This weekend started as Mancunian August weekends often do....with a monsoon! But fear not, this did not stop me from hitting the town to tackle my first real blog dilemma. A little while ago I was sent a most lovely invitation to a party, a 30th party nonetheless. Only one month into the year this should have posed no problem for me, however .....this invitation had a little twist. It was masquerade. Now, I am never one to shirk a fancy dress occasion, I love the opportunity to reinvent myself be it as Wonderwoman, Wilma, Cupid or indeed a Poddington Pea.
I grant you that masquerade is slightly more classy than dressing oneself in cushions wrapped in green lycra and drinking wkd blue, but nevertheless fancy dress is fancy dress and a competition is a competition. I therefore found myself plunged into what can only be described as a desperate quandary. I used to have a beautiful mask but at it's first and only outing I had a little too much fun and I fell asleep on it, ruining it's refined beauty and rendering it useless. As such I was left with somewhat of a dilemma, how could I partake in the party theme without a mask.......I had a little brainstorm with myself and I happened upon a plan.
I am not allowed to buy clothes but I am allowed to buy makeup, so what if I were to paint a mask on myself? This seemed an excellent approach and so I set out on Saturday morning with Bambi my trusty shopping comrade beside me to scour the shops for some hardcore glittery fayre. Following a brief interlude in which we actually met the real life Peter Rabbit (shock: see below) we headed off to Boots for some serious beauty retail.
After wandering aimlessly near some Barry M glitter in terrifying hues, Bambi remembered about Urban Decay; bless her organised cotton socks. They have rather upped their game and as if by magic I was met by not only a manned unit but by wonderfully well versed male beautician skilled in extreme makeup looks. He bought wholeheartedly into the idea of dramatic makeup, although when I explained about my blog I was momentarily concerned he may faint in shock at the absurdity of the task I have set myself. Anyway he successfully sold me most of the shop and I trotted off home to paint a masterpiece that Pat McGrath would be proud of.
Two hours and considerable layers of glitter later I had achieved a golden butterfly, complete with sequins and the largest pair of feather eyelashes I have ever seen. It was quite honestly a wonder I could even open my eyes.
The mask went down a storm although I didnt win any prizes, sadly I couldnt compete with the lentil encrusted epic that was wielded by one of the men at the event. However my efforts did succeed in sparking some interesting conversations. My attention was caught by a debate about how different women are driven by different factors when making purchases. Some women, we know are driven by fashion, they slavishly follow the catwalks and or the fashion pages and almost blindly purchase the 'new big thing' regardless of longevity, cut or indeed whether it suits them. Other women are motivated not by fashion but by an innate style, they choose classic shapes and colours and build a wardrobe around themselves and their personality.
I suspect it takes more presence of mind and inner confidence to develop a wardrobe around the latter mindset. The hallowed turf for me sits in no mans land, in the rare ability to achieve a balance of current style and a classic and ownable look. Not many women manage it and those who do it in the public eye become the idols of many. Think Kate Moss, Chloe Sevigny, maybe to a certain extent Alexa Chung, women who define fashion as well as following it. Their individual take on the styles of the moment creating a new layer to their fashion story, making them not only icons to women across the world but muses for those in the fashion industry driving seat.
For these women it is not about the latest catwalk look, they recognise (subconsciously or otherwise) that fashion is a world that can be shaped with a strong personality and a focus of mind. This is the sort of woman I have always admired, the woman perfectly depicted in The Woman by French Connection. A little bit selfish perhaps, certainly self aware and aloof. Confident but with an air of vulnerability, it is her that people want to be like, the woman for whom fashion is an opportunity, not an obstacle or challenge. To her it is not about buying the 'It bag' or the must have shoe, she is the woman the bag is designed for, the woman on whom it looks natural, a part of her. Not an awkward accessory but the perfect complement to her personality and demeanour. She makes the clothes, they do not make her. For me, this is the ideal, how we should strive to be. We should be more than the clothes upon our back and should allow them to be an expression of ourselves.
Following from this thought I suppose I begin to realise that constant purchasing is not the point. I should notice the quality of things more often, choose things which will will withstand the test of time. Things that age with me and improve year on year. Clearly I need a Mulberry handbag.... my life has a new purpose. The rest of the weekend passed in a blur of fry ups and Formula One with great friends and an awful lot of cups of tea.....bliss.
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