Pink, green and clear cellophane dangled from door frames and staircase banisters. Students gyrated to the rhythm of raging techno music. Women — and men — in pleather platform boots clomped up and down the stairs.
Wigs in every color of the rainbow offset the dankness of the smoke-filled, cavernous tap room at Terrace Club on Saturday night for the annual Drag Ball.
This is the second year Terrace has held the party, featuring Drag Queen and King contests. Previously, the Pride Alliance organized the festivities, Pride co-president Sue Dyer '03 said. The turnout for this year's Drag Ball was lower than in past years, Dyer said.
A glittering Eric Rosen '02 — a bitter former drag queen contest finalist — agreed. The contest has become less competitive since his freshman year, he said.
Despite lower turnout than expected, many of the most recognizable drag icons came out to celebrate a night of defying stereotypical gender roles.
Among them were Angel of the Broadway show "Rent" and transgender punk rocker Hedwig and her love interest Tommy Gnosis from the recent movie "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," portrayed by Terrace president Alexis Frasz '03 and friend Taryn Wayne '01.
The costumes ranged from hardened leather and spiked dog collars to delicately beaded bodices, but others took more of a middle ground, combining male and female ensembles.
Alexis Schulman '04 wore "boy-girl clothing," a lace-collared shirt, pinstripe pants and a tie.
Schulman articulated one of the main obstacles every woman in drag encounters:
"I was going for the androgynous look," she said. "But unfortunately my breasts are getting in the way."
Schulman said she thinks the Drag Ball is a liberating opportunity.
"A lot of students now have an excuse to get dressed up and come out," she said. "There are a lot of repressed boys at Princeton."
But Lauren Hayward '05, dressed in black pinstripe pants and a matching vest, said dressing up for the Drag Ball is like getting dressed for "any other theme party," she said.
Still, more women dressed as men than men as women.
"It's easier for girls to dress up than for guys to come out," Rosen said.
The few who did dress up, however, paraded in full queen regalia.
Kevin Simmons '03, last year's drag contest champion, emceed this year's competition. Simmons was decked in a blond bob wig, tennis whites, pearls and a tiara. In one hand, Simmons wielded a squash racket, in the other, a vial of fake prescription pills for snorting.
With the help of two female friends, Chinedeum Enyimna '04 decided only days before to dress up. In a red sequined tank top, black miniskirt and purple wig Enyimna transformed himself into "Cocoa Chanel," a drag contest finalist.
After batting his purple eyelids and lengthened lashes, Cocoa Chanel said, "It's fun, it's great, it's only once a year."
Like Enyimna, "Aleskandar," a graduate student, also had a costume designer. Inspired by Jackie Kennedy's seductive, secretive look, Aleskandar wore a red head kerchief and reflective sunglasses. For the rest of his ensemble, Aleskandar turned to his best friend Mary Anne.
Luckily for Aleskandar, they both wear the same size clothing. Her plaid print skirt and light green cap sleeve tee were a perfect fit. The two are not only the same skirt size. Aleskandar also borrowed Mary Anne's bra for the evening.
"I dressed up because I knew I'd look fabulous," he said.
The Drag Ball drew University students, alumni and students from surrounding colleges for a relaxing evening in a comforting, accepting environment.
Taking a break from rehearsals for a Lincoln Center performance, Benjamin Torres, a junior at Westminster Choir College, has been dressing in drag for as long as he can remember and "needed to come to the Drag Ball."
Torres, shaven and decked out in a blond wig, turquoise blue platform sandals and a green spandex dress he purchased yesterday, had the "talent and personality" to capture the Drag Queen title, said two-time winner Jared Ramos '01.
Giselle Woo '02, dressed as "Julio," took a break from thesis writing and her "Sweeney Todd" performances to triumph in the Drag King contest.
Dressed in a borrowed tuxedo, Woo found inspiration for her winning ensemble from the musical "Victor/Victoria."
"It's great to see people coming out and having a good time and getting into their comfortable characters," she said.
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