the prom you never had

[snugglekitty]

Last night, gentlescholar had agreed to go on an adventure with me. I had a few possibilities in mind, he knew a bit about a few of them but also that it was possible we might do something else.



I thought we might go to a party or a club - some friends were having a get-together and mrpet had a gig. Then, my old friend omniamutantur mentioned ArtProm over chat, and I said, "What's that?" Turned out to be a fundraiser for the Somerville Arts Council. Come and have prom like it never was! Prom without teenagers, I thought? What a fantastic idea.

I packed a bag - black vinyl ballgown circa 2000, combat boots, whiteface, et cetera. I thought, if you have a chance to do it over why not be the cool kid, who's not afraid to be different from everyone else?

I told gentlescholar what I had in mind. He was willing to embark on this plan though I'm confident it might have terrified lesser mortals. We pulled the essentials from his wardrobe. He looked dapper in black dress pants, white buttondown, gray vest, bow tie and pocket watch. We got some looks as we walked up to the Armory but no questions or comments.

The party was already going as we got inside. A lot of happy people dressed in prom wear from all periods, 1865 to the present. Electric blue sheath, 70's style beaded toga, peach with sequins, green with more ruffle than dress... everything was there. Better still, everyone seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves.

There was balloon volleyball, make your own tissue paper corsages, a photo booth, a snack table, a DJ much older than all the dancers. Plus burlesque go-go girls. The music was silly and from many ages, including Safety Dance, Disco Inferno, She's a Brickhouse, Ladies' Night, Like a Prayer, Rock Your Body, No Diggity... a lot of fun music.

We danced a lot, some freeform and some partner. I normally don't feel very confident about partner dancing but with our previous tango lesson I was confident of his lead. gentlescholar was unsure about his freeform skills - I reassured him that under the circumstances, anything he did could be seen as ironic commentary. We danced and danced and drank expensive water and I spent a lot of time giggling at people's get-ups, in a nice happy way, not a mean way. Everyone just looked terrific. We stayed until the bitter end and had fun doing so.

I thought a lot of other people would be punking it up but it turned out my outfit was pretty unusual. I got a lot of compliments on it. If they do actually send the picture that got taken I'll post it.

For me at least, it was so much more fun than my original prom. Not stressful, much better wardrobe choices, better company, no pressure, fewer drunk people, more interesting music. And perhaps, best of all, we were all grownups. I quite like being a grownup.



Next time, I'll wear a tiara. Don't even try to stop me.

What's the best do-over you've had?

Comments

[arachne8x.livejournal.com]

w00t! I want to do this some day.

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

That sounds awesome!

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

Glad you had such a good time!

And good for you, for being able to go.

[gentlescholar.livejournal.com]

It was a lot of fun. I also liked the dance couple that clearly
had a lot of skill; for the last dance, he actually picked her up
and twirled her head over heels. Then he set her down and they
went right into the next move; she looked as if her hair had been
through a hurricane but was grinning hugely.

Thank you for suggesting it and for going with me.

[staceyinastoria.livejournal.com]

I have to say I really look forward to what insane thing you are going to post next. This was very amusing, and I am glad you had a good time.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

now i totally want to throw one of those for my friends...

but i have nothing to wear to such an event...

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It totally was. I was surprised I didn't see anyone I knew; I think they could have publicized it better.

[lady-anemone.livejournal.com]

Ha! Thanks for commenting, stacey. I think your bar for "insane" is a little lower than mine. :)

[staceyinastoria.livejournal.com]

That is probably true, but the nice thing about that bar is that it is adjustable ;)

[staceyinastoria.livejournal.com]

I guess as do-overs go, I don't have anything like a prom. :) The idea of going to a second prom is interesting. I went to 7 of them in high school and yet none of them are that memorable. Only thing I remember about the memorable one was the fact that the theme was Never Say Goodbye (by Bon Jovi). Does that make me old?