Ballgowns and Dress Blues

It’s everyone’s favorite time of year!!! No, it’s not the holiday season (although it’s close), it’s time for the annual United States Marine Corps Ball! 

To be fair there are some negative nellies out there who despise this event, but that’s because they’re not doing it right. It’s such a fun celebration that celebrates Marine Corps history. So let’s go back and talk about what it’s about and then I’ll get to the purpose of this post- Ball gowns. 

The United States Marine Corps, A Brief History (by someone not great with historical facts)

I am no historian, so my information is summarized from the Marine Corps website. OK just kidding. I was looking for some info on the birthday and shockingly this website doesn’t mention much. Onto the next one.

Alright so we’re hitting some issues here.

1. Because I am not a historian, I’m not researching way in depth as if I’m writing a report for you all.
2. Because of fact #1 I’m seeing some conflicting information and here’s why.

The long and short of it is, The United States Marine Corps was born in a bar, Tun Tavern to be specific. Fitting. The basics are that on November 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Samuel Nicholas helped establish the USMC. Again, not a historian, so I’m not getting in depth here, but he was the first Commandant of the USMC, and was also the first officer. Anyways,

CHEERS TO 243 YEARS!

Now, the first birthday might’ve had a fun party, but the first recorded Marine Corps Birthday Ball was in 1921. In a cute little memo between, Major Edwin McClellan and Major General Commandant John A. Lejeune, McClellan suggested that Nov 10 be declared the birthday and that all Marines should celebrate it. So, you want a yearly party McClellan? Cool with me! In turn, we now have a wonderful yearly celebration. Thanks McClellan and Lejeune!

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With this new party came some cool traditions. Lejeune thought it was important to read the Marine Corps Order No. 47, Series 1921 that he issued on November 1, 1921. This order has been read yearly since it’s inauguration, and to be real, it’s kind of chilling and cool when it’s read. If you have never experienced the reading of this order, all the men and women in uniform stand at attention as the order is read. The order basically summarizes why they serve and the mission and traditions surrounded by their daily service.

It’s also really cool to see that a group of mostly men can get it together, look nice, and follow directions, all at the same time….had to say it! I feel like most women can agree on that. 

There are other cool traditions that we’ve experienced, like at one ball they did a uniform fashion show – it had to have a formal name, but I’m calling it a fashion show. It was amazing. Not only did the men have fun with it, but it was cool to see how the uniforms changed throughout the years. 

Another fun tradition is the cake cutting ceremony. According to this article, no one knows where the tradition started, but when the cake is cut the first piece goes to the oldest Marine present and the second piece goes to the youngest Marine present. This is supposed to symbolize the passing of tradition between generations.

I personally love this tradition because you can see the pride on the little old man’s face and it makes me want to sob. Like he really freakin’ loves his country and his service. *I say man because I’ve only seen men so far, but I assume this would go for the woman as well. 

I also love the cake tradition because it’s usually a GIGANTIC cake and it’s always SO quiet as they roll or carry it in. Meanwhile, we’re all just sitting there waiting for someone to break bearing or trip or drop the cake or something. It’s like we’re all collectively holding our breath. 

That’s pretty much the basics of the ball history. Each and every ball is unique and different and that’s what makes them fun for me. I also love hearing the message from the Commandant. Another chilling time. 

BUT what we all love most of all is

THE ATTIRE

You are a liar if you say you do not enjoy seeing all the men in uniform. It does not matter if you are married, dating, whatever. You love it. Own it. 

A

“I may be on a diet, but I can still look at the menu.” – Wise Person

It’s also the best fashion show of the year. It’s ADULT PROM and it’s amazing. Think about it, most regular humans don’t get to go to events like this where you get to play dress up and bump elbows with some INCREDIBLE, BAD ASS people. We do and it’s amazing. Total perk of military life. Through all the negatives, we have a pretty awesome positive.

So let’s get down to it.

Finding The Right Dress

For my first ball, I just borrowed a friend’s old bridesmaid dress. Easy peasy and cheap. If you can do that – do it. Perks of doing this is it’s free, and usually the dress is appropriate. I don’t know many brides who pick super revealing or risqué dresses for their bridesmaids. I have to back track on the free part, because I highly advise dry cleaning the dress for them. Marines know how to party and well, that particular dress mopped up the dance floor and did not smell like roses afterwards. Eau de Stale Beer.

Triva Question- Did you know Eau De Toilette means toilet water? Delicious.

For my second ball, I ordered a really cute dress from Lulus.

