a day in Brighton with Fat Face

Brighton is honestly one of my favourite places, and I always think how lucky we are to live so close by – we can hop in the car and as long as traffic is good, be there in just over an hour. Usually in time for breakfast!
Ali and I usually try to spend a day there every so often during the spring and summer months – Brighton with kids is great, but it’s lovely to be able to potter around the shops, wander along the pier and sit in a cafe or restaurant without having to worry about tantrums! We went a couple of weeks ago, and it was as brilliant as always; we got there around 9am, and headed straight for The Breakfast Club for one of their amazing half-English breakfasts (it would have been a full, but we were saving ourselves for lunch!) If you’ve never been there, you HAVE to go – they have all kinds of options, from traditional bacon and eggs and breakfast burritos, to healthier options such as granola, porridge and everyone’s favourite, poached eggs on toast topped with avocado.

After breakfast, we wandered down through the high street and along into the Pavillion Gardens, which are beautiful at this time of year; all the flowers are bursting into life, and the trees are full of blossom. We popped into the museum shop as well for a browse (I’ve got a real addiction to gallery and museum shops, they always have amazing books and prints!), and I bought Daisy a book on Frida Kahlo, which we’ve read most nights since. That’s my girl!

A few weeks before, the lovely people at Fat Face had got in touch, and asked if I wanted to be a part of their Washed in Happiness campaign; my first thought was, ‘I’m not really the surfer type’, because the only thing I knew about the brand was that they were associated with active wear. Then I logged onto the website, and was so surprised; there were dungarees (with and without busted knees!), pinafore dresses, loafers, chelsea boots, leather backpacks, amazing sunglasses…. so many good things!
After a bit of back and forth with the sizes (my bottom refused to cooperate…), I went into the Whitely store to try some pieces on, and it was honestly one of the best retail experiences I’ve ever had. The staff were so friendly and helpful, and really knew their stock, and the decor was amazing as well (think vintage metal trolleys, wooden floors and gorgeous fitting rooms). I ended up going for the leather rucksack, which I’ve used almost non-stop since, the busted knee dungarees and a beautiful peasant blouse (I’m mad for them at the moment, but that’s another post!) – everything is so beautifully made, and the dungarees are by far the best fitting ones I’ve come across. Their price point is great as well; the dungarees were £50, dresses are around the £35 mark, and tops are roughly £25 – the same price you’d pay in Topshop, but with much better quality!

I think the best part of the day was finally getting to go to Spider Plant Shop, which I’ve been dying to visit for months and months. It’s in the back of Flock, which is an amazing vintage shop on Sydney Street, so you really get double the joy when you go there. I was expecting it to be good, because I’d seen a few pictures online, but it was actually even better; it’s a pretty small room, but it’s absolutely full of amazing plants, cacti, succulents, pots and macrame planters. I could have stayed quite happily all afternoon, but had to make do with taking a few (hundred!) pictures and buying a string-of-pearls plant – which made me incredibly happy, because I’ve been after one for ages!

The rest of the day was taken up mostly with eating (we had our first GBK, which was deeeeelicious, and then decided on desert from Gelato Gusto) and drinking, and pottering around in the sunshine. I nipped into COS and bought (another!) striped t-shirt, and we spent a bit of time looking at books in Waterstones – the Brighton shop has the most incredible kids section, so we added to their already heaving collection. Then, home and back to the role of peacekeeper, chief cuddler and storyteller.

DISCLAIMER: Huge thanks to the lovely team at Fat Face who kindly included me in their Washed in Happiness campaign, and gifted me the clothes to review. All words and thoughts are my own, as usual.