The week before last I was lucky enough to be invited down to my local Joy store in The Light, Leeds for a "Very Important Party". Accompanied by the very lovely Elly & Lauren who seem to have become my gurus on all things Leeds since I moved up, we hit the store last friday evening (the 4th) for an evening of live mannequins, live bands and a free buffet. Sound good? It did to me too. So off I went!

I only really shop in Joy for gifts or homeware. I'm not sure why really. Lauren and I had a lengthy discussion about how for some reason we put the price point at much higher than it actually is and we agreed that it was probably because of the "boutique" type feel.

There were some gorgeous offerings from the A/W collection which wasn't a surprise to me as I've long admired the beautifully dressed mannequins in the Joy windows, I'd just never actually ventured to look at the price tags before. In reality the average price is no higher than say Topshop or Oasis. Gorgeous printed blouses (I've got my eye on that top hat one for payday) were around the £30 mark, with dresses for £40-50. As far as I know, the main label Joy stock Louche, isn't on the market anywhere else on the highstreet. There's something distinctly feminine about the pieces from Louche, and there's an air of some kind of British seaside-high-tea-chic about the whole thing.

I also have to say that my shopping experience in Joy was far superior to your average highstreet store. It feels more serene, more indulgent and it's just lovely to be surrounded by such delicate, pretty pieces. Being in The Light, I guess some could argue it's slightly off the beaten track (Briggate) and therefore more of a destination store as opposed to a drop-in for a browse. In my opinion though, it's definitely worth the trip. A gorgeous boutique feel but without the high price-tags and a lovely, unique collection of clothes with a girly, classic feel. Something can definitely be said for homewares and gifts too, lots of cute, interesting and funny.

More photos of the event to see over in the Flickr set.