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On the 13th of Feb we held a Galentine’s party with Mean Mail. A few weeks previous we didn’t even know what Galentine’s was, even now we're only 90% confident... but basically it's about celebrating love for your pals instead of just focusing on romantic love, which sounded good to us.

That said, there wasn't too much strategy behind us marking the day... But we never need much convincing to host a knees up, plus we thought it would be a good opportunity to counteract some of the lame chat around this time of year - from dreams of romantic grand gestures (caught on camera of course), to the myth of prince charming providing happily ever after, to our supposed universal desire to be given 'exquisite' Pandora charms. Vicky founded Mean Mail as a direct response to being exasperated by the lack of authentic, witty cards to suit her own relationships - so we felt like we had just about enough reasons to make it happen.

But most importantly, we wanted to do something useful with the event. So we reached out to Bloody Good Period after hearing about them from the lovely Amika George who runs the Free Periods campaign. They provide menstrual supplies to asylum seekers, refugees and people who can't afford them. It's a simple solution to a problem that is all too easy to ignore when finding two quid a month for some tampons isn't something you need to plan for. We were overwhelmed by the generosity of the brands who donated to our fundraiser raffle. Please check them all out. They all made the effort to help - and we appreciate it >>> @ripostemagazine  @studio_b_fashion @paper_smiths @myfreda @daisyemerson @deloresdaywear @4thestatebooks @roserankin_ldn @sarahbaily @labasketry @skullandheart @saintaymeschocolates @tonightjosephine 

Back in party prep world, we concluded the appropriate refreshments were donuts & margaritas, naturally. The margaritas didn’t quite work out, but we had some tasty drinks donated from the guys at Kombucha and Ugly and filled the alcohol gap with love tokens for the bar and copious bottles of prosecco, so it was alright on the night. We were also delighted that Second Home wanted to work with us to host the event. We've been interested in their thinking on the future of work for some time, and also love their epic approach to design. It's a great space.

The second strand to our 'let's do something useful' ambition, was to call out some of the female-skewed Valentine's clichés and have a proper chat about why the heck we're subjected to all this rubbish. We had lofty ambitions to get a line-up of maverick, insightful and interesting women to take part in a panel discussion. And by some crazy stokes of luck, that's exactly what we did, hosting four brilliant guests that we are massive fans of, to discuss feminine stereotypes, feminism, best mates, personal heroes and more.

Our guests were:

1. Cool as hell popstar @FEMMEHQ
2. Entrepreneur, Exec Producer of WoW Festival 2017 & Chair of the Black British Business Awards @MelanieEusebe
3. Founder of the Hackney institution, Rita's Bar & Restaurant @MissyFlynn of @ritasdining
4. Body positive champ & model babe Sam Rowswell aka @FattyBoomTatty

It's hard to summarise what was covered since they shared so much interesting stuff - with candour, wit and conviction. For us, these were just some of the highlights:

• Hearing from Sam on how she's had the same five best mates since she was a kid. They have stuck together even when their lives have veered in very different directions - from Sam's more recent move from Essex to Bristol, to being a 17 year old Mum when her pals were still out raving. There were a good few belly laughs when Sam gave a couple of specific examples of how different her daily life as a new mum was to that of her teen pal's at that moment in time!
• Laughing (whilst empathetically all eye-rolling) as Melanie spoke about her frustration and the tedium of finding herself trying to tread a line when arguing against rubbish 'angry black women' clichés - all whilst feeling she couldn't allow herself to get angry (as a black women) making the case!
• Getting some strikingly honest insight from Missy on how she felt her very identity was challenged when she had to admit that Rita's wasn’t making cash, despite looking like the ultimate success on social media. She shared some of the personal journey she went on to find peace with that and look ahead to her next venture, whilst also having a deeper understand on the meaning of success for her.
• Learning more about the realities of being a young woman inside the music industry from Laura (aka FEMME). Including hearing some of the downright weird requests made of her whilst courting big labels, and the freedom and empowerment she now feels being independent, enabling her to do what she loves and be led by creativity.
• Melanie revealed how her perspective on life has changed quite a lot over the past few years. She talked us through the transition from a senior corporate role to working for herself and being led by her passions, which has led to opportunities that she couldn’t have even predicted. She reminded us that change can be scary, but it also opens up lots of new adventures.
• Sam surprised some of us by revealing that she definitely doesn’t see herself as a rebel. She told us that embracing her own bold style and sharing her body beautiful isn’t about trying to counteract more vanilla imagery. Far from it. It's simply about her being herself - and at times even taking one for the team to push herself to be that - because it's the right thing to do. She uttered some lovely words about every person have the right to take up space and to be what they are. It was right on, and powerful.
• Missy introduced us to the Feminist Business School, Sister. She said the Founder Jennifer Armbrust was a real inspiration and it has introduced her to some brilliant thinkers with diverse experiences that she otherwise may not have discovered.
• Laura shared that the pal she’ll be celebrating this Galentine’s was a friend who she values for celebrating the small successes, snapping her out of over-thinking moments when she's tempted to feel like she's not good enough - and always being straight up. Sounds like a friend we all need in our lives.
• Melanie dropped a powerful quote from the amazing Audre Lorde that got us all thinking. We’ll leave you with that, ‘If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.'

