Sunday, August 24, 2008

Off to a glittering event...what to wear?

Squeee! I am off to the NZ Book Month Launch next monday which I am most excited about. What does one wear? Do you think a tiara will be too much? Barbara Cartland never thought so. This is my first such do where I have actually been invited as an author and I feel very speshial and i feel it is important to dress accordingly. Of course as the first such outing it is the one where i get to set the tone for the rest of my writing career (as short as that may be - see yesterday's post) so i shall think long and hard about what I wear. What do famous creatives wear. All I can think of is Vivienne Westwood but i'm not sure if this is the image I am after. But then I also don't want to look like an extra off Coronation Street.

I bet Stacy Gregg never has this problem about what to wear. As a writer AND a fashion expert you would instantly know the correct thing to wear at a literary event. I'm trying to recall what the famous writers wore at the Melbourne conference I went to. I have to say the best dressed was Fifi Colston but I couldn't borrow anything of hers because she lives too far away and is petite and gorgeous and I would break any of her beautiful dresses. The only other writer who stood out was Neil Gaiman however while black jeans, jumper, leather jacket and Dr Martens are perfect on a rock star writer like him they would not be so much on me. Barbara never wore fairy wings did she? And I don't really write about fairies so that wouldn't be right either. But i also don't want to blend in or fade out. Well I have a week to work it out and if I come up with something good i shall post a photo.

2 comments:

Maureen Crisp said...

Hi,
aah the problems that beset the writer...writers block...clothes block....
Fi got trapped in Auckland yesterday so you could have ripped round to the hotel air nz put them up in and ripped off with one of her amazing garments....
My advice is (coz i wangled my way into some gliterati book events)is to wear a plain colour underneath and go wild with a wrap...earrings...chunky beads...
coz if you arrive and find you are overdressed you can take the wrap off...and if you arrive and find you are underdressed the bling will
make up for it...
This year at the book awards the event was very glitterati which caught everyone by surprise as they are generally smart casual...
Some poor illustrators who usually don't dress up for the event looked like strays who had gatecrashed...an interesting look when they went up on stage...as everyone had to do....(not only will we not warn you that we are upping the tone we will expose you as well....)
You'll be fine....
maureen

Fifi Colston said...

well...all I can say is the money I am paying you to mention me alongside Neil Gaiman and Stacey Greig in the same column about the fashion satkes has been well worth it!
I bought a black Alanah Hill coat in Melbourne (despite the fact I am starting to look like Greek widow in black). What a bugger that I missed my TV spot because of the fog hold up and layover and now can't afford to pay for it...
Have a great time at Book Week- enjoy the fame!!!