The Great Gatsby Affair

We got all dressed up last night to attend the 2009 George Washington Ball presented by the American Association of Singapore. The Theme was "The Great Gatsby Affair" and so we dressed in our best 1920's style clothing.

For the guys it was easy. Put on a hat and an art-deco inspired tie and you're pretty much ready to go. In a pinch, a tuxedo will serve you perfectly well.

For the women, though, it was much harder. You might find a feather boa hiding in the back of your closet, but very few women can just produce a flapper-style dress you haven't worn for a few years the same way a guy might pull out a black pin-striped suit.

We almost didn't go when we couldn't find the "right" dress. But just two days before the event, Deanna found a dress shop with a black dress with beading said 1920s. She even referred a friend who also needed some last-minute flapper fashion for the occasion.

Of course a new dress means new shoes and a new purse, too.

We tried to find a feathered headband to complete the look. We went to a couple different costume stores. But the first one only sold dance costumes, and the other one only had a couple broken, dirty rentals. And nothing in the right color.

We finally decided to just make one ourselves. I found everything we needed in a craft store. As a bonus, they also carried strings of pearls in bulk spools. I spent the last few hours before the ball making a pearl necklace and the beaded feathered headband you see below.



Deanna was a little apprehensive about dressing up at first. After putting everything on together, she thought it might be a bit too much. We've never been to the George Washington Ball before. We have a couple of different friends that went before and they said they always just wore normal formal attire -- just a standard tuxedo and evening gown. This was the first time that they had a theme. All the previous years, it was an ordinary formal ball, so no one knew what to expect.

People must have been ready for a change, because almost everyone dressed up in theme. Some people were dressed more than others, but we definitely fit in fine.

I think having a theme made the affair a lot more fun than just typical black tuxes and dresses. If we're still here in Singapore next year, I hope they continue to have theme events rather than just ordinary formal attire.