Daym those Dungarees!

A developing fashion trend must certainly be true if even the Guardian is commenting on it.

Ah yes.. the dungarees are back. As seen on the catwalks for a/w 13, these denim delights are definitely back to play. And not simply in the sandpit, oh no! Spotted on the likes of Alexa Chung, the queen of kooky cool, it would seem that the dungaree drift is part of the #90sthrowback mania.

But come on now, this 90s reemergence is something I'm more than happy to embrace. Hells it means I can wear my beloved scrunchies without fear of being laughed at by those with a birthdate post 2001!

Myself and a sister form another mister in
dungarees being pumpkins. Naturally.
 Circa 1999.

Besides, as the evidence to the left implies, the dungarees were a clear wardrobe stable of mine back in my 90s fashion heyday.

This time round however, rather than purchase my denim overalls in BHS children's wear section, I think I may satisfy my 90s fashion cravings at Topshop. JW Anderson for Topshop to be precise.

Although more a pinafore dress than actual dungarees, I think that this little number will allow me to live out the dungaree dream without making it too obvious that I'm jumping on the bandwagon. Plus, I think it will make me feel a little less 'builder' and a tick more feminine.

7 Cool Things

When I was doing my last internship at a rather cracking advertising agency, one of my 'workie' tasks was to compile a list of '7 Cool Things' that I'm currently infatuated with and explain why.

ONE:            The new BMW 5 series - looks yum and is a

                           dreamy drive

TWO:           Monet’s 1899 ‘The Water-Lily Pond’ painting - in

                           room 43 of the National Gallery in case you need 

                           convincing

THREE:        Bubblegum - especially Bubbalicious or Anglo 

                           Bubbly

FOUR:           Scrunchies - yes they may be ‘back in fashion’ but I 

                           have been wearing mine continuously since 1996 

                           for simplicity’s sake / to avoid spilt ends. And I 

                           have endured the bullying.            

FIVE:              Podcasts - ideal for the Tube and there’s something 

                           for eeeeveryone

SIX:                 Jennifer Lawrence - her voice, her persona, her

                          dress sense...babe.

SEVEN:         Sarcasm - when will sarcasm ever not be cool. 

Tschüssli!

Switzerland, it’s been a pleasure. I’ve survived. 7 months I’ve lived here now and considered myself very much an objective observer of the culture of cheese, cheese fondue and chocolate.

Things I won’t miss about Switzerland…

Fashion: what fashion?

The Prices (especially food): A single zucchini costs 4CHF. Enough said. Or 12.- CHF (about £9) for the equivalent of a tesco value chicken. I’d rather pay less for Findus lasagne and know I was getting horsemeat…

Shop opening times: Sundays are dead to the world. The Swiss officially go into hibernation. You have no food? Not even biscuits? Tough. Sunday is a day of rest. The same goes for aaaaall Bank Holidays / New Years Eve/ New Years Day / random ‘national feast days’ – you get the idea. For instance Zurich; one of the significant business cities on the globe. But Wednesday 1^st August 2012 (National Swiss Day) it is Dead. To. The. World.

Smileys: I’m somewhat of a grammatical snob. I very much associate smileys in texts with my 14-year-old self texting.. (‘wot u up 2?’ Cringe.) BUT I was emailing the Head of HR at a very prestigious publishing house in Zurich, negotiating a formal job interview… Imagine my absolute perplexity when an email contained “no problem :)” Smilies are absolutely 100% acceptable in Switzerland.

Things that I think are rather nice:

Actual ‘lunches’ at lunchtime: You’d be in the definite minority if you stay at your desk devouring your delights during lunch rather than head out to a restaurant. Lunchtime for the Swiss is a big deal. I must say I rather like the idea of actually sitting down for a meal with the colleagues rather than dropping bits of sandwich on my laptop.

Language aspect: Ah yes the Brits abroad… There still seems to be the assumption that everyone else should speak English. But in Switzerland I feel a fool being only able to speak 2 languages!

Noteworthy but bizarre Swiss Observations

Crossing the road: A big deal for me as I am a self professed ‘car hurler’ – over the years, when crossing the road, I have amassed the great skill of assessing the distance between a passing car and myself so that I can begin crossing when it hasn’t entirely passed. Swiss drivers simply do not comprehend this. They will perform a full emergency stop and let you cross. But wag their fingers at you… Thank you kindly but it’s fine! I’ve judged the space and speed between you and the car heading in the opposite direction and I’m more than happy to cross after you’ve passed me!

Shopping: There I am at the till, ready to collect my plastic bags that I will obviously then recycle as bin liners. But everyone else is whacking out their own ‘eco friendly’ tote bags! Of course this is also an option in the UK, but here I’m not offered a single plastic bag! So what happens if I need to do my food-shopping straight from work? Do I have to take my shopping bags to work?

I'm still alive..

Just in case anyone reads this little bloggety blog on a regular occurrence, fear not, I haven't died / stopped writing / gone into hibernation. I am in fact excessively busy! I have moved myself from Switzerland back to the UK, am house hunting and have started a new internship...

...and Crikey O'Reilly I am enjoying it! It's in advertising and actually something that I see myself doing and getting a kick from! The people are genuinely fun and friendly and the work interesting. Boom. Winner.

Oh and in other news? When I was interning in Zurich I tested and reviewed a car for a the magazine I was working at. Well look at that. It got published! #smugasabug