Boys, Boys, Boys

I've just had my final week at Glamour and began GQ last week.. another week, another publication! I'm starting to feel like a nomad, any time you settle into any vague sort of routine and rhythm with the people you work with you have to up-sticks and move on. There are some upsides though, I have never felt more comfortable with meeting large numbers of new people without the safety net of a friend. This isn't to say I love it, just that it is more tolerable now than it ever was when I was at university! But I had an amazing time at Glamour and Easy Living, celebrated two birthdays and Fashion Night Out with the girls and left having met some colleagues- a very exciting step since I have only ever had friends, and not many of them at that! 

I was preparing myself for GQ to have a completely different vibe to any of the magazines I've worked at previously simply because it's a men's magazine- in my head there were no other women in sight and instead only desks occupied by attractive, well groomed, well dressed eligible bachelors. I was partly right. There are a high number of men, they are on the whole well groomed and well dressed but they are bachelors or not is besides the point. Since I suffer from a chronic case of PUPS (Panic Under Pressure Syndrome, coined by yours truly), I find myself in a constant state of panic with a more or less blank expression on my face when confronted with a good looking man. Or any man, actually. My reaction when faced with being asked by a man if I was going into the GQ doors or not was to gabble nonsensically about passes and keys until said man ran away, leaving the door shut behind him and me locked out. Obviously I was going to the same place and, incidentally, had forgotten my pass so was forced to linger nonchalantly outside till someone else, a woman, went in. This scenario is one of just many that have occurred over the course of my first week at GQ- I am finding it difficult to adjust to being around fashionably competent men who aren't remotely phased when they see a woman wearing intimidatingly short shorts with bare legs in this weather, stiletto heels and hardly a jumper in sight. In other words, they are so used to being surrounded by gorgeous women that one wearing about fifteen jumpers and swathed in scarves who can't form the words "yes" and "thank you" when asked a simple question hardly registers. Alas, I am operating outside the real world, where only the finest cut it.

However, while the women are beautiful and slender they do not all happen to be varying forms of the same genetic mutation that allows you to eat as much as you like, whenever you like. Oh no, they are extremely disciplined- feverish talk about bikram yoga sessions is rife. I feel vague pangs of jealousy when I see their enviably coltish legs in mini skirts, and then realise that it is 1pm and these feelings are in fact pangs of hunger. At this point, all feelings of healthy diet determination leave my mind and I happily indulge in whatever it is that I should fancy- which may or may not be a three cheese and prosciutto baguette with full fat mayonnaise. This sounds stereotypically fashion magazine but is not the whole truth- I have seen a fair few indulgences in afternoon sugary snacks, usually courtesy of a PR company sending a box full of treats to thank the magazine for their coverage. Or as one editor put it, "thanking me by making me fat.." Gleeful faces appear at the door as soon as the parcel is delivered; with Percy Pigs, white chocolate coated raspberries, champagne truffles and salted caramel biscuits devoured by the girls! What I can't work out is why they even consider for a second that they should watch their weight.

But, I digress- I was convinced that the atmosphere at a men's magazine would be mellow and laid back with hardly a bad word said about one another. Of course I was wrong. Where there are masses of competent, confident people put in one place having to work together there will be arguments- no matter the gender. The office vibe is more laid back on the whole, which is something I'm enjoying- plus, the amount of men's grooming products are more than enough to rival the women's. Any man who says different is hiding their under eye cooling concealer and pore refining day cream! 

I've included some snaps from GQ to keep you entertained- I know all of you skip past the words and go straight to the good stuff. And yes, I did finish off the other girls' chips when they stopped eating halfway through and threatened to throw them away. 

Boris, the office dog, and the absolute best idea!

[Un]healthy lunch from Randall & Aubin delivered right to our desks, courtesy of Label PR- yum!