Yesterday I was feeling a bit of a funk. =)My most favorite party dress was calling to me from the closet. I have only wore it once (20 year reunion last year - me and my awesome hubby before the reunion to the left) and it is now almost too big for me now that I am down almost 50lbs from that photo, and I wanted to be able to wear it one more time.
So who would appreciate my strikingly simple, yet beautifully elegant party dress most?
The Gay Pride Parade in DC!
They had a great turnout, awesome food, and everyone was VERY nice! =)
After the picnic they were going to be marching IN the parade. I needed some pedometer steps, so I decided I would go with! =)
However, I had a really big challenge to overcome first. The little jacket of my party dress is just too hot for marching in a parade. I have never.. EVER gone sleeveless in my entire life in public - let alone with just straps! I was debating back and forth in my head. You will be IN a parade. Hundreds of thousands of people will be looking at your arms - esp if you have to carry that flag that Greg wants you to carry. Then I thought, really Lorelei? These people are here fighting for their rights of equality as citizens in their own home country that treats them like they aren't even human, fighting against discrimination, and mindless violence, and hate crimes and all that they have to go through because of the CLOSED MINDEDNESS of our society... and YOU are worried about your flabby ARMS? Get over it! =)
That was it, I wrapped up the jacket, put it in my backpack, had a last minute (my arms aren't hideous right?) with Greg who earlier in the day told his friend Angela, "I learned from Lorelei that you never tell a woman you don't like her outfit if she has not brought an alternative one with her to the hotel.." so who knows if he was telling the truth, but ultimately it didn't matter. I DECIDED I was simply not going to go into heat exhaustion or not do the parade because of my own hang up about my arms. I thought about The Biggest Loser contestants who get up on front of millions of people in their workout gear and do things that most overweight or obese people could never endure privately, let along in competition on TV. So to not walk in the parade, or wear the coat just b/c of my arms.. that would be ridiculous. =)
WOOT! I WILL OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES IN MY MIND! =)
His shirt is made from original disco balls and his COMBAT BOOTS match his shirt, except that all of the little sequins are different colors of the rainbow. Then we also had little disco balls around our neck. All I could hear through the sound of the crowd cheering were ..
CHEEERbootsCHEEERlookatthosebootsCHEEEERboots
Throughout the entire parade I got one direct compliment on my dress and heard another guy say that some woman he knew had that dress - LOL.Conclusion: Sequin Shirt + Sequin Boots > Pretty Party Dress at the Gay Pride Parade. =)
This is Ms. Ella Fitzgerald, the Queen and Star of the Ziegfeld's Drag Show and one of her sweet and nice boy toys. She was parked next to us in the staging area so I ask her Highness if I could have a photo, she was happy to oblige. =) I added a disco ball to her minion's neck as he just wasn't dressed up enough without it. =) 
The parade route was 1.1 miles, but we walked a mile to the end of the route first, and I held a flag above my head arms fully extended the 1.25 hours we were on the parade route. We then walked .5 miles back to the Greg's, and then on to the truck. It was amazing to be in the middle of such energy of such a cheering and supportive crowd. This last photo is during the parade route to show the volumes of people. It was like this for over a mile - just amazing! =)
It was like 97 in DC.. and so I poured buckets of sweat, but I had my new awesome TLC backpack (Thanks G!), my bottles of water and I didn't care - I was there supporting my friend, getting in my fitness in a BEAUTIFUL party dress and taking in the energy of easily over 200,000 people! It was amazing! =)
How awesome! You go girl!
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