Thank you so much to all the contributors, event partners, raffle donors and everyone who joined the party, bought a raffle ticket and supported online. You can check out more photos on social media. You can also still support the cause by donating to Bloody Good Period here.

Make sure you're signed up to our newsletter here so you hear about what we're up to next - and stay in touch through all the social channels, it's always great to hear from you.

We've long mused that the thrill of putting together a 'high-five-to-self' outfit must not only be lovely for the world's eyeballs, but also great for the soul. Well, today we bring you conclusive (or at a minimum quite decent) evidence that it is definitely good for you.

The logic…

Network building - if you've ever attended an event mainly (or possibly only…) to get dressed up for the occasion - and then ended up meeting loads of nice people, you'll know what we mean. 

History swotting - these days fashion is a melting pot of trends from across the ages - all intertwined with important cultural motifs that it's important for us to homage. From the miniskirt symbolising new freedoms for women in the 60s, to the Cleopatra inspired eye liner reminding us of female leaders gone-by (whether they were a tad scary or not!). 

Muscle toning - they say it's the little efforts over time that add up. In which case, just think of the cumulative arm toning clocked up through a lifetime of bracelet wearing. And don't even get us started on the calf toning from a pair of killer heels... 

Cultural enlightenment - who can deny the multiple connections between fashion, art and science. Just think about fashion and architecture as one example. Our very own Pluralist Collection features bold earring designs inspired by postmodern architecture and evoking the spirit of the late-20th century movement of the same name. Fancy right?

Coordination skills - whether it's a two minute ponder whilst in your morning shower, or a dedicated think whilst you wrap up the day before, when on a daily basis you're considering an outfit across underwear, clothes, accessories and hair, it is undeniably good practice for multitasking, mental agility and planning!

Mental health – from embracing exciting colours, to swapping clothes with pals, to feeling totally awesome in a brilliant outfit, there are loads of ways to have fun with fashion. And as long as we don’t take it all too seriously, it can be a fantastic way to celebrate your own choices, be yourself and feel confident.  

So, what you waiting for - get hunting for fashion accessories to make you happy (not guarenteed with purchase ;) right here x

43% of all large UK firms reported having NO WOMEN at board level at all in 2015. WTF right? There have to be tonnes of reasons, but we reckon one is simply because it just doesn’t appeal enough to many mega talented women. And maybe that’s because when we think about ‘corporate success’ it so often conjures up expectations of conforming to male defined norms and culture, which let’s face it, sounds totally stifling. We’re thinking formal work wear, in-the-know jargon, hidden pay scales, fixed working practices that haven’t really changed in a hundred million years... Blah!

We reckon one way to help over-turn that outdated culture is to proactively behave in a way that better suits and represents women. What we wear is only one part, but it’s an easy one to get on board with and an important tactic because it’s so visual – and hence the most obvious way to throw a clear signal – i.e. it’s time we mixed this shit up. It’s a bit ludicrous that when it comes to defining what’s smart to wear in a corporate environment, the starting point is a dude in a grey suit. And that’s one of the reasons we set up Milk Tooth.  

We want women to feel totally amazing – and rocking a pair of statement earrings is a flexible and simple way to embrace feminine awesomeness. It's also totally rejecting any pressure to avoid standing out for fear of coming across as vacuous or conceited. It’s been interesting to see Nigerian novelist and Feminist icon Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie add her perspective as the face of No7. She says: "Feminism and femininity are not mutually exclusive. It is misogynistic to suggest that they are. Sadly, women have learnt to be ashamed and apologetic about pursuits that are seen as traditionally female, such as fashion and make-up."

In a sense, it can even be empowering in itself to wear something a little different - if it helps you challenge that unjust fear of coming across as attention-seeking by wearing something a bit fancy. Masculinity is constantly associated with flashy cars or watches and we’re taught that boldness equates to strong leadership among men, so why should women worry about being bold when it comes to fashion choices. Okay, in reality there are still certain parameters we like to play within (maybe keep the neon tube top for Sundays ;) but there’s still a whole load of flexibility we shouldn’t be afraid of (I insist that a bit of bling on a Tuesday never hurt anyone).

In this day and age, women shouldn’t need to worry about appearing irreverent if they choose to care about fashion or dress feminine. Bringing your personality to work and not feeling like we all have to fit into the same mold has got to be a good thing if we want to appeal to a broad range of customers and create a workplace that all staff thrive in, right? So let’s liberate the men up too - self expression for all! For most people (including men) it’s a total no-brainer that increasing the amount of women in senior roles is a good thing - and there’s also a tonne of evidence. We know that gender diversity increases innovation, creativity and collaboration within a company, which in turn improves financial performance and reduces negative culture and reputation risks.  

Whatever your level within a company, we can all play a role in defining the culture we want to work within. We believe that being confident in your own style, and empowering other women to do the same, whatever their choices, is one way to help re-balance the playing field.