Philander's Phling Phashion
We all wish that winter would end, but Groundhog Day has come and gone and, alas, Middle Path is still better suited for ice skates than flip flops. But cheer up, because even though it's not springtime, it is now Phlingtime!
This year's Phling is Saturday night. Named in honor of Kenyon's founding father, Philander Chase, Philander's Phebruary Phling is an annual semi-formal party for students that the College Web site promotes as "a weekend of social events, both formal and informal, designed to banish the winter blues." I am in agreement, as Phling is undoubtedly Kenyon's most popular party event, featuring student bands in one room and a deejay at work in the wood-paneled, stained-glass glory that is the Great Hall, the main student dining room in Peirce Hall. Everywhere, people are dancing and socializing. At Phling, you are sure to run into almost all of your friends. At Phling, you can dance away a semester-and-a-half of stress. At Phling, you might talk to one of your Facebook "friends" you do not know and discover that he or she has lunch-buddy potential.
But let's not forget how fun it is to get ready for Phling! Each year, a theme is assigned to the party, and this year it is "The Roaring Twenties." As seniors, my friend Ann Pedtke and I have made a conscious effort to go all-out with our Phling costumes. And why not? Phling has a different theme each year for a reason: so that people can have fun dressing up.
So, where to start? For all of you English majors out there searching for some style advice, try reading (or re-reading) F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby.
If you do not have much money to spend, willpower, or time to devote to the cause, consider this list of places where we got the goods:
1. eBay
2. Goodwill
3. Walmart
On eBay, I found a saturated blue, 1920s-style costume dress for $28. In my opinion, its best asset is the large, art deco beading along the shoulder. Ann nabbed a fantastic, six-foot, black-feather boa with dashes of silver tinsel throughout for $6. Of course, a 1920s-themed Phling is not complete without fishnet stockings, which Ann and I got at Walmart for a very reasonable 5 bucks. We also took advantage of Walmart's boon of cheap costume jewelry. I chose a pair of large, silver- and gold-colored, swivel-hoop earrings they were practically giving away for $2, and Ann bought a long strand of black plastic beads that vaguely resemble pearls. But we did not stop there. At the ever-fabulous Goodwill store in Mount Vernon, I bought a pair of Mary Jane-like dress shoes for $4.
What I am trying to get at is this: for a little bit of money, you can have even more phun with Phling than you usually do.
By Stephanie Reiches '09, of Bexley, Ohio