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WEDNESDAY
You’re on your way to Venus for dinner with the queen. What to wear? Well, Her Highness Zsa Zsa Gabor will of course be sporting a sheer sarong, tied provocatively for maximum thigh exposure. Her sultry henchwomen will surround her wearing the very latest in shapely, military-style tennis togs. And heels. Or perhaps you’re coming to Earth, to either destroy us or teach us a valuable lesson. In either situation, you should dress entirely in aluminum foil or some other thin, shiny materialpreferably with a turtleneck. If it’s after Labor Day, you may also don leather, but again, think shiny. Naturally, if you are Caroline Munro, a bikini and knee-high boots will suffice. Such are the sartorial choices evident in the work of space-cinema costume designers. The employees at NASA, however, chose differently: Those helmets were OK, but the narrow-minded insistence on functionality always seemed to leave style lacking. Retain hope for the more fashionable future of space travel when Space History Division staffer Amanda Young discusses “The First Spacesuits on the Moon” at noon at the National Air and Space Museum, 7th Street and Independence Avenue SW. Free. (202) 357-2700. (Dave Nuttycombe)