Tart at 40 Winks: The indulgent afternoon soiree

With a gaggle of recommendations from some of our favourite fashion glossies and in-the-know blogs, the cheekily named 'Tart' has quickly established itself as one of London's must–do monthly events.

Launched in November 2009, Tart is a collaboration between celebrated interior designer David Carter, vintage pin-up queen Fleur de Guerre and Vintage Secret founder Naomi Thompson. Their mission? To serve up lashings of fun, fashion and frivolity to girls who want to channel a bygone era of style.

London has it's fair share of vintage inspired events these days, but this one comes with a twist. Not only is it hosted in the afternoon - there's a touch of faded starlet glamour at being tipsy on a Hendricks gin cocktail at 2pm- but the location is 40 Winks, London's coolest boutique hotel and the home of the flamboyant David Carter himself.

109 Mile End Road might look pretty unassuming from the outside, but behind the door of this 18th Century Queen Anne house lies a cornucopia of treasures. Every orifice of the house is dripping with style; each room decked out in sumptuous furnishings and one-off artworks. Unsurprisingly the house is frequently used as a location for high end fashion shoots and events, with photographers, models and stylists regular patrons, making events like Tart a kind of experiential fashion if you will.

We were greeted at the door by Severina, who ushered us into the pantry where the lovely Angel of the Vintage Patisserie served up some exquisite hand crafted cupcakes that looked (almost) too good to eat. As we sipped punch from delicate vintage teacups, we were introduced to professional storyteller Rachel Rose Reid,  who was about to begin her talk on Hendricks Gin cocktails. Rachel has appeared at numerous events and festivals and curates another event at 40 Winks, Bedtime Stories (we've already got our tickets for that one, and will be bringing you all the details very soon).

After we gobbled up our cake it was upstairs to the drawing room we were immediately drawn to a rail of luxe gowns and sparkling showpieces manned by a beautiful blonde by the name of Sophie Merchant. Sophie is the glamourous proprietor of The Merchant Archive , a West London vintage boutique and showroom, and judging by the pieces on display, we'll be paying a visit here very soon.

Next we went upstairs to one of the beautiful bedrooms where it was the turn of Vintage Secret to tempt us with their collection,, which included a beautiful full length velvet dressing gown with high collar. We were mightily impressed how well turned out Naomi looked despite being up all night the evening before at Tweed!

Naomi Thompson runs Vintage Secret with the help of the multi-talented Katie Antoniou, journalist, PR and stylist and one of our favourite Run Riot bloggers. Katie filled us in on her top music tip for 2010 - Gabby Young And Other Animals  - definately one for the gramophone!

In another bedroom, Lipstick And Curls  were hard at work setting hair as a group of ladies were transformed into pin curled glamourpusses. Standing by were Benefit beauty artists - we met Lisa Potter Dixon, Benefit's glamourous events manager who was initiating a former non making up wearing guest into the delights of beautifying. Lisa wears a fabulous fascinator by the lovely Uma Turan, a London based milliner whom we spotted in the living room just a few moments earlier. Uma managed to impress a number of guests with her show-stopping headpieces - we noticed quite a few of the ladies wearing her work! 

These are just some of the treats on offer at Tart - there's also palm readings, lessons in stocking wearing and even massages to indulge in. So if you want to while away your Saturday afternoon in a fantastical setting, don't miss the next one.

To ensure the ultimate luxury experience, only 25 places are available for Tart at £60 per head. Contact reservations@40winks.org