Monday, January 11, 2010

Oh my, my, oh hell yes...

Green Salsa

Um, is that an 80’s satiny party dress?... and heels?… why, yes it is! I know, first the wacky/wonderful New Year’s jacket (thanks for all your encouraging comments on that btw, you guys are the best) and now THIS?

Alright, for those of you who know that my most traveled style route normally runs like a bridge between the 70’s and the 90’s, and who may understandably be wondering: “what the what??”… the answer is no, I didn‘t jump off the bridge and land in flashy 80's land never to return ;)

The occasion was a Salsa Dance Party for our friend Julianne’s birthday. The invitation (jokingly?) instructed the ladies to “dress like Gloria Estephan.” However, with every intention of taking this suggestion absolutely seriously, I trotted off to the Salvation Army to search out the perfect dress.

It was the first dress to catch my eye, and although my initial reaction upon seeing it hanging limp from its halter strings was an emphatic “ew,” I did see promise in the fact that it was satin, greener than green, and ruched to high heaven. So, when I put the thing on, I was pleasantly surprised in a wow-this-is-actually-kinda-cute sort of way, forked over the $3.50 for it (yay, half off day!) and the rest is history.

The only problem was that nothing but a pair of strappy heels was gonna do for this get-up and strappy heels are not something commonly found in my closet. So off I trotted once again, this time to the Goodwill, on the day of the party and as luck would have it, they did have exactly one pair of strappy black leather heels in my size, simple with nice knotted and woven details that I liked. Five bucks, aaaand done.

Well, almost, I found two clear Lucite bangles set with tiny ball studs and painted on the inside (one black and one pearly white, $1 each) at a local antique market. The perfect finishing touch!

Washin' my hair pose
Oh c’mon, how could I not try to pull off a sexy washin’-my-hair pose in this dress?! Haha!

They rented out a hall for the party, it was lots of fun, and there was even a taco truck parked outside to feed us. There was also a professional salsa instructor to give us lessons! Almost nobody at the party had any prior salsa dancing experience, so that made things pretty entertaining/hilarious.

I wish I had more pictures but we only took a few while messing around in the dance hall before the party actually got started.

Tiny Dancer
Don’t worry, I didn’t lose my left leg in a freak salsa dancing accident. How weird is that picture though?

See, both feet, still there, in their heels… take a good look cause chances are you’ll never see those heels again, haha. Seriously though, an evening of salsa dancing in them was enough to remind me why I love my boots and flats so much!

36 comments:

rachel red lips said...

i can never do heels! the party sounds like a great time and little clover is adorable!

Eyeliah said...

It's perfect for the occasion, why not you know?!

Shelley said...

adorable!

oh, and you don't need to justify it at all... owning a green satin 80's party dress just because you WANT it is good enough for me! i once bought a crazy ballroom gown just because it was marked down and i wanted it. i have not worn it anywhere, except around the house sometimes :)

Andrea said...

great pics! you look very cute in that 80s satiny number :) Which is probably not very fair since I'm sure a few people showed up with 80s hair & poofy sleeves!

Teeny said...

You do the dress justice hot mama! I would make it look very eighties, but I think you pulled it off!

What we four say said...

You look stunning, that dress is gorgeous on you. What a fun party idea! I can't believe the great deals you are always finding.

Ashlee said...

you rocked this dress.
salsa dancing plus a taco truck sounds like a great time to me.

Unknown said...

Oh, my, my. Oh, hell, yes.
Honey, put on that party dress.
SavoryMutt gives it 2 barks and a growl; ruff, ruff, grrrr.
But it seems I missed the "washin-my-hair-pose. What's a dog to do?

Manja said...

That dress looks amazing on you, I love the whole look! Salsa dancing is so much fun :)

Meaghan Kelly said...

awesome! you guys must've had a blast! and I bet Clover just loved it!

MOUSEVOX VINTAGE said...

