Last night I braved a crazy/scary Cape storm to go and check out Diligo’s Summer Launch Fashion show. Now that might seem a bit strange to some… but I’m a total shopaholic dammit! And if there’s an opportunity to check out new stuff, nothing will get in my way. 
For those who have not heard of Diligo before: They’re an online fashion store, selling mainly womens fashion with a small selection of mens shirts as well. The company was actually started by two Port Elizabeth born ladies, Lauren Graham & Kimberley Wood. I have to give a “big up” to the PE people hitting it on the Cape Town scene! (gotta give my home town some love every now and again as well you know…)
OK, so to me there are 3 key things that make an event awesome:
- A goodie bag:
Goodie bag... check!
- Free drinks:
Selection of fabulous drinks... check!
- Free snacks:
Yummy savoury & sweet snacks... check!
This event did not disappoint! Nice… very very nice… Location is also of importance. We were lucky enough to be housed in one of the beautiful conference rooms at the oh-so-impressive The Bay Hotel in Camps Bay:
Front row seat... that's how I roll...
Before we got on with the main event, Dermalogica (one of the sponsors for the evening) told us about their FITE program.
FITE stands for Financial Independance Through Entrepreneurship and they help woman all over the world to start and grow their own businesses. Powered by Kiva.org (a nonprofit leader in microfinance), they provide women entrepreneurs access to small loans and business training and their aim is to help at least 25 000 women within their first 2 years of operation.
We got to watch a short video clip about the program and it really struck a cord with me, just check out some of these stats:
- women’s hands perform 66% of the world’s work, produce 50% of the world’s food and invest 90% of their income in their families…
- Yet… they bear 70% of the world’s poverty, earn only 10% of the world’s income and own only 1% of the world’s land…
Now by purchasing your favourite Dermalogica products, you can make a difference by giving these woman a real start of their own. They get a micro loan which they then use to build their business, then when they can eventually pay it back, the loan goes back to FITE who then hands out a loan to another woman in need. How’s that for “paying it forward”. 
It's so easy... buy your Dermalogica goodies, just make sure they have the FITE sleeve on. Then use the activation code inside to register your donation!
Want to be part of this amazing initiative? Register at http://joinfite.org. We were each given a card with an activation code linked to a small donation to get us started. It is really cool actually because I’ve already received an email telling me about the lady that my donation went to and what she plans on doing with it! Such a brilliant initiative…
Then it was time for the Diligo Summer fashion show to start. The show kicked off with a selection of crisp whites:
Shirt (R380) / Shorts (R420) / Skinny belt (R150) ; Cotton day dress (R850); Day dress with tassle belt (R480); Oversized clutch (R450)
Then it changed over to some lovely nudes:
Tennis dress with belt (R450); Jumpsuit (R500); Safari dress (R550)
And it finished off with some great pops of colour:
Maxi dress (R450); Jumpsuit (R650); Striped short jumpsuit (R450); Green ruffle front dress (R500)
Overall, I thought that the range definitely gives one some good summer staples. They’ve hit some of the big trends for this season without going over the top and forcing you into buying something that isn’t going to have much of a lifespan. Most of these items I predict wil likely still be fashionable for the next spring/summer season as well.
It sure did go down well with the crowd, just look at the shopping frenzy that ensued after the show:
Lots of women with those "I must have it" crazy eyes...
The new range will be available on the Diligo website (www.diligo.co.za) from Mon, 5 September. So go check it out for yourselves. They delivery country wide.
So wanna see what was inside that goodie bag?
Ta da! Check out my awesome loot... Pongracz sparkly, Lindt choccie, Katjes sweeties, Dermalogica goodies & spa discount vouchers. Yay!
Thanks so much to the Diligo girls for a fantastic evening! Mwah. And also to Jade Allen from Red Carpet Concepts, who coordinated the event. I thought everything went down flawlessly.
xxx
