Pink Feather Boas and Other Dating Paraphernalia

So, a few months ago, two friends of mine came to visit me from out of town to attend a local baseball game with me.  We'd been planning it for months (and leave it to me to wait until the absolute last second to purchase my ticket, so late in fact that they'd technically sold out and I had to call in a favor, but that's another story of my procrastination) and were very excited about the fact that the event included a "Girls Night Out" theme at the ballpark.  Upon arrival, we were given a special baseball cap (complete with a pink logo), a free drink before the game (which we missed due to our lack of timeliness), special seats in a fabulous section of the stadium and, to top it all off, a pink feather boa. 

Not ones to miss an opportunity to adorn ourselves in femininity, we threw those suckers on despite the raging heat (who knew feathers created an instant layer of thermos-like insulation?!) and parked ourselves right in the middle of a sea of fellow feathered fans.  But, much to our surprise and enjoyment, the trip to our seats was brimming with male attention...  I kid you not, we got whistled at, grinned at, winked at, asked what the deal was with the boas and then complimented on them, and altogether checked out from every possible angle.  Granted, one "gentleman" at the beer stand did insinuate that I was inappropriately dressed for a baseball game, to which I quickly responded that I must be a bigger fan than him because they'd been talking about this event on Facebook for weeks. But, I digress.  Ninety-nine point nine percent of the interactions with men that evening where positive and bordering on flirtatious, to say the least.  So much so that my two fabulous friends and I declared the pink feather boa the answer to all of our dating questions and quandaries.

So, I haven't had too many opportunities to wear a pink feather boa since the baseball game, so I can't vouch for it's validity or credibility outside of a testosterone-infused sporting event just yet, but in the time since "Girls Night Out," I have paid more attention to other attention-getters and noticed an even more surprising trend.  Case #2 in point:  My dear friend from New York came to visit a few weeks ago, and she'd long wanted to go to one of those awesome painting instruction classes where you can drink wine.  My personal favorite is Sips N Strokes in various locations throughout the southeast (advertising plug that I won't ever see a dime for, but I know you'll love it if you go, so it's worth it).  So, we picked a painting and headed out. 

About halfway through the class, we needed to take a break in order for a layer of paint to dry, so the instructor enlightened us to the fact that the bar at the end of the shopping center would give Sips N Strokes patrons a discount if they came in wearing their painting apron.  Uh... duh.  We went to said bar.  In we strutted with our fellow painters, decked out in our multi-colored aprons and smocks, paint covering almost every exposed inch of us.  Although the place was pretty packed, we immediately garnered the attention of most of the other patrons.  My friend and I stood off to the side and chatted, but a gentleman at a table behind us got her attention.  He leaned back from his chair and politely asked what the deal was with the aprons.  And he was cute and didn't at all stink of creepy, so of course, we responded.  As my friend was explaining the painting class, I looked beyond our new friend and noticed an entire table the length of that particular wing of the restaurant, lined on both sides with very attractive men.  Ring scan commenced... and not a single ping.  I attempted to keep my delight under wraps as the gentleman explained the coincidence that the entire table was employees of Behr paint and were there for a meeting.  We chatted for a few more minutes and then we got the signal that our paintings were dry and we had to return to our regular scheduled festivities.

The moral of this story?  When wearing something slightly out of place, men cannot resist the urge to call attention to it or most of the time, ask you outright why you're wearing it.  Calling attention to yourself in a totally G-rated fashion is not only fun, but it could potentially be a beneficial conversation-starter.  Now don't get me wrong... I don't intend to start gallivanting around in costume, but I will pay a bit more attention to strategically planned accessories while on the market. 

P.S. Stay tuned for an update regarding a former "Man of Singledom" who has somehow managed to find me on multiple free dating sites in the last month (why don't I take those profiles down?!) and also scarily on Facebook.