Valentine’s Day always garners a lot of attention. You either love it, or hate it.
Why you might hate it:
Because it’s just another day where you feel pressure to spoil your better-half like. It’s like another birthday where you need to purchase flowers and chocolate or make some grand gesture for your expecting-partner. Generally you give but do not always receive. Or you just don’t receive at all.
Why you might love it:
You receive. You get the flowers and the chocolates and the gestures, therefore Valentine’s day is a great day for you. (Top tip – if you are one of these people, keep it to yourself).
Why you might hate it:
You are the nay-sayers among us and believe Valentine’s is a silly day and don’t want to succumb to gender norms and prefer being Beyoncé-Independent and not needing no chocolate on V-day.
Why you might secretly love it:
Do you truly believe that if your special someone came home with a little card or some flowers that it wouldn’t bring a smile to your face? Even just a teensy, little one?
That’s what I thought.
Now, there are clearly many reasons to love or to hate Valentine’s Day but here is why I love it…
Several years ago, my mother stood up from the dinner table at our family home and proceeded to read aloud a Valentine’s Day poem. The poem was not only for my Dad but for her four children as well. And whilst her poem was completely cheesy (and we more than likely told her so), it was also very touching.
It was a reminder, whether we needed it or not, of just how much our mother loved her family. Fifteen years later, it is a moment I haven’t forgotten. Openly expressing love is a beautiful thing, and is so often overlooked in our busy lives.
Yes it’s true, we can share the love any day of the year, but we forget and we become complacent. Valentine’s Day is like a big, flashing, heart-shaped alarm clock reminding us all to show the people we love, that we care.
While Valentine’s Day can be written off as a day to exploit love for corporate benefit, I believe that it is a day to express love and to show appreciation for those we love around us. At the end of the day, there is no greater feeling than feeling loved, and often all it takes is maybe some kind words in a card, a single rose or a poem.
That is why I love Valentine’s Day.
What we’re wearing this Valentine’s Day:
Since hearing my mother’s poem as a teen, I have had a myriad of Valentine’s Days. Some have been spent searching for ‘the perfect gift for him’ or buying something sparkly for myself, some have been spent with beloved friends and some with beloved chocolate and wine.
This Valentine’s Day, however, I do have myself a date and I wouldn’t be in fashion if I didn’t love a theme. So, wearing my heart on my sleeve, I’m going with a new season dress in signature V-day red with all the right accessories.
My favourite on-trend outfit for this Valentine’s Day:
Some more romantic red faves:
Dresses from L – R: Grace Hill Bell Sleeve Lace Shift, Capture Embroidered Mesh Shift, Capture Jacquard Dress
xx Annabel
