theme party fail (SURVEY)

[Deleted]

Survey:

Saturday night was our 30th class reunion. It was held at a supper club and the invitation said "80s Theme - Wear your acid wash jeans and high top tennis shoes".

Two people out of sixty showed up dressed 80s style. The girls that planned the party didn't even dress 80s, they wore dresses.

The two people that dressed 80s style were upset. They thought the planning committee could have at least dressed 80s.

Would you have been mad? I think they had a right to be mad, but I didn't do it either as I am not creative enough. Why would they have told other people to do it and then not do it themselves? Has anything similar ever happened to you?

Edit: Come on, help me out here. I want to know how other people would feel.

[gs11rmb]

I would be upset. Also, I don't like themes. Just let me wear a dress that makes me feel good!

[busymom]

I think at least the people who planned the party should have dressed according to the theme.

On the other hand, I suspect most of your classmates no longer fit into the clothes they wore back in school, and probably had problems finding clothing from back in the 80's.  (Although, since my DD has a pair, I know you can currently buy high tops, but, they're not the most comfortable shoes in the world.)    Next time, just let everyone wear comfortable clothes, and skip the theme. 

[alabamagal]

I hate theme parties.  I don't have my clothes from the 80s (well only my wedding dress).  If I did keep them, they wouldn't fit.  Where exactly would I go to find a pair of acid wash jeans?  And the thing I remember most from the 80s is the hair (DH and I have been watching 80s moving and having some pretty good laughs lately).  80s wig?  It is not like I can grow my hair out in a short period of time.

I would prefer if they just had a normal dress code, and then possibly an 80s "costume contest" for all who want to participate.

BTW I am a child of the 80s!  My 35th high school reunion is this year.  I have not attended any reunions due to living >500 miles away.

[Tennesseer]

Planners should have complied.

I hope the two who did dress up in 80s clothing were named king and quees, king and king, or queen and queen of the reunion.

[Tennesseer]

I will add complaining about the organizers not dressing up while not dressing up herself is rather hypocritical.  A lack of creativity is not a valid excuse when a quick search of Google would give you any number of ideas. For example:

Google Search: 1980s Fashion Trends

[Deleted]

Aug 29, 2016 10:02:27 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

I will add complaining about the organizers not dressing up while not dressing up herself is rather hypocritical.  A lack of creativity is not a valid excuse when a quick search of Google would give you any number of ideas. For example:

Google Search: 1980s Fashion Trends

I wore a Loverboy concert t-shirt and a denim jacket. That was all I could think of. I wore my current hair style and blue jeans.

Does that count as dressing up?

[Tennesseer]

Aug 29, 2016 10:04:37 GMT -5 @bluester said:

Aug 29, 2016 10:02:27 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

I will add complaining about the organizers not dressing up while not dressing up herself is rather hypocritical.  A lack of creativity is not a valid excuse when a quick search of Google would give you any number of ideas. For example:

Google Search: 1980s Fashion Trends

Well, I wore a Loverboy concert t-shirt and a denim jacket. That was all I could think of. I wore my current hair style and stuff.

Does that count as dressing up?

Close enough. So there were three of you now. No one should ever wear this again.

[Miss Tequila]

Aug 29, 2016 10:05:38 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Aug 29, 2016 10:04:37 GMT -5 @bluester said:

Well, I wore a Loverboy concert t-shirt and a denim jacket. That was all I could think of. I wore my current hair style and stuff.

Does that count as dressing up?

Close enough. So there were three of you now. No one should ever wear this again.

How did you get on my FB to steal my selfie?? And what's wrong with my picture??

[justme]

Yea, it's rather shitty for even those that planned it to not dress up. But at my high school the reunions are run by the class presidents which was pretty much a popularity contest which pretty much was won by the mean girls so I wouldn't be surprised.

But I skipped my first reunion and no plans to go to the next one.


PS my city has an annual 80s pub crawl that is packed with everyone dressed up. And a good portion of them probably weren't even born in the 80s!

[Tennesseer]

Aug 29, 2016 10:58:56 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

Aug 29, 2016 10:05:38 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

Close enough. So there were three of you now. No one should ever wear this again.

How did you get on my FB to steal my selfie?? And what's wrong with my picture??

It's plastered all over Awkward Family Photos, right below the picture of the guy with the Barbie arm:

[happyhoix]

Yeah the organizers should at least taken the effort to dress up for the theme.

However, on the scale of 0 to 100 of 'things to get mad about' this rates about a 1.

I haven't been to any reunions, HS or otherwise, but I expect they're mostly an opportunity for people to chat with friends they haven't seen in a while and catch up. Maybe to brag a little. What people are wearing probably doesn't rate much attention, unless it's someone dressed like a stripper (especially if it was the 'girl voted most likely to be a nun.' )

[hoops902]

I'd be pretty upset. Theme parties are the kind of thing that people have to either really buy into it, or just skip it completely (I'm for skipping it personally). The thing about it is that whether it was announced as a theme or not, if you're the only ones dressed up to it, it's basically the same feeling as being poorly dressed without it being labeled a theme. It's like having a formal party and you and your friend just deciding to dress up 80's for laughs.

