As I write, we are poised in that fashion moment between the
Golden Globe Awards last Monday and the San Benito County Chamber
of Commerce Dinner Dance this coming Saturday.
As I write, we are poised in that fashion moment between the Golden Globe Awards last Monday and the San Benito County Chamber of Commerce Dinner Dance this coming Saturday.
The red carpet of the Golden Globes, plus every other award show and movie premiere, has become a showcase for designer gowns for the women, few of which have actually been purchased by the wearers. The gowns, the shoes, the jewels, even the tiny clutch handbags, are all loaned or given, as walking advertising for the designer.
At the chamber’s dinner dance, I daresay most attendees have bought their own clothes and may have even bought them several years ago.
In Hollywood and New York, age makes an item “vintage.” In San Benito County, it just makes an item old.
Not that old is bad. If I were attending I would probably either wear my 17-year old black sequin mini skirt or my 5-year-old silk suit.
Also, in San Benito County, the tiny clutch handbag is a rare fashion accessory. Part of the reason, of course, is that San Benito County is a less dressy place than Hollywood.
Dinner dance invitations state “black tie optional” – which means that men are welcome to drag their tuxedos out of the closet, and wear them if they still fit. But if the penguin suit doesn’t still fit, or if a guy doesn’t have one, or if he just doesn’t feel like it, he can wear a snazzy western shirt and a bolo tie, and look just great, in my opinion.
“Black tie optional” is also code for the women to get as dressed up as they want to, but as far as tiny clutch handbags go, they’re only rarely part of the ensemble. I happen to own a tiny clutch handbag (same vintage as the sequin skirt) and it barely holds a lipstick and my driver license.
But if you’re a mom, or in any other kind of work that requires you to be on call, you’ll need your cell phone, and it won’t fit. Neither will a notepad, or a comb, or anything else you might need for a night of partying combined with whatever else is going on in your life.
The celebrities, of course, don’t need to worry about any of that stuff. They have staff to reapply their makeup, comb their hair and deliver any messages too urgent to wait until after the party and the post-party.
The high-heeled sandals that most celebrities wear are a slightly different story. These probably will be in evidence at the dinner dance. People even dance in them. But if you won’t, or can’t (like me), don’t feel bad.
Remember that the celebrities are mostly sitting down during the awards. And most of them, as experienced performers, have received dance training, so they’re a lot more able to walk gracefully on heels without teetering or endangering themselves or others.
I know most of us take the fashions on the Golden Globes and similar shows (which are then replayed like flash cards on TV and in the magazines) with nonchalance. It’s all part of the big selling machine. And I bet the folks at the dinner dance will be having more actual fun.
