I'm not really that coy about things on this blog nor am I going to pull the wool over your eyes, so I'll just come right out and fess' up that the reason for my trip to New York [1] is not purely to take advantage of the $:£ rate (though it is very good indeed!).  No no no, it is because Gucci [2] have invited myself and a select number of other bloggers (I'm not 100% sure who else is coming but I have my guesses....) to the 'A Night to Benefit Raising Malawi [3] and UNICEF' [4] event hosted by Gucci and Madonna on the 6th February.  It coincides with the opening of the new Gucci 5th Avenue flagship store.  The night will be co-chaired by Frida Giannini, raising funds and awareness for orphans and children afflicted by HIV/Aids in Africa (completely separate from Madonna's love for Kabbalah [5] as the event is I believe underwritten by Gucci).

Now let's just say I'm a teensy weensy bit scared.  Actually, scrap that.  I'm absolutely shitting myself.  The fear fully rained down on my head when a lady from Gucci came round to the office delivering a 'Save the Date' card (it's not even the actual invitation...!).  It all comes down to that infuriatingly cliched and predictable question of 'What am I ever going to wear?'.  As it is, partying it up in London is I gather a completely different kettle of fish from partying in New York (supposedly, it's more about partying in a sensible way across the pond than going completely mental....).  Add on the fact that this is an A-list formal affair (SJP, Demi, Gwyneth, Drew, Trudie... the sort of people that don't even need their whole names entirely listed out...) being held at the United Nations [6] headquarters and thus I'm 100% sure that I'm in waaaay over my head.

[7]

We have two options really.  The smart option of fading into the background, wearing something nondescript, safe and  tasteful and hopefully just get by.  It's not a question of not having the dress fundage to buy say a Phillip Lim/Mayle/Marc by Marc Jacobs affair that also means I can pick up the dress prior to the event whilst shopping in New York.  However, being a complete nobody (in comparison to said A-listers I mean...) does mean I have a relative amount of freedom to wear whatever within the decorum of cocktail dressing.  So instead, I want to do it the hard way. 

Oddly enough, I want something that has vaguely British origins, that perhaps won't have done the journey across the pond. I'm not saying I'm going to drape myself in a Viv Westwood union jack dress but perhaps I'm keen to go for something that people won't IMMEDIATELY be able to tell what it is and reflects my own fashion tastes/interests as well.  I also want to make it harder by setting myself a strict budget to achieve something along the lines of a customised vintage/British young designer dress accessorised with early 20th century accessories (cape, clutch) and killer shoes which I already have (me thinks...).  This isn't about dressing for the season but making an ensemble my own.  The idea of going into Selfridges and wacking my card down for a dress seems to take the fun out of it for me and so I have concocted a 'special quest' shopping trip this weekend to go sniffing out this vague/hazy vision of an outfit. 

I've made the fatal mistake of misjudging time and essentially, I have until next Friday for this undertaking.  Yes, I am in the shit because I've been fannying around and panicking for far too long.  Still, like my uni essays which I always left to the last minute, this is a case of going into speedy gonzalez mode in the last few days.  Wish me luck.  Oh, and if Boudicca/Marios Schwab/Roksanda Illincic/Erdem are reading - a dress would very much be appreciated (worth a try right?).