Oh what a bizarre month it has been. My father, the proud owner and ringer-of-cowbells – bizarre, but true – at the Tiroler Hut called me last week while I was sat in front of my computer. Despite researching the merits of massage at the time, I was no glamour-puss at my post. No, I was instead sporting a similar look I wore throughout the duration of my dissertation write-up: hair in a bun, no make-up and glasses on instead of contact lenses.
The content of my father’s phone call therefore struck a degree of panic into my core – he needed a daughter, pronto, wearing a dirndl for a photo to go in Time Out. I dutifully dropped my research, found my dirndl (I’m half-Austrian, a dirndl is a wardrobe staple for our people), ruffled my hair and did the best job I could on make-up in a few minutes before being asked to display a great deal of excitement at the delivery of a stein of beer for the camera. Photographic evidence above.
Mercifully, I went from embarrassment to indulgence and yesterday was coaxed out of W2 for a day in the SWs, despite the cold. It started with a blow-dry at Neville Hair & Beauty where the decidedly un-Sloany (read: warm and welcoming) Dayne coaxed my hair into soft waves for the day.
I then met the female contingent of my family for a belated Mother’s Day tea in the Egerton House Hotel. Part of the Red Carnation Hotels group, this place has all the trademarks of the company from incomparable service to a bar that just makes you want to settle in for the night. Despite barman Antonio’s attempts to persuade us to do just that with his legendary martinis, it was time to move on for the final part of a marvellous day: an evening of fashion.
And not just any old fashion, but the Harvey Nichols s/s 13 fashion show in the Saatchi Gallery. Showcasing all the season’s key trends including metallics, neons and monochrome, I would’ve gladly taken all of it home but would be more than content with the outré Venessa Arizaga necklace, Marc Jacobs Sequinned Mickey Mouse Jumper and a neon Wang bag.
I wish I could say the transition from computer to show was going to continue in an upwards trajectory but alas, I am currently back in glasses, a tracksuit and wiped clean of make-up and glamour. Apart from Dr Sebagh’s Rose de Vie Hydrating Mask, Dadi Oil Nail Treatment and Espa’s Pink Hair & Scalp Mud, obvs.