"The fete without a pre-party is like a dog without a leash," said Eliot House resident Richard C. Knapp '98. "It's a Happy Meal without the fries. It's a Pu-Pu platter without the pork."

That Knapp enjoyed his hours before the fete was abundantly clear by his healthy, slightly sweaty, glow.

"We all went to a pre-party and pretty much got hammered," he said. "You want to hang out with your friends beforehand."

Pre-parties may occur across campus, but once formals begin, House character comes to the fore.

Taking a cursory view of the Mather crowd, two details quickly became clear: that randomization has not thinned the House's athletic contingent, and that residents actively embraced the "creative tuxedo" concept.

Several residents were spotted instigating a chin-up contest using the courtyard tent's support bars, while others stood out for their fashion rather than in-your-face fitness image.

"They said creative black tie, and I took it as a command," said O'Connor, who sported khaki shorts and a green shamrock bow tie. "Given the option of creative black tie, there's no excuse for a normal tuxedo. It's boring and easy."

The defining aspect of the Mather formal was not attendees' formal dress, however, but the event's relaxed atmosphere.

"[Mather is] a very spirited house, and I'm impressed by the funkiness," said Emily M. Jin '00, who will make her home in Mather next fall. "People here seem less uptight than other formals."

The Winthrop and Eliot formals, though just ashort walk down the river from Mather, had a moretraditional air.

"[The fete] is very classy," said Katharine M.Gauksheim '01, adding that "the cute old guys thatare playing swing are very romantic."

Yet while the swing tent at Eliot House wasalways full of twirling dancers, the club music atboth Winthrop and Eliot was equally, if not more,popular than the jazz.

"The music is too conservative," said KatherineD. Earls '00 of the Eliot fete. "I'm trying to getdown and...to release some tension that's beenstored up writing all these lame papers. I feellike my father in there."

Others, such as German, were careful to pointout that two types of music are better thanone--regardless of personal taste. No matter howvintage formal music was or how rarefied theiratmospheres became, almost everyone in attendancesaw their House formal as an opportunity to dressup and get down.

"The Eliot House fete is a chance for the Houseto get out, drink a fair amount, shed theirHarvard clothes and get loose a little bit," Knappsaid. "A lot of the kids [in Eliot] who aren'tthat social get out and have some fun."

If loosening up and having a good time was thegoal, the Cabot formal definitely satisfied.Combining the dance fever of Mather with a morestylized club atmosphere, the scene at LansdownePlayhouse could easily have passed as a musicvideo outtake.