If you’re a petrol head then you probably know all about this event but even though I’m married to one, I only discovered that this event existed last year when my husband attended it with a friend. Upon his return he exclaimed with great delight that it was probably the best day of his life. Yes, that is over and above wedding day and birth of children. This guy really knows how to dig a very very big hole for himself!
Dress code
Luckily for me this year the guys decided to celebrate the anniversary of the business being set up with a jaunt to Salon Privé. “Yay!” I thought, then the panic of outfit choices set in. What the hell do you wear to a car event that’s a bit like the races but not entirely and a bit like Henley but not exactly? FFS. Of course my first port of call was to Google everything I could think of:
Salon prive dress code
What to wear to Salon Prive
Salon Prive outfits
Salon Prive ladies day
Salon Prive images search
Instagram search #salonprive
etc etc you get the picture.
Honestly I found it really difficult to nail down the dress code especially as we were attending on the saturday which is slightly less formal. But, after a tonne of research an attending I can pin point it to this – the vibe is more day-at-the-polo or Henley, but not in the royal enclosure, rather than Ascot. Hats aren’t required for Saturday which I was slightly sad about as I had the perfect hat for my outfit! I’d recommend wearing heels with a strap as walking on the grass the whole day was tricky and the risk of heels sinking and walking out of your shoes was high!
This graphic that I found during my Google frenzy is quite a good guide for girls but I’d ignore for boys:
I decide upon two final choices. A white crochet style dress from American brand Chicwish and a cream embroidered midi dress from Asos. On the day, I genuinely couldn’t decide and might have had a few too many sherries at a dinner party the night before so my lovely Instagram followers helped me with the final decision…
After lots of help, the final choice was the Asos embroidered dress!
I really adore the movement and feel of this dress and that it’s slightly risque with the see through crochet panels and deep v-back. Unfortunately you can’t wear a normal bra so I got one like this from John Lewis which is stick on. I have now worn it 4x to all sorts of occasions and it hasn’t budged however I can’t vouch for wearing it in hot conditions as they are rumoured to become slippery little suckers.
I wore it with my old faithful Boden Lille heels and some statement purple Johnny loves Rosie earrings to give the look a bit of a pop and avoid the outfit looking too weddingy. I’ve found some similar ones from here.
So, onwards to the nitty gritty of what Salon Prive is all about and why exactly it is ranked by Oliver, and now me, as one of the best days ever.
Arriving to Blenheim Palace
What an entrance. What a stunning location. What an incredible vibe.
We walked down a car-porn-lined walk way to the entrance of the ticketed enclosure…
…and were guided through to this…
Basically from the moment you enter the grounds you are surrounded by car-porn with every supercar and luxury automotive brand on tap and if you aren’t interested in cars then don’t fear as there is shopping heaven too as soon as you pass through the gates. Everything from luxury jewellery to makeup, clothing, beauty and interiors. And if you don’t like shopping then really don’t fear as from the moment we entered the main area we were handed glasses of champagne and discovered that literally wherever you go within the enclosure you can have whatever you want, wherever you want it!
Having been spoilt by the wonder that is hospitality the previous year we couldn’t do any less this year and got a table in the parade suite. The tent is located right next to the parade so every single car came along side the tent whilst the master of ceremony, which this year was Max Girardo, introduced it and discussed the spec. We got to witness all of this at incredibly close quarters whilst being served champagne and delicious food.
The atmosphere in the tent was incredibly laid back and thankfully not at all stuffy.
If you watched my Insta stories from the day then you’ll know that I basically have no chill and so did an internal freak out at realising that one of the judges was Yasmin Le Bon, who looked incredible, and another was Guy Berryman from Coldplay. Oliver was particularly excited that 5 times Le Man winner Derek Bell was one of the judges. What a driving legend and a thoroughly lovely chap.
This year is Ferrari’s 70th anniversary so the saturday was entirely dedicated to Ferrari history.
The cars were seriously phenomenal as was the quality of the food and drink and the staff were exemplary.
After taking in the cars and drinking far too much champagne and rosé we tried on diamonds at Boodles where I found a stunning necklace (but didn’t buy), decided which cars we would like to order…
…then took the helicopter to our next destination.
Jokes.
