The party invitation went out – bring out your best 80’s attire and re-experience the magic of prom, New Year’s Eve. Growing up in the south (in the 80’s) prom was a very belle-ish occasion. Big skirts (be careful of that hoop now, ya’ hear?), lots of ruffles, and single strands of pearls.

I thought back to my prom experiences. One year one girl had made everyone’s tongues wag because, horror of horrors… she wore a straight dress! Strapless, straight, and not pastel. In she sauntered on the arm of her college-aged boyfriend. Scandal.

As New Year’s Eve fastly approached, I dreaded shopping for a hoop skirt. Where would I even find a hoop skirt in San Francisco? And then it hit me. I would be her. I would be the one in the straight dress. And I just happened to have one in my closet, a one-shouldered, red snakeskin, slinky number I bought, but where else, in Las Vegas.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt so glamorous. My hair teased up, my face sparkling, my red snakeskin hugging my curves with a fur stole tossed casually over my shoulders: Welcome, 2005!