Sitting in the imposing Gothic shadow of Manchester Cathedral lies a hidden jewel nestled in the city’s most historic quarter: a modern tea room with a traditional twist, Proper Tea Manchester.

Picture this, if you will, rustic mid-century furniture set against a background of monochrome tiles, light bulbs hanging from strings creating a cosy, warm glow whilst only rain and excited chatter breaks the sound of Bombay Bicycle Club playing softly in the background. If I had to describe the Danish concept of hygge, then Proper Tea Manchester is the vision of it.

Gathering on a rainy Saturday afternoon, press and bloggers were welcomed to Proper Tea, Manchester, by Country Attire, to join them in celebration of 10 years of Britishness. Hailing from Manchester, company owners, The Parkers, have stayed loyal to their roots whilst providing British fashion worldwide. Greeted with a glass of Prosecco, we wasted no time in perusing their AW16 collection which features British brands such as Joules, Cambridge Satchel Company and Dr Martens.

Accompanied by Christine from The Fabulous Times, we settled for a long overdue wedding catch up over afternoon tea. If you didn’t know, Christine is one of my longest blog friends. We met on a murder mystery evening, where we spent more time chatting than taking part. We have a lot in common, which is probably why we both placed similar items from the Country Attire AW16 collection on our wishlists.

Offering the broadest tea selection in the UK, Proper Tea Manchester take pride in their distinctive tea menu (offering an ‘off piste‘ menu for the more adventurous) and aim to suit any tea obsessive’s palette. We chose to accompany our collection of cakes, scones, sandwiches and pastries with a simple Earl Grey.

>So, what items caught my eye? Undoubtedly, investment pieces that will stand the test of time. At the top of my list is The Cambridge Satchel Company’s latest release, The Poppy Bag in the delicious sounding colour of Rhubarb Red. As you can see, I didn’t hesitate in taking it for a spin around the tea rooms. Second in line, was Dr Marten’s Pandora Monk shoes which I think would be perfect for Manchester’s temperate, but often rainy, climate. And finally, that beautiful sunshine yellow Joules waterproof coat… to wear with my Dr Martens, of course!

 A huge thank you to the Parkers and the team at Country Attire for hosting a wonderful event! If you haven’t discovered Country Attire yet, you can find them here.