The other weekend I went to Vegas. I haven’t been since I was 10. It really is different when you’re going with friends and you’re actually legal to participate in all that Vegas has to offer: namely the gambling, the drinking and the clubbing. Not that I’m super into any of these three things- my primary vice is shopping- but when in Rome, you do what the Romans do.

Compared to the sub zero temperature back in Chicago, stepping out of the Las Vegas airport and into the warm sunny breeze, felt a little like stepping into Saks after a jaunt at Marshalls. Everything just seems brighter and better. I immediately discarded my bulky layers for a bright breezy top and a leather biker jacket (yes, I finally found the perfect one!), and whipped out my big shades.

The Strip was a hodgepodge of fashion. It was as if they picked a few representatives from all around and put them in Vegas.  There was the west coast girl from next door in her shorts, spaghetti straps and flip flops. There was the woman from the suburbs somewhere in the light washed denim jacket and matching jeans.  And the teenager in her UGGs. Basically anything goes. There is no local dress mode or concept of weather, which I guess makes sense since everyone on the strip are tourists. That is only in the day time though.

As the sun goes down, the crowd starts to change. You start seeing flocks of girls walking around all dressed in black. Waiting in line at Tao, the night club located at the Venetian, I got a better look. The dress code seems to be skanky black dresses with ridiculously high heels. Indeed, if you look up the dance floor onto the balcony above where the ladies bathroom is located (I’m convinced that they deliberately designed it that way so people below can look up their skirts!), you will see a line of similarly dressed girls waiting, forming a fashion show of scanty black dresses. Perhaps there is a store in Vegas that specializes in variations of the barely-there black dresses. They were all very low cut and super short too. I knew that the Vegas style is all about the bling, the sparkly and the obvious, but this was a bit beyond my imagination. I have seen my share of scanty outfits, but never in such a big concentration. Most vividly, I remember seeing a girl in a super short black dress that was completely backless……. some girls may be able to carry this off, but in this case (as with most) it was waay too much skin- even for the boys!  I wish I’d taken a quick picture, but alas, even if I had it will probably not be appropriate to post. I wonder why everyone dresses so. To compete with the almost naked girls frolicking in the famous tubs of Tao? Or maybe Vegas is the just place where everyone lets their inner sluts out.

As for me, I wore this black sequins top that I’d recently bought at Mango just for this occasion, with jeans and heels. I figured it would go with the whole glittery, glam theme. Obviously I don’t have much of an inner slut in me. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against showing a little skin. I get that it is the thing to do in Vegas. I just cannot let go of a lifetime of a certain type of style by just being in Vegas. Call me conventional, but no matter where I am, I still believe that skin should be tastefully shown. i.e. one at a time. This is probably why I like the uniform of the waitresses at the Bellagio best. While all the dealers/waitresses at other casino hotels wear outfits that leaves little to the imagination, the waitresses at the Bellagio pairs their short shorts that shows off their incredible legs, with a long sleeved black blazer, which balances it out.

Having said all that, the next morning I pulled out black lace tights from my suitcase and paired it with my mini sweater dress and bejeweled belt. One of my guy friends threw me weird look and told me I looked like a slut. That’s what my family told me too when I modeled my outfit for them (I guess they didn’t see the Chanel FW08 runway). But what the hell, I’m in Vegas.