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| Dress shopping in Kigali - not as easy as it looks. |
Oooh, so much to report :op
Gearing up for the Paddy's Day ball at Serena Hotel in Kigali this coming Friday. It's a big event as the newly appointed Irish Ambassador to Rwanda will be there, so they're doing it in style. I mean, not many Paddy's Days you'd go to with 'formal dress' and 'corporate bookings' - definitely not many that cost FRW 35,000 a ticket! Wasn't going to go for that reason, but so many friends are, and it will be something the likes of which we don't see that often round here.
Just spent the whole day looking for a dress. It's bloody hard in Kigali as you usually get clothes made, but I've left it a bit late for that. So, I had to do a major crawl. I started in town behind the Mosque, where Cathryn had suggested, but no joy. Then I did the whole of Nyamirambo, which is the main shopping stretch with loads of clothes shops. They were all rather average and none of them fitted.
I was losing hope fast after about three hours. I took another moto back to town and got him to come to a screeching halt outside another shop, where I saw a dress out of the corner of my eye. Too small, still nothing.
I crossed the road and saw another shop. Much better luck this time. A couple of lovely satin scarf halter-neck jobbies. They were really nice, but not the most flattering as they went directly out after the boobs, so made you look a bit like a parachute. Still, I felt more confident that, at least, worst case scenario, I would have something acceptable. At FRW 13,000 a good price, too.
I was in a part of town I'd not been to before and decided to keep walking just a little further. Up a rocky mud road I found a boutique and thought I'd accidentally fallen through a wormhole into London! It was bizarre. The sumptuous evening gowns slid back like the tides of the Red Sea as I entered. Everything was a mass of colour, glitter, and handbags. I could have wept. There were more dresses in this one shop than I had seen in the whole of Kigali. I tried on a couple - one too small and one very nice but a tad tight.
I'd given up. If I couldn't find a dress in that shop I was doomed. I had a headache, my foot was killing from limping all over town. Not good. I was ready to go home and panic. You can't spend that much on a ticket and have nothing to wear :o(
Then, just as I was stumbling back down the hill, I glanced to my right and saw an unimposing little shop with a dress hanging up outside. I thought 'what the hell?' I'd been everywhere else, this was to be my last-ditch attempt. It didn't look promising, but I had nothing to lose.
The moment I entered, a tingling of hope hit the back of my neck. Perhaps... just perhaps... almost instantly I spotted this lurvely chocolate brown knee-length dress with gold, cream, caramel embroidery and glitz in a swirly pattern. Classy, thought I. Bet it doesn't fit. Everything here's a one-off, no size range - either fits or it doesn't.
The lady kindly pulled it down for me and I went to try it on...
Success!
I swirled in the mirror and was amazed. I was then doubly amazed when all of a sudden, before my feet, appeared a pair of matching shoes! She had guessed my shoe size without even asking!
There was even another in a similar style, which I tried. It was slightly longer but much more cream embroidery - we both decided the first was better against my skin.
Then she decked me out with a necklace, handbag, hairband and would-have-been earrings if they'd been pierced. I felt bad, but just stuck with the dress and the shoes. Fairly reasonable, I felt: 20,000 shoes and 25,000 dress. As a one-off for something I'll definitely wear again, I was happy. I'd trudged all over the whole of Kigali. In this tiny back-street shop I found exactly what I needed. I half expected the shop to disappear after I left.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of the spending (Mum - this is where the birthday money went).
I have the dress, the shoes... and the man.
Ermn. Yes.
Uh...
So. Last night I got a text from D. I hadn't seen him in about five months. He'd been doing some stuff for Eyecon magazine back then. The editor was in town and wanted to meet me as I'd offered him some material.
We hooked up in Stella and had a good chat. They're planning to open an office here later in the year and wanted to recruit me to help with some promotional stuff. Not that I have a huge amount of time on my hands, but pro bono it could be kinda fun.
I only went to meet them, but of course D was there. Looking gorgeous. He's got cute li'le dreads now. The others went off to do an interview with someone and we just hung out a bit longer.
He's really changed. Hanging out with a good crowd and much more confident in himself. Doing lots of creative design stuff and looking really well. He even bough the drinks!
Well, I was determined not to, but that guy does something to me. Dumb and cheesy as it sounds, we both still had a picture of each other in our wallets *sigh* What can you do?
So - third time lucky. At least the third time around you know what you're getting yourself into. So, we're back together and I'll feel rather proud to attend next Friday on his arm. After all, it was St. Paddy's day one year ago that we first got together - romantic, huh? Was a slightly different sort of event back then ;)
I have to say, it does add something to dress shopping when you know you're dressing up for someone.
Friends so far have been good about it. I was expecting a smack round the ear, but I don't care. We're so comfortable around each other. I haven't met another guy here who I can just hang out with like that, watch movies, snuggle up to, and talk silliness with. I know he's always on my side even if I give him grief occasionally. So, we'll see how it goes, but I'm determined to keep my cool and give it a proper shot this time. He's a very handsome sweetie. It feels good he's mine again.
There we go, huh. Things come full circle sometimes. Now he's got to panic over a suit like I did over the dress, but I gave him my tie to wear - he looks sooo good in it.
La la la la la. Heehee.
Now all I have to do is focus on packing up the house and preparing for the RNAD AGM. By this time next week both will be over and I'll be putting on that dress again and dolling myself up for an evening with D and good friends.
Rock \m/
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