"Sorry. I can't hear you over the volume of my hair." ~ Anonymous
You may have heard that Cunard, the cruise line on which we'll sail to Norway this summer, is a bit of a throwback to the golden age of cruising. They'd be the first to admit it. Cunard proudly holds to the old traditions.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the dress code. While casual is the watchword during the day, there are only 2 different dress codes for evening.
- Gala (read: formal which means tuxes, dinner jackets, or dark suits for men; ball gowns, cocktail dresses, formal separates for ladies.) or
- Smart attire (which I interpret to mean: Sunday Best, jackets or suits, tie optional for men, nice separates or dresses for women.)
No denim allowed! So the DH is gearing up to wear a jacket each night and I'm working on my formal evening looks. Of course, this involves more than just the right clothes. I need to figure out my shoe situation, but my friend Vicki (from Table 60 on our World Cruise!) always says that at a dinner party it's what shows from the waist up that matters. So jewelry needs to be coordinated with each ensemble. I need to learn to apply more make-up than I usually wear. And oh! I need to do something with the cotton candy that is on my head.
I've never had terribly thick hair, but the many medications I take for my lung condition have made it thin a bit over the years. I let it go to its natural "silver girl" color so I wouldn't stress it further. But it continues to thin and it's hard to turn out a formal look with so much wispiness going on.
Enter my sister Linda. (If you've been following my blog, you've already met her. We stopped to see her and my BIL at their place in Keystone, SD on our way to our Alaska cruise in 2017. Linda is the one who first introduced me to the joys of cruising when she was a travel agent and took me on a familiarization trip with her.) Anyway, she surprised me with a hairpiece for my birthday and it's a great color match for my bio-hair.
It feels a little "Nashville" to me. I'm not used to so much hair! But by the time I add some sparklies, I think it'll go a long way toward making me look "gala!"
So, look out, QM2. Here comes me and my hair!
Ooh, that's quite the stylish "up-do"! I'd say the colour match is perfect. Your ship's dress code sounds quite sophisticated but I fear I lack the wardrobe for such high living. Our upcoming river cruise is a tad more laid back, though it's always nice to dress up a bit in the evenings. I can't wait to see your photos of your ship's cabin - I'll live vicariously through you, hehe.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way. My ball gown days are over, but I do own a sleeveless long black dress that I spiff up with different jackets and sheer kimonos. I'll also take my black palazzo pants to mix and match with some sequinned or beaded tops. I think I'll be okay. My big concern is making sure my dressy shoes are comfy enough to spend the entire evening in!
DeleteI followed your world cruise blog and loved it! The best blog I've ever read. Can sympathise with the thin hair thing but well done on the hairpiece. It looks fabulous. LOL takes me back to the 1960s/70s ... we all had hairpieces back then. The "updo" was quite the thing for formal events such as balls, opening nights at the theatre, etc. Easy to care for too, just shampoo/condition as you would your normal hair then set in rollers and dry. Then comb out and set into a do and then plonk it on your head and you'll be good to go. The hair salon on Cunard will be able to help with that I'm sure. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteSuzi from Australia
Thanks, Suzi! I'm so glad you enjoyed my WC blog. I sometimes go back and reread parts of it, half-disbelieving I really did all that! We fell in love with Australia and would love to go back. Every Aussie we met was so frank and friendly, we could happily live there.
Delete