About 10 years ago I was divorced and boyfriendless at the time of the Company Holiday Party. I’d only been with the company for a couple of years and didn’t go to the party the previous year so I was feeling duty bound to show up and make nice. I decided that I didn’t need no stinkin’ date for the party, I was going to show up dateless.
My daughter and I (she was about 11 at the time) went to Ross to pick out a dress. I was looking at black cocktail dresses or something in dark green and had a handful of dresses to try on when she handed me this shocking red satin number with a mandarin collar. I said “no way” but she insisted that I at least try it on to see if I like it.
Turns out it looked great on me, better than any of the other dresses and although it was bright cherry red, which I thought was a bit too bold and daring for me, I bought it.
On the night of the party I had made plans with a handful of co-workers to meet at the Executive Secretary’s house before the party for cocktails. I was the last to arrive at the pre-event cocktail party. I got there, parked my car in her driveway and walked up the walkway. I knocked on the door and she called out “come in” which I did. As soon as I stepped over the threshold, my co-workers, in unision yelled:
SLUT!
My face turned just about as red as my dress and they all laughed themselves silly while Patty, the secretary, explained what happened.
Seems as though just before I pulled up someone made a comment about how all of the women there were wearing some version of “the little black dress”. Someone else then remarked that the woman who wears red to the company party is the office slut. Just about then I pulled up and exited my vehicle in full view of the group through the picture window. Good times.
The party was a blast with the exception of one thing. There was a woman who worked in the dept. right next to mine. She was nice enough and we got along. She had a boyfriend who was quite a bit younger than she (and she was about 10 years older than me). That guy followed me around all night like a love sick puppy dog. It got to be a bit embarassing. He kept looking for excuses to talk to me and kept complimenting me on my appearance. Slightly weird and creepy.
Still I had fun. Never wore that dress again though.