Modern Gatsby

The dress code for the D.C. Distillers' Festival was "Modern Gatsby." What does that mean?, I mused. I'm sure it meant that I should dress with a nod to the 1920's, but how much of a nod? How much modern and how much Gatsby would be right for this party?

Fortunately, unlike many of my night-out decisions, this one didn't take me very long. I have a 1920's-inspired dress that I bought last spring, planning to wear it to Repeal Day, which we have gone to every year since 2014. We did not go this year. Consequently, my fringed sequined dress has been sitting in bag in my closet for months. Rather than let it sit any longer, I decided to go as full-on Gatsby as possible.

To go with the dress, I had a similar sequined headband, which I'd bought on clearance and which had also been waiting in the closet for months.

My handsome mobster in the background

I didn't have any appropriate Prohibition-era shoes, so I went with my low-heeled silver glitter ones, because one can never go wrong with glitter, and I liked the idea of actually being able to walk around without pain!

I couldn't do much to make my growing-out hair look much like a proper flapper bob, so I tried to make up for it with my makeup. Darkly shadowed eyes with as much underline as I could dare, and my best approximation of a cupid's-bow lip.

Yes, by this time the eyeshadow has smudged,
and I've put too much lipstick on the outer
edges of my lower lip, but I tried!

I think the outfit was a good choice. Most of the attendees were wearing similar getups, and I even got a compliment from the burlesque dancer. That's how you know you've succeeded—when someone who gets paid to wear a costume has something nice to say about yours!