Houstonist Was There: Shecky's Girls Night Out

The overuse of words like "ultimate", "amazing" and "exclusive" on the Shecky's website was our first hint that perhaps there is just a hint of hype surrounding Girls Night Out. But we were curious, and the tickets were only $15, so we decided to investigate. Hype or not, throwing back "complimentary" after-work cocktails in the Crystal Ballroom sounded like our kind of research. That is, until we saw the line to claim wristbands was out the front door and around the corner of Texas Avenue. There was a second line to get in to the event because the maximum capacity of the ballroom had been reached. After about twenty minutes we were waved past the red velvet rope and shuttled into a small room wherein lay the much ballyhooed Famous Goodie Bags. The way the ladies in this video go on about them, we were sure we'd hit the jackpot for the $15 price of admission. As we tore open our fake Louis Vuitton reuseable grocery store bags, though, reality sank in.

Tampons. Goodie hair ties. Press-on nails. Dove Body Wash. A day planner. Lip gloss in an unwearable shade of purple. No kidding, one of us got a box of Splenda.

It appears that someone filled our Famous Goodie Bags with the entire contents of the clearance bin from a drug store cosmetic aisle. So visions of the fabulous deluxe samples you get at Sephora were not realistic, but at least some of the items were useful. And we still had free cocktails to quench our thirst, just beyond the threshold of the Crystal Ballroom.

We followed the cloud of a thousand perfumes to the ballroom and found ourselves in a welter of half-tipsy fashionistas. Pushing our way to the bar, we grabbed at one of the three cocktail options we had for the evening. Each was lined up along the bar in plastic cups, poured from premixed containers by three attractive young men. Nice touch, Shecky's. Clearly, though, this was not the kind of bar where you leisurely sip your cocktail. The atmosphere was more conducive to slamming our drunk girl punch and hurriedly grabbing another before we squeezed back through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd. It felt more like a frat party than "the ultimate event experience for fashion, beauty and fun with your girlfriends".

It was hard to move as a group, so we split up in search of those promised AMAZING deals. Attendees crowded around booths hawking jewelry and accessories that one could easily find at a discount store like Marshall's. There were a few more unique items on display, though. We got a good laugh at a bag made of beer can tabs for a discounted price of $200, marked down from $500. What a deal! Had we slammed a few more cocktails we might have woken up next to that mistake. It's safe to assume that serving liquor-spiked Kool-Aid in the absence of snacks or hors d'oeuvres was intentional.

We didn't sample the beauty treatments because the lines were long and we needed a break from the crowd. The patio outside the ballroom was open and mercifully vacant. We stood around chatting and enjoying the fresh air and views of the city. Hoping to find at least one good deal, we decided to make a final loop of the booths. Coming up empty handed and ready to chew on our own handbags for sustenance, we bailed on Shecky's in search of dinner.

It could be argued that the cocktails and the few useful items in the Famous Goodie Bag were worth the $15 admission. So why did we feel cheated? As one of our group grumbled, "This was the most shrill and vapid waste of money". Had Girls Night Out delivered on at least one of the advertised promises we would feel differently. Some of the ladies at the event were obviously having a great time, so judge for yourself. We, however, won't return for the next event in Houston this fall, when ticket prices increase to $25.