Ladies and gentlemen, or, without skirting the issue, gentlemen who are ladies...No such confusion ensued at the Victor Victoria event.

Guests dressed to code for the preview of the classic Broadway musical in the St Regis ballroom, more than a few men letting their hems down for the occasion.

Hosted by Designare, the designer living magazine, and Dr Georgia Lee Skincare, more than 400 invitees showed up to show an ankle, and that’s only the men.

Kilts and aprons and sarongs and Comme des Garcons skirts swished against women in pantsuits, and the men won.

There were the three men friends who swept up the spiral staircase, one in a Balinese tie-dye sarong (which would not have wrong-footed David Beckham), another in a wraparound pantskirt, “a gift”, and the other in a beige mini.

That’s from your closet? No, it’s my mother’s.

When you asked to borrow your mum’s skirt she said...? Oh she said take-your-pick-I-have-so-many.

That’s what you call family bonding, especially when both mother and son share the same waist size.

Wardrobe malfunction

One gentleman threw in the towel after trying all of his wife’s skirts.

“Nothing fit, so I’m in pants,” Mr Adrian Ng apologised.

The missus came in her own trousers.

A trio of sartorially-correct MPs, Mr Baey Yam Keng, Dr Lam Pin Min, Mr Michael Palmer, were there to support the arts.

Support hose? A definite no.

Mrs Diane Palmer wore her husband’s red tie to great effect, “Since I bought it for him anyway.”

Some enchanted evening, across a crowded room, you may meet a girl who stands out – with a moustache.

Ah, the Lady Gillette’s battery packed up then?

The faux ’tache actually belongs to her father, said Ms Rowena Yeoh, peeling it off.

Host Dr Frank Cintamani of Fide Events, is an aggressive backer of the arts scene in Singapore.

He wore a Comme des Garcons skirt and Dior shirt and jacket.

He’d put the preview together – Victor Victoria plays at the Esplanade in November – giving guests a taste of the talent to come.

After cocktails, lead star of the show Laura Fygi belted out a half hour of jazz numbers, followed by members of the cast in a selection from the musical.

At intermission there was a free-for-all rush for the Ladies and Gentlemen...just kidding.

This article was first published in The New Paper.