Feathers, Foxes and Pumpkin
We were lucky enough to see not one, not two, but THREE Palava outfits on one family this week! Carly from Facepaint and Flavour is an old friend of Palava - back from the early days of our little company. She is a management consultant by day, as well as foodie, photographer and ‘coelactivist’ in her spare time, creating delicious inclusive food recipes, perfect for those who are gluten or dairy free. We highly recommend her wonderful website and instagram for the most mouth-watering recipes!
This week we were in for a special treat as Carly photographed her family day out to a pumpkin patch with her children Annie and Dougie. We spoke to her about her own personal style, her approach to children's fashion about what she loves about Palava!
Tell us about your personal style - what do you like to wear? What makes you feel good? What inspires you?
“Since having the children I’ve tried to show my identity a little more through what I wear. I love to dress in colour, and wear things that are a little playful or a bit different from the ordinary. I try to think carefully about what I buy and how it will fit in with the rest of my wardrobe - life’s too short for uncomfortable clothes, so if I don’t truly love it and feel my best in it, it’s not going in!”
You're a mum to two little ones. How do you approach dressing them?
“Annie (nearly 5) and Dougie (1) are both unique little characters! We live in Windsor and try to take advantage of having the Great Park on our doorstep as much as possible. We found the most amazing bounty of sweet chestnuts when we took our pictures on a walk in the Royal Estate. I blend family life with working part time in London, a food blog and photography hobby - so life is very full and colourful."
"I would like to say I have an approach to dressing them, but Annie is fiercely independent - I don’t get much say in what she wears each day! I’ve tried to encourage her to take her own path and not be worried about what other people say or think; and make sure she is comfortable."
"She had her first Palava dress for a wedding when she was still small, and has loved them ever since - the more colourful the better, yellow is best of all. Given the choice she’d wear one every day, usually paired with some artfully contrasting (or often clashing) tights and clumpy boots."
"I am very conscious of the amount of waste in children’s clothing: they grow so quickly! This means our children wear a lot of ‘pre-loved’ clothes; but I also try not to shy away from spending money on the occasional special, and well-made item, knowing that we will ‘hand it down’ in turn - it’s so nice seeing friends’ children loving our clothes just as much as we did.”
You've been a long term wearer of Palava dresses. What keeps you coming back?
“I came for the children's wear and stayed for the adult-sized dresses! Every season I say to myself I don’t have room for any more, but then spot something new I absolutely 'must have’ thanks to the beautifully illustrated prints Bryony and her team create each season - so unique and fun. If I’m honest, the deep skirt pockets play a big role in my Palava habit too - they are an absolute essential for all of the ‘mum stuff’ I carry round.”
Which pieces do you like best from our autumn collection?
“The Elsie Floral Feathers dress I wore to the pumpkin patch is just gorgeous - such a sumptuous design for Autumn. I also wore it to Harvest Festival and it and will probably be my Christmas Day outfit because it fits so beautifully and comfortably. I also have my eye on one of the ‘Rita’ dresses because Tencel is lovely and soft to wear, and I could dress up the flared skirt with a big floofy petticoat for parties.
For children the little puffin jumpers and cardigans are adorable, and the winter weight linen dresses are smart enough for special occasions, but durable enough for every day.”
Autumn is probably our favourite season at Palava! Tell us what you enjoy about the end of the year.
“Autumn is my favourite season of all! The rich colours are definitely my ‘go to’ palette, but really for me it’s all about the food: slow cooked dishes waiting for when we get home from brisk walks, sweet squashes and allotment treasures in everything from casseroles to cakes.“
We hope you enjoyed our special pumpkin themed blog! A Big thanks to Carly for these wonderful pictures.
To see more of our autumn collection for women here.
You can also shop our autumn collection for children here.
CHRISTMAS DELIVERIES
For information on deliveries in time for Christmas & extension of returns, please click HERE. Please bear in mind that Royal Mail strikes and the consequent increase in demand for other couriers will affect delivery times. We advise you to order your gifts as soon as possible to guarantee delivery in time for Christmas.
UK DELIVERIES
Free UK Standard Delivery on all orders over £90
Royal Mail, delivery usually in 2-4 days. Online tracking available.
Royal Mail. Please order by midday to guarantee your order is dispatched for next day delivery. Orders placed after 12pm may not be dispatched until the following day. Orders placed on a Friday will arrive on Monday. Online tracking available.
ADDITIONAL INFO: EU CUSTOMERS & BREXIT
EU customers: Enjoy 20% OFF orders
We know that Brexit has affected both customers and small business in the UK and EU countries, who found themselves sometimes affected by unexpected import duty taxes or customs fees.
We're pleased to announce an exclusive discount to our EU customers:
Enter code WeLoveEU upon checkout to receive 20% off on EU orders across the entire Palava range.
*Please note this discount code cannot be combined with other promo codes. Only one code can be applied at a time.
Palava products are shipped from the UK, but please keep in mind, that you or the recipient may have to pay duty and VAT upon or prior to delivery.
This differs for each country, so please check your local regulations beforehand. Each country is subject to their own laws for import of goods, taxes and duty.
You may not be charged anything, or be able to claim back any duty fees, however, we hope the 20% discount will help offset any potential Brexit related costs for our customers.
If you have problems applying the code on our website, please email hello@palava.co and we'll be happy to assist and reimburse you with the 20% off for EU orders.
FAQ
1. Will I have to pay more now for EU shipping?
No, we haven't increased our delivery fees for EU customers, despite increased costs to ship to EU countries. Instead we have absorbed the additional postage costs and staff resources for the paperwork.
2. Will I be charged for Duty/Tax by customs on arrival of my parcel?
You may be charged tax for your order on arrival by the country of destination and this is not imposed by Palava.co, these taxes are referred to as “Import Taxes”. We thus advise looking into the national taxes imposed by your country on the import of goods from UK merchants. We have seen in the past that not all international sales are subject to import duty and taxes, but that does not mean that on arrival the individual country will not impose these charges. Charges on imports are often based on the destination country, product type, product value, county of origin, and declaration of use of goods. If goods are of a low value certain countries may not impose duty charges, but we highly recommend you look into the guidance provided by the local governing body that manages your country’s imports and tax charges.
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Comments
What a lovely post and such beautiful images. I am new to Palava but will definitely be perusing the collection now.