Los Angeles Union Station

October 19, 2011

1940’s Mother of Pearl Sweetheart pin
My jacket isn’t dirty, I was trying to be clever and “age” the photo!

Last weekend we attended a wedding at the downtown Los Angeles Union Station. This vintage train station is one of my favorite Golden Era venues, so it was a treat to attend an event there! The train station opened in 1939, and was one of the last large train stations built – commercial air travel was fast becoming the transportation mode of choice, and airports were being built instead of train stations. The LA Union Station still gets quite a bit of use though – it’s the hub for several local train lines, Metrolink and Amtrak. We were quite surprised at how busy it was on a Saturday afternoon!

Los Angeles Union Station
Image Source: Wikipedia

Waiting Room in Union Station
Image Source: Wikipedia

We tried to arrive a little early to snap some photos before the ceremony, but darn LA traffic got the better of us and only had time for a few photos. (Yes, we did drive to the train station. We don’t live near a train stop!)

I wore one of my Make and Mend projects – this dress needed some repairs and the hem was long and uneven. On Chris’s suggestion I took the extra fabric from the hem and made a belt, since the original was missing. I did some dancing in this dress, and did rip the sleeve (yikes!) but it was on the seamline and is easily fixed. Back into the mending pile it goes!

If you want to learn more about the history of Union Station and want access to some of the areas usually closed off to the public, I highly recommend the walking tours run by the Los Angeles Conservancy. I’ve been on several of their tours, and even though they are all volunteer-led, the docents are highly knowledgeable and have a real passion for the architecture. I’d go on any of the tours a second or third time!

Queen Mary Art Deco Festival 2011

September 8, 2011

Has it really been 3 weeks since my last post? As much as I enjoyed my little blogging break, I’m glad to be back! As I mentioned in my last post, this past weekend we attended the 7th Annual Queen Mary Art Deco Festival, hosted by the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles. In addition to being an incredible time, the Festival is a fundraiser for restoration projects on the Queen Mary. It’s amazing that we have this treasure here available to the public, and the recent work done on the ship has been great – I think she looks better and better every time I go!

With Lauren of Wearing History

The Festival runs from Friday through Sunday, and there are package options for the whole weekend or a la cart – very neat if you can only go on one day or want to try out the experience without making a big commitment. We attended the whole weekend, but as we live locally we drove back and forth from home. Someday we’ll have to get a catsitter and stay on the ship. 🙂

Friday Night Reception at the Veranda Grill, with Chris and Sharlene, a member of the ASDLA board.

Music provided by Jim Ziegler and the Swingsations.

One of the highlights of the weekend was getting to meet Jill from Tea with the Vintage Baroness. Her Schiaparelli-inspired bow dress was one of my favorites from the whole weekend – it sparkled like crazy with rhinestones on black velvet. My dress is my first actual vintage evening gown ever, only just acquired this summer. It’s wool crepe, so it’s sturdy enough for dancing – and that long skirt made me feel like Ginger Rogers!

After the cocktail reception was the Pajama Party – we didn’t have pj’s, but we went for tea and cookies anyway. Based on a Horse Racing game played on the Queen Mary when she sailed, we played a (fundraiser) betting game where 6 wooden horses race to the finish, fueled by the roll of a die. I got to jockey horse #3 in the first race. I didn’t win, but it was a photo finish!

(This is my personal favorite photo from the weekend! 🙂

On Saturday we went back to the ship during the day and after doing some damage at the Marketplace Bazaar, we met up with friends and walked around the boat. There were also tours and art deco lectures during the day, open to the public.

With Lauren and Jill

You’ve seen this outfit before, but I made a 30’s fedora-style hat to go with it for this event (pattern available from Wearing History). I’m not much of a hat-wearer so I was nervous about it, but when a couple of dealers in the marketplace asked me where I found the matching ensemble, I decided it must have turned out okay!

Art Deco Ball – Saturday Night

We ran home, and after slapping on some fresh lipstick and fluffing my hair, we headed back in the evening for the Ball. It was a formal dinner in the Grand Salon, with music by Dean Mora and His Modern Rhythmists. We stayed there until our toes gave out, but if you wanted more dancing you could head up to the Observation Bar for Jonathan Stout and His Campus Five.

With Sharlene and Dean Mora, the bandleader of Mora’s Modern Rhythmists

With Lauren and Jill – aren’t they stunning? Everyone looked exquisite!

On Sunday we took it easy, and just relaxed and only attended the Tea Dance. I had big plans to make a 30’s chiffon gown, but obviously that didn’t happen. 😉 So I pulled out a favorite Loco Lindo dress, and realized that this white nautical jacket went with it – perfect for a day on a boat! Chris loaned me a pocket square, and we were off! There were loads of amazing chiffon gowns at the tea dance, so I got my fix anyway.

Chris wore a striking 3-piece beltback suit, I thought he looked fantastic! It had a couple little moth bites, so he did some darning and repair work on it himself. Made me proud. 🙂

Obligatory dance shots. Can’t resist. 🙂

THE END

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Big thanks to the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles and the Queen Mary for hosting this event,

and to Lauren and Sharlene for sharing their photos with me.

Huntington Library and Gardens

May 31, 2011

This Memorial Day weekend we invited Lauren and her husband to come up and go to the Huntington Library with us. I swear, this place is the best kept secret in Los Angeles – if you have any interest in art, history, or gardens, it’s not to be missed. We were blessed with beautiful weather – only a slight bit of wind, but with a firm grip I managed to keep my hat on!

The site was originally the private home of Henry Huntington, a major businessman of the early 20th century, so there are buildings interspersed in between the gardens instead of one giant art complex. The Huntington’s 1911 Beaux Arts mansion is now the main art gallery, and it’s lovely wandering from building to building through the gardens. We were there for about 4 hours and probably only got through half of galleries and gardens – and we were hurrying!

There were loads of people who were interested in how we were dressed, and we were surprised at how many people knew we were wearing 30s/40s styles. Not a single flapper or 50’s comment! (Although we did overhear one “Night at the Museum” reference in the art gallery, which I thought was pretty funny.)