TDB Supports Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance Charity Fashion Show

Come and see the cruise & event collection from The Dress Boutique at a charity fashion show in aid of the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance....

Saturday 28th May. Harrow Way School, Andover. 7pm.
Other local stores will also be showcasing their summer collections including Animal, Eton Brown, Cloud 9, George at Asda, La Senza, Marks and Spencer, Mooch, New Look, The Dress Botique, Torr Boutique and Ruby Shues. There will also be stalls from some of the featured companies on the night.

For tickets please contact Natalie on 07884 217 170 or Jo on 07739 022 438 or email them on joandnats@hotmail.com

Katie Scoops Price of Andover Award!

Katie Piper has won a Pride of Andover Award for Courage.



Last night over 200 people packed into the Lights Theatre for the annual Pride of Andover Awards - an evening of emotion and celebration as 14 prizes were handed out to people from all walks of life in Andover in recognition of their contribution to the community.

Also recognised was arguably the highest profile winner of a Pride of Andover Award ever... Katie Piper hit the headlines last year after waiving her right to anonymity in order to tell her story after she rebuilt her life following an horrific acid attack.

She set up her own charity this year to support burns victims and said it was wonderful to be recognised by her home town, "This award is particularly special because it is where I grew up and went to school. Ultimately, what Andover means to me is when everybody actually turned their backs on me and didn't want to be seen with me because I was disfigured it was Andover that I came home to and it was there that I was able to feel safe when I didn't really think I'd feel safe again."

Congratulations Katie!

For more information about the Katie Piper Foundation visit the website: www.katiepiperfoundation.co.uk

To donate please visit our JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/thedressboutique

LK Bennett Naomi House Fashion Show

On Thursday 21st October we are going to the LK Bennett Fashion Show in aid of Naomi House!


It's set to be a fabulous night of ‘fashionable’ entertainment to raise much needed funds for the local children's charity.

Due to the phenomenal success of this year’s Spring LK Bennett fashion show, Naomi House are organising an Autumn show.

The event will take place at the new Holiday Inn in Winchester.

Tickets are £40 and include a welcome drink on arrival, a 3 course meal, the Fashion show, a magician, a Rat Pack style singer, a goody bag, as well as hair and makeup demonstrations. There will also be some stalls – ideal for some early Christmas shopping!

To book yourself a place or a table of 10 contact Verity in fundraising on 01962 843513 or at verity.groom@naomihouse.org.uk

Wella UK are the Headline sponsors for the LK Bennett Fashion Show. The event is also supported by Box Hairdressers in Basingstoke and Bare Necessities Urban Spa in Winchester.

'At Last...' Charity Fashion Show

At Last of Andover, are hosting a Fashion Show & Gift Fair to raise funds for Stockbridge Pre-School


7.00pm-9.30pm Friday 15th October
Test Valley School, Stockbridge. Hampshire SO20 6HA

Following the success of last years event, the organisers promise a glamourous evening with over 25 quality stalls including, jewellery, handbags, gardenware, handmade chocolates, kitchenware, shoes and boots, books and pictures.

As well as the fashion show, there will be a raffle and a silent auction with some fantastic prizes up for grabs!

All proceeds go to Stockbridge Pre-School.

Entry Ticket just £3.00 (includes a glass of wine!)

Available from At Last, 91 High St, Andover SP10 1ND
Tel: 01264 335 444

or John Robinson Butchers, Hight Street, Stockbridge, SO20 6HF
Tel: 01264 810 609

Looking forward to meeting Katie Piper!

Just had to write a quick post to say how excited I am about our opening party this weekend!

As well as gathering together friends, family and business aquaintances to celebrate the launch of The Dress Boutique, I am mostly looking forward to meeting Katie Piper who is going to be our VIP guest, officially opening the new premises.

We had a mention in the Andover Advertiser this week, and hopefully we will get some coverage in the local media after the event too, so keep a look out for us...

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

LuLu x

Official Opening Party

The Dress Boutique will be holding a launch party for our friends and family in September, and a very special guest will be officially opening our new premises...

We are really please to announce that Katie Piper
will be officially opening
The Dress Boutique!

