It Takes a Village...

… to get me ready to go to the Baltimore Museum of Art’s Party of the Century!

In July, I wrote about the massive renovations and restorations happening at the Baltimore Museum of Art, here. I was asked to be on the party planning committee and jumped at the chance to celebrate that, and the Museum’s 100th Anniversary this year.

There are actually two parties, both on the same night. First is a gala dinner for all of the major donors to the Museum’s restoration funds, and then there’s a fun after-party with music and dancing. I was lucky enough to be invited to the dinner, and of course, I will also go for the dancing!

That left me with a quandary as to what to wear that would be glamorous, but comfortable enough to go from cocktails at 6:00 to dinner at 7:30 to dancing at 9:30! If you’re like me, I have to be comfortable or else I get all squirmy!

I decided to create a Pinterest Page where I could pin all of the ideas I had and finally came up with an outfit, with a little lot of help from my friends. 

To start with the top, I had a piece from last year that I like – a cashmere boat neck sweater with a vintage mink collar. It’s comfortable, and fits beautifully.

On to the skirt. Little Augury, aka blogger Patricia Gaye Tapp, had pinned a number of vintage Balenciaga designs, and I found one which I thought would work, with a little tweaking. I wasn’t wild about the jacket, especially with its peplum ruffle, but I loved the way the skirt was designed, with a demi-train.

I knew I’d never find anything like this, but then I remembered one of my neighbours is a professional seamstress. After a consultation with her, she said that she could make the skirt, and we began the process. Using the mink from the top, we picked out a heavy Armani silk taffeta, in a deep brown/black moiré. I had several fittings and we agreed on things like the length, which I didn’t want to trail after me, especially with the crowd for dinner and dancing. I had visions of a Marx Brothers type skit – someone steps on the train and I keep walking , the skirt rips and I end up in my knickers!

Next up was my friend Andrea, the owner of Bosom Buddy Bags. I picked out a gorgeous evening bag at her sale a few weeks ago. It’s the perfect size, just big enough to hold my phone, some lippie and a credit card.

She also helped with the shoe situation. Since I had the stress fracture in my knee two years ago, I’ve found it impossible to wear heels. And since the party’s going to be long, and the floors are marble, I knew I had to have comfortable shoes. So I found a pair of quilted Chanel-style ballet flats, with lots of cushioning, and Andrea augmented them with satin ribbon to match.

I am having my hair and make-up done, and also getting a manicure, so by

I might actually be ready to party!

Thanks to the village of friends who invited me to the party and helped me get ready! I couldn't have done it without you!

PS: SO sorry for the wonky formatting. I was having major issues uploading, so had to write the post in the blogger editor, which is ghastly!