My good friend, Stacey, yes I know Tracey and Stacey, invited me to the opening show of Boston Fashion Week this past weekend. I very happily accepted as I love any new experience, and I had never been to an actual runway show before.
What does a 40-Something woman wear to a 20-Something fashion show? Throughout the whole of last week, I quite literally pulled every single item out of my closet to try and find an amazingly, fabulous outfit to wear. My closets are bulging with clothes and shoes, yet I could not find anything that I felt was suitable, or that fit me the way it used to, except for the shoes that is. This is why we love shoes – they don’t discriminate! The clothes not fitting me is another problem to be dealt with but we shall not go into that now for fear of me breaking down and crying like a baby! I had narrowed my selection down to about five outfits and I was really not happy with any of them at all. My anxiety was at an all time high when my friend Kathleen suggested a dress of hers I had commented on some time ago and when I tried it on, I loved it, so finally I had something different and new to wear for the evening of Fashion.
I met Stacey for the pre-show at The Mandarin Hotel at 5.30pm – totally ready in my (friend’s) sparkly dress and bright red MAC lipstick to start the night. It all felt very glamorous and also quite trendy. We were there early, in fact one of the first people to line up outside ready to be let in the doors… were we too eager? First order or business, a martini… and why not it was 5.30pm! Next order or business… check out every single outfit that walked through the door… this was oh so fun! There was the “what on earth was she thinking with that hat?”… the “oh my goodness where are her friends, she should not be wearing that dress”… the “I am so jealous, she looks amazing”… the “I am totally going to copy you!” and of course “hmm, that’s an interesting choice!” The place was a buzz with excitement and loud chatter and I was along for the fashion ride.
The designer was Emily Muller. I thought her clothes were very vintage peasant… flowy, gorgeously silky and made for a boy type figure, very cute – just not for me. Of course, all the skinny, beyond skinny and emaciated models looked good in them, but they were not something I would ever or actually could ever wear. The show was still so exciting to watch with the loud music and flashing lights, the press snapping photos and the “Housewives of Boston” in the front VIP rows to stare at. Not to mention all of the other people in the crowd who were as thrilled as we were with their iPhones and little cameras taking photos. Emily Muller came out at the end of the show and she was a cute little pixie doll who looked gorgeous in her own design dress. The crowd went crazy clapping and gave her a standing ovation.Later in the (early) evening we were escorted to the Tent just outside the hotel in the garden courtyard of the Prudential Mall. Our orange wristbands meant we were not VIPs but we still walked the red carpet and there was a little goodie bag waiting for us on our seats. Seated a few rows up from the stage we readied ourselves for the show to begin.
After the show we were invited to the “post-show party” at the Back Bay Social Club. I have absolutely no idea how we did it, but again we were the first people to arrive. Straight to the bar for a complimentary glass of bubbly and to debrief on the show. The room filled up and the lumberjack shirt wearing waitstaff worked their way through the crowds with fried chicken and sliders while everyone waited for the designer, Emily Muller to arrive. The night was still very young but felt like it was about midnight! I was having such a good time.
After the thrill of already being out for a few hours, we decided to go for dinner at Les Zygomates. Dinner turned into a five hour fun evening of food, drinks, almost a fight (seriously) and hanging out at the bar with the bartender who was celebrating her birthday until 1.30am! More to come on this part. This 40-Something woman suffered intensely the next day with fatigue and the start of a horrid cold but it was totally worth it!
