After a whirlwind trip to London for Vogue’s annual Fashion’s Night Out I am seriously considering going on a diet. Clothes, shopping and glamour aside, my dinner on Thursday was made up of popcorn (sweet AND salty), frozen yoghurt, cupcakes and gin. All important food groups I’m sure you’ll agree, but nevertheless I felt a little below par the next day!
Having never been to FNO before I was somewhat overwhelmed at how London’s shopping hub (Oxford Street, Regent Street, Mayfair and surrounding areas) transformed into one massive fashion shoot. Models, designers, celebs and bloggers joined thousands of shoppers in sipping champagne, posing for photos and Bangle Bowling at Hermès.
At first I felt empowered walking into stores like Burberry and Roland Mouret, sipping champagne, ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ over spotting designers (Christopher Bailey and Mr Mouret himself) and enjoying a visual splendour of clothes and accessories that I normally only get to see on the pages of Vogue or Elle.
But as we power walked our way across London, squeezed through crowds only to join endless queues and marvel at those who did all this and more in a pair of skyscraper heels, I couldn’t help but feel a little small. Wearing flats didn’t help (brown leather and tweed ankle boots from Primark), but I think more than that it was the realisation that, like most shoppers there, the next day life would go back to normal. Like a hoard of fashion-hungry Cinderellas, the party would last for one night only before the comedown of real life – bye bye Birkin, hello housework.
That’s not to say we didn’t have fun ambling tipsily through the city, lusting after clothes or making a few minor splurges at Zara and Forever 21. You can see a selection of photos from the night below, including my gorgeous knitted dress from Zara – picked up in the sale, of course – this Cinderella is still on a budget after all…
