Friday 23 March 2012

Betty's Secret Diary 23 March 1950

Friday, 23 March 1950

Dear Diary

I say, rotten luck!! I am absolutely appalled to report a fashion faux pas of such monumental proportions concerning the arrival at a function only to discover another girl wearing exactly the same outfit!! The impact to one’s esteem can at best be described as utterly devastating. One would most certainly endeavor to avoid fraternizing with another similarly attired. Just imagine how absolutely frightful it must be toendure the unbearable misfortune of meeting TWO other girls wearing the same dress! Surely one would simply die of embarrassment? Furthermore, the shocking truth is that the three ladies inquestion were my very own salon girls, Grace, Doreen and Anne-Marie! Goodnessme! Those gals should’ve known better.

It happened at the Winkle Picker Club the other night, just before my singing performance on stage with “Chico’s del Liso” swing band. The girls had traveled separately on different buses, yet arrived together at the Club simultaneously. I greeted them with Mr.Fitzpatrick (the nightclub proprietor) who gallantly offered to take theircoats. One by one, the coats were removed to reveal each girl wearing the same navy blue Eliza & Ethan Mariah wrap dress with button detail. Gosh!! An awkward moment of uncomfortable silence prevailed!! Never mind, once the shock had subsided the girls howled with laughter. Grace, Doreen and Anne-Marie very gracefully shrugged off their enormous blunder and consoled themselves with a complimentary glass of bubbly.

Subsequently, it did seem peculiarly ironicto perform my stage routine with the costume changes as planned. For the opening number I chose the elegant classic Doris black ball dress accessorized with a super glittery marcasite choker necklace. During the second act I blossomed with the pink rose print halter-neck Swing Dress. The audience was ecstatic with applause as I invited the salon girls on stage to take a bow with me. I suppose they expected the girls to sing backing vocals?

During the show a particular gentleman did catch my eye, or rather made jolly sure that I noticed him! At every turn I was ambushed by an onslaught of flash photography. Throughout the performance a handsome chap with a jolly long lens and a glint in his eye nearly blinded me every time he fired off his shutter! Oh! The cheeky fellow kept on winking at me!

After the show he followed around the club,it was like having a faithful puppy dog at my heels. (I must admit I did enjoy all of the attention). Eventually the cheeky snapper plucked up the courage for a chat. I was surprised to hear a deep southern American accent as he introduced himself, “Tex Deckman, at your service ma’am, from the state of Tennessee”. Naturally, I allowed Tex to position himself strategically beside me for the rest of the evening as I took to the dance floor.


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