Last night, Bridget and I attended the What Women Want Sex and the City cocktail party at the 99 Sudbury event space. Earlier in April, I had entered a contest on this blog to win two free tickets to this party, and I won! So naturally, I called up Bridget and asked her to come along with me.
The anticipation for this party was immense. The build-up of it all was great. I find, before any party, I get so excited with the preparation for it: the manicures/pedicures, cocktail dress selection, new shoes, accessories, drinks prior to the party, and just how fashionably late should I be?
I ended up wearing a strapless Betsey Johnson (pale yellow with tiny white dots, corseted, then flowy) dress, Browns nude-coloured platform stiletto-heeled pumps, and a nude clutch with gold buckles by Jennifer Scott. (Sorry for the poor quality photo, it was taken on my Blackberry, and I promise that the dress looks better on than off!)
I started my night out by going to meet Bridget at her place, and then out to get some drinks and a little something to eat. We ended up at Fuzion on Church Street, one block north of Wellesley. They have the cutest patio and totally friendly staff. We each had a 'Big Red', which is a fabulous drink, comprised of Absolut Mandarin, Alize Passion Fruit Liqueur, cranberry juice and Red Bull. It was so delicious, I had to have more than one!
We also ordered a few tapas dishes. We had the Fuzion Frites with avocado-scallion aioli, and Rice Balls. The frites with the dip were yummy... The rice balls? Not so much. Essentially, they were just deep fried balls of rice with what seemed like melted mozzarella cheese, and a tomato paste dip. I do not recommend this tapas choice! (Editor's Note: I'm aware that these are most certainly not part of my new diet, but I mean, it's only been one day! I'm bound to slip up and forget at the beginning! Back to dieting....)
We then decided we were fashionably late enough to head over to the party at 99 Sudbury (Liberty Village, one block south of The Drake hotel).
Upon arrival, we were greeted by scantily-clad women, and were given one drink ticket for a Carrie-themed Cosmo. After a quick pit-stop in the bathroom to adjust make up, and rest sore new-shoe feet, we headed into the main room.
We soon came to the realization that you had to collect your goodie bag as you enter the party. This, we both found to be very unfortunate. Nobody wants to mill around a party carrying a massive, heavy bag from The Bay, filled with perfume, juice drinks, and cosmetics. This was definite poor planning on the party committee's part. I would suggest in the future, they dole out the gift bags as people are leaving.
As we entered the main room, it became apparent that this "party" was more of a trade show, than anything else. I was aware, from the mass amount of messages I received via Facebook regarding this party, that there would be many SATC-themed vendors, but I didn't realize that it would be one giant room, filled wall-to-wall with vendors! There were bikinis, dresses, manicures, purses, jewelry, false eyelashes, the works! But where was the dance floor? Where was the great music and fun, party people?
All around the room, there was an eclectic mix of women, that's for sure.... and approximately seven men - two of whom were straight. There were some very fashionable women, wearing gorgeous cocktail dresses and amazing shoes, and then there were the tragically dressed women who just have no clue how to dress for a cocktail party - SATC-themed, no less. I know this sounds mean, but there are blogs you can read, and websites you can scan - magazines, even! - that can tell you exactly how to dress for a party of the like. Even an LBD will do! For those of you who do not know, an LBD is a little black dress. They are perfect for any event, if all else fails.
After about 30 minutes, and one free cocktail later, Bridget and I had had enough people-watching, and decided to head for a little Queen West action. Because of the whole new-shoe-factor, we hopped in a cab and arrived at The Drake a mere two minutes and $4 later. After a quick flash of the ID's, we traipsed up the stairs to the stunning Drake Sky Yard, a personal favourite of mine among nighttime patios in Toronto. We grabbed our vodka-sodas-with-a-wedge-of-lime, snagged two seats by the bar, and resumed our people-watching, albeit a little more interesting than the all-girls party we were just at down the street.
Four vodka sodas and two doubles later, we headed back down to the street and hailed a cab. Our funny little Thursday night adventure had come to an end, but not regrettably.
All in all, it was a fun night (as soon as we arrived at the Sky Yard). No goodie bags to brag about, no new toys from any of the vendors, and certainly no real gossip after such a quiet night. Tonight, I have a fun-filled evening of work from 4.30pm-10.30pm, and a Bar Mitzvah in London Ont all weekend!
Tata for now, lovelies!
StheF