Unfortunately, I’m built like a child and it did not look good on me. Guess what that meant- last minute dress shopping in a town that has terrible shopping. Luckily, my husband helped me find a more suitable dress AND it was on sale AND they gave us military discount on top of it AND it only took me 15 minutes to shop for it. Praise- I hate shopping. Fact about me, I’m a walk in, quickly find what I need, try it on in like a minute, pay and leave type of girl. Meanwhile, my husband could roam a store for DAYS. He’s the woman shopper in this relationship. 

For this year’s ball I decided to bring him shopping again, but I didn’t know where we were going to go. Our shopping here in NC is less than desirable and I figured if I shopped at the store I’d run into someone with the same dress. Not that I really care because all the service members are dressed the same, but this is one night that we as humans want to be different so I try to avoid shopping locally. Luckily during our hurrication Jacksonville, FL. had some pretty amazing shopping options.

We started at Nordstrom Rack. Nothing. Then went to Nordstrom. Nothing. Then we went to a dress shop in the mall that is definitely for pageant queens and quinceaneras. Picture big poofy gaudy dresses. I felt so bad, the owner of this store was trying so hard to get me to buy this one 400$ dress in the 5 minutes I was in there. I had to politely decline, but I felt bad. Word to the wise – don’t buy a 400$ dress for the ball. Not necessary.

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Then we went to Dillards. Now I got my dress from Dillards last year and it worked marvelously. Great price. No one else had it. Comfortable. Flattering. All the adjectives I needed were hit. My assignment for my husband was pick dresses he liked, stray away from blues and burgundies since I already wore those colors, and try not to be too revealing. I also allowed him to have fun and said he could pick a few fun ones to try on, but to not expect me to get them.  Great idea in theory, mess in real life. I lost complete control of my man. It was like a child in a candy store, but worse. I didn’t take pictures of all of the dresses he had me try, but I had to share this one.

Like come on dude this one has a Dracula cape on it. 

I was pleasantly surprised by his serious choices. Most were classy and I liked the ones he picked better than the ones I picked when it came down to actual choices. The dress I ended up going with was one I hated on the hanger, but he LOVED. I didn’t like the hot pink bottom, but when wearing it, it actually makes the dress really fun. It also won’t be a hassle to wear. 

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My Tips for Acing the Ball

• Keep it classy: The name of the game is classy. As you guys probably know, I’m super sarcastic and I don’t always love the confines of rules. I also love/hate that I am a representation of my husband when it comes to military events. Sometimes it makes me want to barf, like let me be my own person. EXCEPT ON THIS OCCASION. This is his night. It’s his time to clean up and show off his wife and mingle etc. I’d be lying if I said you aren’t being judged the whole night because again, it’s a natural human instinct to judge people. Good judging or bad judging, you’re judging how everyone looks and the last thing you want is for everyone to be bad judging you because you look like a hooch. Go for dresses with minimal cleavage/skin showing – caviot to this is sometimes you can find a dress that shows skin/cleavage in a classy way. I don’t have any cleavage to show, so I was able to wear a deep V dress.

• Sensible Shoes: If you are like me and you divorce your heels after pictures, have flats nearby. The first year I don’t remember if I had flats or not, but my dress was long enough that if I was barefoot no one knew. Avoid being barefoot for many reasons. Just have flats or low heels. Trust me. 
• Hair and Nails: If you can get your hair and nails done, then do it! Pamper yourself. If you can’t, don’t stress!! You will still look just as beautiful if you paint your own nails and curl your own hair. Balls can get expensive with tickets, and if you have to pay for transportation, hotel, dog hotel, food & alcohol etc. Be smart and save where you can. I always just do my own hair and nails, and feel just as beautiful 🙂 
• Plan Ahead: Find out if you have to book a hotel or get transportation home. Remember all squadrons and such are doing their own balls and it’s all throughout November, so it can get crazy. Get your hotels and such as soon as you can. Find out if your ball is doing light hor d’oeuvres or if they’re serving dinner. EAT before if hor d’oeuvres won’t cut it for you. Find out if your ball is doing open or cash bar and plan accordingly. Last year ours was at a hotel and friends had booked a room and we just took our beverages to their room. And most importantly- Get a DD if you plan on throughly enjoying the ball. It’s not worth losing your life, their career etc.
• HAVE FUN!

Remember what you’re celebrating and the importance of the day. Have fun and celebrate the amazing accomplishments of these service members. And if you’re going to wing it, go for class.

Happy Birthday Marines!

-D