How Do I Look?

Fashion Journalism LCF, April '10 - Brief 1


New Years Eve, weddings, birthdays - they all send a little shiver down my spine. Yes, this is partly due to excitement for all the obvious reasons, but that little shiver also stems from a slight twinge of worry. Special occasions mean special attire, and as much as I'm partial to good old knees up as the next person, can I not just celebrate in my hat and pumps?

When I lived with my parents I would never get the obligatory 'you're not going out dressed like that!' Instead my mum would always say to me - 'are you not going to wear heels with that?' or 'I think you should lose the hoody'. Now, I would never class myself as a tomboy, any person who knows me will tell you that my clothes rail reads as an A-Z of floral dresses, but can I really not wear them with my hat and pumps?

I have little flashbacks to days of living with my mother when my friends tell me off for wearing a large slouchy tote bag instead of a sophisticated handbag on a night out - I'm sorry, but they just fit more in. Who wants to fiddle with zips, buckles and little pockets when you have more important things to be doing on said night out such as drinking and smoking?

Tote bags aside, I think the main culprit is my hat. During the winter I have a great excuse for donning all kinds of knitted beauties, but now that the sun is slowly putting his hat back on, I have to quickly take mine off. I attempted to wear my hat during a trip to the park on the hottest day of the year so far, as you can imagine, I got told off.

The person doing the majority of this telling off has just recently announced her engagement. The wedding has been set for next year and she has kindly asked me to be her Maid of Honour; there's that shiver down mine spine again. Would it be silly to ask her where she stands on the hat and pumps?