That dress is hot, hot, hot!

xoxoxo

Anonymous said...

[wolf whistles] You are SMOKIN', Missa!

anne said...

...honey put on that party dress...

hahaha just thought i'd finish the verse :)

so funny that the invite said to dress like gloria estafan! i think your green dress is cute.
it sounds like it was a fun night. i don't do much dancin', but i think i would actually try salsa dancing... as long as there were no video cameras around :D

Toosdai said...

one of my favorite things is when someone comes into my store and finds exactly what they were looking for (yesterday, a woman was going on a boat for a company party, and found a nautical-themed 1970's dress that fit her perfectly). it is a great feeling when the perfect piece at the perfect price (you can't beat $3.50, can you?) is right in front of you!

Caroline said...

I want friends who have parties with invitations instructing me to dress like Gloria Estefan!

You look smashing!

Diane said...

What the what?? Haha...sorry, I just had to.

This dress, although it strays from your usual route of (as you said) 70's meets 90's, looks wonderful on you! Themed events are always so much fun; they're an excuse just to dress up differently.

Looks like you had a fun time!

Liz said...

Whoah momma! Missa you look hot!

Hmm...maybe eighties fashions aren't such a bad thing.

And how lucky are you to find the perfect shoes on the day of? I never find many decent shoes, much less a pair that is made to order for a specific outfit like that.
good thrift karma!

Raquelita said...

Did you know there are SATC2 photos of Carrie wearing an almost identical dress (only hers is pink)?!

Alexa said...

You are truly blessed by the thrift gods, what perfect finds! Salsa AND a taco truck? I'm sad I missed that.

meg said...

it was clearly meant to be! how perfect were those finds!
it looks and sounds like the party was a really good time and you were surely the best dressed of the evening!

Ginela Gonzalez said...

OOO such a very very lovely find, and my what an awesome price. T'was all a destiny that you would round up the outfit in such a lucky way. You look gorgeus! Gotta love salsa, I'm Cuban and I love to dance it lots, tis fun and even if you don't know how to. Do you and your Mister enjoy dancing it together?

Unknown said...

What a fabulous dress! You look really good!

Claire Nouveau said...

haha! gloria estefan would definitely wear that, although not as good as you i suspect ;)

Milla said...

This just makes me smile and smile. Yay! For flats god, high heals are a bug bear.

Unknown said...

Grrrr

Shelley said...

hey girl, i just really wanted to thank you for posting such an amazing compliment on my blog.. wow! you have really made my day! my week even!

June said...

I have this in hot pink! wore it to prom my junior year of high school.. man that was a good night

elena-lu said...

rarr mama you wear that dress devinely!! and funny enough the couple in front at the Zoso band thingy told me about the all girl band and the acdshe one so yeah i was like what?! get out cool! so i'll have to see about seeing them as well!

Thrifted Treasure said...

Absolutely PERFECT for the occasion - how do you manage to make green satin look good?!?

Iris said...

Agh, I love this dress! And the pegleg pic ;-) And cute lil' Clover!

Diana said...

You look hot!! It's look couture. You can make anything look good! I would look like an old vegas grandma if i wore it, lol!

Violet Folklore said...

SO cute! I had been thinking the other day that I got to use that title whenever I post about a party dress :-)

Astral Boutique said...

you GO girl! green machine!

seriously- i have a 90s black velvet body con score set aside for dancing right now... it too was a mix of "ew" and "well, it looks GREAT on!". i can't do heels in real life, either... too bad, cause they make legs look sooo good! but i just never could. it makes my back go nuts!!! (-: Sasha
p.s. the captcha for my comment is "radthing"! a comment on your dress i'd say!

Diane said...

Well done! And fun too!

Nicky said...

haha, I've been listening to Tom Petty lately. Congrats on a great steal- $3.50!!!! That's so rad!!!

Athletiart said...

Love the 80s dress...you will love my vintage leotard blog:

http://athletiart.blogspot.com/