Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Toga Party @ Cafe Des Arts on 9th April 2010

Introducing the first Toga Party in Kenya in 2010!

Join us at Cafe Des Arts on the 9th (Friday) of this beautiful April from 10pm for an ancient Roman evening like none before, and none ever after! Bring forth your Roman aristocratic self, step forth like the Roman god you are, and reveal your most magnificent toga swirl......There shall be a bottle of wine for the best dressed couple and a complementary drink upon arrival of the first 100 guests......Herein are the directions to the party: http://www.cafedesarts.co.ke/contacts.php



To the Gentlemen, here are brief instructions on How to adorn the Toga...


First, no self-respecting Roman ever put one on without the help of servants -- it's beastly difficult to do so without dragging it around the dusty floor. But here's how it's done. Two people, neither of which is the wearer, stretch the toga out lengthwise and fold it lengthwise in thirds. The edge with the stripe, if it has one, is folded over and the other edge is folded under. The narrower, more rounded end is draped forward over the left shoulder -- striped side forward and the striped edge near the neck -- with the tip just above the wearer's toes. The long remainder is loosely wrapped around the wearer's back and brought under his right arm. That accounts for two thirds of the length. The remaining third is thrown back over the left shoulder. It's on, and the weight of the wool keeps it on as long as the wearer maintains his poise and dignitas -- jumping around was not consistent with a modest appearance. The left arm was usually held bent and close to the body. Sometimes, especially if a spirited speech in the Senate was on the wearer's schedule, a slave might reach under the left armpit and stitch or pin together (as invisibly as possible) the two long dangling ends. There were no pockets, but your slaves carried most of your stuff anyway. And you could always tuck a copy of your speech, love poems, secret dispatches, or anything else too valuable to entrust to a slave, into the sinus, the folded part at your right hip and rising in front of your body. And that's your basic toga.