I'm a huge fan of the Only Way is Essex (it's my guilty pleasure), so on a recent trip to Loughton I decided to pay a visit to Lydia from TOWIE's new store Bella Sorella, a retail space selling vintage clothing, cupcakes and knick knacks. Despite it being Lydia's store, on my visit (Sat)Lydia and her mum Debbie were MIA, instead it was Lydia's sister who manned the shop. I was told that Lydia and her mum would be in the following day (Sunday).
Another disappointment with the shop was how small it is compared to how it looks on screen. Most importantly the clothes on sale were clearly not vintage or modelled on vintage styles, as they are advertised to be, but typical Essex wear- short dresses and fur coats.
I have to admit I was temped by a black and white striped dresswith a peter pan collar, that is until I noticed that it was made from polyester and cost £40. Another dress in velvet, was £70, a clear mark up from the prices you would expect to pay all because owner Lydia is on tele.
The rest of the stock? the knick knacks on sale-average, rings-trashy and cupcakes nothing out of the ordinary. The highlight-the dresses with the designer price tags, modelled on garments Lydia has worn to celebrity events, nice, but let's be honest it's not like you could wear them on a night out to the Sugarhut or anything?!
I think I'll stick to watching the show!