We’ve safely docked from our 1930s transatlantic cruise! This past weekend was the 7th annual Queen Mary Art Deco Festival in Long Beach. It was a wonderful time, and so fun to see so many Art Deco fans from around the world in one spot.
The weather for the weekend was absolutely glorious, which made going to the top deck of the ship the first place we wanted to be. Not only is the Queen Mary an absolute treasure of art deco, it’s the perfect place for time travel. It’s easy to immerse yourself in the era with such wonderful surroundings. They have added some great deck chairs to the top deck to make the ship board experience complete. As someone who would have been very ill on a real crossing, I love that the ship is firmly planted- all the benefits of a make believe crossing back in time without the seasickness ;)
My husband and I were able to attend two events on the ship this year- the Grand Art Deco Ball with fantastic 1930s by Dean Mora and His Orchestra (they played some of my favorite 30s tunes!), and also the Art Deco Tea Dance. We had previously only attended the tea dance so it was a great treat to be able to attend more of the weekend.
Of course, I packed more outfits than I actually wore, but I was so happy to be able to wear the outfit above- a vintage mid 1930s two piece dress which has been in my collection for years. I paired it with an old store stock hat I found at the Paris flea market a few years ago and new two tone spectators which were bought on Ebay after a lead from Nabby of This Old Life.
My outfit for Sunday was this sailor dress I made from vintage plaid fabric with vintage button accents. The collar is new white cotton piqué trimmed with red braid. The belt was bought at a thrift store and the shoes were new from Ebay.
The biggest highlight of the weekend for me was finally getting to meet Jill from Tea with the Vintage Baroness and Adeline’s Attic. I just love her to pieces! She is just as charming and sweet in real life as she is on her blog. On Saturday Jill, Beth from V is for Vintage blog, Beth’s husband, my husband, and I got a chance to take advantage of the beautiful weather, nice ship, and good company to spend a relaxing afternoon together before the ball, which is when most of these pictures were taken. We also got to meet the amazingly talented Kim on NudeeDudee in person on Saturday. I was so glad to meet her and her beautiful new daughter. Of course, they were both perfectly attired in Kim’s creations!
Beth is a stellar seamstress, and she made her entire ensemble on the photo on the left. It suits her to perfection and the fit is amazing! And she made the matching hat from the Sporty Toppers pattern. Whee! Looks so cute!
I love the photo on the right because I feel like we’re in an old travel ad ;)
I wish I had taken more photos of events and such- it was such a nice time seeing friends- many of whom I didn’t get a single snapshot of and regret not pulling out the camera more! The event is fantastic and a lot of the proceeds go to ship restoration, since it’s paired with the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles. We’re so thankful to have this lovely old ship to be able to visit, but hearing the music and seeing folks dressed in period attire is really something else- it’s a neat experience and we are thankful we were able to go to a few of the events of the weekend.
You can see Beth’s post on her blog about the weekend here, and Jill’s post about the weekend here.
Susan in AK
September 8, 2011 at 4:59 pm (13 years ago)Wow! Perfect clothes, as usual. Just beautiful. I stayed on the Queen Mary last Spring and adored everything Deco about her. I should have been born somewhere between my Great-Grandmother and Grandmother’s time. How I wish everything were as elegant as that ship – and your clothing.
Heide at ApronHistory
September 8, 2011 at 5:19 pm (13 years ago)What a fabulous weekend! Love the idea!
Your pictures are so cute. You do look like something from an advertisement!
Jennie
September 8, 2011 at 5:37 pm (13 years ago)Absolutely stunning outfits xx
andreahg
September 8, 2011 at 5:59 pm (13 years ago)Looks like a fun time! I love your 2 piece outfit!
mala_14
September 8, 2011 at 8:42 pm (13 years ago)Sounds like a wonderful time. You all look lovely!
Stephanie
September 8, 2011 at 9:16 pm (13 years ago)Looks like an awesome time. I just love your sailor dress! The back is amazing!
Lucy
September 8, 2011 at 9:28 pm (13 years ago)WOW, you look amazing! I love the sailor dress, and the collar is gorgeous.
Ruby .S. Feldman (@RubysMusings)
September 8, 2011 at 9:40 pm (13 years ago)Truly enjoyed this post, and seeing familiar faces from the blogging world/twitter! Of course I swooned over the clothing as all I can swing is taking clothing I find today and making it work as much as I can to achieve the feel…was fun to see the clothing in that setting!
Marie
September 8, 2011 at 9:43 pm (13 years ago)Oh my goodness, your outfits are divine, all of them! This sounds like such a fantastic event!
Sarah Elizabeth
September 9, 2011 at 4:37 am (13 years ago)You look beautiful as always – I’m completely envious of your sewing talents! Love your blog.
Olivia
September 9, 2011 at 11:55 am (13 years ago)Oh my gosh, that looks so fun and amazing! I love the outfits.
Casey
September 9, 2011 at 12:00 pm (13 years ago)Oooh! Looks like you had so much fun! But really caught my eye were your snazzy shoes; you always pick the best accessories for your outfit, Lauren! :)
Jen O
September 9, 2011 at 3:40 pm (13 years ago)great outfits, gorgeous pix–thanks for sharing them with us!
Nabby
September 10, 2011 at 2:18 pm (13 years ago)What beautiful photos! It looks like it was such a fun event; I can’t even begin to tell you how jealous I am! I love your sailor dress; what pattern did you use to make it?
p.s. The shoes look perfect! :)
wearinghistory
September 17, 2011 at 9:10 pm (13 years ago)Thanks! I used McCall 8139, from 1935. I added a page on the Vintage Pattern Wiki here:
http://vintagepatterns.wikia.com/wiki/McCall_8139
Thanks! Love the shoes. They’re so comfy! Thanks sharing the source!
Libby
September 11, 2011 at 1:13 pm (13 years ago)Okay, I officially need to move to the West Coast so I can do fun things like this! I’m a particular fan of the photo of you in the plaid sailor dress leaning from the ropes – classic.
Tasha
September 14, 2011 at 12:34 am (13 years ago)Wowza, that just looks like such a fun event! I love all the outfits of you dapper ladies, and particularly love that one of you in the sailor dress hanging onto the ropes. Too perfect for words!
Chole
September 14, 2011 at 5:00 am (13 years ago)I *thought* I recognized you & your lovely clothes in one of my friends photos from the Art Deco Ball. Looks like a perfect setting!
Retro Chick
September 15, 2011 at 11:16 am (13 years ago)Wow! Don’t you look amazing in that sailor dress! So jealous!
glassoffashion
September 19, 2011 at 11:11 pm (13 years ago)Looks like such a fun trip- and you look elegant as ever! The sailor dress is just so gorgeous…
Mademoiselle Coco
September 22, 2011 at 7:37 pm (13 years ago)Amazing !! I really thought for one second a few photos were vintage ! Astounding
Rogues of Thread
September 30, 2011 at 10:08 pm (13 years ago)Great post! Thanks for all he details and pics. I usually cringe, at least a little, when I see sailor suits or dresses, but yours is VERY cute. I love that you were able to make it with period fabric. Like the shoes too!