Girly delights at Sassy & Boo in Tetbury

Last week I spent a day with a friend visiting the Cotswold town of Tetbury, a place that’s a shopper’s delight if you like antiques, designer clothes and gourmet food. When I was last in Bath, I visited the Sassy & Boo boutique near the Royal Crescent, so when we saw they also had a branch in Tetbury, we made it the first stop of the day.

We got chatting to the owner, Alison Townsend about her shop where she sells gorgeous, glamourous, girly stuff that will keep you going from a shopping trip around town, through a smart lunch date to an evening dinner party. Sassy & Boo is just the sort of place to visit if you’ve got a few Christmas parties to go to, or to earmark a few things (hint,hint) for your Christmas stocking.

When I started taking a closer look, I realised that the prices were very reasonable, given that the shop has an upmarket, designer feel to it. Alison told me how she’d been carefully sourcing her ‘credit crunch’ labels such as Darling, a new label from an independent London boutique, and Blank UK whose sparkly party dresses are made in India.

Sassy & Boo also stocks a stunning range of silver and gemstone jewellery which Alison has made up herself in Jaipur in India. It took her a while to find a workshop to make jewellery to the high quality she demands and after a few visits she found the right place in the backstreets of Jaipur and was reassured to find that they were also making jewellery for some other major fashion names like Jigsaw and Vinnie Day. It gives Alison and her husband a good excuse to visit the pink city a couple of times a year - now that’s the kind of job I’d like.

The shop also stocks heavy gold vintage jewellery and handbags - there seems to be a vogue for those neat little lizard and crocodile bags that your most stylish great aunt would use, in her fashionable heyday. Alison has contacts who scour the auctions and vintage fairs to bring her the best of what they find,for something unique you won’t  see anyone else wearing.

There were certainly a few little items I’ll be putting on my Christmas list and if you’re partial to a bit of understated glamour, do look in to Sassy & Boo when you’re next in Tetbury or Bath.

Sassy & Boo  Website: SassyandBoo.co.uk

16 Church St, Tetbury, GLB 8JG, Tel 01666 504 731
16 Margaret’s Buildings, Bath, BA1 2LP, Tel 01225 447938

Related articles
A day out in Tetbury in Gloucestershire
Lunch at the Priory Inn in Tetbury

See my photos of Tetbury on Flickr
See all my articles on the West Country

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Friday Photo - Swans for Red Maids Founder’s day

Today I’m joining in with the Friday photo over at Delicious Baby to bring you a photo from my travels with a story behind it.

I took this photo while sitting in a floating restaurant, having breakfast with my daughter. The occasion was the Founder’s day of her school when she and all the other pupils at Red Maids School parade through the City of Bristol to the Cathedral for a special service to commemorate the school founder, John Whitson.

We had a grand view of the swans on the river and as they swam up to the quayside, all the junior school pupils who were waiting to join the parade gathered to watch them. There’s something serene about swans on the river that draws people to them and I loved seeing these children enjoying their company and that of their friends. You can read more in my previous post about our breakfast and about Red Maids Founders day.

See all the other Friday photos at Delicious Baby here.

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A day out in Tetbury - in Gloucestershire

November can be pretty dull time between the end of the summer and the build up to Christmas, and I decided to brighten things up with a day out with a friend in Tetbury. Tetbury is in the ‘Royal’ county of Gloucestershire with Prince Charles’ country estate of Highgrove just down the road, and Princess Anne also living nearby. It’s the sort of place where well heeled Londoners have a weekend house and the picturesque cream stone buildings are filled with antique shops, yummy food shops and smart boutiques. Just the place, I thought, for a girly day out.

The morning flew by as we browsed for Chrismas presents and imagined what glamourous clothes we might buy for all those Christmas dinners and drinks parties (I wish). We scoured every corner of the many antique shops for furniture and ornaments to decorate and beautify our houses (in our imagination) and mentally consumed delicious home made, organic and locally sourced produce.  We took a gastropub lunch at The Priory where almost everything comes from local producers within a 30 mile radius of the restaurant (more of that later) and instead of pudding bought a gooey chocolate brownie from one of those artizan bakers to nibble on the way home.

If you’re visiting Tetbury , here are some of my favourite haunts;

Sassy & Boo - for glamourous but well priced girly stuff mixed in with vintage bags and jewellery.

Moloh - where the well dressed Gloucestershire gal goes for stylish clothes with an English country twist. 

Overider - for the trendy young stable hand or horsie type who hopes that Daddy will be picking up the bill - get your cowboy boots and studded belts here.

Sharland and Lewis - for painted furniture and decorative objects with a French provincial feel - think faded floral quilts and striped French linens.

The Highgrove Shop - this is probably the closest you’ll get to Prince Charles’ estate, selling produce from the Duchy Farms and the ideal place to find a gift for your host when you’re invited to all those country house parties.

Quayles - an amazing deli with all the gourmet, foodie fare you could wish for.

Cafe 53 - a young, modern cafe tucked beside the Brown & White Antique centre and just the place for coffee or a light lunch - it has a pretty courtyard garden hidden away at the back.

The Ark Angel - there are many antique emporiums in Tetbury selling furniture and decorative objects, but my favourite is The Ark Angel where they mix up things from different eras and I always find something to covet and admire.

The Priory Inn - just a few minutes from the centre this gastropub serves excellent, locally sourced bistro style food and has hotel rooms decorated in contemporary style - it’s family friendly too.

Other things to do around Tetbury
The Westonbirt Arboretum  has beautiful walks, activities and events all year round, and is just a short drive from the town of Tetbury.

Abbey House Garden in the nearby town of Malmsbury is the home of ‘the naked gardeners’ who normally dress for visitors except perhaps on their ‘clothing optional’ open days. Their beautiful gardens are open daily between March and October and you can take refreshments in their indoor/outdoor tea room.

Chavenage House is an Elizabethan Manor House near Tetbury, where a member of the family who have owned it for the last 100 years will give you a personal tour on Thursdays and Sundays between May and September.

Related posts
Lunch at The Priory Inn in Tetbury
Girly Delights at Sassy & Boo in Tetbury

Read all my West Country Articles
See my photos of Tetbury on Flickr

For more information on Tetbury, take a look at the Visit Tetbury Website

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