a bit of lippy

i'm a lucky girl. my sister-in-law sarah is throwing me a party, and tomorrow a bunch of her friends have been invited for an evening in my honour. i don't know exactly what i've done to deserve this, and i'm suspicious it's nothing. but the celebration is on: invitations have been sent--formal paper ones, from the v&a museum in london, in the shape of handbags--and a fabulous sounding menu has been planned. i may need to do something amazing between now and tuesday to give cause for celebration. i'm afraid i'm running out of time.

last week, sarah filled me in on the plans. she shared the delicious sounding food and drink ideas and the list of people who could attend. among other things, she asked for some feedback on the dress code. should we have one, she asked, and if so, what should it be? i thought, sure! what fun. she sent me a list of potentials for review, and i read through them, trying to imagine what i would wear for each:

dress: relaxed with a bit of sparkle
dress: chic and casual
dress: casual with a bit of lippy

i have never been much of what i used to call a girly-girl. as a kid i was more likely to play with matchbox cars than barbie dolls, and only at about the age of 30 did i discover how nice it was to get a professional pedicure. so assuming i had hit the limit of my girly expertise, i called an american girlfriend. i read her the list of dress code options. what would you wear to this, i asked? what does it mean to dress with a bit of lippy? is that like sass or attitude? it was when she had no idea either, that i figured out this was not a limitation in my femininity as i had assumed, it was instead my birthplace. in the end, i asked richard, who provided a definition without hesitation. Lippy = lipstick. it might have proven too much that my husband knew this makeup diminutive that i was struggling with, but he added, kindly: "it's very english."

i ultimately didn't really provide sarah any input into the dress code for my party. not really clear on the subtleties of how casual with lippy differed from casual and chic, i decided the choice should be left to her. i figure when push comes to shove, i can select the same dress or skirt and top for any of them, and i can hide behind my limited maternity wardrobe.

when the final invitations went out, sarah chose "dress: glossy or glowing." when i opened my handbag card and saw this, i was relieved that i recognized all the words. i'm sure i can come up with something for this one, at least with an advice call into sarah before i set off. no matter what, i am really looking forward to the party. and now i realize that in addition to being a fun evening, it could provide me another needed lesson or two in being english.

Comments

[michelle]

Seeing how you looked last time we saw you, glowing should be a cinch for you to pull off. Have a lovely party.