Party Prepping.

It's almost December which means... PARTY TIME.

Well, party time for people that aren't in their last year at university and see the festive month as having to do 8000 words worth of essays. Ahem.

Ignoring that major minor obstacle, December means College/Work Balls, get-togethers with friends and family you haven't seen in what feels like forever, and the chance to get very very tipsy and embarrass yourself singing Slade, Cliff Richard and Justin Bieber (don't pretend like you haven't heard "Mistletoe" before).

I'm a sucker for Christmas decorations, especially Christmas lights in towns, and the excuse to bundle myself in everything except a duvet when I'm forced to leave the house...

Sentimentality aside, what really makes the festive season is the dresses! 

I'm personally absolutely loving the gothic, midi and baroque dresses that are in fashion at the moment.  They make a refreshing change from the floral prints which have been around for the last, erm, 3 years or so.  And it forces me to try something a little different.

For the last few years I've stuck to pretty, just above the knee, girly dresses.  But for my upcoming Christmas ball I decided - to hell with it! - I was going to don a bit of pleather and studs, with a bit of gold thrown in (I couldn't throw my girly urges aside entirely ,okay?).  It all sounds like a random mish-mash, but take a look:

www.ark.co.uk

As it's from Ark I'm bloody terrified someone will have the same dress as me, so fingers crossed.  I always say it's fine if someone has the same dress, as long as you look better in it, BUT, there's no guarantee.  Girls keep getting prettier every year.

And can I just point out that I practice what I preach! This dress is high-necked and has a low back.  I'm going to borrow my friend's bra extender (technically I don't need to wear a bra, but I don't want to be cold, and it might itch) because I can't be bothered/am now too skint to buy a different bra solution.

But maybe this is TMI - sorry!

I'm going to join the tango club and get a bit of fake tan on, and go for bright red lippy, gold accessories and black wedges. And maybe wear a blazer, because it gets a little chilly at our ball venue.  I like that the dress isn't entirely formal because it'll mean I actually get to wear it more than once. Perfect.

I can't wait to spend quality time with friends in the classy venue of our ball before descending into a rather tipsy state and boogeying on down, wailing along to The Pogues.

So party on, ladies!