How To Walk In High Heels: The Girl's Guide To Everything

The Girl’s Guide to Everything

Camilla Morton

Copyright © 2005 Camilla Morton

First published in Great Britain in 2005 by Hodder and Stoughton
An Hachette Livre UK company

The right of Camilla Morton to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Epub ISBN 978 1 84894 130 4
Book ISBN 978 0 34083 606 4

Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
An Hachette Livre UK company
338 Euston Road
London NWl 3BH

For aspiring Cinderellas everywhere . . . and to John and Manolo for waving their magic wands.

The Camilla I know is unique: charming and chatty, but this much you could have guessed; the tangents she goes off on, you could not. She lives in the fashion front line, in the line of fire, and is the first with the gossip and the last to give up; like me, fashion is her lifeblood. She is a true Galliano Girl.

Our English eccentric might not have known how to change her light bulbs when she lived in Paris, but she brought her own light, and an intrepid determination to anything she tries. Living by the flicker of Diptyque candles might not be for everyone, but for her it was all part of the unfolding adventure. Don’t be fooled by those blue eyes, behind them is an inspiring, intelligent friend, who is one of a kind. Now, as well as being entertaining, she will be really handy around the home and in the studio.

Enjoy . . .

Love

John Galliano, Paris, March 2005

Contents

‘Cinderella, you shall go to the ball’

The Fairy Godmother

How to be Stylish

‘Fashion fades, style is eternal’
Yves Saint Laurent

How to create the right atmosphere to get ready in

Being stylish takes time, patience, but above all
practice.
Gore Vidal said, ‘Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.’

Some people need music, some people need lights, and some people need scent. But, above all, before you even open the wardrobe, with creativity must come organisation and calm.

First a mood must be established. Do this with scented candles, the ultimate being Diptyque. Freesia for day; John Galliano (as the name implies) for fabulous occasions; Tuberose for candlelit dinners; Baises (berries) in black wax for seduction.

Music is a helpful tool but can, if you are in a hurry, also become a hindrance. Sometimes it is not good to be leaping round the room agreeing with Aretha Franklin that you need R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Some songs should have ‘handle with care’ labels attached, as they can whip you up into an inappropriate frenzy. It is terribly difficult to apply lipstick, brush your hair or roll on sheer stockings with any hope of accuracy while trying to dance to the beat. If music
is
required opt for classical, jazz or synthesised and soothing mood enhancers, rather than distracters, and therefore delayers.

How to get dressed in 5* minutes

1
   
Venue:
Always know
where
you are going, and what the dress code is before deciding
how
to interpret it.

You never know where you are going to meet your future boss/boyfriend/best friend
^*
(delete as required) so ALWAYS dress to impress. Take out a subscription to
Hello!
magazine if in any doubt on this. Stars without their make-up/dressed down/taking out the garbage are images that should never be seen, and are NEVER to be recreated. Imagine you have the paparazzi following you and never give anyone the satisfaction of seeing you on a bad hair day.

That said, the old cliché that ‘beauty is lit from within’ is true, designer labels and diamonds are merely the frosting to set it off. Sometimes the most mesmerising person in the room is the one with the warmest smile.

2
   
Layout:
Ideally you should lay out the look the night before, so you have time to ‘live with it’, and you’re not rushed into a decision. But if you don’t have time for this, plan the outfit in your mind while you shower, and hope that when you pull the pieces out they have all the buttons attached and are immaculately pressed.

If struggling, remember a good pair of shoes can make any outfit. Likewise, a bad pair can do irrevocable damage.

3
   
Point of focus:
Less is often more. Choose a point of focus and accessorise around this. One day, it could be the waist, or the décolletage, next the derrière. Learn what to exaggerate and which parts of your body to conceal.

To show off waists
Wear low slung jeans, cropped tops and, if you really want to push the boat out, a belly button piercing. The latter only if you are on holiday and have a washboard flat stomach. If not, don’t; it destroys the line and drape of garments.

To show off bottoms
Heels throw the buttocks out and back, and tighten the thighs terrifically. Tight pencil skirts, and anything by Azzedine Alaïa, can also prove lethal when showcasing this area. Remember: big is beautiful, ignore the whippets, think Monroe.

To show off the chest
All hail the magical powers of the V-neck jumper. Whether it’s plunging, or demure, a V-neck draws the eye down to the point and enhances all cleavage. Essential for meetings with accountants.

If in any doubt about what to wear always have a little black dress, a clean crisp white T-shirt (Petit Bateau is a good choice), and a sassy pair of jeans (Stella McCartney would be my personal choice du jour) on standby. When in doubt keep it simple and chic.

4
   
Teeth:
Teeth must be flossed, brushed, scrubbed and, if you will insist on eating garlic, mouth-washed. Do this early in the proceedings as toothpaste stains can be VERY trying to get off clothes, and must be done well before lip-gloss application.

5
   
Make-up:
This is one of the most crucial stages in the evening’s preparation. If this bit goes wrong there could even be cause, in extreme cases, to develop a sudden acute illness or migraine. Breakouts, blotches and, worst of all, tidemarks MUST be banished.

Aim to look like a girl on the pages of a magazine. But comfort yourself with the knowledge that even they have never seen themselves look that good. A professional make-up artist, hairstylist, fashion editor and photographer will have spent several hours achieving this result and the rest will have been done with photoshop. Which, when you think about it, makes it ludicrously unfair that the mere mortal is given a paltry five minutes to compete with a supermodel. Is it any wonder they are where they are and you are feeling insecure?

First, wash face with water. The colder it is the more it wakes you up, and tightens the face. Next, cleanse, tone and moisturise.

Learn a routine so you don’t really have to think, you just know what follows what. Foundation, concealer, Touche Éclat, then get out the mascara. Apply liberally. Remember there can never be too much mascara; eyes are the window to the soul so enhance and open them as much as possible.

Always pick a feature to exaggerate, either the eyes or the mouth, not both. Red lips need softer eyes, while sockets rimmed with kohl should be counterbalanced with pouting nude lips.

But, as with your outfit, this is all venue dependent. Good lighting is crucial for application, but knowing what lighting you will end up in is even more so.

Find out if you will be:

Up close and intimate?
If that is the case you want to fudge the ‘nope not wearing any make-up, this is fresh-faced flawless little ol’ me . . .’ Yeah right.

Look don’t touch?
For this you need the red lipstick. Red is for occasions when you want to be circled and admired. A note of caution, however: not only is red the trickiest to apply but it
really
is not ideal for dinners or drinks with excessive talking. Lipstick on teeth is a big no-no and, with the threat of this in mind, when lips are red they should be kept, ideally, shut, and only opened when, after discreetly running your tongue over your teeth, you have something really startling to purr.