as holiday season swarms over us in all its panic-inducing crazed energy, and party invites stack up along window sills, or pile up hap-hazardly on desks, or are strewn onto a coffee table, i could not help but think of Fabulous Future Me. It is certainly fun now to go to friend's terribly cliched christmas parties, and some not-so-much-friend's christmas parties (one man i have the misfortune to socialise with had a christmas party where he insisted on going as santa with three girls to be ho, ho and ho... charming, right?) the frivolity of the party season got me to thinking about Fabulous Future Me and how she will spend the party season. Will she be a champagne bubble about town, flitting from one to the other in blissful ignorance, cigarette smoke and adoring glances trailing in her wake? Or will she be a homebody, content with indian take-away for one and a jane austen adaptation, mooning over her current crush and the fine figure he cuts in cravats and top hats.
I'm not sure which she would be yet, if she would even be wholly either one or the other. perhaps a healthy mix of both? While i do love myself a good party, and going out with friends is one of my favourite pleasures, there is a limit, i feel. Even Paris Hilton herself would have to agree, non?
But in the spirit of things, i thought i would do a little post on party season dressing as dictated by Fabulous Future Me. This goes without saying, of course, but a little dress is a surefire hit, no matter the party, no matter the dress code. Glamorous can be played down by the right shoes and jewellery, and casual can always be dressed up when you have diamonds in your ears and on your fingers. it's all about the accesories, darling, as Alexandra Shulman tried to tell us all in November. They can make or break an outfit, they are the point of reference in a first impression. While we all think we gauge the clothes first, in all honesty our eyes are drawn to things that sparkle, click, and dangle.
Aside from that, the other things that matter are heel height: high as a kite, unless of course you are going with boots, in which case flat. Secondly, if wearing a skirt make it a short one, and cinch it in at the waist with a killer belt. You don't want to be cold, but then opaque tights can be a dreadful bore when you want to look glamorous. Wear a great coat to keep you warm up top and try to minimise the time spent in open air (ie, cab it home, the extra expense is worth the saved chill).
And of course, in the immortal words of the orphan girls in annie, who borrowed it off the andrews sisters in the first place, you're never fully dressed without a smile.
1. The Music Industry
[aminaka wilmot leather jacket, doc martens, acne dress, indian necklace, alexander wang clutch)
Due to the fact that you routinely interview fashionable music stars for the mag, and that when you briefly dated a rock star, something that every young champagne bubble about town must do at least once and get it out of their system, you are always invited to parties thrown by the hip young things that inhabit the industry creating music. Always bang on trend, often alamringly so, the creatures that frequent these parties are uber cool bright young things who date, are, or are the daughters of, musical talents. You like seeing them every now and then, the christmas party is one of those times, just to look and see what life could have been, had you not actually gotten a real job and knuckled down to do some work. And it gives you a chance to show some leg in a bright red and, dare i say it, festive, mini dress. It's the nature of the beast.
2. Art
[alexander mcqueen tuxedo jacket, christian louboutin shoes, yves saint laurent dress, earrings, bottega veneta clutch]
You love art. You really do. Just like any other of the creative industries it's all about expressing yourself, and that can't be wrong in any way shape or form in your books. And though you may not own a gallery or even paint pictures yourself, although by the looks of you paint-splattered YSL cocktail dress you might have, you are welcomed with open arms. Mainly because you buy a lot of paintings, but also because in you the artsy types recognise a kindred spirit, albeit one who writes about hussein chalayan instead of damien hirst. And although these parties may not be as young and pulsating with life, and it must be said, cocaine, as the music parties, they allow you a chance to have really intelligent conversation with the best and brightest of london's bourgeois.
3. Film Industry
[alexander wang jacket, bottega veneta clutch, luella ribbon prom dress, various assorted rings, burberry heels]
invited because of The Boy, but fitting in because of her personality, and the fact that she interviewed and wrote about more than half of the 'future movie stars' that go to these parties, FFM prepares for a party with the cream of london's films industry. The Boy, loathsome as the preparatory rights of that species are, is ready to go in 5 minutes are a quick shower, a dab of aftershave. He looks deliciously unkempt in a tight-fitting suit and converse. You sit languishing in front of your wardrobe. You have to look fabulous, of course, and you need a knock out dress that no-one else will have. This is the kind of moment that calls for couture, but you're not on that close terms with karl... yet. Instead you reach for the closest thing to couture in your wardrobe, a luella ribbon prom dress that you tried on at her studio after an interview, and which she sent over to you with a note saying 'you belong in this dress'. once the dress is picked all else falls into place: the slouchy alexander wang blazer for warmth, the killer burberry heels for height, and the fang ring for cool. Onwards and upwards!
4. your fabulous friend's christmas bash
[roland mouret opera coat, marchesa dress, earrings, yves saint laurent shoes]
you have many fabulous friends, although this one in particular is renowned for her near insulting level of fabulous. A model, a photographer, a stylist, successful in all manners of the word, the long term girlfriend of the most desirable (and most straight) fashion designer to come out of Central St Martin's in the past decade, you met her in your professional capacity, befriended her in your non-work related life, and love her in both. She frequently photographs the images that accompany your stories, and you frequently write about her various projects. And afterwards you go for a drink. She loves a bit of theatrics and drama, so you can't resist wearing the roland mouret opera coat, which you shed at the top of the stairs, descending to greet her in a frothy marchesa cocktail dress and sky high YSL stilletos. 'Fabulous, darling' she says with a smile, handing you a champagne flute.
5. the annual Vogue christmas party
[roksanda ilincic feathered jacket, chanel shoes, burberry dress, tiara, alexander mcqueen clutch]
the one with the most pressure, the last, but most certainly not the least; Vogue's annual christmas party for various employees, friends, and contributers. In one corner stands Tim Walker and Karen Elson, vibrant in red as always, in another Kate Moss chatting eagerly to Lucinda Chambers, in the centre of the room Plum Sykes and Alexander Mcqueen dance to the music, a little while off Roksanda Ilincic and Giles Deacon chat over a martini (her) and whisky and soda (him). You've written about them all before, and you are never intimidated, but there's something about having everyone who matters in the British, and indeed, the world's, fashion industry in the one room that just sets your nerves at end. The Editor asks you to bring the Boy, so you feel as if the only reason you fit in there at all is because you're dating someone famous. Then you smile. No matter, these people are your friends. Aiming to please as many as possible you wear the dress Christopher Bailey hand-delivered to your house, the bag Alexander McQueen gave you when you interviewed him after the A/W 08 shows, and the coat that roksanda entreated you wear to her show in london when you sat front row. When you arrive, stomach all a jitter, and feel the appraising, and then approving, eyes on you, you feel you can relax. You feel, and look fabulous. So i suppose you are! Cheers.
much love to you all! hope your christmas party season is every bit as fabulous, though perhaps not quite so expensive, as FFM's.
It's my birthday in 2 days! I can't believe it!
i'm very excited.
And all i want is a life every inch as amazing as FFM's. is that too much to ask?
X
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