Posted by Lieutenant Tandra Mika (Counselor) in Retail Therapy

Posted by Civilian Jal’na of House Duroc (Head of Physical Therapy - Sacred Heart Hospital) in Retail Therapy

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Retail Therapy
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

Eela laughed at the posing. “You wear it well. It looks lovely on you.” The was something about all of them showering each other with positive attention that Eela was finding rather wonderful. And she had meant what she had said to Sharah. It mattered not what you wore but how felt in it. Regardless of how this event made some of them ill at ease for various reasons, they had agreed and it was up to them to find a way to make it work them. She couldn’t speak for anyone else but Eela knew if she looked amazing she’d walk out there with confidence.

“It is very you, Tandra. Easy and fun.”

Flipping through, her hand touched a vibrant swath of magenta and Eela pulled it out and lit up. “Ohh, we’re trying this one next,” she said. “I have an upcoming formal work event”-she paused and then remember everyone now knew about one of major situations she was dealing with as Lieutenant Governor-“a welcoming event for the Vren delegation, actually. So I’m going to see if this gown does what I need it to.”

Jal’na sighed. “Ugh. I have been informed I need more ‘formal’ wear. I must look.” No one k ew about her and Urg. Not officially. With the auction it was deemed better to not allow anyone to develop poor ideas. She still apparently needed the unnecessary things. Jal’na leveled herself up and over to th racks. “You too Yavia. Come help.”

She slipped back into her dressing room, actually sad to have to take off the silver gown (it was rather comfortable to wear), and she emerged a minute later. “Can someone grab the zipper for me?” She had managed to get it two-thirds of the way, but the bodice was snug and needed help going up the rest of the way and Eela could quite get the leverage she needed.

The gown had a low and wide neckline and sat off her shoulders with small drape across her upper arms. The dress hugged her body right over the curves of her hips to her thighs before it flared out in a dramatic skirt with a small train. She placed one hand on her hip and gazed directly into the mirror with a self-satisfied smile. “Well? Does this say I’m a co-leader of a planet who has her shit together?” she said before looking over her shoulder at the others. It was hard to say exactly why but she felt powerful in this fairly simple garment.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

Yavia looked at it. “Yes it says look at this simple gown I am wearing. I look amazing. I don’t need frilly crap - fear me.” And she laughed tossing dresses and outfits with wild abandon at Jal’na.

Eela laughed. “I do love the glitz and frills but we’re dealing cultural nuances and I want to hit the right note.

“I think it looks lovely on you Eela,” Sharah said after considering it. “I think it will do well for the event.”

“It does. It’s as perfect as the last one.” Mika added.

“Well, I think that settles it,” Eela said.

“Eela, the Fleet people going to the galaxy. Dress uniforms or do we get to actually dress up?” Sharah asked grinning at Tandra. No dress for her but she had spied a really elegant suit.

Sharah

Dasca turned to face them, the skirt flaring out. “You know what? I’m not sure. Check with McBride, but given the mix of people there I suspect it will be a dress uniform event. I could be wrong though, he might make it optional. I know many of the security will likely be in plain clothes to blend in, but we’ll be wanting to strike a balance between making it feeling like a secure event and not being too intimidating with a preponderance of uniforms.” She shrugged a little. It sounded very much like the back and forth she did in just about every area of her job.

Sharah nodded. It made sense, but she really would have liked to dress up. Speaking of dressing up though… Jal’na was going a bit overboard. Oh.....OH!!! Sharah smirked and went back into the dressing room to change. “Yavia you better pick something!”

For a moment Eela turned and looked at herself in the mirror, her gaze intense. She was seeing something in her image that she hadn’t before, or maybe it had been hidden from her. It shared the same space as something she had observed while a commanding officer, but it wasn’t about leadership per say. It was much closer to a feeling of being exactly where she was meant to be and doing what she was meant to be doing. With a final smile, she swept back to the change rooms. She’d walk out with this gown, the silver dress and the abstract bird wing gown for the auction itself. And more than that was the simple camaraderie she craved and had found in small ways lately. It felt like a personal victory.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.

“Tandra try this anyway.” It was a navy blue jump suit in satin and chiffon with a wrap around bodice and sleeveless. It was simple but classy.

Jal’na had a grey dress suite, a black high necked sleeveless dress, something in a mint green, and a gorgeous deep red dress with black lace appliqués. As if it was nothing g strange she headed toward the dressing room muttering about flimsy materials that would not survive.

Jal’na

Eela watched Jal’na intently, picking up the mixed emotions from the Klingon and eying her gown choices with curiosity.

“If we’re going to be wearing dress uniforms anyway…” Mika sighed, shrugging, “I don’t know.” It wasn’t that the jumpsuit wasn’t pretty, she would probably look great in it, she just… she shrugged again.

~ Mika

Eela smiled warmly with encouragement. “I think you’ll find being on a colony like this ends up being very different than a starship. Yes, at the Complex, the Starfleet folks can hang out when they are off duty and be in uniform, but what I’ve seen is that many people will change and go out into the community, take in the culture of Oed. Even if you don’t need a formal outfit for this event, it doesn’t hurt to have one around just in case. If you don’t want to show it off, here, there’s nothing wrong with that. Do what makes you comfortable, Tandra.” Eela herself was revelling in the attention because other than formal diplomatic events, she hadn’t really dressed up all that much and it had been along time since she felt beautiful.

A specific chirp sounded and Eela sighed. “Dasca,” she said as she moved off to the far side of the shop to hopefully engage in what was a very short conversation since she knew Cort wouldn’t have let it through without it being important.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.