"With this hair I look like Sideshow Bob."
My friends laughed and petted my very poufy, very crimped, very 80s hair. "It looks good. It looks...very 80s. Authentic." They reaffirmed my look. The hair was just the icing on the cake. Below the crimped, puffy hair and star-shaped earrings I wore a black tanktop with gold lame' belt, pink plaid skirt, fishnets, pink leg warmers and enough New Wave makeup to make Boy George and Cindi Lauper jealous.
It was 80s night. It was Jen Lancaster's book launch/signing party. And I was feeling alright.
Hell, I was feeling more than alright. I was downright giddy. I have adored Jen since I read her first book (Bitter is the New Black) last year. (It has the distinct honor of being the only book I actually read my first semester at MSU that wasn't for my Masters program.) She's well-versed, she's sharp, she's funnier and she's snarkier than me and all my friends combined. And THAT is a good thing. Since reading that first book I'd torn through her other two and stalked her on her blog daily. Her writing is some of the only material that can simultaneously inspire me and make my stomach cramp from laughing. I loooooove her. So when I found out she was kicking off her book tour in Detroit--a mere hour and a half road trip from my place!!!--plans were quickly set in motion to be there with bells on.
Ok, no bells. Instead heavy makeup and leggings, side ponytails and big, big hair.
We arrived an hour early--a product of paranoia because of rush hour traffic (and construction hell--freakin' Michigan road construction!), but also because we were so. Damn. Excited. We rushed up to the second floor of the bookstore with our newly-purchased Jen books (her new book "Pretty in Plaid"* was literally released yesterday) and big grins on our faces despite some of the odd looks we got from some of the bookstore patrons. After finding close seats and settling in, I looked around at some of the other Jen fans. My friend glanced around, too, then looked at me. "Um...are we the only ones who got the memo to dress up for this?" Nobody else was 80s out. Just my two friends and I. All the other fans had well-groomed manicures and long, flowing highlighted hair. Not a pair of leggings or ripped t-shirt in sight...unless you looked at us.
All I could do was laugh. "At least we'll stand out when Jen gets here, right?" My friend laughed, too. "I hope we're the ONLY ones dressed up because that'll make us look all the more AWESOME."
She shouldn't have said that. By the time Jen was scheduled to arrive, a good two hundred people crowded the area, but none had dressed up--except for one lady who wore a vintage 80s prom dress. But she hid behind a huge crowd of people when she realized that people were more apt to be donning pearls and Prada purses than prom dresses from the greatest decade ever.
Even that couldn't put a damper on my mood. When Jen came out I forgot how silly my friends and I looked--partially because Jen's hair was bigger than mine (or at least as big as mine) and she was rocking the preppy 80s look--but moreso because eeeee! Jen Lancaster was twenty feet from me doing a reading from her new book and being all snarky and fabulous and hilarious and candid and ohmygodIloveher!
It was incredible to hear her read from her book, but even better just to listen to her talk about her life. She got easily distracted and went off on tangents easily about everything from 80s fashions to reality t.v. and her husbands domestic habits. It was refreshing and inspiring to listen to her talk because her writing matches who she is in person perfectly. What you read is what you get--a snarky, fabulous person who is probably a little too honest. And when I asked her a question about the process it takes to becoming a published memoirist she gave a genuine answer about writing daily, practicing the craft and becoming comfortable and confident with your voice because that is the key to success. She finished and worriedly looked at me and asked if that was sufficient and good. Oh, it was good. How could it not be if you're getting advice from a writer you admire greatly?
After the reading and question/answer session, my friends and I waited to have our books signed. We played with my poufy hair for an hour and judged the people who thought they were too cool to dress up. When we finally got to the front of the line Jen looked at us and said "finally! I've been waiting to thank you for dressing up. You all look fantastic!" She looked at me and laughed a little. "I appreciate your attention to detail. You look fabulous!"
And with that, the hour and a half it took to get ready, the road trip through contruction hell, the odd looks from everyone in the bookstore, and the awkward feeling that I was a massive dork for doing this --it was all completely worth it.
*Note: I've just started reading "Pretty" but so far it does not disappoint. I almost fell out of bed laughing within the first three pages of the book. I'm sure I'll inhale the rest this weekend.