All that glitters

So it's my birthday soon. Now I'm like a child when it comes to my birthday. I start getting excited a month in advance, and am in an almost hyperactive state of excitement the closer I get to the big day.

Yes, I know it's probably extremely naff to still care about birthdays but I can't help it. There are some things that are worth keeping that childlike wonderment about and for me it's birthdays. I love waking up with that innocent joyous knowledge that today, on your birthday, nothing can go wrong, the sense of tingly anticipation at the thought of all the little gifts and surprises your loved ones are surely secreting somewhere for you, that certainty that it's your day and it's special and whatever you really really wish for will be yours. In the words of Paulo Coelho, the universe will conspire =)

So in order to help the universe along, I start randomly dropping supremely broad hints about all the beautiful things out there that I'm just dying to have ('Oh that pink hairdryer? yes, yes it's so beautiful. *deep sigh* if only I could buy it!', 'That gorgeous red fur lined lampshade would so totally fit in my bedroom! Hmm, if only I could justify it. On a completely unrelated note, did you know it's my birthday next week?' ).

I also make random plans with long lost acquaintances (ex-colleagues, friends of friends etc) on and around my birthday, only to cancel/postpone last minute by pretending as if I had completely forgotten it was my birthday so unfortunately I have to cancel as I have other plans, but we MUST catch up soon to have birthday drinks etc etc... It's a Sneaky plan to surreptitiously let them know of my birthday see? So now they'll HAVE to call/text and wish me on birthday day and I can feel all glowy and special that they remembered. Plus, I get free birthday drinks (you say sad, I say resourceful)!

So yeah, I basically turn into a nutter roundabout this time!

And this year, I managed to achieve (what I thought) was the unachievable. I bought a sparkly dress for my birthday! Considering I've been wanting one for like forever, this is BIG! And I know it probably even more naff to want a sparkly dress than it is to get excited about birthdays but who cares?

I had been on the hunt for a dress for my birthday. This is fairly unusual for me because I rarely ever need to buy dresses for occasions, mainly because I'm such a shopaholic that I usually have ten dresses on the go, and am frantically scrambling to come up with events and occasions to wear them to. So I'm not really good at finding clothes on a need to have basis, especially since I also truly believe that the more you look for particular clothes, the more elusive they become(life lesson that).

Anyway, this year I found myself in the unusual position of having an event - my birthday party with a few of my closest friends - but NO dress. Panic not, I said to myself, this is London, one of the best places to shop in the world. Fashionistas all over the world swear by London's high street.Surely, there was something out there for me?

Apparently not.

Seemingly, London's high street turns into a sequin covered horror story this close to Christmas, with everything on offer being either glittery, sparkly, shiny or shimmery. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't hate glitter and sparkle. In fact, I love it. In a parallel universe, I would only wear shimmery dresses and sleep in a sequinned bed snuggling into my glitter covered duvet.

But it's really hard to find a dress that is beautiful, sophisticated and that glimmers with a radiant light rather that rupturing your eyeballs with its brashness. Every single sparkly dress I came across was either cut so short that you couldn't bend down without flashing everyone, or cut so deep that you were in constant danger of 'boob escape' or cut so tight that you had to basically hobble everywhere.

So there I was, rapidly losing hope and conjuring up wild ideas in my sequin addled state.
I could wear an old dress and pretend as if it was brand new and if anyone dared suggest they had seen it earlier, give them an icy glare and banish them from my facebook friends list? Social ostracism at it's worst.
Perhaps I could turn up in my pyjamas and be all 'darlliiings this is the height of fashion' (Prada did do pyjamas on the runway two years ago, you know? So I wouldn't be completely insane)

And then I saw it.. a sparkly dress that wasn't ..short, wasn't ... cut down to the navel and wasn't cut for an anorexic 10 year old. I could barely believe it. It was a grown up but glamorous sparkly dress. I almost had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't hallucinating in my glitter induced despairing state.

True, it wasn't the most fabulous dress out there and it didn't take my breath away but when I put it on, I felt .. happy AND (this is going to sound ridiculous) sparkly!

And so I bought it. A sparkly dress that makes me sparkle!

I have a feeling it's going to be a great birthday ;)