Dress #22

On Saturday (7/5), Joe and I went to the Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball with one of my friends.  We had gone last year with one of my other friends and I wanted to go back this year.  The first time we went I thought it was a Masquerade Ball, as the name implies.  However, it's really a free for all as far as costumes are concerned.  They say masks are required but people literally dress up as anything.  It's kind of like Comicon.  Some people wear ball gowns but most people dress up as all kinds of characters.  There's elves, mystical creatures, steam punks, witches and wizards, fantasy movie characters, etc.  Some people get really elaborate with their costumes.  This year we saw a woman dressed up as a snow globe.  It's hard to describe but she had a huge dress and the lower part of it looked like a scene from a snow globe that lit up.  We've also seen costumes that had moving parts.  One woman had wings that moved and another man was riding on a dragon that moved and blinked its eyes.  We also saw a woman dressed up as a dragon with a light up tail and wings.  You can pretty much play a spot the characters game every year.  There's always a David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly from the movie Labyrinth, a Belle and a Phantom of the Opera.

The ball was at the Park Plaza Hotel in downtown LA both years.  It's a pretty big venue.  It has 3 ballrooms plus an outdoor area and a large lobby with a big staircase.  One of the upstairs ballrooms has a large stage and it's where the live performances and bands play.  Both years they had some kind of elfish dance and warriors fighting performances.  The other ballroom upstairs was a more classical ballroom.  People were waltzing in there.  The downstairs ballroom is just a DJ playing music so it's more of a dancefloor.  The outside area is just a place to mingle.  There's seating if you're lucky enough to get it.  And they have colored lights and smoke for the atmosphere.  The first year they had silk and lyra performers inside of this little box but we didn't see any this year.

I got my dress last year specifically for the Masquerade Ball.  I love the Phantom of the Opera play/movie and my favorite scene was always the masquerade ball.  I always wanted to go to a party like that and I figured this was the opportunity.  I basically thought it would be like that.  Though it was different than I expected the first year, I had a really good time and enjoyed dressing up for it. I got my dress from Amazon.com for $90.  It's called FairOnly M37 Strapless Prom Dress.  Made by FairOnly.  I got the Burgundy but they also carry it in Navy Blue, Purple and Lilac/White.  It's a dark red color with silver floral embroidery on the top and skirt and silver and black beading at the top.  The top is made of taffeta with a ruched part that goes over one side and a flower with belt that hangs down plus a corset in the back.  The main skirt is organza.  I got the size 10 based on their sizing chart, but it's at least a size too big (probably 2 sizes too big).  Because it's so loose, I had to tie the corset really tight which doesn't show it off very well but it is a really beautiful gown.  It doesn't have a materials tag but it ships from China.  I had to buy a hoop skirt to puff it out underneath, otherwise it would have looked flat and awkward.  I also got my mask off Amazon.com for $16.50.  It's a Vintage Venetian Black Swan Laser Cut Masquerade Mask Decorated With Gem Crystals, made by Apex.

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