corsets 'n' conversation

our party looked absolutely nothing like this

i went to a "corset party" the other night. yes, boys were there too (sadly, not in corsets). boobs, baked goods...funny how boys seem to have radar for this sort of shindig.

it sounds much more risque that it actually was. really just an excuse to wear our closeted corsets (a's in white satin with black embroidery, e's in purple satin with lace trim, mine in black satin inset with pale blue panels and navy detailing), bake valentine's cookies, drink pomegranate martinis and listen to jazz. i certainly wouldn't want to have to wear a corset every day of my life, but every once in a while, it's an uplifting experience. you're certainly forced to have better posture, and if you have any misgivings about exposing your cleavage in public, a corset will force you to get over that real quick. particularly in mid-winter, when the girls ain't seen the light of day in months...they get a little shy, but in a corset -

THERE THEY ARE. and there is nothing you or anyone else can do to avoid them.

it's almost like the physical embodiment of multiple personalities. people have conversations with you and your breasts.

anyway...it was a lovely time. i got into a fascinating conversation with a guy who works for a major tabloid magazine (i promised i wouldn't say which one). i started complaining about all of the diet stories the tabloid magazines do, and he essentially told me they do "diet" stories only when they have absolutely nothing else to write about AND that their diet issues are always their biggest sellers of the year. that's what women want to read about, so that's what we print.

oy.

i just thought you should know that. i mean, i think a lot of us know that because we're smart, savvy women, but to actually hear it from the source itself? helpful. i'm absolutely guilty of picking up the diet issues. they always draw me in. i flip through that flimsy little mag hoping to find The Secret to Everlasting Thinness. knowing, however, that i'm a "sure thing" in their eyes - that they can draw me in with what even a tabloid mag knows is worthless drivel by preying on my insecurities - will certainly make me stop next time before picking one up. if i do read it, it'll be with a different perspective, and at least i'll know where to direct the anger - out instead of in.