Mum explained that dresses tended to be plain and functional rather than pretty and prissy. Only brides and bridesmaids and flower girls got the wear really nice frocks. Of course there were ‘girlie’ girls like Sally and fanatics of the Lolita and kawaii fad, but they were few in number. Like today, most girls and most grown women simply preferred trousers. The tide was turning even then. She also explained that when she was a girl, guests to a birthday party were expected to bring a gift and a greeting card. I’d never heard of a greeting card so mum explained the concept. So long as I’ve been alive, only parents buy birthday gifts… not friends or cousins or even siblings… and as for the greeting card tradition; “It sounds like an awful waste of paper.” I claimed.
“Which is precisely why we no longer have them.” Mum replied. “We also used to have paper party plates.” she claimed. They used to buy disposable plates to use once and throw away… surely she’s winding me up? “Paper cups too.” Mum claimed. “We were a very wasteful society when I was young. It’s not like today.” she said. The impromptu history lesson was interesting. Sometimes the past is the strangest place.
Meanwhile, Sally, Mollie, Kirsten, Sarah and Melanie are busy getting ready upstairs. I can hear their muffled shrieks and giggles echoing down the stairwell, and before long, their approaching footsteps. I become increasingly nervous as I hear Sally telling them to stay in the dining room. She pops her head around the kitchen door and beckons me. I glance at my mother who gives me a reassuring smile before looking down at myself and stepping forward. Sally grabs my hand and leads me into the dining room where I’m greeted with an audible gasp… followed by a long silence.
It probably only lasted for a second or two… but it felt like minutes. A deep sense of shame flooded through me as my sister’s four guests just looked and looked at me. This is the moment I’d been dreading. The moment of ridicule that will spill into tomorrow and the days after that. I know what I look like and for a fourteen year old boy, it’s certainly a sight to behold. With that thought I cast my eyes over their outfits; the pinks, the prints, the bows and frills from head to toe. Not many girls dress ‘girlie’ these days and Kirsten and Melanie look just as out-of-place as I do. I smirk. Melanie smirks. Mollie chuckles but quickly contains it, then Sarah bursts out laughing and that sets us all off. It becomes infectious and we cant contain ourselves. We laugh so much it hurts.
Sally, Mollie and Sarah each wear prissy pink dresses with big Lolita bows perched on their heads. Their make up is heavy and peachy. Their footwear, like mine, is dainty. Kirsten wears a lilac dress because she really hates pink, although it’s got more than its fair share of pink details. Melanie, whom I’ve never seen in a skirt or frock, clearly shied away from the offer of a blue dress and instead wears the little pink dungarees with a pastel blue T-shirt, pastel blue tights and a pair of white baseball shoes with pink ribbons instead of normal laces. It’s clear that we all feel just as ridiculous as each other in our prissy girl clothes.
“Oh my god… look at his shoes!” Mollie exclaims. “You’re wearing heels!”
“Look at his hair!” Melanie yelped. “He’s got ringlets!” she giggled. “You look brilliant!” she claimed.
“You all look brilliant.” Mum said. She handed out some fizzy drinks and put some music on. It’s a golden oldie but highly appropriate; Girl’s Just Wanna Have Fun. The party started giddy and thanks to Sally’s meticulous planning, she kept the momentum going with a well selected play-list of girlie songs and intermittent games. We all got in to character and willingly played along to musical statues, blind man’s buff and pin the ponytail on the princess. Sally presented prizes to the winners, all of which wear cheap and girlie; a plastic jewellery set, some crayons and a colouring book, a fluffy pink pencil case, etc.
Things quietened down a little whilst we tucked into the buffet. Mum’s cup-cakes went down especially well. I chatted with my cousin Mel and knowingly asked why cousin Simon (her brother) didn’t come. She grinned and said “He was too scared of wearing a dress.”
“So were you by the looks of things.” I smiled, before telling her how Sally and I were certain she’d rather wear a dress than the dungaree shorts she opted for. She told me that she’s a ‘modern’ girl and as such, refuses to wear dresses under any circumstances. “I’d rather wear a dress than those.” I said. “You look cute though.” I added, causing her to momentarily grimace.
“So do you.” she smiled. “I love your hair.”
“Really?” I coyly said, bobbing my head and causing my ringlets to bob and bounce around my ears.
“Yeah… its about time boys started making an effort to look pretty for us girls.” she claimed. “If you wasn’t my cousin I’d kiss you!”
“Eek!” I thought. “Well… thanks Mel…” I blushed. “…but I doubt I’ll be dressing like this again after today.”
“That’s a shame… but you never know, Sally might let you borrow it again.”
“Oh it’s not my dress Mel.” Sally interjected.
Melanie looked baffled. “Mum bought it for me.” I confessed.
“Then you’ll have to wear it again.” Melanie grinned.
“Oh I dunno.” I coyly replied. “What would my mates think?”
“You mean… when they see all the girls flocking around you?” Melanie quizzed.
