Saturday 22 November 2008

Hollie-Anne Brooks dresses for Christmas shopping.

When I was tiny I would always make an annual event to Newcastle each year for a special female only day of Christmas shopping with my mum. My mum would take me to Fenwicks every year and select millions of party dresses for me to try on; ruffles, sequins, glitter and frills would fly all across the room as both my mother and the shop assistants delighted in seeing the small girl with the big pout and perfectly styled bob twirl with delight and astonishment at each and every dress. My love of fashion will never cease.

As I became older, the shopping trips never stopped but they'd never be as special. The one a year McDonalds I'd consumer on the cold winter Saturday became tasteless as consumerism changed and fast-food became trendy and Fenwicks Christmas window became nothing but a huge crowd as I struggled with fear of losing my mother amongst the free-for-all. Once I was in my teens, Christmas became a time to be deeply sad as I became torn between spending time with my separated mother and father and feelings of guilt over spending more cash on my mother or vise versa.

Last Christmas was a rush of boring Oxford Street gift shopping as I covered the festive period with freelancing shifts and moved from a manic house in East London to a calm Heaven south of the river.

So it was nice to be back. It was nice to have my mum tell me to button up my coat and make sure I had everything ready for the day ahead. And today was amazing! My mother, my youngest step-brother and myself ventured out into the utter cold and braved every high street store you could imagine. We stopped off for lunch, pulled on our mittens and marvelled at the spinning and singing frogs in that beloved window. Traditions are always the best.

I also managed to finish off buying MYB's Christmas gift. Fabulous! Although my smile, once knowing all purchases were complete, may well be bigger than his on Christmas day. MYB was clearly on my mind today as, for the first time in ages, we did the gorgeous yet slightly silly thing of staying up well into the early hours and just talking. When I finally crawled into bed at 4am, my face hurt from smiling so much. I'm exhausted and I had planned on having an early night last night in preparation for such a long and exhausting day but I just couldn't help myself! For MYB and I, it's our first real Christmas together. Having been friends for a few years now and never anything more, it'll be nice to say I'm coupled up this Christmas and explain to distant aunts and uncles that I'm certainly no spinster and that yes, my boyfriend is rather fabulous. Fingers crossed he'll love his gift!

I'm wrapped up warm for Dressing For today. How beautiful is this coat? The scarlet colour, the bow neck and the cut look really pretty and it's available from high street fave Dorothy Perkins! Underneath I've added a cosy looking Stella McCartney grey dress which would be paired with some much needed tights to combat this cold weather! Accessories are bright, minus the classic leather Marc Jacobs boots, in the form of some pretty red heart studs and a statement velvet trim mustard hat. Finally, I've fallen in love with this D&G bag which, when walking hand and hand around Harvey Nichols once, MYB described as "a toaster". Happy shopping!

N.B: Polyvore isn't working too well right now so I'm going to have to link you up for now!

http://www.polyvore.com/christmas_shopping/set?id=4762586