Mad men madness

Last weekend I went to a friend's "Mad Man themed" birthday party. I wish that I lived back in that era, or rather, that "people today" dressed with the style and class as their Donald Draper and Joan Holloway counterparts.

My first realisation whilst getting ready for this evening was that the time and effort put into getting ready, whilst extensive, it made me feel like I deserved to look good and literally made me feel like I was walking into social battle with full war paint on.

(This is the video that taught me how.)

As my friend and I were walking down the street complete with black liquid eyeliner, red lips and cinched waistlines, we got quite a few looks from other people. Not going to lie, I felt special and we were both beaming as we walked into the party. I then proceeded to have quite a number of cocktails leave the party and go drinking with other "normally dressed" people.

This photo beautifully demonstrates me after a few drinks:

....... not quite the sophisticated Joan Holloway look I was originally going for:

At about 2am, I was in a not-so-classy bar, and within a short space of time two "interesting" things happened:

Firstly, a lady came up to me and said quite bluntly "Why are you here?" and after I tried to describe the literal reasons that I was present in said bar she just said "no, no, you are just FAR too classy for here!"

Secondly, a gentleman of 65+ years appeared next to me (uncomfortably close in this crowded bar) and proceeded to chat to me about my night and whether I had come here with a boyfriend. To which I hastily replied "YES!....yes I definitely have he's overrrrrrrrr THERE" randomly pointing out a stranger.

Now, I don't believe that either of these things would have happened had I gone out in my usual town attire. I quite liked the first one, looking like a lady encouraged me to act more like one. I found myself smiling in what I drunkenly thought to be a sexy, reserved, classy way and drinking daintily to avoid smudging my nice red lipstick. I like to chalk up my encounter with the seedy old man to the fact I probably reminded him of how his late wife looked on their first date all those years ago, not to the fact that I looked desperate enough to go for a creepy old man...


SHUDDER.

Anyways I digress, I am definitely going to channel the 50s in future outfit choices, it not only made me look shiny and polished, I also felt that way. I felt like a woman to be respected and called beautiful rather than the girl next to me at the bar who I would describe as looking like a dog's dinner. Black eyeliner is definitely staying but the amount of effort it took to straighten my hair and then pin up is going to be saved for special occasions, I'm not quite that classy yet...