Here we go round again

The blog's been a bit neglected recently, but starting a new job is as good an excuse as any. You put in more hours, emotionally stress yourself out worrying, not to mention knacker yourself out physically skipping around the office like an eager beaver. Then, if you're like me, you agree to work at the weekend too. I'm like frigging Danny Wallace in The Yes Man at the moment. Not that many people I know would turn down going backstage at London Fashion Week. My 13-year-old self would have been squealing in her pop socks. My (much) older self... actually came to an important realisation.

Just going behind-the-scenes with a photographer and then watching the Topshop Unique show was an experience. It was eye-opening, fun, and slightly bemusing at times (watching models preparing for the runway is like watching a herd of gazelles trying to form an orderly queue), but the reason I could enjoy it was because I was on the outside peering in.

I've always wondered whether not pursuing fashion journalism per se was a mistake but consoled myself that I don't have to be a part of a world to appreciate its creativity, berate its bullshit and still write about it. That was what this blog was for. Fashion baffles me because so little changes, it just evolves, and sometimes not very much at all. Jumpsuits, prints and metallics are all back in for Spring/Summer 11. Just like, (ba boom) Spring/Summer 10. When did they go away exactly?

Of course I love the idea of new designers (and old ones) showcasing their collections, but what is fashion week really about? Who hangs out backstage (Olivia Palermo) and who sits on the front row (usual suspects Lily Allen and Pixie Geldof)? When I arrived into the TopShop show space I was practically knocked over by paparazzi trying to get a shot of Lily, who was walking behind me. Me in my old faithful Oxfam wool cape, she in her YSL...

I'm somewhere in the background making a sharp exit... Before the show started, I had to leg it (in four inch heels) from the backstage area all the way around to the front entrance with my ticket. I was stopped by four photographers (FOUR!) who instead of taking pity on a not-very-fashionable-girl-in-a-rush made me stop and pose awkwardly while they disected my outfit with their cameras. Their favourite part? My 1970s 'man' bag I carry with me everywhere. Yep, I was carrying it last season, the season before, and the season before that. So now I'm fashionable? I gather there must be a trend for over-sized bags. Yawn. Just like last season. And probably the season before that.