Local Queen Wears White Gloves To Pasta Dinner

For her Uncle Ken’s birthday last night, Kina busted out her finest polyester princess dress and two pristine white satin evening gloves. We were meeting the birthday boy at a restaurant mainly known for its local take on the Bloomin’ Onion, baked pasta, and a chicken fried steak the size of a pizza, which would not seem to be the sort of venue at which white gloves are de rigeur, but they went over quite nicely with the staff nonetheless.

It bears noting that Kina did not eat with the gloves on, because that would be rude, but she did don them after dessert for a stroll down Vanderbilt Avenue, where she waved regally to the outdoor diners and bicyclists. We did eventually cross paths with another pink-gowned princess heading the opposite direction, and these two scions of nobility nodded at each other in passing, satin on satin in the dusk.

It’s not clear to me when Kina will outgrow this phase of her fashion journey. The gloves are definitely an escalation, but I don’t think it’s possible to get much fancier than she already is, so I’m taking it all in stride. Maybe the biggest signal that we are in the twilight of her costume years is that she is taking very seriously the school rules on uniforms; whereas last year, she wore almost nothing resembling a uniform (rainbow skirts, frilly princess dresses, etc), this year has been fairly strait-laced. Maybe her next phase is more minimal? I suppose I’ll have to savor the polyester and satin while I can.

Goth Kina is just around the corner.

Me: “Kina, can you do the Parade?”

Kina: “I don’t WANT to do the Parade!”

Me: “Just do something simple this time. It doesn’t have to be super fancy.”

Her: “Fine.”

dad