Katie Did

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 just 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

Wednesday 14 October 2009

What Katie Did in British Vogue

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!

 

Monday 12 October 2009

What Katie Did in Look Magazine

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!'

 

Wednesday 7 October 2009

Vintage style lingerie for SS10

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!

Thursday 1 October 2009

A mention from Gok Wan

A big kiss for Gok Wan who's been kind enough to include our Retro Seamed Stockings in his Fashion and Style page in this month's Sky Magazine.