The church we attend often hires me to sing in the choir concerts. This year, the Christmas concert was Mozart’s version of Handel’s “The Messiah.” In Mozart’s version, some of the choruses have sections sung by a quartet, instead of the choir. Normally, I would just be in the choir helping the alto section. However, this year, the alto soloist, a good friend of mine, asked me to do the quartet portions of the choruses.
On the Tuesday before the performance, we had our dress rehearsal. I sat in front with the quartet feeling nervous. I asked the soprano to confirm we should wear red tops and black bottoms like the choir. She said no – the quartet should be in gowns and tuxedos and sit at the front for the entirety of the performance.
Cue: internal panic.
The soprano suggested a red gown since I would be with the quartet but also with the choir. The conductor was busy running the rehearsal. I was busy freaking out. It was 5 days until the performance, in the middle of the holidays, and now I needed a red gown.
How am I going to get a new-to-me Christmas red gown, and not spend money?
Quickly I snuck off stage and texted my MOPS (Moms of Preschoolers) leadership group. We would be meeting the next morning for our holiday party. Maybe they could help. Amazingly, one had a red gown she would bring in the morning!
Ugh. This picture did not fill me confidence. Would I look decent? Would it fit? I didn’t have time to shop, and honestly, I really didn’t want to buy a new gown for a single performance. I thanked her and hoped this dress would work. I ran back onstage. It was time to rehearse.
In the morning, my daughter and I went to my MOPS leadership Christmas party. My friend forgot the dress. I would have to add driving to her home to pick up the dress to my schedule. Deep breaths. I can do this. I mean, my schedule only had a lunch meeting, get my daughter down for a nap, pick up my son from school, teach piano, help with homework, feed the family, follow-up with a friend, and practice my music. I can totally do this.
It happened to work out perfectly that I had the 30 minutes needed to drive to (and from) her home to get the dress. She handed it to me and said, it’s a small. (I am petite, but definitely not a small.) It was, however, a beautiful color of red velvet with a plain scoop neck and long sleeves. She had tried TWICE to donate it to Goodwill, but Goodwill wasn’t accepting more clothing donations. The stores were so full of inventory and not enough customers. She had meant to try again the day before, but had been too busy. It was mine now and, if it didn’t work, I could try to donate it.
Was this God’s providence? Part of why I wanted a new-to-me dress was because there’s already so much stuff in the world. Surely there would be several red dresses just sitting in closets in the town where I live on the night of the performance. Now I was holding one, a FREE red gown that even the thrift stores couldn’t take. Would this work?
That evening, while the kids were putting on pajamas, I finally had time to try it on. Praise God it fit! It was a little tight, but I only needed it for one day. It hugged my body. Now, this body of mine has made two beautiful children and unabashedly loves cookies, pasta and bread. Just how much of my shape was this gown highlighting in red velvet??
I stood before the mirror. I was not happy with what I saw. I didn’t feel beautiful. I felt squishy and itchy. Then, my daughter saw me. She ran into the room and stopped. Her mouth dropped open. “Mama!” She began petting the dress. Then, she smiled, hugged me, and ran to the kitchen. “Dada. Caden. Come look at mommy!!!” They all came into the room and gasped. “You look so beautiful!”
Maybe they could see something I couldn’t.
I still had a problem. Several inches needed to be hemmed from the bottom, and I can’t sew. I texted my friend, a costume designer, to ask for help. Sadly, she couldn’t do the hem for me, but she did know of a dry cleaners that could do a hem in less than a day. She said to expect it to cost $25-35. Not bad. Not free, but not bad for a hem-in-a-day.
Before I added this expense to my list of things to do, I wanted to make sure the soprano was right. It took most of the day to confirm I would indeed need the gown. The performance was now three days away. So I would add two errands (drop off and pick up) and $35 to my list of things to do on a Friday in December. Keep breathing.
Milt & Edie’s Dry Cleaning is so incredibly L.A. It’s open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. There are 14 tailors on the premises and 8 cashier stations. Large TV screens play overhead to keep you entertained in case, God forbid, you had to wait, and holy cow, even with 8 cashiers, I had to wait a few minutes. Also, they had free popcorn, cookies, and coffee. They have a floor manager to help customers find their stations and bring them welcome gifts. I’m not even kidding.
It was kind of an amazing experience, especially considering it was just a visit to the dry cleaners. It would have remained a thrilling experience except I discovered the job would cost $50. Ouch. I could have bought a new dress for that amount. I begrudgingly left the dress to be hemmed and paid the $50.
I was bummed. My goal had been to use a new-to-me dress, which God had provided pretty quickly. But my goal had also been to not spend money. I didn’t have the time or the energy to find another option. Was $50 my fine for not knowing how to sew or for not being taller? As I thought about it over the next day, I began to feel less depressed about the cost. Instead of spending time and energy searching stores for a new gown I would wear once, I would spend $50 to give a used dress a new life, and pay a skilled worker well. She did great work. There’s actually a lot to be glad for in that.
Will it always be so difficult to use pre-owned stuff? Is it always going to be expensive to get things done last minute? I don’t know, but I have to say, overall, this was a good experience, especially considering I had such a specific need. I mean I couldn’t just borrow a dress; it had to be a gown, Christmas red, size 8 petite, and had to be procured within 4 days during the busiest season of the year. That’s a tall order. In filling it, though, I helped a friend get rid of a dress she didn’t want. I got to experience the only-in-L.A Milt & Edie dry cleaners, which was a hoot. Plus, I didn’t have to go to a clothing store in December, and deal with racks of clothes, and fitting rooms, and lines. I mean, I’m not sure it can be overstated how wonderful it is to find what you need without having to deal with crowds or advertising.
In the end, the concert went well and the dress was a hit! I’m calling this a success.
