The Red Dress Story

Seasonal Pleasures Come in Many Forms

It’s not every day you find yourself dining in Houston, enjoying a delicious lunch of fried oysters, that you spot a stunning red Balenciaga gown hanging from the wall of the restaurant. To my delight, the owner and executive chef of Ouise’s Table, Louise Adams Jones, told me all about the history of Miss Ruby’s Red Dress, and how she (this dress could never be just an “it”) ended up as a seasonal adornment on that wall in Louise’s restaurant.

As it happens, the dress was actually a copy of a gown designed by Balenciaga, and through the years it acquired the nickname of Louise’s older sister Ruth’s debutante gown: Miss Ruby. Louise realized the aesthetic power of the dress and knew she had to hang it like a piece of artwork from the wall of her new restaurant. Every year, Miss Ruby arrives just before Thanksgiving and stays until Valentine’s Day, creating a festive mood in the dining room during the holidays and winter months.

Warming the décor of the dining room isn’t all she does, though. From the moment Miss Ruby is ceremoniously draped from the wall, to the moment she’s retired each February, she serves as a lovely conversation piece. In addition to engaging the patrons’ social stimuli, she teaches us a broader lesson: good conversation keeps us from getting fat. Why? By pausing to put down your fork, you’ll eat slower, you’ll eat mindfully and you’ll never get fat.

The moral of this story? Don’t underestimate the power of colors, seasons and creativity. They are the key to our appreciation of life, and guard us from boredom—which you know is the French woman’s key to never getting fat.

Read the Ouisie's Table version here.