The girls were excited about getting to play dress up and I was mentally making a list of all the discount and hard to find sewing supplies I would buy at Vogue Fabrics. Stock up on zippers...thread...look at corset making supplies and french netting. I told Lauren all about Josie's visit to Peaches last fall and how the stylists fix everyone up with accessories and gloves to match the dress. This is what it was like on our last visit with the exception that Josie was the only customer and there were three stylists.
This is PEAK prom dress buying season and I know the shop will be crowded. We'll have short Sunday buying hours for all the fabric shopping I had planned, so I thought it would be smart to avoid the rush and get to the boutique before it opened. We arrived at Peaches, which is in the heart of the Czech/Polish area near Midway Airport, at least 30 minutes before the shop opened.... and .....LOLOLOLO!.... There was a crowd of at least 50 eager promettes and charge card toting financiers...aka Moms and Dads... waiting outside for the doors to open.
The girls bailed out...well... were told to get out and wait in line... and took my shopping stool with them. Yes, I have a shopping stool. When my knees start hurting, I don't care how ridiculous it looks! So I drove around until after the clock struck 12...noon. Even then, I had to nearly drive over a couple of slow heifers to get to the handicapped spot by the door. :)
Inside I found Lauren right away picking out dresses. Peaches had an M.C. on a microphone blaring instructions to the shoppers....in thick Polish American accent.... "It is ver-r-ry imm-por-rtannt to get a nummberr. Does ev-ery-one have a num-mberr? Pick out a dress and someone will give you a number. " I had a young boy come up and ask ME if I had a number. Lauren gave him her dress and got a number. She was number 26 ! OH shoot! ...Where's Josie?
While I was looking around in the overcrowded store full customers and tall racks of dresses for little short Josie, more instructions ..." If you don't find your size or the exact dress you want to try on, just pick out a dress and show your pictures to the girl who will assist you in the dressing room. She will pull dresses for you from the thousands we have in the back and work with you personally. She will not help anyone else until you have found your dress. Does everyone have a number?"
Well right about the time I heard for the 15Th time, "Does ever customer have a number?" I found Josie in the "stage" area. She looked scared and bewildered.
Did she have a dress picked out? NO
Did she have a number? NO
DIDN'T SHE HEAR THE INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE POLISH PROM DRESS PUSHER?
Then these words came out of her mouth, "I don't want to try on any dresses."
What?!
All of a sudden Josie had caught a case of scewed morality. She had decided it wouldn't be fair for her to try on dresses since she wasn't really going to buy one. Some girl who didn't get up at the crack of dawn to get to the store in time might not get to buy a dress !!! I needed her to try on a dress similar to the one she wants me to spend a week sewing. Never mind we just drove four hours and spent a weeks worth of gas money....She doesn't want to try on any dresses!
Who raised this girl anyway??? Didn't she know that she was the only girl in the shop without a number!
Just short of the Mother curse, I guilted her into picking out a dress, ANY DRESS, and asked her if she had the picture of the flamingo dancer dress with 1000 yards of fish line ruffles she'd decided she wanted me to make in the car that morning. Yes. She pulled it out of her coat pocket. <<<
I am just a little concerned that it will make my short gal look shorter...and its a pain to make those ruffles.
I flagged down the runner and got a number. 36! 36 GIRLS AHEAD OF HER! This is dismal news because as everyone knows my real reason for this trip is to buy fabric and the store closes at 6.
Lauren , Josie and I waited with the crowd of spectators while one prom queen after another was properly accessorized and promenaded in front of the mirrors.
Speaking of a promenade, did you know that Josie's school still does that? The day of the prom, all the well dressed couples take a winding walk thru the gym and are properly introduced to society. The event is very well attended. Last year I sat in front of a group of gray hair grannys who commented on every couple... "Look at the way she carries herself, she can really walk"... "Isn't that an elegant dress!" "You wouldn't catch me at a cat fight in that one!" I never knew where the word "Prom" came from until we moved to western Illinois.
Lauren's number finally came up and they moved us to another area where a very patient girl helped her find several dresses. While she was back in the dressing room Josie got the M.C. to let her try on her dresses in the same area and at the same time as Lauren so I could see them both!! He moved up her number and she came back with her stylist and dresses. Who raised this girl? :)
Lauren's first choice was a large tulle skirted pink poofy number. NO! It was an unatural cherry slushy color with too high a waist.
Josie came out in a sexy halter style beaded chiffon gown in blues and greens with a train like a peacock>>>>>on the right. It was very very pretty but too long and made for a lot taller girl. Oh, uh... I just realized it was designed to be open to the waist and our smart stylist had pulled it up and pinned it!
The dress on the left is similar to the best style Lauren tried on.
We escaped the boutique, got stuck in traffic, had a dismal shopping experience at the south loop Vogue fabrics and got stuck in traffic again. On a Sunday!
After we made it out of the city, we stopped at a Golden Chopsticks Chinese restaurant. Famished, faint and crabby we couldn't wait for dinner and ordered appetizers and a dinner for three. The ribs and egg rolls were OK, but I knew we were in trouble when I found a lump of nasty tasting pork in the bottom of my won ton soup. From there on out everything all the beautifully presented dishes we were served had the taste of the funky pork and old grease. Glee turned to disappointment as I realized our dinner for three was an expensive disaster. Not wanting to look wasteful, I had the waiter sack up our leftovers and we left.
Out in the car, Josie asked "What was that awful taste in the food?" Lauren said "It was in EVERYTHING!" Josie said,"Put the food in the trunk! I don't want that smell to get into my fabric!"
I told them I thought it tasted like old grease.
Josie said "Old grease?"
I explained that we just got served food that was probably cooked with nasty recycled deep fryer grease.
Ancient Greece at a Chinese restaurant!!
I have never seen the girl I RAISED laugh so hard! :)
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