OUT AT NIGHT

I was heading out and had to get there fast, but was midway through designing a cover for a living room settee to coordinate with a new color scheme of black and white with red accents when I was called to the rush to "get in the car." I pulled the fabric up around me to cover my recent removal of sweat shorts and sweatshirt being tossed off after a lengthy walk around my usual eight to ten-block exercise trail through our neighborhood. I had come in ready to work the handmade pattern for the ottoman cover.

That voice calling me from outside the townhouse apartment was that of my son and a neighbor just returned from their shopping trip like so many other times where I was called from inside to jump into the neighbor's red pickup... in whatever I had on, from whatever I was doing. The fabric I should have dropped, this time, was a zebra pattern in satiny taffeta planned for a trim edging of black suede and studs. Instead of dropping it, I pulled the length up between my legs tying the ends around my waist. I pulled the other end up over my front and tied it at the nape rolling the tied ends underneath. The black suede trim was snatched up and lassoed my waist as a simple leather belt. I dashed outside and jumped into the car out front to dash away to the emergency at hand.

We came back with an entire backyard grill set complete with an outdoor sink extension... the emergency was the sale that included a discounted full propane tank for the upcoming holiday. What inspires fashion design? any crisis at hand. The "dress" was fashion enough to send a neighbor lady... in her tweens... falling back inside after getting a glimpse of me and my thrilling design. She didn't say a word to me, but a glimpse at her face said she was not only awe-inspired but jealous! I didn't think much of it. It complimented my footwear of black strappy sandals and my hairstyle of hair pulled back to a ponytail that must have posed me as one of my neighbor's own age group and profile while I was old enough to be her mother in size ten.

By today's standards of "freakum dresses" promoted by the likes of Beyonce'... Rihanna and anaconda snake charmers, I was outmoded and fit for a Halloween scare at some night party romp. To make a point, I have never attended a Halloween party or parade. I do not stomp, primp nor pose on stage. I don't design for any of those... at least not since my cousin ended her career of ministry and needing all hands and sewing machines for rush work on choir gowns for her church. In that instance, I did rush work and paced pre-requested orders that were assumed to have been appreciated by that church group.

If I'd had the right mindset on for stage preview of the freakum garment, I could have added some makeup and add on hair for competition with the RuPaul community... I think. I could have done that and most assuredly won some Halloween trophy for a rush job at makeup application that would fall somewhere short of Freddy Krueger... no mask. At any rate, it would have made a definite statement and perhaps set a new trend if even among the stage stars... less a pair of well structured Beyonce' shoes which I did buy some of, much later. Four inch heels with a one inch platform gold metallic stompers that if applied with that outfit, could have had me tossed upon a stage with a mic slammed into my hand with prompts to "get it on!"