Retro Mellow Yellow

Hipster or Yellow Kat

Alice was on the phone with her friend trying to understand what had taken over James. As the two chatted and laughed, Alice was slowly taking the bow apart that held the box shut. It was not a heavy box. It was a bit long, but not long enough to be anything she was familiar with. The dimensions were wrong for clothing and the weight distribution was off for anything else she would fancy.

Placing the phone on the counter, secured with two books, Alice was ready to unbox whatever was inside while getting instant feedback from her friend on video chat.

“Ok. Here we go. Unboxing of whatever James has inside” Alice announced to herself.

Pulling the box open, Alice saw white wrapping paper. Beneath that was a note. Well calligraphied note at that. It read as follows:

The choice of accessories is yours. Hipster, Mobster, Retro, or Chic. Which ever you decide, the contents of this box must be worn on our next date. Truly appreciate your understanding. – James

As her friend oooh’ed and aaah’ed, Alice took more wrapping paper off and was surprised to see yellow fabric. She had never worn anything yellow while dating James.

Pulling out the fabric revealed a yellow dress. The kind that followed one’s figure while still being a bit structured. The cuffs on the sleeves were black with white spiderweb design printed on it. Part of the web was actually stitched into the fabric. The collar marched the cuffs and looked like the start of a cape.

Riffling through the box, Alice found a shiny vinyl material white belt. The stitch work seem to match the spiderweb stitching. A lot of thought had gone into this design for it to all match. Alice knew just the right shoe for the look as well.

At the bottom of the box was another surprise. Pulling it, Alice wasn’t quite sure what to make of the corset. It was beautiful and well made. However, she had never worn a corset before. Her friend cheered and clapped. They soon got lost discussing what accessories would work with the look as well as speculate what kind of date plans were in the works

Kitty-Kat

The date in the calendar arrived. It was a lovely beautiful cool weather Sunday. The notes in the calendar had instructed Alice not to overdo her accessories. Playing to her confidence, Alice added some red lipstick to complete her look.

James was pulling up in a different car than Alice expected. This was a mint conditioned 1954 Hudson Hornet in deep burgundy. Alice was growing excited.

As Alice jumped into the car, as James held the door open for her, she beamed at the amazing pristine condition interior

“How did you get a mint condition Hornet?” beamed Alice

“I have to show you off at the dance competition properly” James replied with a composed smile.

Alice was trying to soak all of this in. He was sharply dressed in his four-button-cuffed blazer from the 1950s. Everything was era perfect. The tie. The thin belt. The style of watch. The pattern inside his blazer. Spot on.

“About this competition…” trailed Alice as she noticed herself feeling drawn towards James more than ever.

James navigated and hummed a tune that sounded a little familiar. It had a swing to it that made Alice want to move to. Seeing James with his elbow in the window and holding the steering wheel with two fingers elevated the heat inside Alice. There was an air of confidence washing over the car.

At the dance, Alice was pleasantly surprised to see so many people in 1950 era cars, ensembles, and hairdo. She blended nicely into the mix but stood out sweetly in her yellow. The announcers eventually called up the dancers. A special mention was made for a competitor by the name of “Kitty-Kat”. The audience cheered and clapped loudly.

“Who is this Kitty-Kat?” Alice asked, while lovingly holding on to James’ arm.

“That’s you Kit” beamed James

The music started. The live band had the tempo ramped up and the swing flowing. It wasn’t long before the duo had tuned out everyone else and were locked into the rhythm that swayed the audience. Alice, being a fierce competitor, pushed herself to match James. He was surprisingly very good. His calm almost sent a vibe of feeling mellow. His laughter energized her. The audience was on their feet cheering and encouraging this duo.

During one of the final sets, the drummer tore into a solo. A few of the last remaining dancers walked off the stage. The fury in the beat had turned up the heat. Temptation crossed Alice’s mind to take the lead to ensure a victory, but James’ hand steadied her and kept her following his lead. Alice allowed her mind to relax. Winning was no longer important. There was a connection brewing between them that was new and felt great.

James sensed that Alice was no longer analyzing his dance moves. She was going with his flow. Now was the right time to unleash a few moves he had been working on. As Alice returned from a twirl towards his waiting arms, James winked. Alice smiled. He set her up for a toss. The drummer snapped a roll. The audience felt the electricity rise.

Giving all he had, James tossed Alice high overhead. Taking a quick turn, James flicked off his jacket and took a quick bow towards the audience, who nearly gasped in anticipation.