Moomoos & Margaritas

Unflattering dresses, tequila, and a hibachi chef prove the best nights are built on laughter, not perfection.

Story and photos by Cynthia Reeves

Moomoos are the perfect casual attire for a girls’ night out or for staying in. Melissa Dugas-Pontiff, Cindy Reeves, Carol Sheehan and Laurie Shropshire chose bright colors and wild animal prints.

When I slipped on my moomoo, I couldn’t help but giggle and think I had channeled goofy Mrs. Roper from the old 1970s show “Three’s Company.” Actually, the dress wasn’t as unflattering as I had imagined, especially since it was part of a fabulous theme night my friends and I had planned as part of a long girls’ weekend.

Find unique glasses so each guest has one that matches her personality and style. At their Miramar Beach getaway, these friends enjoyed a visit from Mr. Hibachi at Home, who prepared Japanese dishes to pair with their Mexican margaritas.

The final night of our Miramar Beach cottage getaway would feature the tacky but comfortable housecoats and tons of tequila. Sounds like a match made in heaven!

We topped the night off with a visit from “Mr. Hibachi at Home.” The caterer brought his portable grill, collection of spatulas and delicious Japanese dishes to our patio, where he put on a zany show. The fiery displays and silly sing-a-longs were a perfect complement to our quirky outfits and margarita bar.

We all found our moomoos on Amazon. The selection was insane. There was everything from tame solid colors to wild zebra, leopard and peacock feather numbers, which of course we loved. The gaudier the better, in my opinion.

No, we didn’t come up with this theme. Check out YouTube. It’s a thing. Like many of the girls’ night out themes, it’s all about sisterhood. Whether a getaway like ours or a bachelorette party, the focus is on fun and cocktails or mocktails. Instead of the typical Mexican snacks, we mixed things up with the hibachi chef.

We discovered moomoos are more than just the image portrayed on TV pop culture. According to a Google search, the loose dress has quite an interesting history. The muumuu (or mu’umu’u) has a Polynesian origin. It means “cut off” in Hawaiian, as it was a shorter version of the original holoku dress brought over by missionaries in the 19th century. Back then, it was also called a Mother Hubbard dress. No doubt, our modern version is more stylish and much, much cuter.

Unlike the old nursery rhyme where old Mother Hubbard finds her cupboards bare, we were well stocked. We brought more margarita makings than needed, but it was fun experimenting. We mainly stuck by my friend Melissa Dugas-Pontiff’s classic margarita recipe, but we made one pitcher of mango margaritas as well. I brought some festive margarita glasses and hung a banner, but the colorful moomoos were the highlight and centerpiece of the evening.

Comfy flowing dresses, good food, luscious libations and plenty of laughter — all a good recipe for fun.