Post Prom Wrap-Up

My big 40th Birthday Prom Party finally happened this past Saturday night and boy was it fun! I kind of went over the top with the details - but how often do you turn 40, right?! I bought a simple 1950's pink prom dress on eBay and pimped the hell out of it with sequins and tulle ruffles. Take a look at the before and after photos...

This is the Before pic taken straight from the eBay listing. It was real pretty but way too plain for my liking.

Here is the After pic once I pimped it with some fancy embellishments. I put another layer of tulle around the skirt since what was there was kind of faded and dingy looking. It took 8 yards of tulle to complete that skirt! Yikes!
I gathered thin strips of tulle to make the ruffles across the bust and around the waist. Then I added some bright pink sequin trim around the edges of the sash and at the waist ruffles. I was pretty happy with how it came out - my dream was to be part circus performer / part vegas showgirl / part prom queen. In keeping with that vision, I also bought myself a tiara and a scepter to complete the outfit. Like I said...it was a bit over the top but extremely fun.

There is something liberating about turning 40 - I feel more and more that I don't really care what people think. I'm just doing what I feel like doing...like wearing a princess dress and carrying a scepter. I've been thinking that maybe I'm on my way to becoming one of those 80 year old ladies who wears red leather pants and lots of eye shadow.

Here I am with my Prom Court!

Ten of us went to a local beauty parlor and got beehives for the occasion - so amazing! Mine was so tall it defied gravity. Here are a few beehive in progress pics from the beauty parlor...


First they tease it up so you look like Robert Smith from The Cure...

Then with one big woosh! they sweep it all up into the hive...it's amazing! Vivian was nice enough to build my hive around my tiara. She used to do these kind of hair-dos all the time back in the day. Her clients would come in once a week to get it done and in between visits they would keep the do nice by wrapping it in toilet paper while they slept. Apparently one gal even slept in a chair all week so her hair wouldn't get smooshed.

I had every intention of keeping that hair-do in for a few days...but after a sleepless night because of all the poky hairpins I just had to rip it out in the morning. We were headed to the Obama rally here in Portland on Sunday and I thought it would be fun to have a pro-Obama slogan across my beehive...but alas, it was not meant to be.

I created a photo booth by decorating a cheap garden arch and hanging leopard fabric on the wall behind it. Prom guests were able to pose for Formal Prom Portraits taken by my ever talented Mom. To see all these formal shots as well at a bunch of candids from the party, simply go to my Flickr page. Enjoy!