Dancing, Doughnuts & Doughboys – The Great War Gallop 2018

WAR OVER!
photo by Lauren of Wearing History

Hola! Chris and I headed down to San Diego this weekend for Wearing History’s Great War Gallop. It was a lovely intimate event to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, held in a hall that actually held dances for soldiers during the war. Live music for this event was provided by The Heliotrope Ragtime Orchestra, and I think they enjoyed themselves as much as we did – I caught a few members of the band taking photos of the well-dressed crowd from the stage!

c.1918 Beth with futuristic 1930s Chris

Chris and I helped with set-up and teardown, so it was a LONG day for us, but it was the most fun I’ve had in ages. Possibly years. I’ve had a hard time getting out to fun events for quite some time, but I felt like I was my old energetic self again for a little while which was absolutely lovely.

I’ve dabbled in the 1910s before, but this time I wanted to start fresh with the right silhouette, so I made a new set of undies for this era. I think that makes the third corset I’ve made this year! Since I was doing this whole costume from scratch, out of curiosity I tried to keep track of my materials costs. I’ll talk about that when I do a breakdown/pattern review for the ensemble. I’m planning to wearing this outfit again in a couple weeks to a holiday tea, and I hope to add/ change a few bits before then, so look for updates!

For now, enjoy the photos! For more pics posted by attendees, look for #greatwargallop on Instagram.

Amy Lee brought a Polaroid camera! Chris was excited to snap this shot of our group. Yes, white blouses with dark skirts was THE TREND for this event.
Photo by Rebecca Rowan
Cary Farnsworth opening the festivities with a song.
Mainstays of our local historical dance scene, Marie-Jo and Michel cut a rug. Michel was my favorite dance partner of the day!
Katherine showing off her dress construction. No event is complete until she starts stripping!
Rear views!
photo by Cynthia Settje of Redthreaded