What's love got to do with it?

Whether you want to believe it or not, the festive season is well and truly nigh, and depending on who you are, that can conjure up a host of different images: a massive tree with gifts scattered at its base, the smell of cinnamon in the air everywhere you go, chestnuts roasting on an open fire (the lyrics, I'm not 100% sure I even know what a chestnut looks like...) or a couple hand-in-hand skating at an outdoor rink. Now the last one either gives you warm butterfly feelings as you know in the upcoming months that will be you, or it fills you with dread because you will once again have to make up a Bridget Jones like excuse at the Christmas party when your drunk uncle asks "still no boyfriend then poppet?" Having spoken with a few of my single friends, I asked them if they are bothered being footloose and fancy free during the season of goodwill. Most say they are too busy to be that upset, but do admit things like looking at pretty festive lights, snuggling in front of a roaring fire or having to face the entire family is just that little bit harder when alone at Christmas. And so enters extensive pre-Xmas Tinder usage.... not only are most of my friends using it (don't worry I wont out you) but they are giving out their green hearts at such a speed, you would think the Grinch has changed his mind and is now in the Valentine's Day game....

For those of you who have yet to succumb to the iPhone and don't watch the television or read any newspapers, Tinder is a phone app that allows you to see other (seemingly) single people in your area and literally like them if you think they are cute or bin them, never to be seen again, if you don't. If you both think the other is attractive, Tinder matches you and you can start chatting, if one of you doesn't, you aren't matched and no-one's feelings get hurt. Having been a keen spectator of my friends using this app and living vicariously through their dates, I have often been the one they turn-to to ask the ultimate question - what do I wear?

On a first date, an event that if procured through Tinder has been based on but 4 photographs, choice of attire is of the utmost importance. As I watched a friend try to sell me on a skirt she wanted to wear by re-living the moment in Bridesmaids where Annie tries to make them buy the cheaper dress - "It's a great colour, it's a great length, it's fun, you can twirl, you can move in it, you can spread your legs apart" - I remind her there will be no twirling or leg spreading and therefore it is not the right skirt for her. So when she says "well what IS the right thing for me" I began to think about what one should wear on a first date, and came up with a few suggestions below:

Top: At the moment I am partial to a jumper, shirt combo. Luckily, Comptoir des Cotonniers have done this gorgeous one with a detachable collar for £120. I know this may seem a little preppy, but I LOVE thin cashmere jumpers and skirts worn together. I think it gives that Zooey Deschanel look we are all trying to achieve. And this particular one would look stunning with the skirt below...
Pieris Jumper, Comptoir des Cotonniers, £120

Skirt: On a first date you want to appear feminine, NOT trashy. Skirts are a must for me for any occasion that involves a little extra effort. Leave a little to the imagination; nothing too short or too tight unless you never want to see this guy again. Wide, full skirts are flattering to all shapes and sizes, just tailor how big the flair and the length depending on your height. I love this one from Topshop because the colour is gorj and it hits just below the knee.
Heavy Crepe Full Skirt, Topshop, £60.

 

Shoes: Not too high so that you end up being taller than him, but not too low that you don't give off the max potential of your pins. Personally I don't think you can go wrong with a stand out court shoe. I would wear the below from Office with the outfit selected - so chic.

Razzle Cobalt Blue Suede, Office, £55

 

 

Bag: I always get asked, do you take a clutch or your proper bag. I would suggest large clutch, because then it could be either and doesn't make you look like you tried too hard or not hard enough. I like this one from Accessorize because it matches the shoes and I think that's cute...as does the Queen and she has impeccable taste!!

Leopard Print Clutch, Accessorize, £45

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jewellery: Choose a statement piece and run with it - don't go all big ring, big necklace, big earrings because you may get mistaken for Mr T. I love this statement necklace from Banana Republic, which will look fab under a collar of a shirt, against an LBD or on plain top.

Turquoise Statement Necklace, Banana Republic, £75

 

 

 

And as for perfume, Chanel No. 5 always.... Was there really any question?

 

I leave you with a few tips from a previous post about how to read into what one liners in a profile actual mean and how a photo can speak a thousand words.... Be careful now, there is a potential date at stake!

 

One Liners:
"I like going out with friends" = Heavy drinker
"Some college" = dropout
"I like to go to the gym 7 days a week" = Delusional/Fat/Liar/Obsessed with mirror image of self
"Musician" = Stoner
"I like to walk everywhere" = Cant afford a car
"My friends say I am a good laugh" = Your friends use you to buy rounds
"I am training to be a doctor/physicist/dolphin trainer..." - Girls dig that right?

Photos:
Photo of you in your bedroom - I have just taken this right now
Photo of you drunk - I have a drinking problem and think its cool to show you
No top on (boys...) and face not showing in profile - I look like the back end of a donkey but hope my cheese grater abs make you forget that
Posing - I think I'm Christina Aguilera/Tom Cruise
You with your ex - This is what I am looking for/I haven't always been single
You with a child - Dude been on too many dates

 

Remember, there are only 66 days until Christmas...

London? It's Not All Louis Vuitton and Little Mix.

