Ugh. I thought this would be fun.

Leopardess

Everything's eventual.
Aug 13, 2003
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Well, the owner of the corporation Chris works for invited us to one of the Annual Gala Dinners along with him and 3 other couples from upper management. I got excited because they're usually really fancy ones and you dress really nice in semi - formal/formal clothes.

However, yesterday night Chris recieved the event information and found out that this one was themed: Wild Wild West Roundup! :sad

On the letter he wrote: "Some people go all out in their dress, "costumes, hats, guns & holsters, etc." and some go in casual ???? wear." (I can't make out that word, wish I could...it kind of looks like weiteen? :confused: )

So, we thought we'd try to do costumes and I wanted to go as a saloon girl, but not only are there only one or two costume stores around here, but one of them is tailor made to fit you (read: time consuming and several hundred dollars) and the other charges 100$+ per costume to rent. That just seems silly to spend that much for 6 to midnight.

I don't know what I'm going to wear! (ohhh, what a cliché) If I don't go in costume, it's going to be just as difficult. The paper said "no suits or ties!" which means a nice skirt or something is out, too. I don't wear pants - only skirts! I own one pair of black dress pants. Nor do I own anything plaid or even remotely cowboy related. This is Thursday night and I'm running out of time! :sad

I wanted to do something like the "miss kitty" or "saloon madame" one:
http://www.clicket.com/costume/saloon/saloon.html

I figure it would take too much time to make a costume like that and it would be expensive to buy all separate peices to try and emulate it. I'm plum out of ideas. This was supposed to be FUN! :mad2
 
"On the letter he wrote: "Some people go all out in their dress, "costumes, hats, guns & holsters, etc." and some go in casual ???? wear." (I can't make out that word, wish I could...it kind of looks like weiteen? )"

WESTERN would be my guess..

I say just go as JLo.. Anyone that complains, well he ain't much of a cowboy ;)

cowgirl.jpg
 
WESTERN! You're right! Thank you!!!! That should have been easy :o

I don't have any clothes like that though:( But if I had Jlo's abs I'd always dress like that....
 
Well, coming from a western state...My advice would be: Denim. J.Lo doesn't cut it and isn't western, no matter what abs and booty she may sport. Sorry. There's a wide variety of western styles that can be worn without spending a fortune. A denim skirt, with granny boots, and a white, high collar button up shirt works. You can check CorralWest.com for some modern western wear ideas...Or, for a more traditional, high class look, remember that lace was the 'in' thing, and too much was never enough. Simple Prairie dresses aren't tough to make, but aren't very fancy either. Check out http://www.denverfabrics.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=001&Category_Code=PF for patterns--see if you have clothing that could be easily modified to match.
 
Leopardess said:
themed: Wild Wild West Roundup!

Some people go all out in their dress, "costumes, hats, guns & holsters, etc." and some go in casual ???? wear." (I can't make out that word, wish I could...it kind of looks like weiteen?
...
WESTERN! You're right! Thank you!!!! That should have been easy :o
you'd think;)

you just got this invitation for an event on Thursday? in 2 days?
thats some short notice!
 
I agree with OG on this one..... the ones you've picked out Leo (Miss Kitty and Sallon Madame) are really cute but I'm thinking they are going to be a little too dressy in a sense for what the theme looks to be..... BUT it does look to be a great time though ;) Good luck sweetie and have a ball!
 
"J.Lo doesn't cut it and isn't western, no matter what abs and booty she may sport."

She's got a cowboy hat and lace-up leather pants, wrapped around her delicious looking............ self... Probably even has on some cowboy boots! Who CARES if the look is historically accurate or not? I certainly don't... She can save a horse anytime I'm around.................... giddieup ;)
 
Some of the best dressed Cowboys and Cowgirls I've seen are members of SASS (Single Action Shooting Soc.). They have matches every month or so at our local range and do an incredible job of with their western wear, period clothing, etc. It's kind of short notice but you might get some ideas from the sites below. Most of the women involved in the club wear dresses except when involved in any of the riding events.

http://www.sassnet.com/

Clothing links on this page:

http://www.sassnet.com/Links-Main-001A.php
 
Maybe I should have specified, it is "old time" western, the days of shoot 'em up sheriffs and saloon girls and dusty ghost towns. The saloon girl seems perfect since this is still a fancy "gala" event - the tickets are several hundred dollars a piece (no, good god, we didn't pay - its on his boss).

Oh, and I found out that the boss is the chairmen of the board that is putting this function on and he wants his guests to be "enthusiastically dressed" haha. Oi vey.

As for the "western" thing, its hard to see what the word is when you've got something else stuck in your head.

And yes, we just got the notice on this. Originally, chris had to work, so he wasn't going to go, but his boss cleared up his schedule for it:)


Thank you for the links, I've looked at them in passing but will look more.

I was thinking about it some more, and called my mom (I love moms :) ), and we decided that the Saloon girl isn't too out of reach. I'm thinking, I have a longish skirt with ruffles at the bottom that is asymmetrical and its black and red. Some of the styles I looked up had on black tank top type shirts (with a red bustier/courset) and the girls carried a feather boa (which are easy enough to find). Then, the hat was really the biggest characteristic, so maybe I could find a cheapo hat at wally world and glue some feathers and flowers to it, or perhaps even onto a barrette.

In some of those links FLKnife posted, there was something like Wahmaker that showed those old time dresses, and darned if I didn't realize that my mom has an old dress that could pass for it - but it's too darn small:(

Thanks guys:) I appreciate the ideas. Its good to have a lot of backup plans!
 
Wally world carries some funky hats up here for a group called The Red Hat Society... usually quite wild and tend to have lots of feathers... though the saloon girl usually went by way of the hair comb or barrette with the feathers you could buy two of the boas and get a good look by using the feathers from one of the matching boas to decorate the comb or barette or even hat.
If you have long hair try looking in the hair care isle and look for a barette or comb that has a fish net looking bun cover/hair sling attached... that with the feathers you could add and some spit curls or well formed and sprayed stiff ringlets and you are good to go.. don't forget the red lipstick.
 
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