I Heart John Lewis

I remember overhearing a conversation about twenty five years ago. It stuck with me.

Woman One - 'I don't go to John Lewis, it's too expensive'

Woman Two - 'They're never knowingly undersold so they can't be too expensive. John Lewis isn't a market you know'.

Well said, woman Two.

I have always shopped at John Lewis. They are still never knowingly undersold. Their customer service is second to none. They sell (almost) everything. Whenever I need anything, my local John Lewis store or Johnlewis.com is where I go first.

Recently John Lewis invited bloggers to the launch of their Autumn/Winter and Christmas ranges. 

I don't normally accept invitations to events as they are usually in London and I would have to ask my husband to take the day off work to look after Presley and Cash (two toddlers and public transport do not mix). When John Lewis invited me, however, I had to say yes. Immediately.

The launch was held at One Marylebone, an impressive listed former church. I knew I'd found the right place when I saw a snow machine outside and Christmas trees in the entrance.

I was welcomed by John Lewis PR and PR agency Cohn & Wolfe. I was given a Flip Mino HD video camera - to keep - and taken on tours of the various departments they had created in the building. Buyers walked and talked us through fashion, home, electronics, toys and gifts. I was in shopping Heaven.

As well as their own  range of clothes, John Lewis are featuring up to the minute designers too. I could seriously take up dieting to fit into the stunning Celia Birtwell bird print dresses or the Mint Velvet lingerie. I loved the Barbour jackets with lining from English Eccentrics. I adored the Russian peasant look. In fact, even as a non-fashionista, I loved it all!

I could have moved into the home section. I must have zillion thread-count cotton sheets from now on. The Alegra bedspread caught everyone's eye. For just £60 you can have this on your bed (cushions are extra):

The toys were mostly traditional, a good thing in my book. The toy buyer was interested in what my children like to play with. I particularly liked these for Santa's sacks this year:

Thank you to John Lewis for inviting bloggers to your launch. As you can see from this photograph we enjoyed it, it was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones:

Photo credit: The lovely Emma at Adventures of an English Mum

I love John Lewis even more since they gave me a bag full of goodies to take home. It looks like I've started my Christmas shopping already.

The press pack I was given is my favourite new shopping porn bible, it even contains gorgeous wallpaper samples. 

Here are a few images to get you in the mood for Christmas... in July:

Acrylic reindeer, £16

Snowy Pine pre-lit Paper Tree £85

Frosty Glass Birds, pack of 2 for £4

Save the Children Charity Crackers, £10

 

Ladybird "Things to make" activity kit, £12

Fuzzy Felt Fridge Magnets, £7.95

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