Saturday 12 July 2014

Dressing Up

I greatly admire vintage clothing enthusiasts who are so good at dressing up that they look spookily like they have emerged from the past. That level of vintage dressing takes commitment. I wonder if they recreate the mindset of their chosen decade--which may be even more difficult! And it might not even be that scary. If you read books written before 1963, you realize that many people were perfectly rational and fair-minded. Although she did not lead a perfect life, the work of Dorothy L. Sayers illustrates that a Christian Englishwoman of the 1930s and 1940s was not by definition racist or anti-Semitic.

To be brutally frank, I don't have a standard 1940s British frame...or do I? I may have the frame of a 1940s British woman of early middle age, a vintage look few except female impersonators seem to want to try. IN-ter-esting. Time to look up photos of the Mitford sisters... Although I suspect Nancy almost never ate.

This is all a preamble to two photos Kasia took at the Swinging Allies Dance Party last month. One is of me and a friend, and the other of me and a Polish Pretend Airman.



5 comments:

Nzie said...

The dance looks like a lot of fun! :-)

I like vintage looks quite often (although not always). What's nice is I think a lot of vintage styles are coming back in... the hemlines are a bit shorter here and there, but it's nice to see some of the nice older fashions get more play again.

Personally, I'd love to have the budget, time, and appropriate profession to let my quirky side show a lot more.. There would be historical, vintage, fantasy and steampunk on a regular basis. Since I picked the wrong profession, I'm just hoping I can save up to go to some conventions in a costume I've crafted from thrift store finds and see all the other awesome costumes of people having fun. :-)

Kate P said...

Your hair is fantastic, Seraphic!

MaryJane said...

I am truly impressed that they got all your hair into those victory rolls! It really looks great.

Amused said...

I'm confused by Polish Pretend Airman's outfit! What on earth is he wearing? Did Polish Airmen in the 40's wear that?

Seraphic said...

I was just joking about the Pretend Polish Airman stuff. In the summer of 1940, the most fashionable and desirable accessory in the UK was a Polish airman on your arm!