The morning started out with Jennie (of Fancy Dresscapades) and myself visiting Vivien of Holloway to look at bridesmaid dresses (for her upcoming nuptials, not mine!), What Katie Did (where the staff were very lovely and helpful) and Judy's Vintage Fair at Spitalfields market. However, I will not take up any more of your precious time discussing them as that will all be saved for a later post (and a filmed feature) about vintage reproduction companies. I must just add, we did stop off at the new Collectif shop at Spitalfields market (as Jennie is a huge fan) and I acquired a lovely Regina dress in grey. 
But enough of that, onwards to the Night of 1,000 Waistcoats, where the finest pipe tobacco is sold by chorus girls, you can send your beloved a telegram as suggestive as you wish (NORWICH...?) and by chiming a bell outside a concealed booth you are handed a most delicious beverage served in a teacup. I am of course talking about the 3rd annual Grand Anarcho-Dandyist Ball.
The ball is organised by the Chap magazine; a fabulous journal for the modern gentleman, to which I have been a loyal subscriber since 2005. Here is a link to their website for those not already in the know (shame on you!) http://thechap.net/
Our dear friend Viv the Spiv was hosting and after a few of his splendid jokes (some quite blue, I might add) he introduced the first act.
Professor Elemental donned his fighting trousers but alas not his customary Pith helmet, (which was stolen just after we had interviewed him) as he took to the stage. His usual mix of hip hop, comedy and references to the finer things in life (Assam and Earl Grey making quite a pronounced appearance) were very popular with the crowd. He was an interesting choice of act considering Mr B (the Gentleman Rhymer of course) was the Chap Hop performer of choice at the Chap Ball last year.
Before and after shots of the terrible crime.
In the room where we had set up our little corner, was Jeeves Dating, run by the lovely Gemma and Jeni of The Vintage Mafia. This consisted of typed messages for your sweetheart, which were then delivered by the butler Jeeves. Our very own Kieren received a missive of his very own but would not divulge its contents!
Also in our little room was a lady from Lipstick & Curls (I apologise profusely but I’ve forgotten your name). She was creating some wonderful victory curls and all sorts of vintage hairstyles for some of the discerning ladies of the crowd.
The fabulous jump-jive band Fat 45 (Brighton based like Professor Elemental and your most humble vintage news team) played a terrific set, my personal favourite being ‘Mellow Saxophone’.
We were pleasantly surprised with the number of lindy hop dancers (we even spotted a few couples doing ballroom). Needless to say, we all did rather a lot of dancing – I even managed to get Viv on my dance card!
Spotted among the audience were the delightful Aimee and Harriett of the Bright Young Twins. We had a bit of a chat and they seemed to be having a whale of a time, as was Vivien (of Holloway) who I spotted shimmying away in what looked like a floor length version of one of her gorgeous pencil dresses.
For those of you interested, I thought I would add a quick word on what I was wearing. The dress was a deep purple taffeta dress with cream embroidery which I picked up at a Frock Me! fair in Brighton a couple of years ago. The faux fur stole was adapted from one from Matalan and the embroidered satin gloves are from To Be Worn Again in Brighton. I made the hat a few months ago, but added ostrich and peacock feathers to make it a little more dressy. I’ll try and find a better picture of it.
Footage from last year’s event can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFJxF_KpZ5E
To end, here are a few pictures of the resplendent party-goers. I’ll add them to our facebook page, so make sure you find yourself and start tagging.
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Hanson Leatherby – whose photographs put mine to shame
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| Ruth and Laurence |
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| Ruth and Damien |
As an aside, for those of you that subscribe to the Chap, or even if you happen to chance a glance at your local general or department store, in the issue coming out this week you may recognise one of the models in the article on co-respondent shoes...
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