Cancun v. The Compact

I am leaving for Cancun in four days. That is what all this flying preparation has been about, and now for the other preparation. What to wear when I get there. I will be attending several "events" and the requirements for dressing have mystified me - what do you wear to an awards banquet, in Cancun? A cocktail party, in Cancun? The people I will be joining are celebrating a successful, top-ranking year for their businesses. They are celebrating. How does "resort casual" fit into this scene? To make it even more complicated, this is a crowd of 40-70 year old industrial equipment dealers, from all over the country. And my husband is running this show, so I feel some burden to appear respectable myself. In a nutshell, I need a resort casual executive wife party dress.

I decided to bag The Compact for the week; I don't own anything appropriate for this tropical party, and after a quick perusal at Goodwill didn't think they did either. So I hit the stores. Big box stores. Mall stores. Department stores. I think I went into them all. Nothing! I found formal dresses in crepes and satins, tailored dresses in dark colors for work, knit playwear for grownups, but nowhere did I find a fun, flirty, colorful, sun-shiney tropical resort party dress. At any price. My dogs are barkin', my head is pounding, and I was about to give up.

Finally, I think I found something, right here in downtown Camas. Momo's had it - a cute A-line khaki skirt with a little bit of embroidery and sparkles around the bottom, and a simple, drapey t-shirt that flatters every curve. Surely I can wear that to one of these things! I think I need a pretty necklace, but geesh, more shopping? I think I'll check our other downtown shop, Accentuate, for accessories, and maybe my all-time favorite store, Camas Antique (it's like a wonderful flea market!). Then at Ross I found a colorful flowered halter dress, crepey summer fabric, almost to my ankles. It's cut a little too low in the bodice but I think I can wear a black camisole under it for extra concealment. It was a pretty cheap dress; I hope it doesn't look cheap. Now I think it might be chilly on the beach in the evening, so I need a wrap. *sigh* Shopping. And of course I needed new sandals. And it's been a while since I bought underwear. And I don't have enough respectable pairs of shorts to get me through a week. And my t-shirts from last summer are looking kind of ratty.

Not a good week for The Compact. On the plus side, I didn't buy anything that I didn't really need. And some of the things I bought I would have needed to buy sooner or later anyway. And nothing was terribly expensive. And they are all things I will wear beyond this event, unlike all the formal dresses I've bought for hotel events. Yeah, yeah, I'm justifying. Tomorrow is a new day. I have the rest of the year for The Compact.