Monday, October 17, 2011

October 17th, 2011 - HRC’s Fashion Event at Allegria

Today was a long Monday, and judging from all of the “I hate Monday” posts I saw on Facebook today I wasn’t alone. At least now it’s over and the rest of the week can begin. I should be more tired than I am right now, but I’m not so I figured I’d catch up a bit on here…



HRC’s Fashion Event at Allegria

Last night I went to a fashion show put on by the Human Rights Campaign in celebration of the passage of the gay marriage law in New York State a few months back. It isn’t something I’d ordinarily go to. In fact, I’d never been to a fashion show before, but I went in support of my friend Ozzie, AKA Ruby Diamond. He had been invited along with other drag queens to be a part of the show and he had asked me awhile back if I wanted to come. Since I haven’t gotten to see him in a long time, I had said yes.


The Allegria at Night
Source: Hotel Chatter


Source: The Lela New York Wedding Blog

I made my way to the Allegria in Long Beach around mid-afternoon. The Allegria is a beautiful and relatively new hotel along the boardwalk there. Long Beach is quite a ride from home, almost as long as it takes to get to the city, and I had forgotten how beautiful it is down there. It was a perfect evening, weather-wise, and the boardwalk and the sea framed an absolutely beautiful sunset!

When I first got there I was a little intimidated. Fashion models were all over the place. The big dramatic hair and drastic clothing gave them away easily. There were artsy types, weirdoes, and lots of hotties, and what made things easier was that they were all pretty friendly. I wasn’t expecting that, and before I hooked up with Ozzie and his friends I have to say I was already having a good time!



Eventually, though, I did meet up with Ozzie and his pals, and I have to say that for the first time they were kinda nice towards me. I think that before they just thought I was just a passing fancy of Oz’s and never bothered to really bother with me. But maybe they saw that I was really trying to be a good friend to him last night and were a little friendlier than they had been before. It helped that this dude Manny was with them. Manny was an absolute hoot who I’d met once or twice before at Circus and I hung out with he and Ozzie’s friend Jace most of the night while Ozzie and Sassy did their thing.



The show itself was just what I expected a fashion show to be: loud music, beautiful models, risqué fashions and a raucous crowd. Afterwards there was a rooftop reception and even though it was getting late I couldn’t resist hanging out a little more. The bar up top was absolutely stunning and the beautiful people were as merry then as they had been all night. Too bad it was a school night, for I had to make my exit a little earlier than I normally would have.

All in all, it was a great evening and lots of fun! Though I didn’t spend too much time with Ozzie/Ruby, I hope he knows that even though I haven’t been around too much, I came for him and I want him to know I am still his friend! Mwah!



The sunset on the boardwalk





The upstairs bar

2 comments:

  1. Hey John, I also had a great night, filled with laughter and fun....and some cupcakes ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ooh yeah, the cupcakes!!!

    ReplyDelete