"Social Retirement" by Bratprince

Ran into an acquaintance today as I was going about doing my weekly grocery shopping, etc. He rather surprised me by asking "had I retired" from the "social world". Frankly, I had not even thought of it until today, but I guess in many ways I have.

Dallas is an exciting city....always something going on..an event, a charity function, a gallery opening...the list goes on and on.

As many of my regular readers know, last year was one big giant FUNCTION after another for me. I was constantly "somewhere", photographed by the press over and over..at every event possible and as a reporter called me a "bon vivant around town"...I think another one just called me "a man about town". Being named by DIFFA Dallas as one of the Top Twenty Most Fashionable People in Dallas...with the honor of being a member of Style Council was extremely gracious and I enjoyed the hard work, the fundraising...and even walking a catwalk in front of 3,000 people. (Secretly, I was afraid no one would clap when I came down the runway...but that turned out not the case).

To BE such a person is not at all inexpensive. The entire year I made sure I NEVER wore an outfit twice. Everything had to be "new", "red carpet ready" and show my signature style. I even had things made specifically for certain events. Looking back, it all seems a bit shallow considering that I am not and never will be a celebrity. However, my vanity (which I am not short of) enjoyed the praise and attention that what I wore garnered.

Around the time that DIFFA ended for me, my husband lost his job. Little did we know that it would be EIGHT months before he got another. I stayed optimistic throughout and managed to maintain our bills/household/etc. on my own salary. I won't say it wasn't tough..in fact it was downright confounding at times...but I did manage to not touch certain reserves and we came out of the worst still intact (Gary has a wonderful job now). One thing I definitely learned out of that was there was a LOT of wasteful spending going on in our household (99% of it my doing).

Thus began my retreat from the Dallas social scene. Many of the functions cost a great deal for a table, entry or even a seat. With Gary unemployed I worried about spending such money (even if I could write it off).

I think at first I was a bit resentful. I sort of missed "my life" and the attention I was getting. Yet, over time I came to feel VERY relieved.

I'm not saying that you won't see me dressed to the nines again at an event, but what I am telling you is that my priorities shifted. No longer am I interested in ever being in the press again. I really would rather buy three or four nice shirts than spend the same amount on a custom piece. On a personal level, labels now mean very little. As the BLOG shows, I still like to look, but I most likely won't buy.

I still have many, many friends out there "scratching and biting" to climb the social ladder in Dallas (not easy). You can become overexposed in a second...or piss somebody off and drop off of all invite lists. I admire their determination and ambition. However, for me it feels good to just settle back into the woodwork. Working in P.R. again, I have a rule. P.R. agents are NEVER photographed or profiled. My job is to get my CLIENTS photographed and profiled. So, regardless that I have grown tired of all that attention and striving..I still have the fun of making others attention worthy.

I am very appreciative of the many, many people that send me invites, etc. and FINALLY don't feel important enough to know that they really don't care when I decline them.

Life is better for me now. I work, I take care of my family (which as you know includes a husband and an army of animals) and I just exist without demanding, wanting or even falling into attention.

Who knows...I have gone through the attention phase before...never expected it again and then gained it in Dallas for a bit.....maybe I will want it back. However...just for now...I am happy to be serene and "retired".

Yours, Bratprince