Fancy Pants Head Downtown

February 10th was a Friday night kind of like the good old days. Back when evenings were spent dressing up in an array of the most wild and unlikely apparel, then either going to a movie or starring in our own phenomenal home movies. There were bunches of "us" in high school and the years leading up to when everyone went and got married. There are three of us remaining in town now.

Now it's just Maria, Renee and me. This month was the first time we tried anything like this in well over a decade. We agreed to meet at Maria's, bringing with us any interesting articles of clothing. We'd devise outfits, put them on, and go somewhere to be seen.

Who cares if most of the people who were fortunate enough to spot us thought we were off our rockers? It was fun, and that's all that really matters. Life seems too long to keep doing the same mundane things all the time.

We wanted to dress up in a way that would make onlookers question whether or not we were serious. Here's what we came up with.

Me, Maria and Renee before heading to dinner. (I'm listing us in order from left to right. I realize it looks more like bad grammar than orderliness.)


(All fancy pants and the fur vest Maria's donning are from the exclusive Shannon Collection.) It's hard to tell, but my pants are leopard print velour beauties. I borrowed Maria's animal print flats and gold costume jewelry to "match".


Don't we look snazzy?


We didn't mean to coordinate so nicely. It was just a handy coincidence.

Maria's husband had the honor of photographing us, then we decided to go to our favorite spot--downtown. We tried to act normal as we parked and strolled to our restaurant destination. Maria and Renee did a lovely job of keeping poker faces. Me, not so much. I couldn't help but smirk.

Of all the eateries downtown, we thought we might be welcome at Cafe Ole'. We couldn't have been more wrong. One eyeful of our ensembles and the hostess escorted us directly to a booth in an uninhabited corner, where nobody would see us. The tables around us remained vacant during our entire dinnertime, though it wasn't a slow night for business. As we sat engrossed in our menus, we heard other eaters laughing and enjoying the company of what sounded like a thousand friends. Some of the merriment seemed a little forced. Our trio wondered what could possibly be so funny. The "party" was behind us, and our backs were surrounded by the walls of our tall booth. We couldn't see anyone but ourselves, and nobody could see us. The hostess had made sure of that! Occasionally, we took turns standing and peering over the top of our seat to see what the cheerful commotion was about. Nobody seemed to notice us. Then again, they had no idea what we were wearing.

We ordered nachos and mini chicken chimichangas to share. We dined alone in a bustling restaurant. Each time an employee attended to us, it was a different person. It was as though the whole crew was gathered in the kitchen, drawing straws to determine who would have to go check on us next.

After we finished, we decided to casually exit through the cantina. The waitstaff probably had security ready to take us down if we caused any trouble.

It was past 11pm when our walk around the block began. It wasn't too eventful. We did notice people looking at us, which was exciting and unnerving at the same time. Either way it provided a small rush of adrenaline. We stumbled into Edwards for a minute, and some chick said something to the effect of, "Hey, cool pants!" That was encouraging. =)

We didn't stay out long since it was a tad chilly. But we didn't leave without stopping to take pictures in front of a certain store.






Right after this shot, my camera announced to Maria that its batteries were depleted. Dangit.
We returned to Maria's house and didn't stop chatting until half past three in the morning.

It was a much needed fun night with two of my favorite people. We didn't let the lame Cafe Ole' staff rain on our parade... too much.

We've already chosen three summery frocks from our winning inventory to be worn next time, when the weather warms up.