Rebuilding Rob

I would be negligent if I didn’t mention that I got today’s topic from this Medium page. I figured at some point, I would need to start looking elsewhere for prompts

Write about a time you were inappropriately dressed for the occasion.

When most people think of being inappropriately dressed for an occasion they’re usually taking about wearing shorts to a black tie event. There thinking too casually for a formal setting. But I’m going to tell you a story about the opposite – a time I was inappropriately dressed because I was overdressed, ignoring the specific, costumed expectations set forth by our hosts.

A wedding invitation with a twist

This happened about 7 or 8 years ago, when X2 and I were still together on the Sacred Timeline. We were invited to a wedding where bride and her husband-to-be were big fans of Anime, particularly Sailor Moon; so much so, in fact, that they decided to have a Sailor Moon themed wedding. The invitation didn’t just suggest a theme – it actively encouraged guests dress as a character from Sailor Moon or their favorite Anime.

I was having none of it. While I enjoyed Americanized cartoons like Robotech and Battle of the Planets back in the day, I’ve never been a true Anime enthusiast, and the idea of wearing a costume to a wedding did not appeal to me, or to X2.

This is a wedding dammit, I thought to myself. I felt it deserved a specific level or formality. I put my foot down: We were going to dress like we were going to a regular wedding.

The Suit vs. The Sailor Scouts

I wore a charcoal suit. X2 wore a dress. And while we were the best-looking couple in attendance (if I may say so myself), the moment we walked into the reception, we knew we had made a statement, at least in my mind we did. 

The room wasn’t filled with people dressed in business casual or even traditional wedding attire. It was filled with sailor collars, oversized props, even a few wigs. We were among the few people who looked like we had attended a Board of Directors meeting instead of a fan convention.

We definitely stuck out. While we weren’t given dirty looks—after all, we were dressed appropriately for the event if not the theme—our formal wear instantly pigeon-holed us with the much older relatives who had also skipped the costumes.

Some Occasions Call for a Suit

If I had it to do all over again, I would do the exact same thing. In fact, being a few years older now, I would probably be even more steadfast in my convictions. It wasn’t as if X2 was in the wedding party; that would have been a different story.

I’ve never been too big on the idea of themed weddings. Call me old-fashioned, but I wouldn’t want to look back at my wedding photos 30 years from now and see myself dressed like an old cartoon character. Even as a lifelong fan of Batman—and that will never change—I wouldn’t want to get married dressed as him. Of course, if my hypothetical future, Mrs. Rob decided she wanted to dress as Catwoman, I wouldnt object.

Ultimately, despite being ‘inappropriately’ dressed according to the hosts’ requests, I was ironically more comfortable than I would have been crammed into a last-minute, low-quality costume. Some occasions just call for a suit.

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, 👍 comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related (and perhaps, not-so-related) posts:

• Rob’s Retro Movie Review: This is Spinal Tap (1984) – The Movie That Scaled to Eleven
• A Death in the Family (And My Disposable Income): My Life in Comics
• The Supporting Cast: Navigating the Eras of Male Friendship
• Life is What Happens: A Look Back at My Non-Existent 2025 Vision
• The Moment I Walked Inside a Hallmark Movie

AI art created with Google Gemini.

The article “Suit vs. Sailor Scouts: When I Refused to Wear a Costume to a Wedding” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob