Our Autumn Sale is now on - up to 67% off!

Those of you who have registered to receive newsletters and details of special offers from us will have received an email at the weekend to give you the heads up about our Autumn sale which started on Saturday. Even if you haven’t signed up though, you can view the sales goodies on the Offers page of our website and you will notice that quite a number of products have been reduced by up to 67%; what better excuse to go shopping! While you’re browsing the website, if you haven’t already signed up but would like to, simply add your email address to the box at the bottom of any page and we will include you when we send out newsletters and special offers in the future.

The Autumn sale features products from a wide range of categories including lightweight tops and jackets at greatly reduced prices. As well as these, with the cold snap set to draw in this week I imagine that the Knitwear category might catch your eye if you are in the process of updating your winter wardrobe. So to help you choose I thought I would highlight some of the cosiest knits in our Autumn sale.

I don’t think that you can get much cosier than cashmere on a chilly winter day. So to give you an even warmer glow, some of last winter’s cashmere pieces are now reduced…
Our Cashmere Funnel Neck is a very easy-to-wear piece which works equally well with jeans or a midi length skirt and boots;

Our Cashmere Deep V Sweater Dress is certain to keep the chill away throughout the cold season and with knitted dresses being very much on-trend this season you will also tick boxes in the style stakes . As the V neck dips quite dramatically, you might prefer to wear this over another layer for extra warmth and modesty!

Moving on from cashmere, our Donegal Coatigan is made from Donegal-spun Merino which will keep you superbly warm.  The Biscuit shade goes with just about everything too. 

As mentioned previously, there are many other products available in our Autumn sale – click here to browse our offers page.  I would fervently recommend being quick off the mark though as once they’re gone, they’re gone!

Winter is just around the corner and so is our new catalogue…

The mornings are beginning to feel cold and dark, the leaves are falling off the trees and the clocks go back at the end of the month so I think it’s fair to say that that winter is on its way. I love this time of year as for me it marks the start of cosy evenings curled up in front of the fire and an excuse to drink steaming hot chocolate in a beach café while watching the waves crashing against the rocks (I love Cornwall!).

Another reason to look forward to the end of October is that it marks the launch of our new Winter 2011 catalogue! As a company, we are continuing to grow and evolve which means that we have quite simply too many products to feature in one catalogue over the Autumn/Winter period. In fact this season we have split the Autumn/Winter range across three catalogues in total including our brand new Christmas catalogue which I will tell you more about in November.

While I can’t reveal too much about what you can find in the new Winter catalogue (I wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise!), I can exclusively show you, for the first time, what the front cover will look like…

Doesn’t Amelie look beautiful? If you think you recognise the coat, you would be correct as it is featured in our Autumn 2011 catalogue as well. It is our stunning and luxurious Hooded Toscana Coat…

At £1195 it isn’t cheap by any means but the Hooded Toscana Coat is a wonderful investment piece and I can’t tell you just how soft and flattering it is to wear; when I tried one on I really didn’t want to take it off!

We will be sending the Winter 2011 catalogue out in a few weeks’ time and you will be able to view it online as well. If you would like a copy and don’t receive it by mid-November, please get in touch by visiting the catalogue request section of our website.

We have listened to your feedback and now your favourite slouches are available in Extra Small!

We have mentioned before in our blog that we appreciate feedback from you, our customers, as it helps us to continually improve our products and the service that we provide.  You might already know about the reviews section on each product page of our website where you can read and add reviews…

If you follow us on Twitter or ‘like’ our fan page on Facebook, you might have seen our update on Friday informing you that, after listening to valuable customer feedback, some of our best-selling products are now available in an additional size; extra small (to fit size 6-8). You told us that you would love to see some of our slouchy items in a smaller size to flatter the frames of the more petite among you (lucky ladies!). While these pieces are designed to look slouchy, the extra-small size allows customers with small frames to wear them without looking swamped by the garment.

For those of you who aren’t on Twitter or Facebook, here is an overview of the styles which are now available in Extra Small…

Our Super Soft Slouch Dress is a wonderful Winter staple.  Its boxy shape means you can wear it on its own as a slouchy jumper dress or with a belt for a more tailored look.

The Henley Slouch complements even the most casual of outfits; the dainty shell buttons add a touch of detail and the Geelong yarn feels soft and luxurious against the skin.

