I bought this Cherry Bomb dress last year as my Happy-Birthday splurge. It is a sexy ultra form-fitting pin-up/vintage/ultimate bombshell dress…and oh so comfortable. This dress has a wrap twist in the bust area, enhancing ‘the girls’ and cap sleeves that look great on all arms. It even has helpful gathers in the front skirt to help hide any possible flaws in your waistline. The dress is a classy below knee-length, and has a nice slit in the back for ease in cat-walking. Being petite, I did have to get a few alterations to both the length (shorten) and have the arm holes taken in a bit more so that it neckline would stay-put.
Being a September baby, it was warm enough to simply be worn all on its own from dinner to dancing into the wee hours of the morning. I really wanted to wear this fab dress for this past weekend’s #DUSTED event I was invited to, but I would need to transform this Cherry Bomb dress into a more winter-friendly one. So here’s what I did:
Gave up the flower in my hair and the peep-toed pumps. Put on black hose and short rocker-chick booties, along with a black leather and suede open jacket that helps keep that rocker-chick look alive – plus helps keep me warm under the winter coat when waiting for the notoriously late Queen streetcar to get around Toronto on a Saturday Night.
Let’s talk about the event, the venue and Saturday night. Seeing as I only knew the DJ who would be busy working at this event, I invited a gf I recently reconnected with to be my +1 …someone to drink and dance with, flirt with boys with, someone to act as my paparazzi for blog-worthy photos. 🙂 Unfortunately, mere hours before waking up from my required ‘nap-before-I-have-a-night-out’ nap, I get a text and phone call from said gf, weeping about her on-again-off-again relationship that ended a few hours ago. Listening to her emphatically, I encouraged her to do whatever she needed to, and not worry about coming out with me…unless of course getting cute and dancing her cares away would help. She opted not to come. And I waffled – do I go to this event…ALONE…knowing nobody…completely friendless?
Why the heck not!? After all, I made a commitment to go, I’m dressed oh-so cute, and I’m chatty enough to manage a few hours of small-talk with strangers I’ll never see again, right? I was going!
The event was at Atelier Resto-Lounge (366 Queen Street East at Parliament St) – a beautifully converted space with exposed brick walls, that acts as a new casual restaurant for the neighbourhood sandwiched between small independent restaurants and shops on the north side of the street. I didn’t come early enough to taste their dinner offerings from their menu unfortunately, but the bar staff were lovely and I got to meet the owner, a young entrepreneur who seemed very pleased at the turn out for the launch party of this trendy new spot.
The venue is long rather than wide, with the DJ stage at the very back with a large screen that displayed various vids on mute and the occasional shout-out for the event name. I got there a little after midnight and from what I saw, it was a mature clientele (30+) who for the most part were dressed to impress. As I stood along the side-lines of the bar sipping my drink to people-watch I couldn’t help but observe how many more men there were to women in this place. And of this ratio, the women were all dressed fantastically, whereas I couldn’t say that about all the men there. In fact, it got me thinking about how much more of an effort chicks seem to put into everything that seemingly goes unappreciated yielding limited results, when compared with a guy who gets ready for a night out to meet or take out their lady.
I met a few nice women actually – they complimented me on my outfit and we got to chatting. Even danced around with a few, complete with fancy dips and spins on the floor. There was a professional photographer afoot, don’t know where/how I can get my hands on those pics just yet, so unfortunately my iPhone pics will have to do for now folks.
As the evening went on and the dance floor crowd diminished, I noticed a gaggle of guys who were dressed in jeans and hoodies – seriously – who, one by one, made their way to the group of ottomans where I was sitting waiting for my DJ friend. Listening to these 24-year-old boys tell me they’re 26, impress me with questionable humor and unnecessary close-talking, I have never been more acutely aware of how much I’ve grown and changed as a person who was able to politely tolerate my current situation. Don’t get me wrong, it is always flattering to be approached, but looking at the effort I put into my outfit vs. the results it yielded (young boys in hoodies) it’s a sad truth indeed friends. Luckily I was rescued by the DJ shortly after… {Insert “Last night a DJ saved my life” tune here :)}. Overall, the night was a success – I was glad I pushed past my fear of going to something like this alone, but in the end anything involving a dance floor is always better with a friend or two.
How I got The Look:
Cherry Bomb Dress by Stop Staring, from SexyPlus Clothing (Rosedale/Yonge Sts)
Rocker-chick buckle+zipper booties from Aldo/Black peep-toe platform pumps from Diesel, Winners
Black leather & suede open jacket by Jessica, Sears (Eaton Center)
Accessories: Earrings from BitterSweet; Odette Cuff from Stella¨ White hair-flower from Forever21
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Me and a few Toronto Vintage Society Sistas braved the cold for discounts on fashionable vintage recreations and all the Scotch cocktails we could handle!
PPMeow! 
