Monday, April 21, 2008

my prom

My sister and I both had proms this weekend. She’s 16 and I’m 34. Hers was her junior prom and mine was an 80s prom party, where a whole bunch of adults acted like we were 17 again. The only real comforting thing for me was the fact that I didn’t ever actually go to a prom in the 80s. I graduated in the 90s. But of course I went along with it. . . Any opportunity I have to dress up and dance is ok by me.

Well, I made my dress out of taffeta and satin. It was spectacularly pink and black with a drop waist, puffy sleeves, tiered skirt, and a huge flower on my hip. I made a wrist corsage that was about a foot long. I had on tan tights that looked more like a grey corpse color and black pumps. My hair looked like that crazy tight perm we all had in 1987 and I had enough eye shadow to make Cindy Lauper jealous. I couldn’t believe I already had a tube of pink lipstick in my makeup box. I even wore “Primo” perfume. A friend of mine came with me. He wore a perfect new wave/Flock of Seagulls hairdo, a bowtie, and cummerbund.

Anyway, it was a fun dance. There were miles of taffeta and enough bangs to fill a yearbook. The air was full of Aquanet and Drakkar. Neon and pastel colors were resurrected. Girls still sat in chairs watching the boys lean against the walls. It looked just like a prom with a huge disco ball in the center, tinfoil stars, a faux background for prom photos, and 80s music. . . But, instead of the expected room of teenagers, it was full of chaperones. Instead of Anthony Michael Hall, it had 40 year olds wearing mullet wigs. Instead of the creepy man that played the principal in Ferris Beuller, the walls were lined with scores of creepy men. I couldn’t tell if they were in costume or not. Sad thing was- some of the costumes weren’t too much of a stretch for many of the people there.

But now the dance is over, my hair is straight again. I did have to put on a t shirt that matched the hot pink nail polish though, and I couldn’t quite put away the blue eye liner. . . I liked it so much, I’m wearing it today. Watch out Molly Ringwald – I’m the prom queen now.
Enjoy the flashback

2 comments:

Leslie said...

That post was totally rad! ;)

Brian Cutler said...

I wish I could have been there. I have some pretty sweet 80's new wave dance moves I could've used.