A Day at the Beach (in Black and White)

We've had some absolutely beautiful, bright, scorchingly hot weather the past few weeks, so I was thrilled to head to historic Nantasket Beach for an outing with the Tweed Club!

at Nantasket

Of course, Saturday morning dawned clear and bright...and cool! Possibly the coolest day we've had in weeks, with the promise of thunder. Not an ideal beach day. But that meant that we had the place to ourselves, which turned out to be perfect for taking pictures and running amok in true 1920s fashion. Plus, our period bathing suits (and all the aforementioned running amok) kept us nice and warm despite the weather. Perfect!

amok!

Nantasket Beach was the perfect location for a 1920s outing, as it's been a popular seaside destination for Bostonians since the 19th century. The boardwalk was full of amusements in its heyday, from the Klondike Arctic exhibition (complete with live polar bears) to towering roller coasters, carnival games, and wandering circus performers. 

Nantasket beach (and parking!), c.1920s

Beginning in 1818, Bostonians eager to escape the city could take boats from Boston to Hull--everyone from U.S. presidents to workers on their day off would--by the 1890s, over two million passengers were making the trip each summer. Resorts, restaurants, and the amusement park entertained visitors when they weren't on the beach.

postcard of Paragon Park, early 20th century

One particular amusement (a wildly popular one in Boston!) of Paragon Park was the carousel. Opening in 1928, the Paragon Carousel (known as PTC #85 for its manufacturer, Philadelphia Toboggan Company) features 66 hand-carved realistic-style horses and two Roman chariots (also pulled by horses). While the rest of the park has been dismantled, the Paragon Carousel remains as a historic legacy with its own museum and restoration workshop (which is an amazing process, still done by hand). 

the Paragon Carousel

James Hardison works on carousel restorations, courtesy of the Paragon Carousel Museum

Best of all, you can still ride it!

riding the 1928 carousel in our bathing suits

Given the gray weather and our sporting togs, I was feeling inspired by photographs of beach adventures from the period, and I wanted to capture the same feeling:

girls at Revere Beach (also MA!), 1919 (Boston Public Library)

1920s (Art Institute of Chicago)

So when editing the photos, I decided to shift into black and white. I love the way these turned out! And don't worry--I have another post on my outfit (specifically my super cool new bathing boots) coming soon...and those images will return to lovely technicolor. But for now, enjoy the brief dip into the 20s!

I am a ham.

Our fabulous tweed club hosts did a great job organizing the outing, and it was a blast to attend! Thank you!

GBVS White Lightning Ball

Last weekend I ventured out of my work/grad school hole to the 1920s, where I attended the Greater Boston Vintage Society's White Lightning Ball. I attended this event in its first year, but missed last year, so I was excited to see how the event has developed. 

It was a lot of fun, because I got to spend time with wonderful people--some of whom I see quite frequently, and others I only see at events. I also explored the downstairs car displays at the museum (the event is held at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum). I don't remember if the lower floor was closed the first year, or if I just didn't know it was there...but either way, it was new to me! We had fun looking at the cars--there was even a custom touring model with a built-in toilet for long trips!

gathered friends

Over the last year or so I've been practicing setting my hair in pin curls and marcel waves for various 20s, 30s, and 40s events, and I think that finally paid off. Early in the day I set the front of my hair in marcel waves by creating the overall shape and clipping it with salon clamps, and then pinching each section into wave clips to create the iconic ridge. (Both sets of clips and my setting solution of choice, Lotta Body, are from Sally Beauty Supply.) The top and back I set into large pincurls--I probably should have done smaller ones, but at this point I was losing steam and my hair was getting fussy. When I got ready for the event in the evening, I took out the curls and brushed them, then basically twisted them back into loops and pinned them wherever looked good. The front waved sections I combed (to get rid of the severe crinklyness from the setting solution without losing the wave) and layered with some scrap gold sequin trim to create a headband. I was really pleased with the way this came out! I learned a few more lessons, but overall this felt like a big payoff of all the practice.

side part and dramatic waves

pinned up curls under waves

Of course, I sort of failed at pictures...but I did manage enough to show off my hair, so that's something!

dramatic waves!

this doorway just spoke to me...

checking out the motorcycle exhibit in the back gallery

One place I'm still struggling is with my ears. In pictures of women from the period, their ears are mostly covered by their hair--but hair over my ears feels so strange! I'm not used to it, so I never want to do it. I think this style struck a pretty good balance by covering only half of each ear, so that's progress.

Being Daisy Buchanan

The last weekend of August I attended a super fun 1920s weekend with some friends, and it turned out to be the motivation I needed to not only get sewing again, but also to dust off my camera and get shooting. We picnicked, swan, played croquet and mah jong, met some awesome people, and charleston-ed our hearts out!

our venue was built in 1915, so perfect for 20s! this image is from a tour book from the period

It was a really perfect way to end the summer (and it really was the end...I started grad school a few days later!), and I don't think I can capture it accurately in words. Instead, here is a giant (really, really giant) photo post!

waiting in line

our picnic setup. I love my giant umbrella!

ready to go swimming! We each made a 1920s bathing suit

Antonia knitted hers!

shooting film! Much braver than me.

the only pictures of me are on land, but if you can't tell from my drowned poodle hair I really did go swimming! The water was gloriously cool for the hot day.

we're goofs

splash fight!

I finally put sleeves on the white yachting dress I started a year ago...whoops

mah jong and afternoon refhreshments

a different game I can't remember the name of (but rules very similar to mah jong!) after dinner

serendipitously coordinated in dragon pajamas for morning croquet! The set I'm wearing is original (something I don't typically do, because originals are so delicate--in fact, these started to shred when I was wearing them. I've photoshopped them back together here.) and made of lovely red satin. I plan to lift a pattern from it so I can make a new pair I won't mind running amok in. 

croquet takes teamwork

The Wolverine Jazz Band! They were so great!! And joined by a fabulous vocalist (and our fearless dance teacher) who was amplified via megaphone

And the B&Ws:

ok, it's not black and white, but I added little corners so I'm counting it in the special ones

my dinner dress

Of course, I managed not to get a single picture of any dancing! Luckily my friends were more on top of things than I was. Here's a video one of them took of a charleston--I'm the blur in gray at the very beginning.

#gatsbyontheisles #charstondance

A video posted by Julia (@julia_rampone) on Sep 6, 2015 at 12:26pm PDT

Now all I need is a yellow car to crash! Or maybe not.