BLOG 70: Va Va VOOM!

“The more you dress up the more fun you'll have.” Brian Molko: Lead vocalist, Placebo

It used to be that dressing up is what we girls did when we were invited to attend something important. Go to the V & A and walk through hall after hall of amazing outfits British women slithered into for a day at the races, a night at the opera or a good ol’ fashioned knees up. Our capital city is rightly one of the key fashion centres of the world, inspiring women globally to get the London look. But somehow the idea that dressing up involves nothing more than a sparkly top and a pair of jeans has not left these shores since 1991.

Hello??? - Jeans and a sparkly top say… “casual with hopes of better”. COME ON… we can all do better than that. Surely if we are investing our time (and often money) on going out don’t we want it to be GREAT anymore?

Getting dressed up IS prep to a great night. It gets you in the mood, it sets the scene, it’s lets all comers know that THIS night is special. Never a truer word said than the quote I began with. The art of having a great time begins with the outfit you are wearing. Neigh on impossible to have the best night of your life dressed like a sack of spuds! Since time began mankind has gone to greet it’s most important moments in it’s most impressive outfits.

All of our best moments are marked by the outfit we wore, from our christening gown to our coffin suit… it’s all about dressing up. Just ask the Scots… you think they held back the English with just military cunning?... nah… they were made up to the nines in blue paint and darling short skirts! Ask Julia Roberts… you think her turn as Erin Brockovich was the thing we’ll remember about her Oscar win… nah, it’s the vintage Valentino that stays in our mind. But think of your own big night… wasn’t it half the fun being head-turningly glam that night?

Yes, it’s mid November… party season is upon us, and NO, jeans and a sparkly top just doesn’t cut it. I’m not saying we have to dress for the red carpet every time we go out after dark, but it’s a special time of year and we really should be making the most of it. Don’t worry you can still say “What THIS old thing?!” just make sure that what you wear between now and mid January is going to be the thing that lingers in the memory.

But it’s not just about being memorable it’s about being in a frame of mind to have fun.

I’m not a fashionista; I couldn’t tell you what leg of trouser we are supposed to be wearing this season. I find fashion rather dictatorial, it never seems to take into account that there are 8 billion women and only 8 supermodels. Fashion usually makes me feel something about me has to change. But what is so great about dressing up is that it’s not about what is in our out… it’s about what works, stands out and makes you feel good. Feeling good is the essential ingredient to having fun.

I’ve always leant towards costumiery when it comes to dressing up. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t really a girly girl growing up (see blog about my Hornby Train set!), I must have missed the day when all the other little girls were learning the subtle art of special occasion wear. Maybe it’s because I have a love of the golden age of Hollywood, that I change character when I dress up and become a role. Or maybe it’s just that I’m a big fat show off – who knows! But the first thing I do when an invite plops on the mat (or pings in my e-box) is to think… ‘Now then what am I going to wear’. It’s never just a case of pop on a frock for me… I have a whole new me to become for one evening only!

Recently I was invited to an evening where some major Hollywood players would also be present. It was a smart affair, but certainly not black tie… nor fancy dress. There was to be champagne and mingling sure, but there was also to be a lot of sitting down, so no chance of a red carpet frock… Hollywood may well have been present but this could be a jeans and sparkly top night if there ever was one.

Well maybe… if you are not Jax! I have a wardrobe that could stock a small boutique, but it wasn’t enough to just pull out something ‘nice’ and go. Oh no. Jax start thinking Hollywood looks and somehow settled on Faye Dunaway in Bonny and Clyde and decided to dress the part. Now I hasten to add that I bear little resemblance to Ms Dunaway... in fact one could say that if there was anyone on this planet I do not look like, Faye would be top of the list! But I never let such minor details bother me. It’s amazing what twelve hours and eight thousands combos will achieve, but in the end off I went in a beret, bustier, silk cardi, pencil skirt and boots. The only thing missing was the machine gun.

Funny enough, no one noticed I was ‘doing a Bonny’ but having that character in mind gave me confidence I certainly did not possess in that kind of company. Apart from getting compliments from other women (YES!!!) - standing out from the sheep in the jeans/sparkly top combo also means that the luminaries can find YOU. All I can say is I had a great night – it’s amazing the power an outfit has on a gal.

It’s not the first time I have borrowed from a character when assembling a ‘look’. I remember borrowing from Audrey Hepburn in ‘Roman Holiday’ to go to a boat party, and I’ve stolen from Monroe far too many times to talk about. Pop videos are a good inspiration (thank you Beyonce), I have even attempted a Kylie moment or two though I draw the line at doing a Britney!

One particular company Xmas party it occurred to me that Jayne Mansfield in ‘The Girl Can’t Help it’ would be the way to go. It was amazing how the all out glamour of one dress could change your career path! Used to me being one of the guys, it simply never occurred to any of my then colleague that I could be fun, daring or girly. Funny enough it hadn’t occurred to me either… but once in that knock out gown, that was exactly what I transformed into. It was impossible to down pints and arm-wrestle in that get up and there was something about the dress that made me not want to. Getting dressed up made sure that I had much more fun.

That’s the thing about getting dressed up. Sparkly top and Jeans is just too ordinary – I even see people wearing them in my local supermarket, and tell me - who wants to go on a special night wearing something someone else buys cheese in? Nah – it’s part of a special evening to slip into something special. It’s like you put the routine you and your routine cares and worries away with your routine garb. It takes thought (and in my case a whole armoury of foundation underwear!) to select a whole different look. It’s an opportunity to feel like a whole new you.

As Brian Molko, said at the quote at the top of this blog the MORE you dress up… the more fun you have. I can honestly say that slipping into a character inspired outfit really does give me a fast pass to having loads more fun. Maybe I go too far by slipping into a whole different me with the outfit. And yet somehow, me in a pair of jeans with a sparkly top isn’t as dazzling as me dressed as Mya Harrison in the Lady Marmalade video! Getting dressed up, I walk differently, I hold myself differently, I feel different – I feel “Okay… let’s go!”. I envy the generations for whom going out meant that this feeling was a given.

I know we’ve all spent a lot of time investing in the idea that it is cool to look as if you got dressed in a hurry and just threw on some old thing. But dare I say it I’m calling “TIME” on that old chestnut.

It takes a lot of work to ‘throw an event together’. Someone has to find the place, the catering, the booze, the music and work hard to build the ambience. Don’t you think they deserve more than attendees that look like they just drifted in of the streets? I think it’s a great compliment to your host to turn up looking like planning being there was a priority to you.

So like I said, TIME on the “this old thing?” that looks like it just might be exactly that. I for one have spent a joyous evening on the internet looking at fantabulous dresses at www.sexyher.co.uk . And yes I have ordered a couple of knock out head turners… coming to a party near you soon. But if you compliment me on the night of course I’ll bat my false eyelashes coyly and thank you kindly adding “what?... this ol’ thing” !

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