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...

And So The End Is Nigh....Zzzzzzzzzzz

Hello Friends and Readers.... I say that as though there is any of you left after I have not spoken to you in a week. I will let you know it is only because I have been involved in 12 hour work days and lots of other crazy things. For those of you wondering, I am loving London and I am loving my internship!

You may look at my title and shed a tear, for you know (after what should have been 26 days but was most likely a month and a half....) that the alphabet I have been doing will officially come to an end after this post =( BUT!!! I will be carrying on with my blog - they may have to be shorter posts, but I will try to post at least 4 times a week with interesting things such as: splurge vs. steal, get the look, interesting things I have seen in the fashion/interior design world, what I am wearing that day if it is particularly fabulous and just general things I want to report to you guys. I am also thinking of investing in a camera or taking more photos on my BB so that I can post fun pics. Hope you will all enjoy it! I may decide to do another ABC next season, but who knows where life will take me...

Interesting things coming up: Easter - the time where too few reflect on the Christian meaning of Easter; I am not particularly religious myself but I am sad when the meaning of things such as Christmas and Easter change to trying to get your warm little hands on as many presents as possible for the first and trying to get diabetes from the latter. I mean I am not afraid of a little chocolate myself and when my grandmother once told me that cocoa beans would run out and we would be left without chocolate in the world, I started a mourning period more severe than that which even Queen Victoria herself held for her late and beloved husband. So, whilst you are getting so hyped on chocolate that you start to think you can hear music and do that weird dance from the Inbetweeners movie, remember also that holidays such as this are a time to be with loved ones! Also....4 days of work, booyahhhh!! As I write this, my lovely room-mate who has offered me refuge for my next month of internship (from Chiswick to Brixton - I feel like Pretty Woman, but in reverse and with more clothes on...I get cold) is feeding me all manner of chocolate goodies whilst she makes Easter cakes for work tomorrow. I will never learn.

My birthday/the Queen's birthday - now for those of you who don't know my birthday and the Queen's REAL birthday fall on the very same day....and yet I am still waiting for my gun salute. In fact just a single party popper would be nice. It is my first birthday in this country in FOUR YEARS and so I am very excited to slip on a frothy party dress, pour my poor feet into the highest heels they can manage and wear enough rouge to make a party goer in Ibiza blush (I am guessing anyway, I mean they are too rouged to tell). I will then meet my other equally velvet lapelled, liquid silked, hair curled, haze of hairspray, shiny lipped, sparkly heeled, heaving bosomed, ID clutching little rascal of a friendship group for some, almost certainly unable to publish here, crazy times. I will no doubt be forgotten off the Queen's party list, but then she will undoubtedly be forgotten off mine. Harry is welcome, as always.

SUMMER!!!! - The best part of the year! Flip flops will become our best friends and our worst enemies....blisters are more unwelcome than Russel Brand in KP's house....and yet still more funny. Sunglasses will hide our tired little beer garden hungover eyes - those people who think they are awesome will wear Ray Ban Aviators or Wayfarers....those who are really cool will wear Oliver Peoples or a pair from Tesco. I myself LOVE Ray Ban's but wouldn't buy a mainstream pair - sheep shouldn't wear sunglasses. Bright colours, fruity cocktails and sun sun sun....well we can dream heh, I would pick yourself up a good brolly just in case.

DUH DUH DUUUUUUUUUH Z!!!!!!

Fashion Trend: Ze power of ze French.... now that my friends is the best thing I have ever written. I feel like seeing as this is my last post I want to leave you with an important message: if all else fails, dress like the French. Parisian women especially believe in tailoring to within an inch of their lives. They believe in chignons, berets, the perfect breton style dress or top, eating small portions consisting of fish and salad to keep so angular you would bruise if you bumped into them and they most of all believe in perfection. French women always take pride in what they wear - no loose hairs, no chipped nails, no lumps and bumps due to an ill fitting piece. Haute Couture is out of most of our price ranges, but the perfect fitting pair of black trousers isnt, the figure hugging LBD isnt, the way Chanel No. 5 hits the man behind you on the tube when you step off isnt...and well if you can't afford real pearls yet, there are some great fakes. What I am trying to say, is feel confident and beautiful in what you wear by taking time to think about it. Being into fashion isnt shallow, it just shows you care about your appearance. PS - for all you wondering I am thinking more Audrey Tatou and Marion Cotillard than Christina Aguilera in Lady Marmalade...


Audrey Tatou http://www.peoplestylewatch.com/people/stylewatch/gallery/0,,20304268_20671549,00.html

Marion Cotillard http://theclothingmenu.com/2010/02/jadore-these-french-fashion-icons/

Fashion Item: Everything from Zara...ever. If you read a little further you will see Zara is not my 
Store/Label and that is because it was too predictable. But, it cannot be left out. So what I thought I could do is share some great pieces with you....seriously, what else would I do with Z. For those of you who haven't been, Zara is an upmarket Mango/H&M with a HUGE range at mid level prices. Here are my current favs all available from www.zara.com


Floral Print Dress £49.99 - How Mary Katrantzou is this??!! I NEED IT!

Printed Trousers with Contrast Waist £39.99 

T-Shirt with Flared Waist £19.99

Suede Graduated Coloured Clutch £69.99

High Heel Sandal £49.99

Store or Label: Zadig & Voltaire - I have been waiting and waiting for Z so I could put Z&V as I am SO IN LOVE with them. The designs are like Winter Kate and Alexander McQueen had a love child - so floaty and so skulls on crack at the same time. I want everything, I can afford nothing. Not as terribly priced as many of the other designers, but still over £200 for t-shirts, sooooo... Here are the new things in this week that I am now going to pretend people will give me for my birthday. Do you think I can ask my great aunt to knit me a t-shirt with a skull instead of a tea cosy?!!! All items from http://www.zadig-et-voltaire.com/eu/uk/what-s-new-1/this-week.html


Cashmere Skull Tank £205

Double Ring Gaia Repossi for Z&V £475
(Also available in a cuff for £1,240 - £1,430)





Suede Clutch £220

Designer or Celebrity: Zooey Deschanel - My absolute style crush. You have to have something special to channel that sort of innocent, teacher from the 50s look. All I expect her to do is cycle on a bike with a basket whilst wearing floral 50s housewife dresses. #sochic. Sorry channeling P'Trique... For those of you who haven't been watching New Girl on channel four, you are obviously crazy...it is HILARIOUS and she wears the cutest stuff ever. Think sheer blouses with bright polka dot shorts and crazy printed tees with pastel jeans. Seeing her in something slutty would be as traumatizing as being reminded that your parents were once your age or finding out that delish strawberry creamy thing from Starbucks is infact your entire day's calories. Taking style advice from this little button therefore is not a bad idea. She looks French, she wears her hair slightly waved or in a messy chignon and has bright red vampy lipstick. Also, she is one of those rare funny and beautiful women who is obviously smart to boot. She tweets and she blogs at Hello Giggles - check her out....in all ways!!!!

Night dahhhhlings, sleep well!
xxx