KIMBERLEY LONDON SWIMWEAR LAUNCH
Years ago, a few show business powers were putting together a talk show for me. They paired me with British fashion icon David Emmanuel, who had designed Princess Di’s wedding dress, as my co-host. It was almost all set to go, and then the producer’s manager, whom I had rejected as mine a few years earlier, put the kibosh on it. He couldn’t bear to see me succeed, even if it meant he would, as well!!! But I loved getting to know David.
Some of the Kimberley London swimsuits. Photo by Karen Salkin.
So, when I was invited to an elegant fete for a new young Brit designer, this time of bathing suits, I was thrilled to pop right on over to the the aptly-named, in this case, London Hotel in West Hollywood.
We were there to meet Kimberley Garner, but I, sadly, never had that pleasure because she was always surrounded by admirers. (And my friend, Lila, and I were time-constrained that night.) But we did get to peruse her beautiful designs. I’d be proud to wear any of them (if I can even still fit into them!!!)
It was held on the Rooftop, by the pool, which was also very appropriate since we were there to view swimwear! And it was smartly planned for 6PM, when it was still light enough out to see the wares.
The crowd, looking good, but way too many are looking down at their phones! Kimberley Garner is the one in the white dress, near the very right of the snap. Photo by Karen Salkin.
A more perfectly put-together soirée I cannot imagine. Everything was beautiful: the venue, the evening spring weather, the food and beverages, the service, even the guest list! It was far from the usual crazies I see at these events. Everyone even looked good! They were wearing a variety of fashions, but the only ones that counted were the Kimberley London bathing suits on the models. They lucked-out with the lovely weather more than the rest of us did! And Kimberley herself looked adorable, so I trust her fashion sense.
I was thrilled that the invitation correctly deemed the fare to be “Afternoon Tea,” which many people don’t get right. (Nescients, and phonies, often erroneously label it “High Tea,” because they think that makes them sound classy. Wrong!) The hour was a little late for that particular repast, but the menu was spot-on.
As we entered, we were offered lovely, light non-alcoholic cranberry-lemon spritzers. (Yes, we all know that I eschew all things lemon, but these were so attractive that I had to at least try one. And it tasted so delightful that it didn’t even bother me this time!) There was also a bar set-up, in case we wanted champagne or some other beverage.
The buffet, over-looking the skyline, was stunning. It was exactly as I love afternoon tea buffets to be! And the spread was like one you’d see in an upscale magazine. The box of a beautiful tea brand I was unfamiliar with was accompanied by lemon slices, several kinds of sweeteners, including the only one that counts–honey, and pitchers of milk and cream.
Part of the Afternoon Tea buffet. Photo by Karen Salkin.
Also on the long table were three-tiered platters of scones and desserts, in the proper order of eating them. There were raisin scones with clotted cream, (which was much appreciated, even though I don’t think it was the real thing,) but they forget the jam! The sweets were lemon meringue bars, bite-size fruit tarts, madeleines, and mini chocolate-mocha cakes. Shockingly, Lila and I didn’t try any desserts! We were too full from the sandwiches and scones!
Speaking of the first course, the tray-passed finger sandwiches were absolutely delicious! Lila couldn’t get enough of the e-word salad on white bread ones, while I gobbled many chicken salad on raisin bread. They were really OMG. There was also turkey on light wheat bread, and a salmon-cucumber combo on pumpernickel. (They were smart to pass those, so guests took just a couple at a time. Otherwise, I have a feeling they would have helped themselves to many more.)
In-between all the yumminess, we got to go through the racks of Kimberley London swimsuits, some bikinis, some a form of one-piece, and all uber-sexy. There were also three models walking around in them, so we could see what they looked like on real bodies. (Well, real if you’re under twenty-five with no big body issues!)
I predict big success for Kimberley on this side of the pond. And I vow to lay off the clotted cream for a little bit, so that I can rock one of her suits myself this summer!
