Making Children's Fashion Fit with Matalan

Last Friday we were invited down to Matalan Headquarters in Knowsley for a different kind of event. As well as being shown some of their latest lines in children's fashion, school wear, and accessories, we also got to meet the professional buying team and technical services staff and get an exclusive peek into their work.

We were joined by a few fellow blogger families and some Matalan staff members who had also brought their children to be part of the event.

Ben was asked to join other children in the boys fashion corner. The friendly fashion tech staff had a selection of samples in various sizes and asked the children to all dress in the the same items. They then stood in a 'line up' from smallest to biggest as the staff inspected the 'fit' of the clothing on them. It was really interesting to see how the shape of some of the clothes changed significantly as the sizes got bigger, as the Matalan ladies discussed adjustments and measurements I started to realise just how much work Matalan put in to making sure their clothes are comfortable fitting and true to size.

They were also really interested in what different brands of clothes I buy for my children and why, how the sizing differs from store to sore and what sort of styles I wouldn't consider buying. I was pleased to see how they took my feedback on board, really listening to what myself and fellow parents had to say about the clothes our children wear.

While Ben and I were chatting to the technical and design staff, my youngest daughter had taken Daddy to look at the other areas set up around the room with a section of children's footwear nightwear and accessories, She really enjoyed trying on a an array of dresses and hats and created her own personal style!

While the adults talked about boring subjects like sizes and fabric there were lots of colouring things available for the children to get creative with.

I thoroughly enjoyed the morning we spent at Matalan and found the staff really friendly, a highlight for me was seeing Elizabeth trying on her very first school uniform, I have to admit it brought a tear to my eye, I'm still getting my head around the fact that my baby starts school in September!

I'm looking forward to seeing some of the products we looked at in our local Matalan store very soon!

Family Fun at Chester Zoo #Matalanzooday

Last Sunday Matalan kindly invited us to visit Chester Zoo along with 14 blogger families for the #Matalanzooday! Rather surprisingly considering the previous week's weather the sun was shining and there was barely a cloud in the sky, a lovely start for a day out...

Thank to my husband's over enthusiastic timekeeping we actually arrived before the gate's opened at 10am so went to watch the Elephants have their breakfast, which was lovely to watch there were four generations  of the same family and Elizabeth adored the baby ones, pointing and giggling at them from her comfy perch on Daddy's shoulder's...

Soon though it was time to enter the Zoo and after watching the Elephant family come out into their enclosure, we headed towards the BUGS exhibition, which was really quite fun and interactive  although beware if you have a fear of creepy crawlies! Ben was unfazed and enjoyed having a ride on a giant ladybird!

Other #Matalanzooday bloggers soon arrived and we all met up at the chimps, it was great to see some good friends including the very lovely Sim from SimsLife and Pippa from RedRoseMummy, who we continued to explore the Zoo with.

We soon had a break for a yummy picnic lunch near the play area before going on to visit the Ape house, which had lots of delightful sights including a Mummy ape showing off her Baby to the crowds, it was lovely to watch and she was obviously so proud!

It was a really fun day out, it's been over a year since we last visited and both children were much braver and more excited this time, running about and following Bud who was the self appointed map-reader for the day!

It was loudly announced that their favourite animals were the monkey's, Giraffes and Elephants, although Ben was fascinated by feeding time at the Giant Otters too, I just wish we had battery life left to take some pictures, I guess I was too snap happy earlier on!

Prior to the day, the lovely folks at Matalan sent us some vouchers to kit the children out in their latest clothes for the day. I was spoilt for choice looking though all the lovely girls clothes but eventually decided on this pretty Chambray Dress for just £12 with the gorgeous Red Cape that was a bargain at £14, the outfit is adorable and as well as looking fabulous at the zoo, the outfit will be well used over the winter. I have to say that they boys choice was slightly lacking compared to the girl's however I soon found this shirt & Tshirt set for £7, which looked very smart with these rather funky jeans that were just £13. Two really cute and great quality outfits that I am really pleased with. How cute is that Cape? I wish they did it in my size!

I'd like to Thank Matalan and my fellow Bloggers for a great day out!

Disclaimer: Matalan kindly paid for our family to gain entry to the zoo and gifted us £40 of vouchers towards the clothes we purchased.