In terms of theme parties in general...isn't this exactly why a lot of people hate theme parties...they don't want to be the only people who followed the theme? I don't understand at all the organizers who picked it choosing not to dress up.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I'd be ticked because I would be stuck looking like I am trapped in a time warp.   If you are going to send out an invite telling people how to dress you as the hosts should dress the same.   If you change your mind then send out another notice stating the theme no longer applies so you don't leave your guests in a lurch.

People are so stupid nowadays when it comes to dress codes/themes/invites.  

FWIW the people who dressed up as the theme were in the right.   They followed the outline provided by the invite.   It's the hosts that were rude.

[toomuchreality]

If I were one of those that dressed up, I'd be VERY unhappy, when I realized even the event planners hadn't dressed up. And that I was 1, of the 2 people that did.
I would try to laugh it off, but inside I would not be happy, at all.

I understand other people's reasons for not dressing up. I don't understand why the event planners didn't. They should not have planned a theme based event, for something they were not willing, or able to do themselves.

I applaud the 2 people that did dress up 80's style.

I have not been to any of my reunions. My 40th is being held in a few weeks. It is not theme based. I have no desire spend $75 on dinner, so the other people in attendance can decide if I lived up to their expectations, or not. I can only think of 1 person, I'd really like to see again. I hate making small talk, so it sounds like a night of misery, to me.




Tennesseer
I can't believe you're mocking this man's disability...


(just kidding!)

[Tennesseer]

Aug 29, 2016 15:03:49 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I'd be ticked because I would be stuck looking like I am trapped in a time warp.   If you are going to send out an invite telling people how to dress you as the hosts should dress the same.   If you change your mind then send out another notice stating the theme no longer applies so you don't leave your guests in a lurch.

People are so stupid nowadays when it comes to dress codes/themes/invites.  

FWIW the people who dressed up as the theme were in the right.   They followed the outline provided by the invite.   It's the hosts that were rude.

[lexxy703]

Aug 29, 2016 15:10:44 GMT -5 toomuchreality said:

If I were one of those that dressed up, I'd be VERY unhappy, when I realized even the event planners hadn't dressed up. And that I was 1, of the 2 people that did.
I would try to laugh it off, but inside I would not be happy, at all.

I understand other people's reasons for not dressing up. I don't understand why the event planners didn't. They should not have planned a theme based event, for something they were not willing, or able to do themselves.

I applaud the 2 people that did dress up 80's style.

I have not been to any of my reunions. My 40th is being held in a few weeks. It is not theme based. I have no desire spend $75 on dinner, so the other people in attendance can decide if I lived up to their expectations, or not. I can only think of 1 person, I'd really like to see again. I hate making small talk, so it sounds like a night of misery, to me.




Tennesseer
I can't believe you're mocking this man's disability...


(just kidding!)

I decided to quote this because I could like it once!  I feel 100% the same way!

[TheOtherMe]

Thankfully none of our reunion have had a theme.  We now do mini-reunions that are either lunch or a casual evening meal because so many of us are dying off.  Those of us who have attended these have agreed that we are adults and there are no more cliques.  I was never part of the clique and I have quite enjoyed these get togethers. 

I would not be happy if I had showed up dressed for the 80's and the organizers did not.

[thyme4change]

Aug 29, 2016 8:04:05 GMT -5 @bluester said:

Survey:

Saturday night was our 30th class reunion. It was held at a supper club and the invitation said "80s Theme - Wear your acid wash jeans and high top tennis shoes".

Two people out of sixty showed up dressed 80s style. The girls that planned the party didn't even dress 80s, they wore dresses.

The two people that dressed 80s style were upset. They thought the planning committee could have at least dressed 80s.

Would you have been mad? I think they had a right to be mad, but I didn't do it either as I am not creative enough. Why would they have told other people to do it and then not do it themselves? Has anything similar ever happened to you?

Edit: Come on, help me out here. I want to know how other people would feel.

I would have been f*cking furious.  What a bunch of assholes - putting that on the invitation and then not doing it themselves.  To me, it seems like a dick-power move.  Luring others to look foolish, and then laughing at them.  What the hell were they thinking?  Were they the mean girls in high school?  

We had a neighborhood party and the invite said "Casual - or goofy formal, if you dare."  So my husband and I wore shorts and button ups with bow ties and converse.  I would say that there were 8-10 people who did "goofy formal" but 4 of them wore jeans with a t-shirt with a tux printed on it.  So nothing too outrageous.  I knew we were going to be the outliers, although I expected a few more people to play along.  I was perfectly comfortable, but those dress up things can really fail unless you know you have a group of participators.  

80's should have been easy - it seems like half the stuff at Goodwill is 80's - well maybe more 90's.