The 26-year-old former model suffered horrific burns to her face and neck after she became the victim of an acid attack orchestrated by her jealous ex-boyfriend back in March 2008. Since then she has had over 40 ground-breaking operations to rebuild her face and has tirelessly campaigned to raise awareness of her injuries and the medical care available to other burns survivors.

In July 2010 Katie launched her charity The Katie Piper Foundation. Katie feels that she’s been extremely fortunate with the life-changing treatment and support she received after her attack, so much so that she set up this foundation to improve rehabilitation facilities for burns survivors while providing a network of support and information on burns, scars and treatment, both medical and non-medical.


For more information about The Katie Piper Foundation visit their website: www.katiepiperfoundation.org.uk

For Media enquiries regarding our launch party please contact us: mail@dressboutique.co.uk or call 07881 627 411

The Dress Boutique supports the Jamie G Sporting Trust

On Saturday I had the pleasure of meeting Jacqui Gentleman, founder of the Jamie G Sporting trust, in loving memory of her son Jamie who died suddenly on 15th March 2009 from Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

Jacquie came to see me at The Dress Boutique in search for a dress to wear to the Jamie G Gala Ball on 2nd October, and to discuss ways in which I could help the charity...

Jamie was well-known in Andover for being a keen Sportsman, from a very early age he showed that he was a natural all round Sportsman...Football, Darts, Fishing, Golf, Rugby Taekwondo to name but a few. Even more importanly he approached all these sports with the same fierce but fair Sportsmanship. He enjoyed his sport, he would be the first to hold his hand out if he won or if he lost, so kind, so gentle and a true Gentleman through name and nature.

‘The Jamie G Sporting Trust has been established to preserve the memory, and reflect the personality, of Jamie Gentleman, a young, competitive, Andover sportsman, who demonstrated the highest standards of team spirit and sportsmanship.

The purpose of the Trust will be to raise funds from charitable donations and to distribute them in support of sporting activities for the young of the Andover area. The beneficiaries will be individuals, sports clubs and other sporting organisations.’

The Jamie G Sporting Trust Gala Ball will be taking place on Saturday 2nd October 2010 at The Wolversdene Club, Andover, and The Dress Boutique has agreed that for every dress hired from us for this event, we will donate £10 to the charity.

To book an appointment to find your perfect dress call Louise on Tel.07881 627411 quoting Jamie G.

JustGiving charity donation page now online!

You can now make a donation to The Katie Piper Foundation via The Dress Boutique.

We have set up a JustGiving page so that you can make donations to The Katie Piper Foundation quickly and easily online.

I will be using the page to track the amount I raise for the charity over the next year as I am planning a number of events including a charity ball, prom fair and fashion show!

Please show your support and visit our page:
www.justgiving.com/thedressboutique

Jamie G Sporting Trust Gala Ball

Saturday 2nd October 2010 - The Wolversdene Club, Andover

The Dress Boutique is in talks with the Jamie G sporting trust about supporting their 2nd Gala Ball later this year...

Watch this space for more information - coming soon!!!

The Dress Boutique supports Enham

The Enham Charity provides Choice, Control and Independence for Disabled People

From housing and employment to personal development and care, Enham delivers a wide range of essential services that provide choice and empower people to make their own decisions about their lives.

Enham is holding a Hollywood Gala style ball for their residents on Saturday 11th September 2010. The evening looks set to be great fun, with a red carpet arrival, film star lookalikes and a live performance from local band - The Torn Off Strips.

The Dress Boutique was approached by the ball organising committee to see if we could donate a couple of dresses for their residents, and we were pleased to be able to help this worth cause - much to the organisers surprise, we ended up donating an assortment of over 20 dresses along with a variety of accessories!

We hope that all the Enham residents enjoy their big night!

For more information about the charity visit their website: www.enham.org.uk

The Katie Piper Foundation Launch

But Katie Piper, from Andover, is the perfect advertisement for the groundbreaking surgery which has given her her beauty back.

Standing tall and beaming with pride, it is hard to believe that just a year ago she was disfigured and afraid to leave her house.

