Dapper Day at Home 2020

As the craziness of Quarantine 2020 drags on forever, I have been looking for ways to break the monotony of the day. I mean, one can only take so many walks, watch so much TV, and work from home for so long before they start to feel a little bit like Jack Torrance. (All work and no play makes Jennifer a dull girl!) I miss having a reason to dress up and feel like myself too. So, when Dapper Day at home was announced, I made immediate plans to participate.

What is Dapper Day, you ask? Dapper Day is an organization that celebrates vintage style, mixed with modern elements, organizing social events at various locations, where participants are encouraged to “step out in style.” The events don’t necessarily focus on one decade, allowing participants to add their own vintage touches that match their personal sense of style. Dapper Day’s most popular events are held at the Disney resorts, where participants dress in their vintage best to spend a day with likeminded snazzy dressers in the parks. The first Dapper Day was held at Disneyland in 2011. Since then it has grown tremendously, adding an expo and events, gatherings at the Orlando and Paris resorts, and meetings at museums and events throughout the year. Some day we are GOING to attend Dapper Day at Disneyland!

This year, Dapper Day encouraged people to participate in the spring meet-up at home, which was held on Sunday, April 19, 2020. The organization offered live discussions and events posted online all day, while asking participants to post pictures with the hashtag, #DapperDayAtHome. In our house, we love a good excuse to dress up… and we have plenty of clothes to do it, so we jumped in!

Years ago, Jeff bought a boater hat to add a bit of vintage fun to summer outfits. He put on a summer striped blazer, a blue pocket square. a pink button-down shirt, a bow tie, and pink trousers to complete his look. He looked very Dapper, indeed!

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For my outfit, I wore a Main Street, USA printed dress and carousel cardigan, from the Disney Dress Shop, designed by the amazing team of Ashley Eckstein and Ashley Taylor. (It is no longer available; however, Disney is always adding great new vintage-inspired designs to the site.) I put a crinoline under the dress to add some movement. I paired the outfit with mustard yellow Tieks, a cream colored fascinator that was gifted to me by my mother in law, and a vintage handbag Jeff gave me for Christmas. I think the look turned out pretty cute, and complimented the colors in Jeff’s outfit well.

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The weather was perfect on April 19th! The sun was shining, spring flowers were all in bloom, and the temperature was just right. It was a great day to walk through the park and our town’s Historic Main Street to take some pictures. Armed with a tripod and an iPhone, we were able to take some pretty cute shots of our adventure. We even brought my Muzen Audio vintage replica speaker to have the music of Walt Disney’s Main Street with us. (A perfect touch, I might add.)

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We strolled by the riverfront, played at the train station, and walked right down the middle of Main Street. (Walt would be proud!) It wasn’t exactly Disneyland… but if we used our imagination, it was pretty close. The most fun part was being stared at by all of the joggers passing by. I just smiled, twirled and kept going on my way.

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The whole afternoon, I kept singing the line from Hello Dolly… “Put on your Sunday clothes when you feel down and out. Strut down the street and have your picture took. Dressed like a dream your spirits seem to turn about.”

I am so grateful to have a partner for life that enjoys dressing up and doing silly things with me. My heart is so full when we can enjoy an adventure, a dream, and laughter together.

What ways are you finding to bring yourself joy in a bizarre and rather joyless time? Maybe it’s time to play dress up and go on a socially distanced adventure!