It was 2022 and my life was completely upside down, my mam was unwell, I had dropped out of my first undergrad course and my anxiety was at an all-time high. The last few months had left me feeling so stressed that all I wanted to do was retreat to my bed and mindlessly scroll Instagram. It was during this time that I discovered my lucky watch. The Vivienne Westwood piece caught my magpie eye immediately, it was sleek and gold, with a minimalist white face and a hanging pink heart charm embellished with the famous logo.
Vivienne Westwood Gold Heart Watch
During this crazy year, I definitely tried to use fashion as a way of pretending I had everything together, always putting on a good outfit for the day made me feel in control when everything was so beyond my power. At the time I remember thinking this watch was so mature and elegant- and I hoped it would make me feel and seem the same.
I had just had my 20th birthday and I knew this watch would make the perfect birthday present to myself. After a solid week of contemplation, I treated myself to it with my bar job wages.
For someone who didn’t grow up with a lot of extra income for things that my nana would describe as ‘expensive and pointless’, I felt so excited to be able to buy myself something that I absolutely loved for the first time in my life. I sometimes suffer from guilt after spending a lot of money on things for myself but as soon as I saw the watch any regret I had disappeared.
Everyone remembers their first designer purchase, and this watch was mine.
It was the first expensive item I had bought by myself. I have always loved the iconic tartan and the orb logo since I was young and I would constantly stalk second-hand websites for Vivienne Westwood bags. After loving the brand for so long this watch was so special to me.
Half of my all-girls school would show up to school sporting those iconic (and also very impractical) Vivienne Westwood X Melissa pumps.
My mam actually caved and bought me a pair for my birthday one year as well as a pair of silver orb earrings the following year. Vivienne Westwood and my birthday feel like a tradition, and with my mam being ill this year, buying my own Westwood piece felt emotional, to say the least.
When it arrived in the post, I immediately put it on and was so disappointed that it didn’t fit, so I only wore it out for special occasions. After procrastinating for a few weeks, I finally got the watch sized and I could wear it without the fear of it falling off, then it never left my wrist, except to be rarely swapped out for my Apple watch at the gym.
My 21st Birthday
I recently celebrated my 21st Birthday and of course, the watch came with me. Putting it on the morning of my birthday reminded me how much my life has positively changed since I first bought this watch, just a year prior and how much I have seen and done whilst wearing it. In just one year I had gone back to university, my mam is getting much better and I had made so many amazing memories with my friends despite my anxiety.
I think I can definitely now call it my lucky watch. I know that this is a piece of jewellery that I’ll keep forever, and hopefully even hand down to my daughter or little sister one day.
