Yesterday I was invited along to the 'Summer of Style' event at the Market Place shopping centre in Bolton. Although I'm a proud Northerner, and supporter of local, smaller shopping destinations, I have to admit, I'd never been to Bolton, despite it being just half an hour a way! After this weekend, I will definitely be back, as I found a modern, fashionable and best of all, super instagrammable shopping centre, which has something for everyone.
Up North, we can get a bad rap when it comes to fashion, shopping and generally keeping up with our Southern friends; but after my little trip to the Market Place, I am pretty convinced we are hotter up North (not literally of course, raining and cold on this July Sunday) than ever before.
The event itself, which runs this weekend and next weekend (5/6th August) is celebrating all things style, and the centre has some super fun things for all ages to get involved with. From a magic selfie mirror (which believe me, was ahhmazing) to glitter girls making all of your sparkly hair dreams come true, and all of which are FREE! I was there to offer some style advice and to find my top summer picks in the great selection of stores (Zara, Topshop, H&M to name a few!). I will be showing you my top 5 looks next week, so stay tuned!).
To be completely honest, I wasn't expecting a lot from a small centre in Bolton. I was already comparing it to my own home town (which doesn't even have a Zara, sacrilege I know!) but even after spending a whole day there, it didn't give me enough time to experience all that the centre had to offer. The centre itself is a mixture of old and new, with stunning modern architecture, mixed with bare brickwork from the original Victorian market place. It feels different and new, and best of all, it's spacious and light so you don't feel like you're in a cattle market like some places (not mentioning any names...). The biggest surprise for me, was the basement floor called 'The Vaults' where most of the food brands are based - as you can see from the pictures, each restaurant is set under it's own arch, in a beautiful, unique setting below the shops. Throughout the basement, there are hidden art works, wine bars and even mini golf along with the children's play centre. It's just incredible how much you can fit into one place!
After tearing myself away from what I call "the most instagrammable toilets in the North West" I made my way up to the top levels of the centre. The second floor comprises of a modern airy restaurant, Starbucks and more stores, with lots of room for more! At the very top of the market place is the 9 screen cinema, which yet again consisted of more stunning art work, interior design goals and even a couple of chandeliers - my idea of heaven. Returning down to the main event, I watched a bit of Face Yoga (actually really amazing!), stopped of for some of the best pick and mix I've ever seen and then listened to the 2 lovely older gentlemen belting out some tunes!
The centre was packed, and I had such a lovely day meeting the team responsible for putting on the event, and the very lovely Cathy who showed me around and made me feel so welcome. It was definitely a huge success, and I can't wait for next weekend, when I'm there again, so if you're local, pop down and we can go and get some sassy summer outfits together!
You can find out more about the event, including times and what's on, here - and with it just a 25 minute tram journey from the city centre, it's definitely worth a visit!
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