A face in the crowd

It is amazing how ones perception changes according to their surroundings. This weekend I had the occasion to attend a cocktail attire function. Translation--Dress Up time!!! I am not really that girly of a girl, but like most good American girls, I enjoy myself an opportunity to dress up. Most notably for me, those have been prom, my wedding, and an occasional event like this one (high dollar fund raiser). This weekend was no different, and as a new mom, actually quite special as I was getting a night to dress up and I was getting a night out without my kiddo.

As I prepared for the event, putting on jewelry, shiny clothes and other adornments, my daughter followed me around the house saying things like "Ooh, pretty mommy" and "Pretty sparkles, Mommy's necklace pretty sparkles". She then needed to have a pretty sparkle of her own. When I finally emerged from the bathroom, all gussied up, I got whistles accompanied by appreciative butt grabs from my husband, in other words, I looked good to all those around. I felt good too, I had received sufficient appreciation from husband and daughter for me to dawn my Cinderella persona and take on the night with fervor and excitement.

When I got to the function, much of that feeling evaporated rather quickly. My look while out of my norm and exceptional in its occurrence, was actually rather typical and common once I arrived. I noticed as I looked into the sea of faces, how hard it was to stand out in a rather good looking room. In everyone's effort to dress up and stand out, most had actually achieved a rather uniform look with very little variance, leaving myself to be just another face in the crowd. In fact, I had a hard time finding very many people who really stood out in the room. And actually, the people who stood out to me sadly were the ones who were dressed down or who did not take as much care in their appearance. There was one exception whom I did notice. A rather attractive woman, who turned out to be one of the event volunteers, had a striking dress with a noticeably different style about her. I would liken it to a wedding where the bride truly stands out above the rest. This woman was the belle of the ball so to speak, everything just perfect. I wonder if she knew or felt how she stood out in the room.

Needless to say, I still had a very nice evening and felt like my clothes allowed me to act exceptional, even if it was only for my own benefit. And, when I got home to my fan club of 2, I was not disappointed by their continued admiration and outward complimentary behavior. In that room, I was the belle of the ball and instead of turning into a pumpkin at midnight--like Cinderella--I was able to stay the Belle of the ball!