It looks like Britney Spears received some time off for good behavior this weekend. People reports that after a day spent holed up inside her Beverly Hills, Calif., home with her dad, Jamie, and a new assistant, she got gussied up for a night out on the town.

Brit ventured out in one of the more presentable ensembles she's donned in recent memory, sporting a plunging, dark brown spaghetti-strap dress and Chewbacca-like fur coat for dinner at hot spot Social with her father, who's currently pulling the strings in her life (until March 10, at least), and a few members of her inner circle.

Also looking more presentable were her matching mocha extensions, which she reportedly paid an estimated $6,000 to have restrung a few days back.

Coincidentally, her mane progress comes exactly one year after she entered a San Fernando Valley salon and proceeded to buzz off her tangled weave in full view of the paparazzi, a be-balding that prompted her monthlong -- and less-than-effective -- stay in rehab.

"She seemed totally normal and level-headed, and everyone with her seemed calm," a fellow diner tells the mag. "She was with a table of five people."

After a two-hour meal, Spears and her father -- with security guards in tow -- exited through a side door and jumped into the back of an SUV as the assembled paparazzi worked themselves into a frenzy (TMZ.com reports one shutterbug was arrested in the flashbulb crush).

Britney did offer a quiet "good" to a lensman who asked how she was doing, a brief interaction that was a refreshing change from her usual long nights of driving aimlessly around as photographers pumped her gas and tossed compliments her way.

The day before, Spears engaged in some retail therapy with several minders, hitting Los Angeles boutiques Fred Segal, Betsey Johnson and Monique Lhuillier, the designer behind the wedding dress she wore to say "I do" with Kevin Federline.

The London Sun claims Brit tried on a gown inside the store (perhaps she read Star's cover story about how she purportedly tied the knot with her still-married paparazzo beau Adnan Ghalib in Mexico), although the horde of photogs somehow failed to capture this moment on camera.

According to the tab, her relatively calm demeanor faltered as she tried to get to her chauffeur-driven car. "Everyone just chill out and f****** walk so I can get through," she supposedly growled.

There was also an apparent hiccup as she exited Fred Segal in a $200 black shirt that may or may not have been paid for (Brit's finances are currently controlled by her dad).

Still, unnamed pals assure the Sun that unlike her sticky-fingered moment with a lighter back in December, this was just a simple misunderstanding.

Meanwhile, E! News says Spears used her shopping expedition to make contact with fame-craving BFF Alli Sims, supposedly texting her to meet inside a dressing room at Fred Segal.

Sims, who is purportedly on the outs with Papa Spears because of her association with persona non grata Sam Lutfi (he's yet to be served with a restraining order, despite repeated attempts) confirmed the meet-up on Saturday, chirping that she and Brit "had fun."

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