She has an idea that’s shaping up to be a winner for suggested party attire
A friend of mine recently got an invitation to a Halloween party and it’s — wait for it — a “Victorian Creatures of the Night” costume theme. Ugh.
She’s almost certain she doesn’t want to go, and I totally understand why she’s not feeling the party vibes.
I’m all for a festive evening, but a costume party makes me want to send my regrets. I could list several reasons for this, but primarily it’s because I’m incredibly lazy and don’t want to have to get a costume together. Specifically, a themed costume.
I’ve got a costume bin in my basement. I can use my son’s Harry Potter cloak from when he was in the fourth grade, smear a green avocado mask on my face and go as a witch. Then it’s game on. If I have to actually exert the effort to buy or rent a costume — no thanks.
I also feel like people have gotten a little precious with party themes. Seriously, “Victorian Creatures of the Night?” What would your costume be? Queen Victoria as a ghost? (Honestly that would be an easy costume. All you have to do is wear a bed sheet and a crown.)
But it’s just not Halloween parties that have gone a tad overboard. The “suggested attire” for a lot of events has become interesting.
For example, in the past year I was invited to an event where the dress code was “creative bohemian.” What does that even mean? The best I could come up with was a long flowing dress with lots of bracelets.
My all-time favorite was one party where the invite said the suggested attire was “sarcastic cocktail.”
How does one dress sarcastically? Do you wear pajamas with pearls as your sarcastic take on cocktail attire? Or a name tag that says, “Hello, this is my sarcastic outfit.” Sadly, I can’t report back on how people dressed because I didn’t attend the party.
Rest assured, I wanted to go but I had a conflict. Had I attended, I would have gone as myself because the word snarky, which a lot of people have assumed is my preferred moniker, is sarcastic adjacent.
I was so confused by all the new “suggested attire” themes that I chatted up some fancy people who all have chaired their share of balls and other fundraisers for their take on what’s happening.
The consensus was that after all of us wore sweatpants for a solid year or more and forgot what it felt like to wear clothing that didn’t have an elastic waistband, getting people back into dressing up can be a challenge. For example, most men are now necktie averse.
As a chairperson or organizer, you want people to come to your event, especially if it’s a fundraiser. That means you don’t want the attire to be a deal breaker. Hence the attempt of now putting the element of fun into dressing up.
Um, OK, but where’s the element of easy? Like, how about grabbing that black cocktail dress you have in the back of your closet and giving it another night out. That’s what I call a no muss, no fuss situation.
As for “fun” suggested attire that will appeal to many people, I have some ideas. My best one is introducing a “no Spanx or shape-wear” dress code. Just think of it — a ballroom filled with women who can freely inhale and exhale with wild abandon. I promise you the event would become legendary.
This needs to happen, and I will attend this party with unbridled enthusiasm.
Reach Sherry Kuehl at snarkyinthesuburbs@gmail.com, on Facebook at Snarky in the Suburbs, on Twitter at @snarkynsuburbs on Instagram @snarky.in.the.suburbs, and snarkyinthesuburbs.com.
