Black Tie With Medals

What do you do when you receive an invitation stating that the attire for the evening is “Black Tie with Medals”? If you’re like me, you throw the idea out into the winds, or put it on Facebook, and see what happens, fully expecting to get back a lot of wise-cracks. Or, an unexpected offer from a super-creative friend to whip up some medals for you!

My school friend, Andrea, who’s the creative genius behind Bosom Buddy Bags, offered to whip up some medals for me to wear. Andrea and BBB have been making my handbags for a few years now, and everywhere I go, people rave about them. The company’s signature motif is a bee, because of their name, and because they’re just busy bees making the bags.

A few days ago, Andrea re-iterated her offer of the medals, so I sent her a picture of my dress, which is black, with an olive-y green taffeta skirt. She got busy, and when she e-mailed me the images of the medals she’d created, I literally had tears in my eyes because the designs were so perfect, and because she’s so wonderful to do this for me.

The first medal has an amazing background with loads of leaves, acorns, scrolls, a crown and center motif of her signature bee. She even thought to add a tiny green stone to echo the skirt of my dress! It’s on a gold chain with an olive green ribbon so I can adjust the length.

The second medal has a little more gravitas.

It’s on a black grosgrain ribbon with a center stone in the green of my skirt. It’s also adjustable, so I can wear it more like a choker.

It’s supposed to be chilly for the party (naturally!), so I am going to wear a beautiful cream brocade opera coat I was given a few months ago. It’s a stunning piece. If all goes well, I might manage to look pretty decent for the party, medals and all.  Thanks for all of your help, Andrea!!!