How have I lived all this time as a girl on this planet and never tried on a real party dress, a long formal dress, a designer name, or a dress costing more than $100?WHAT HAVE I BEEN WAITING FOR?
I trotted myself to a most foreign place, the elegant gown section of Saks at Houston's Galleria...where there are bona fide designer dresses and bonafide dress wearers....we're talking Vera Wangs and ladies who wear Vera Wang! HA!
I kept hearing Tim Gunn's confidence boosting voice in my head: "There are 10 essential items everyone woman should have in their wardrobe...including a perfect white shirt, a sweatpant substitute, a classic trenchcoat..." (not in Van Horn, Tim!)
I grabbed four party dresses selected simply for the fun of trying them on. The criteria: dresses I would never seriously wear anywhere...and I'll fess up... most of them were selected because they were downright weird and uncharacteristic of me. Given that my lifestyle and my wallet would make the actual purchase of a dress ridiculous, most of all, the dresses were selected because they might be the most fun to try on and see in the mirror.
--a $900 gold and silver beaded and sequined 1920's inspired sack....dreadfully showy and ugly, but fun to wear. This thing was so heavy, it made me wonder how Ginger Rodgers ever danced in her beaded floor-length getups.
--an unlikely but surprisingly comfortable combination of gray jersey with silver beads and sequins at its Grecian style empire waist
--an incredibly silly asymmetrical number in shimmering gold satin...a puzzle to put on...does the huge deconstructed bow go ON the shoulder or UNDER the arm? It was one ostentatious toga, that's for sure.
--and the raspberry taffeta number, which was actually quite nice, although the fabric was so stiff and harsh I felt like a wrapped package
Yes, I'm too frugal. And I've avoided a life that would bring me the invitations. But now after all these years, I do feel like a party girl. And that's fun.
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