Hello =)

I am writing to you asking that we all try a little harder to be kind to one another and just be good people. Last week in London, two people jumped under trains, I witnessed two people get arrested - one a homeless woman - I saw a man selling a popular magazine that helps the homeless, steal a mobile phone from a girl WHILST asking her to buy a copy and other acts of general disregard such as not stopping to help someone, not standing up on the tube for someone who needs to sit and even the most unnecessary crimes such as littering. I am someone who takes things like this to heart and it literally devastated me that two people jumped under trains last week because they obviously felt they had no other choice. To feel that low, alone, unhappy is the worst thing I can imagine. So tomorrow, I want you all to tell someone you love them, look people in the eye on your way to work and give them a smile, offer your seat up to someones grandma, someones pregnant wife, someones little sister and just try to make their day better. It doesn't cost anything to be nice, but most of the time it gives a HUGE reward.

For those of you who wondered what I did over the weekend - I had a wonderful time with friends exploring London, walking from place to place, taking in the sites. London is the most beautiful place when the sun shines; everything comes alive. It has got to be one of the only places that you can see a sex shop, a duck hanging in a window and a high class car dealership all within a five minute walk of one another. The best part about London though....and I know you wont be surprised when I say this....is the fashion. I have never felt so free to wear what I want without being judged and yet at the same time I have never felt like I have been judged so much for what I wear. In London if someone looks you up and down on the tube, they are usually saying "I have taken time out of my busy LDN day to look at your outfit". In other words, you either make them jealous because you look tres chic or you make them think you got dressed in the dark after doing three rounds of Speed. In London I feel more liberated to wear literally ANYTHING than I have ever felt anywhere else. I can wear a maxi skirt and feel sexy not frumpy, wear a sheer shirt with just a bra and feel sophisticated, not slutty and I can hold my head up high when I am dressed all in black, for I am a PR GIRL!! Yet at the same time, I know people look at my clothes and try to decipher me from them. Is she wearing a maxi skirt because she doesn't like her legs? Doesn't she know sheer shirts have been replaced with just sheer sleeves? All black, who does she think she is, a PR girl? Uhummm. There is a fine line between creativity and catastrophe, between tres chic and tres shi....well you get where I am going with that. I have ashamedly become one of those people who looks and judges though. I saw a woman in her 70s dressed like Coco Chanel the other day and I stared at her my whole tube home; to be that beautiful when I am her age is a dream. Milky skin contrasted with a black tweed suit with cream piping. Pristine court shoes that matched a cream bag. Gold studs in each ear which delicately balance with the perfect chignon in her hair. All in all a woman who most likely shed a tear when Primark came on the scene and doesn't understand what it means to not match your lipstick with your nails. Beauty personified. Then there is the girl opposite her - going for ballet chic but instead looks like a cracked out fairy...too much pink, too many sequins, too much tulle....

Today I wore a slate grey billowing maxi skirt with a blue/grey lace top and silver shoes. A masterpiece to some? The most boring to others. I changed but one item to go to the shops after work - from maxi to jeans - and it became a lacklustre outfit. Something one would forget in an instant. I had many nice comments about the outfit today though - showing an outfit has to be perfect in all aspects to work. Try a skirt instead of jeans tomorrow, or a blouse instead of a t-shirt and watch the comments fly in....if they are mean, don't say I didn't warn you.

PS - Saw Shrek the Musical on Saturday night - was fantastic. Go see it!!

Y

Fashion Trend: Yellow - Everything from the brightest of the bright through to the palest lemon. Yellow is the way forward. It is a colour that blonde's often find hard to wear, but with the range of yellows out there at the moment, try a few and one will fit. If you are nervous and don't want clothes in such a bright hue, grab a bag, some cute wedges or even some jewellery and make like the sun and shine!

Bra £16 Knickers £7.50 from www.marksandspencer.com
Limited Collection Chiffon Spot Set 

Marc Jacobs £610 (skirt)
Available from http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/192343

£22 Saddlebag from Accessorize
http://www.accessorize.com/en/restofworld/simple-saddle-shoulder-bag/invt/18935731/

Swarovski Yellow Ring £99
http://www.swarovski.com/

Fashion Item: You're The One Jacket - Nanette Lepore. It's just so Jackie O meets Princess Diana. I love the colour, I love the peplum (both so on trend) and I love fitted jacekets. Pair with jeans for a smart day look, team with a pencil skirt for work or throw over a gorge LBD for dinner with the one you love....it's always a good day when you are wearing Nanette!!

You're The One Jacket $448
http://www.nanettelepore.com/new-arrivals/you-re-the-one-jacket.html

Store/Label: Y-3 www.y-3store.com - You will love this stuff if you were into the sport luxe trend. It is all heeled sneakers, fancy rain coats and tennis style dresses. No-one would refuse you service at a restaurant if you turned up in any of these pieces though. In love with this Poplin Blouse which has the cut out detail which is so on trend and these luxury sport heeled sneakers.

Poplin Blouse £245
http://www.y-3store.com/item/store/Y-3/tskay/6C0705DF/rr/1/cod10/34246355DB/gender/woman/agerange/
Adult/areaid//sts/

Sukita £310

Celebrity or Designer: Yves Saint Laurent - They have designed a REVERSIBLE tote!! It is the most fabulous thing ever....it is tan on one side for those cheeky shopping trips in the day...but what's that, you don't have time to go home and change your bag before dinner??!! Never mind, this reverses and the other side is bronze!!! STOP. BEING. SO. FABULOUS. I must have one....oh wait, it's £1,320 on Net-A-Porter. I must continue to want one. This my friend, is why designers are my fav thing .... two bags for really the same price as one of their bags. Got to love 'em. Yves Saint Laurent Neo Reversible Bag £1,320 - http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/174900


Good Night everyone, remember to spread happiness tomorrow!
Becky xx