Our ever-popular 100% Geelong V Neck Slouch has become a wardrobe staple for many of you over the years; with new shades being added this season (Dark Natural, Grey Flannel and Swansdown) as well as the new XS size, there should be something to suit all tastes and sizes.

As you might expect, our product range is continuing to evolve as we grow and we are always interested to hear feedback from you, our customers. Don’t forget we have a customer comments section on our website as well as the product review pages. While we can’t promise to please everyone, we will certainly continue to do our best!

If you would like to become a fan on Facebook click here and to follow us on Twitter, click here.

The Jumper Dress – your flexible friend for Autumn.

Flicking through the fashion pages in last weekend’s newspaper supplements it was clear that, despite last week’s heat wave, the Autumn/Winter styles are being showcased in abundance. While many of the main fashion spreads included wool coats and thick chunky knits in evocative autumnal hues of rust and burnt gold, I was most interested to see a spread in Stella Magazine on Sunday which featured jumper dresses as sophisticated day-wear. Being one of my favourite styles, I think that a jumper dress can create an easy yet different day alternative to the usual jeans and jumper at this time of year and can be easily adapted to create two different looks – dress or tunic.

I have picked out three of our current season jumper dresses which I think are ideal for this time of year when it can be hard to predict the weather and temperature. All three will provide a layer of warmth without stifling you and can be worn either as eye-catching dresses in their own right or as tunic style tops over leggings or opaque tights, depending on the temperature and occasion…

The Sleeveless Cowl Jumper Dress pictured above is ideal for warmer Autumn days.  Being sleeveless, it looks great worn as one layer or equally over a long sleeved top as Amelie has done here (she is wearing a Cashmere Roll Neck underneath).  I love the Peat colour of this jumper dress – I think it channels the trend for autumnal woody hues perfectly!        

The Reversible Cowl Dress is just as adaptable; depending how you feel, it can be worn with a slash neck or a cowl neck – two dresses in one!  The Midnight Blue shade is very easy to match with your favourite accessories too (Natalia is wearing it with a Sheepskin Bag in the image above).

The Superfine Merino Shirt Dress is a thoughtfully detailed dress with pretty buttons and a silky placket front. It creates a wonderful silhouette due to its fitted shape and waist-cinching grosgrain belt. I think this dress would work well with a pair of heeled knee-high or ankle boots for a sophisticated look. Made from 100% superfine Zque-certified merino wool it’s a truly special piece.

As the winter draws in, we have a selection of even cosier jumper dresses to pick from. To view our full range, click here.

Sheepskin for an Indian summer...

Well who would have thought it was October! Judging by the uncharacteristically warm weather over the last week, it would be easy to believe that this was still summer. I certainly wasn’t complaining at the weekend as I was able to enjoy sunbathing on the beach and even a little dip in the sea (it was possibly the last chance to do it without shivering until next spring so I had to make the most of it!).

While the sun and warmth brought a welcome change, it also gave businesses that rely on tourism an extra boost which here in Cornwall is extremely important. Our local news last night reported a £20 million addition to the tourism economy this weekend. The seaside towns were particularly busy which was lovely to see.

You might wonder how the warm weather might affect sales for companies like Celtic Sheepskin whose biggest sales period is over the colder months. Well it turns out that while the phones were inevitably a bit quieter than normal for a September Saturday, the orders were still coming in thick and fast for winter woollies and sheepskin coats! Speaking to Jo in our factory shop, plenty of customers came in during the day to try on sheepskin coats and boots (taking a break from the beach perhaps!). Jo explained the Celtic Duffle Coat was particularly popular...

It might sound like a strange concept to be buying snuggly sheepskin in such hot weather but in reality it is quite a sensible idea. Following on from a post I wrote earlier on in the year when our very own Charlotte Cole featured in Prima Magazine talking about how sheepskin can keep you cool in the summer, a sheepskin coat is the perfect addition to a warm October outfit; it will keep you comfortably warm when the sun disappears to a cool evening, allowing you to continue wearing your favourite strappy top and not shiver.

Take the Sheepskin Waterfall Jacket for example…

This stunning jacket is made from close-cropped wool which feels incredibly light for a sheepskin coat yet will ensure you stay cosy on a cool evening.

As for sheepskin boots, I doubt I’m the only person who wears them almost all year round! Again, being made from 100% sheepskin, ours are suitable to wear in all weathers and temperatures and will keep your feet feeling comfortable however warm it is. Our Classic Shortie Boots are a great option if you like to bare your legs...

