I'm not really that coy about things on this blog nor am I going to pull the wool over your eyes, so I'll just come right out and fess' up that the reason for my trip to New York is not purely to take advantage of the $:£ rate (though it is very good indeed!). No no no, it is because Gucci have invited myself and a select number of other bloggers (I'm not 100% sure who else is coming but I have my guesses....) to the 'A Night to Benefit Raising Malawi and UNICEF' event hosted by Gucci and Madonna on the 6th February. It coincides with the opening of the new Gucci 5th Avenue flagship store. The night will be co-chaired by Frida Giannini, raising funds and awareness for orphans and children afflicted by HIV/Aids in Africa (completely separate from Madonna's love for Kabbalah as the event is I believe underwritten by Gucci).
Now let's just say I'm a teensy weensy bit scared. Actually, scrap that. I'm absolutely shitting myself. The fear fully rained down on my head when a lady from Gucci came round to the office delivering a 'Save the Date' card (it's not even the actual invitation...!). It all comes down to that infuriatingly cliched and predictable question of 'What am I ever going to wear?'. As it is, partying it up in London is I gather a completely different kettle of fish from partying in New York (supposedly, it's more about partying in a sensible way across the pond than going completely mental....). Add on the fact that this is an A-list formal affair (SJP, Demi, Gwyneth, Drew, Trudie... the sort of people that don't even need their whole names entirely listed out...) being held at the United Nations headquarters and thus I'm 100% sure that I'm in waaaay over my head.
We have two options really. The smart option of fading into the background, wearing something nondescript, safe and tasteful and hopefully just get by. It's not a question of not having the dress fundage to buy say a Phillip Lim/Mayle/Marc by Marc Jacobs affair that also means I can pick up the dress prior to the event whilst shopping in New York. However, being a complete nobody (in comparison to said A-listers I mean...) does mean I have a relative amount of freedom to wear whatever within the decorum of cocktail dressing. So instead, I want to do it the hard way.
Oddly enough, I want something that has vaguely British origins, that perhaps won't have done the journey across the pond. I'm not saying I'm going to drape myself in a Viv Westwood union jack dress but perhaps I'm keen to go for something that people won't IMMEDIATELY be able to tell what it is and reflects my own fashion tastes/interests as well. I also want to make it harder by setting myself a strict budget to achieve something along the lines of a customised vintage/British young designer dress accessorised with early 20th century accessories (cape, clutch) and killer shoes which I already have (me thinks...). This isn't about dressing for the season but making an ensemble my own. The idea of going into Selfridges and wacking my card down for a dress seems to take the fun out of it for me and so I have concocted a 'special quest' shopping trip this weekend to go sniffing out this vague/hazy vision of an outfit.
I've made the fatal mistake of misjudging time and essentially, I have until next Friday for this undertaking. Yes, I am in the shit because I've been fannying around and panicking for far too long. Still, like my uni essays which I always left to the last minute, this is a case of going into speedy gonzalez mode in the last few days. Wish me luck. Oh, and if Boudicca/Marios Schwab/Roksanda Illincic/Erdem are reading - a dress would very much be appreciated (worth a try right?).
