Ah, Cath Kidston, the Chintz Emporium.
They really do sell a marvellous range of flowery, nature themed, exceptionally pretty items. Of course there's all manner of bags, purses, card cases, spectacles cases, all that sort of stuff, and then there's more modern items such as earphone pouches, iPad covers, and even lanyards for your work security pass, providing a delightful juxtaposition between the old and the new.
There's a children's range - featuring items such as teeny and very cute rucksacks, hair clips and so on, and various homeware items too - towels, bed linen etc. You can buy material too, if you want to make your own Cath Kidston items, but at £20 per meter, it is pricey.
Their china is beautiful too, and makes great gifts. I bought a colleague a Cath Kidston cup and saucer in a tin once, and she was beyond delighted with it. Little sets of hand creams make good fail safe presents too. It's nice to have a little chintz in your life. I wouldn't wear the clothes - I would feel like a walking cliche - but I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who could carry it off nicely.
Today I was surprised to notice a few items that seem to be deviating from the standard Cath Kidston formula. There's a new range of china that seems to have the theme of 'how English can we possibly be'. There's a salt and pepper set - one of the shakers is a Queen's Guard Sentry, and the other is an English Bobby policeman. There's a cup and saucer that has London buses, Big Ben and other London landmarks painted on it. OK, fair enough, tourists are going to lap that right up. Now this is where it starts to get slightly odd.There's a tea/coffee pot shaped as a dog, with the dog in a 'begging' position sitting on its hind legs, so that the tea pours out of its front legs. Bit strange. But the piece de resistance is a creamer in the same style of dog, with the tail being the handle, and the mouth being the pourer - so the dog kinda vomits the cream through its mouth. It's a surprise to me that some people might like to see a vomiting dog on their tea table, but clearly I am out of touch with the latest in tea drinking fashions.
So, aside from the lovely lovely things, it's definitely worth coming in here now and then to have a wee chuckle at the more 'eccentric' items available. read more