We hope you have managed to make the most of the surprise heatwave too. With the clocks going back later this month I imagine it won’t be long before we are all dressed for a big freeze!

SheerLuxe.com Online Shopping Awards

We are taking the opportunity to use today’s blog post as a platform for self-promotion. We do hope you don’t mind!

Fanfares please…

We are very pleased to announce that we have been short-listed as a finalist in the Knitwear category of the Online Fashion Awards organised by SheerLuxe.com.

If you aren’t familiar with the site already, SheerLuxe.com is an interactive guide to online shopping which aims to help consumers find fine, fashionable, stylish and luxurious brands, products and designer goods available to purchase online. SheerLuxe.com contains a directory of over 1500 retailers including Celtic Sheepskin so to be short-listed as finalists is a great achievement in itself! Furthermore, it is down to you, our customers, who took the time to vote for us in the initial stages of the process so we would like to say a very sincere “thank you” to you all for flying our flag for us.

In case you are wondering why we think we should win the Best Knitwear category I’ve pulled together a few reasons why we are proud of our knitwear collection;

• Ethically-sourced products - including a certified Organic range of Merino pieces

• Pieces knitted from 100% natural yarns, which are wonderfully soft, warm, comfortable and flattering to wear

• Quality – knitwear pieces created from the highest-quality yarns and rigorously checked for quality & sizing

• Innovation - we constantly strive to bring you, our customers, new shapes, styles and yarns so that our collection continues to evolve

• Adaptability – we create pieces which can be worn throughout the year – even your lifetime - to ensure the best value per wear for you

If you would like to take part in helping us win the Best Knitwear award (and we would very much appreciate it if you could!), the next stage of the process is to complete the voting form online which is simple and quick to do. All you need to do it click on this link  and register on the log in page (if you haven’t already) and then vote for as many categories as you wish by choosing your favourite from the corresponding drop down list and click on the vote button at the bottom of the screen. For ease of reference, the image below shows where you can find us on the page…

 
The votes will be counted on 30th October and we will of course keep you updated with the results.

Fingers crossed and thank you once again from everyone at Celtic Sheepskin!

Spring/Summer 2012 preview

As most of my blog posts from the last few weeks have been about styling and wearing our Autumn/Winter collection, I thought today I would change tact and instead focus attention on a time which seems almost too far away to imagine - Spring/Summer 2012 (SS12).

With the international fashion weeks currently taking place, you might already have seen some images from the catwalk shows of New York, London or Milan where the new SS12 trends have been gracing the runways to an exuberant chorus of ‘oooh’s and ‘aaah’s and today marks the start of Paris Fashion Week. With so many fabulous designs, it can get a little confusing to decipher the key trends and styles so when I came across a helpful overview of some of the London Fashion Week shows on InStyle.co.uk I thought it was worth sharing.

Of course, my blog post wouldn’t be complete without a Celtic Sheepskin mention (it’s why you’re reading our blog after all!) so I have punctuated the images with some Celtic pieces which, as well as giving a nod towards the forecasted trends, can also be worn now…

Colour looks likely to play a bit part in SS12 as it has over the past few seasons, with the addition of pastel hues. Rather than complex busy prints, there seemed to be lots of simple colour blocking in London, with combinations of clashing colours within a palette of sweet ice cream hues;

You can create this look now with our Easy Layering collection of easy-to-wear bamboo and cotton tops which can be layered up or down to create different seasonal looks.
The Organic Cotton Short Sleeve Tee is a useful staple item which comes in Slate or - for some extra detail - Berry Stripe.

You could easily team these with a brightly coloured cardi or tailored trousers.

The next trend which stood out to me was Parka jackets and trench coats, which were worn with the female silhouette in mind, using belts (often handcrafted) to draw attention to the waist. Many were accessorised with earth tone shades including mustard (I noticed A LOT of mustard!).

You can easily channel this trend now with our Drapey Trench coat, which is as practical as it is on trend and is currently half price at £125!

The third trend which I loved was the slouchy cricket-style jumpers worn with miniskirts or tailored “cigarette leg” trousers;

I could suggest a fair few pieces of ours which would fit this trend but perhaps the most appropriate is our gorgeous (and very popular) Short Stripey Slouch…

Made from 100% single-ply Geelong lambswool, this flattering jumper is light enough to wear all year round and it would look particularly on trend with the sleeves rolled up for a preppy look seen at many London shows.

To see more images from London Fashion Week click here.