The 26-year-old former model suffered horrific burns to her face and neck after she became the victim of an acid attack orchestrated by her jealous ex-boyfriend.

Katie said that her ordeal has changed her view of beauty and she aims to offer non-medical advice to burns victims to build up their confidence through hairstyling, make-up and mentoring.

'Beauty used to mean to me being the person with the best figure, the prettiest person walking into a room - that's what I thought beauty was,' she said. 'But I have realised that is was nothing - it was a false and superficial view.


'I hope by sharing experiences the Katie Piper Foundation can help other disfigured people to build in confidence, to stand tall and feel beautiful too.'

The Katie Piper Foundation was set up to make a difference to burns survivors.

Katie feels that she’s been extremely fortunate with the life-changing treatment and support she received after her attack. So much so that she set up this foundation to improve rehabilitation facilities for burns survivors while providing a network of support and information on burns, scars and treatment, both medical and non-medical.

The Dress Boutique will be supporting The Katie Piper Foundation as its charity of the year.

For more information visit: www.katiepiperfoundation.org.uk

Breathtakers Charity Ball

Breathtakers would like to invite you to a fund raising evening, supporting Children with Rare Lung Disease

In association with The Mayor of Test Valley Appeal 2010/2011

Andover Keystone Masonic Hall
East Street, Andover, SP10 1EP
Saturday 18th September 2010 6.45pm – midnight
(dinner served at 7.30pm)
Tickets £37.50 each

Founded by Lynne Thompson, Breathtakers was set up to raise awareness of the lung condition Obliterative Bronchiolitis.

As the mother of a young child with this condition, Lynne set up the charity to offer vital support to families affected by Obliterative Bronchiolitis

The charity is going from strength to strength and is currently lobbying for change which will improve resources/knowledge of orphan lung disease.

Please join The Dress Boutique to raise funds for this worthy cause!

Tickets include a pre-dinner drink, three course meal and entertainment by a table magician.

There will also be a raffle and a charity auction.

For more information, please contact Lynne Thompson on 0773306 3737 or lynne@breathtakers.co.uk

Visit the charitys website: www.breathtakers.co.uk

Charity Registration 1125330

Katie Piper - An Inspiration!

After everything she has been through over the last couple of years, I was inspired by this picture of Katie Piper at the BAFTA Television Awards last night.

Katie Piper, from Andover, Hampshire, was a model and budding TV presenter with a hectic social life and a glowing future in the public eye until March 2008, In March 2008, Katie was raped, beaten and held hostage by her jealous ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch, who then hired Stefan Sylvestre to disfigure her face by throwing sulfuric acid over her. The acid attack, which blinded Katie in one eye, caused horrific burns to her face and neck so bad that doctors claimed it was theworst case of acid burns they had seen. Both Sylvestre and Lynch were arrested and are serving jail time for their crimes.

Since then, Katie has undergone more than 40 operations including pioneering surgery at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital where the surgeons removed all the skin from her face, before rebuilding it with a skin substitute and then a skin graft. The procedure was the first of its kind to be completed in a single operation. She then went on to have five intensive three-week blocks of treatment at the Centre Ster in Lamalou, France.

In 2009, Piper chose to give up her anonymity to try and increase awareness about burn victims. The Channel 4 documentary, "Katie: My Beautiful Face", was aired on 29 October 2009 as part of the Cutting Edge series, I was moved to tears as Katie talked of learning to cope with her disfigurement as well as her courageous battle to recover. Wearing a mask to protect much of her face, she vowed to get through the attack and help other victims come to terms with their injuries. She credited the daily routine of treatments, including deep tissue massage, physiotherapy, skin-softening endomology machines, hydrotherapy, silicone and pressure garments, as a key part of her recovery.

More than two years on with over 40 operations and countless treatments and therapies, Katie faces personal challenges daily but she is back in control, living her life.

Last month Katie accompanied 'Katie: My Beautiful Face' Director Jessie Versluys to the 2010BAFTA Craft Awards where she won the Breakthrough Talent prize and yesterday Katie attended the 2010 BAFTA Television Awards as the documentary was nominated again for Best Single Documentary.

I'm sure you will agree that Katie looks fantastic!
What an inspiration.