Winter Wonderland is one of those seasonal attractions that as Londoners we're somehow obliged to go to every single year despite the fact that it's always packed, the prices are always high and we're never quite sure what the point of it was. But the sparkle of Christmas lights and the aroma of Glühwein always seem to draw us in, and so on Thursday evening I found myself bundled up at Hyde Park Corner waiting for a group of girlfriends to join me for the festive tradition.
I say 'bundled up' but what I mean is as bundled up as I ever am, considering that weather-appropriate dressing is a skill I've never managed to master. And boy, did I pay for it that night as thunder and lightning pealed across the park and crowds of shrieking people ran for cover while I doggedly sunk deeper into my vintage fur coat, praying that it would keep the rain out since my Marc Jacobs brolly self-destructed in high winds a few weeks back.
The rain didn't last that long, though, so when the girls arrived we headed for our private pod on the big wheel and drank champagne with gloved hands and dripping coats before diving into one of the bars to thaw out with a mug of hot spiced Kopparberg.
This
Erdem number is the closest I will ever get to a Christmas jumper and it's not even that close. But with a
sequin beret (which I have in four colours) and
scarf, I think it's suitably festive. I'm obsessed with leather skirts at the moment – they just seem so right in the winter – and this
classic quilted one from Oasis is probably my favourite (also, it's in the sale!). And while I steer clear of most patterned tights, being optimistically 'average' of height and chunky of thigh, I found some lacy M&S ones in my drawer that I'm pretty sure were a present from my mum last Christmas, and they just seemed to work perfectly with the rest of the outfit.