So last night I attended one of the more entertaining black tie events held in Cape Town, the 5 for Change charity ball. It was held at the city hall and the theme was The Great Gatsby which made for seriously glam-looking turnout. Think sequins, tassels, red lips, diamante headbands, vintage stoles and hot boys in tuxes.

Due to circumstances that are too mundane to type about, I ended up throwing my outfit together at the last minute and ended up with a look that I felt was a bit more Madonna than Daisy, but ag wat, I had a blast. Blogger bestie Karisa sparkled in champagne sequins while Clouds showed off a tassley number local designer Jacques Lagrange put together for her. He even made her a bag on the fly so we all kind of despise her behind her back now.

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Atmosphere-wise, the hall with it’s gorgeous high ceilings was a fab backdrop to all the glamour. Guests were treated to a welcome glass of Patrone and Appletiser (a seriously delish drink!) and nibbled on canapés. Later, Gold Fish and The Rudimentals entertained the crowd.

But ja, lets talk about the charities for a bit ‘cos that’s what 5 for Change is all about. Below are the big five that were selected to be the focus this year:

To read more about each one, pop on over here.

Personally, I was most impressed with Iyeza Express, a service that sees delivery boys on bikes deliver medication to chronically ill patients in the townships. The guys who ran the stall were so passionate about what they were doing and the initiative has grown to the point where they need funding for more bikes, salaries and some kind of computer system. I think they said they’re currently sharing one laptop between ten people.

I also spent a fair amount of time at the Trashback stall but only ‘cos the dude who was running it was so ridiculously soap opera-style good-looking that all my girlfriends wanted to ogle him. Ironically, I don’t have a shot of his face (Miss K’s head is blocking him in the shot) but you’ll see the stall is pretty much flooded with an array meisies who may or may not be super passionate about recycling.

Anyway, after lots of dancing, credit card swiping and drink splashing, Karis Piss and I ended up being among the last to leave. It was that much fun.

Alas, due to several twisty-turny complications, we both lost our dates and ended up on Long street in the nastiest little restaurant/bar which I’d love to mention but am too scared they’d hunt me down for the theft of 1 x Coke Light. You see, instead of going straight to the Woolies Engen on Orange to binge eat like every other drunk in Cape Town, we made the mistake of sitting down at the dive.

Our waitress, a total zombie, told us our food would be out in ten but after waiting 40 minutes we gave up walked out but this resulted in being chased by two enormous bouncer dudes who hit and shook the back of our first getaway taxi. (Yes, our escape involved not one but two cars.) It was kind of like a really blurry pirate copy of 2 Fast 2 Furious but with lip gloss and sequins. Ooh! But I do remember Karisa screaming ‘NOOOO! We are NOT paying. NOOO!’ in this seriously scary demon voice I’d never heard her use before. In fact, she sounded like a terrifying dog trainer from the inner circles of hell. Under no circumstances do you ever want to mess with this girl when she’s in a mood. Like ever. O. M. G.

Eventually, once we’d made it home clutching our Steers burgers and chips, we devoured it in the lobby of our building like wild animals whilst making totes awkwies sex noises. You know, like classy girls. Classy girls who go to balls in plastic pearls and DIY headbands oozing Super Glue into their hair. We then blacked out, classily of course, and the next morning I woke up to discover this semi-embarrassing selfie that I have zero recollection of having taken:

Anyway, all I can say is that Five for Change, as per usual, was one helluva bash. A big thank you to Kirsten Hopwood from Prestige Communications for pulling it off with aplomb. (Kirsten – I’m sorry I didn’t use that snap of the two of us. You looked gorgeous but my eyes were like evil little slits. I looked like a baby sloth taking a power nap on your shoulder. Not a good look.)

Next year, the moment those tickets go on sale you best get in there fast.

Love, love

Leigh