Sophia and Pedro are in history class with the Cru Crew, the fashionistas and bullies of JSCA. Today’s lesson in New York City history is the Vanderbilt Ball of 1883. Mrs. Dumfries, their teacher, loves to insult Sophia and Pedro while fawning over the richer students of the Cru Crew.
“We’ll look at the costume of Miss Elizabeth Webb first. I believe Suzy Snodgrass is a direct descendant of Miss Webb, so I’ll ask her to describe Bessie’s dress.”
The smug blonde stood. “My great-great-great-grandmother… Well, I don’t know exactly how many ‘greats,’ but like all the women in my family, Aunt Bessie was renowned for her tiny waist, superior eyes and hair, and powerful jaw showing her aristocratic lineage.” She posed, miming each characteristic as the imaginary camera clicked pose after pose.
“She came to the ball as Madame le Diable. That’s the female version of ‘devil,’ if you don’t speak French.” Her eyes were on Sophia and Pedro.
(So sayeth Madame le Diable’s ‘Mini-Me’ several generations removed.)
“The dressmakers embellished the red satin dress with black velvet demons and yards of fringe ornamented with the heads and horns of demons.”
John Falcrest burst into laughter, which he tried to stifle with a fit of coughing. Only Sophia and Pedro could hear his insult. “How appropriate! You can see the horns growing.”
On cue, Suzy whipped out a pair of red velvet devil horns and arranged them on her head. “Great-Aunt Bessie’s final touch was the horns between her bangs and ravishing up-do.”
Suzy dropped a full curtsy and allowed her aristocratic jaw to guide her to her seat. The Cru Crew applauded.
Dumfries beamed at her. “Thank you for that ‘devilish’ presentation! Now we’ll look at another interesting costume, that of Miss Kate Fearing Strong. Her unusual nickname, ‘Puss,’ inspired Miss Strong’s costume.”
“Ewww!” Sophia screamed as the image flashed on the screen. “That woman is wearing dead cats!” She burst into tears. “Didn’t anyone call the ASPCA? Her hat looks like Zelda Screech Cat’s head!”
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