Apples and Pears

My top blogging advice, if anyone asked, would be to view your blog from the perspective of someone who knows little about the process. What one will read/see is something supremely self-indulgent. I try to step away from the self-indulgent side of things by not supplementing pictorial content with too much self-centered narrative, especially when it is photos of myself in... a ball gown? Not just a ball gown but an in-yer-face, 'glam the eff down' ballgown. That beautifully shows off my two stone weight gain, more than anything else.

I think that last sentence is the epitome of why I hesitate before I post anything that is not purely visual, preferring silence as the best form of online communication. Writing a style blog generates a performative self-awareness one shouldn't have. There's this weird expectation that you're supposed to write on what you look like, a bizarre typing out on a computer screen of the sort of interior monologue people normally have when looking at themselves in the mirror. 'I'm wearing this and this. It makes me look great/egg-shaped/sick/like a tapir/like a lemur/like an elephant/like a hobbit/like a banana'. I *love* the persistent obsession we have with comparing ourselves to inanimate objects such as apples, hourglasses... pears?! Why not be living things? It is absurd and fascinating, the circuitousness of the language we use when describing our outer selves, and it is fascinating that there is no desire on our part to escape from this semantic trap.

So before my toes get stuck in said trap, what do I say now? Mostly, a big thank you to Wish Want Wear for getting in touch and somehow making sure that a "Temperley???! yes, Temperley" dress landed on my bed before my college ball. It garnered an uncomfortably stratospheric amount of attention, but if you're after that kind of thing then definitely go for it as it is "stunning", "incredible" - I'm quoting people, but I do nod in agreement. I nod a lot. Oh, and I should say it's a terrific website and service; efficient and easy to use - there is a free returns label on the box, and you don't have to worry about being precious with the dress to avoid damage.
Photos by the one the only Rosalind, who wrote a piece in Violet mag and you should all read it.
~ Dress, Temperley London c/o Wish Want Wear designer dress hire service. Platforms, Schuh (similar)