#10 - Valentino Red

Apparently Coco Chanel said that when you're getting dressed, you should look in the mirror and take one thing off, while Janie Bryant, costume designer for Mad Men, says that you should look in the mirror and put one extra thing on. I tend to subscribe to Janie's view, but on days like today, I sometimes wonder if my outfit's a bit too much. A lot of the girls walking to uni wearing their boring minimalist outfits gave me strange looks today, but what made up for it all was when I was waiting for my vanilla soy latte at Starbucks this morning and a girl came up to me and told me how much she loved my outfit.

Today's shoes are by Valentino. Last year, there was a Valentino exhibition in my city. There were so many beautiful dresses on display. I don't know why the exhibition came here, as this is not at all a fashionable city. Firstly, we have very few designer shops here, and when a new one opens, like Hermes did recently, it just means that there's one more brand we don't have to go to Sydney or Melbourne to buy. Secondly, when people ask me where my shoes are from, and if they're anything other than Gucci or Dolce & Gabbana, people give me blank looks. Thirdly, someone at work recently told me I was one of the most fashionable people she'd ever met, and I am not fashionable at all (I have lots of clothes and I like my outfits to match, but that's very different to being fashionable. If I was, I suppose I'd be wearing the 'uniform' that fashionable girls wear these days, which appears to be denim shorts, a loose tank top, and flat sandals).
Anyway, when the Valentino exhibition opened, suddenly everyone and their mother was going to it (I mean that literally - my best friend's mother went 3 times). I found it suprising, because none of these people are actually interested in fashion. I've had this conversation with a few people, and some have said to me that maybe these people do like fashion, but they just can't afford it. I don't agree, because I can't afford designer clothes either, but I still like seeing what's on the runways, and what's in the designer stores. Anyway, it was nice to see all of these lovely outfits, and I guess it allowed us all to dream a bit...

In other news, I found a dress I wanted to buy today, but even the smallest size the store had was too big for me, which is unfortunately the story of my life.