20th Century

What shall I wear to Windy Lindy 2010?

Last year I got your input on a costume for the big Wellington swing event.  And you have seen the Dorothy costume from the year before.  So of course I need your input this year too!

This year the theme is ‘Puttin on the Ritz’.

Woohoo!  Right up my alley!

Unfortunately, I’ve decided that 1) I should be good and finish all the projects I have started already rather than making something new, and 2) I already own enough fabulous 1930s-esque evening gowns anyway.

Blast.  I really, really wanted an excuse to make Ginger Roger’s Night and Day dress:

So, as I’m giving up this excuse in favour of practicality, which of my (gorgeous, but not quite as gorgeous as that dress) 1930s evening dresses should I wear?

Any of these can be dolled up with fab accessories and fabric flowers up the wazoo.

The white?

Yes, it’s my wedding dress.  And yes, I firmly believe I should wear my wedding dress as often as possible.  I could add garlands of fabric flowers ’round the neck and the hem, and it would look a bit more like Ginger’s dress.  And it is a wonderful dress for dancing.

The black?

I know, that is only the most pitiful image ever of a really fabulous dress.  And I’ll confess, I didn’t make this one.  But it’s a great dress nonetheless – you’ll have to use your imagination.  It’s all lace, with the shoulders and back unlined.  It clings to the body all the way down to the knees, and then flows out into a soft mermaid when you spin.  And this might be the last opportunity of the year to wear it before it gets too warm (it’s synthetic – very unusual for me!)

The red?

The Tango dress, also great for dancing in – I am going to blog about it…here is a sneak peek.

Or the green?

The Stella dress, very sophisticated 1930s. Check the post for more pictures.

13 Comments

  1. I think your wedding dress holds the most possibilities, but the green dress just screams 1930s, to me. Over all I guess I vote for the wedding dress (with perhaps added decoration, as you suggest).

  2. You haven’t worn your wedding dress since you made the alterations for Pompeii to Paris, have you? Dress with alterations is kind of like new dress.

    So my vote is for that, with the green coming a close second.

  3. Oooh I’d say stella or your wedding dress. I should wear my wedding dress more often. Am I correct in remembering that you took yours apart and re-made it after the wedding, or am I dreaming?

    Anyway, one of those two, definitely. Make some beautiful silk flowers and put them on a comb or something for your hair, I keep seeing that in 30’s pictures and movies lately and can’t help indulging in it a little, myself. It’s way fun.

    I’m so jealous of the awesome events you go to.

  4. Absolutely, the same as the three ladies before me said: either your wedding dress or the green one. I’d vote for the wedding dress, I think. It looks so elegant on you (or you in it; it’s reciprocal).

  5. They’re all beautiful. My vote is for the red dress to be #1 and lovely Stella at #2. The colors will stand out in the crowd more than black and white, IMHO.

  6. I LOVE the black lace one, which incidentally is in a bag in my studio in case you were wondering where it was! I’ve seen all these dresses ‘live’ and I think it will be the most comfortable, safe (as in from spills, dirty floors etc) and thirtiesish 🙂

  7. Love the green one–feels the most thirties to me. But the wedding dress, dolled up with flowers and accessories to really put on the Ritz, would be fabulous for evoking the era without being too on-the-nose. Which can be even more fun, sometimes 🙂

  8. Madame Ornata says

    First impression the wedding dress el blingo, but I’d like to see the black in another photo before a final decision could be extricated. And I aways trust the ever stylish MrsC so if she says the black lace is a good candidate, it would be.

  9. Oh, c’est toi qui imagine ces merveilles ?
    C’est fabuleux, une classe et une elegance incroyable !
    J’aime beaucoup la rouge et la crème… Tres belles !
    Tatieva, painter vintage

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