Tutu Tuesday in Waterlooville
#tututuesday Let’s be honest, Tuesdays can be a bit of a drag. Work, deadlines, and the overwhelming desire to hibernate in your PJs until Friday – we’ve all been there. But this Tuesday was anything but boring. This Tuesday, I took my #tututuesday ambitions to Waterlooville. I’m not quite sure what possessed me to brave the wilds of the South Coast in pursuit of a bit of pink tulle but I did. I did it for you, my fabulous readers, and for the cause of spreading a little disco joy across the nation. For those who haven’t ventured into the shimmering world of Tutu Tuesday, it’s a celebration of all things sparkly and fabulous. It’s a day to unleash your inner ballerina (or at least, pretend to be one for five minutes) and wear your most glamorous tutu with pride. No, I’m not talking about those itchy, scratchy, boring ones your childhood ballet teacher made you wear. We’re talking tutus with personality - the ones that twirl and shimmer, the ones that make you feel like a disco queen ready to strut your stuff. I personally chose a beautiful baby pink, puffy tutu from the vintage section of my favourite dance shop, because everyone knows pink is the colour of confidence, and also because it makes you feel a little bit more like a real life fairy. This baby is sure to feature in many more future #tututuesday outings, because frankly, she's too much fun not to. I decided that in order to fully capture the #tututuesday spirit, my ensemble would need a few key accessories. First, my trusty disco ball necklace. I mean, you can’t possibly wear a tutu without a disco ball. It’s like trying to have a birthday party without a cake – just sacrilege. So I dug out my very special one, a little disco ball charm on a silver chain. It was small and subtle, but when it caught the light, it shimmered and shone, reflecting the light and reflecting my joy – perfect. But to truly make my look work, I knew I needed a pair of killer heels. Let’s be honest, who doesn’t feel confident in a great pair of heels? They literally add inches to your life, figuratively speaking of course. I went for some hot pink ankle strap stilettos, something that gave a little bit of vintage glamour to my look and screamed “disco darling”. For makeup, I opted for a look that screamed “let’s have some fun!”. I dabbed a little glitter around my eyes – subtle glitter – you know, just a dash of sparkle to reflect the disco ball – and then a flash of colour on my eyelids that echoed the gorgeous pink in my tutu. I let my inner sparkle show. This isn’t the kind of look you can rock without at least a hint of confidence, but let’s be honest, my trusty disco ball necklace was ensuring that. So, feeling fabulous in my pink-tastic tutu, with a bit of sparkle and my signature pink lippie, I hit the streets of Waterlooville. Honestly, I wasn't sure what I expected to see in Waterlooville. It's not the sort of town that instantly springs to mind as a hotbed of tutu-loving trendsetters. I pictured maybe a couple of women, the sort that come out once a month for a trip to the local hair salon and to pick up some snacks – nothing spectacular or a little bit wild and glamorous. And I really wasn’t wrong about that. But this trip wasn't just for me, it was about giving those quiet souls of Waterlooville a little bit of extra spice in their everyday routine. The main street was eerily quiet at that hour of the morning, save for a lone woman outside the library wearing a floral blouse and carrying a handbag. As I stood on the corner trying to decide whether to twirl for her or give a flamboyant head toss, I realised there was no point. Why, for a moment, the woman’s eyebrows went up in surprise and it was all I could do to resist a little dance on the spot. The streets seemed to sigh in contentment that my fabulousness had passed through. They didn't understand why they’d needed a pink-tastic tutu in their day, but in my opinion, they hadn't properly embraced the whole disco-tutu experience, but then again, I suppose not everybody's lucky enough to have found the perfect vintage tutu at a ridiculously reasonable price in the first place. Undeterred, I decided to push forward on my tutu-wearing quest. Maybe a little further into the wilds of Waterlooville would provide more fabulous tutu opportunities. The further I walked, the further I was from a car, and from civilisation. For a moment, I paused at the edge of the path, questioning the whole #tututuesday escapade and why I was dragging myself around this particular, distinctly uneventful part of Hampshire. The only wildlife I could hear were birds in the nearby trees. I’d even forgotten to grab my disco music to fuel my performance. As if by fate, however, something came creeping slowly across the ground towards my very sparkly pink tulle, making its way, slowly, very slowly to my shoes. It was an absolutely gigantic snail, a snail of great size and distinction. Now, this wasn’t just any ordinary, brown, slug-looking snail. This snail had glitter and an aura. And the air, when it was a few inches from my heels, began to thump, rhythmically and gently with a little groove that resonated around the immediate vicinity. A small voice in my head said “Oh my God” and the big snail got ever closer. Then, very softly, a sweet, almost silent melody came out of its shell, which sounded something like "da-da-da, da-da-da da-da-daaa," like it was doing an approximation of the music I was listening to in the morning. At first I couldn’t believe it, it was ridiculous and impossible but in my gut I knew what I was dealing with. "Hello?" I called out. “Are you the disco snail?” For a moment the creature stared back, and even at that time in the morning, it had that almost manic look you expect from a small disco rave in the night. Then it came over to my shoes and the small voice, again in my head, said ‘This isn’t the time or the place”. It was then, the second after, when I truly understood why a disco-loving snail and the pink-tasticness of my ensemble would make a beautiful moment. Then suddenly, the groove got stronger, the music louder and the small voice shouted, “Go! Get out there and dance!” That was it. A beautiful disco snail had shown up, in its shimmering glory and encouraged me to embrace the essence of the #tututuesday movement, It had sent me on my way, I had been blessed by the disco snail and a quiet street became my own stage, my little, moment of glory. So, what if no-one had been out there watching – in that moment it was all I needed to keep moving on my quest for joy. So many more towns need to discover Tutu Tuesday – a beautiful journey starts with one, glorious, pink-tastic, disco loving step at a time!