Glamour

I was supposed to be going out tonight. It was going to be a fancy do in a fancy club in the West End: The Cuckoo Club (http://www.thecuckooclub.com/flash.htm - only visit this website if you are infinitely patient as it's flash based and very slow).

What was it in aid of I hear you ask. Breakthrough Breast Cancer were having a celebration party. They'd just completed 10 years of the Fashion Targets Breast Cancer (FTBC) campaign and wanted to thank all of their supporters.

I was invited as a representative of one of their corporate sponsors who supported several years of the FTBC campaign. We don't work with Breakthrough anymore but we do sponsor Champions League football. I'd say we have our priorities straight, wouldn't you?

I wasn't the only invitee representing the company: Ruth and I have both worked with Breakthrough for quite a number of years.

We were a bit apprehensive about accepting the invitation because of the stipulated dress code. Everyone is used to dress codes such as Cocktail Attire, Black Tie, Casual etc. and if we weren't too au fait with what to wear then there are even websites to guide us: http://fashion.about.com/cs/glossary/a/partydefinition.htm. But the dress code for this event was just a little more challenging: Glamorous.

Now I could see a picture of someone and decide whether I think they are glamorous but if they are, it's probably a combination of what they're wearing, and how they're wearing it. They aren't going to be glamorous if they look like a bulldog chewing a wasp. I don't think I look like a bulldog chewing a wasp but "Glamorous" is still something that I think is difficult to attain because it isn't achieved through clothing alone. Someone wearing jeans could look glamorous. The famous naked Sophie Dahl advert could be considered glamorous: http://store.soliscompany.com/nasodaadba.html.

Well I wasn't going to wear jeans, and I certainly wasn't going to turn up naked. So I had an outfit selected which I thought might get the clothing bit right, but there was still the problem that it was me in the clothing. I was going to live with that problem because there was little I could do about it.

Anyway, to cut an overly long story short I didn't go. Ruth phoned this morning and between us we decided we were too old to go out and stay out late on a school night. Plus we also agreed we were worried about the dress code. And we didn't phone to say we couldn't make it, we e-mailed. Actually Ruth e-mailed.

A tiny part of me was sad not to be there because I wanted to see what everyone else was wearing. But mainly I thought it was probably the right decision. We don't work with Breakthrough corporately anymore and, whilst we have made a contribution in the past, it's perhaps right that those people celebrating have continued their relationship.
This week though you may see me buying a copy of some of the gossip mags just to see what people were wearing.