Vintage Style Archives

(Note: See my Viva Trip on Wednesday & Thursday & Saturday & Sunday)

It’s Friday! Vintage Hairstyle day and the Men’s Vintage Swimsuit contest at the pool (my fav).

My friend Liisa was such a doll and offered as a gift to myself and a mutual friend to have our hair done by the magical and amazing Teresa of “Beauty by Teresa Song“. So I zipped done to their room with Champagne and Orange Juice in hand and prepared for some pampering and girl talk.

Champagne and Orange Juice VIVA 18 Rockabilly Weekender — Breakfast of Champions

I have never had my hair done all fancy by anyone at Viva, I usually tackle this process by myself and hope for the best. I by no means am a Vintage Hair Style wizard, but Teresa..was. She took my mess of hair and turned it into this…

Vintage Rockabilly Hairstyle Viva 18 — Ready for my close up! Man I look different with no glasses.

Kidding! This is what she did…

Vintage Rockabilly Hairstyle Viva 18 - Victory Rolls — Victory Rolls

Voila! The Finished Product. Teresa you are amazing and I 100% recommend her to anyone looking to get their hair done next year. She works fast, was professional and really nice.

Okay I’m done, it’s my friends turn now.

Vintage Hairstyles Viva 18 Rockabilly Weekender — Meow!

Above turns into the below..like Magic.

Drea’s turn.

So pretty, mini victory roll and curls.

We are 3 happy ladies, full of champagne and orange juice and lots of girly time. Thanks again Liisa!

Now we are all done up…time for the Pool and the Men’s Vintage Swimsuit contest especially now that sun was out and it was finally hot.

VIVA Rockabilly Weekender 18 Tiki Pool Party Friday 2015

There was even a live band-The Sabres to set the tone for the afternoon.

The Sabres VIVA Pool Party Rockabilly Weekender 2015 — The Sabres

Pool Time is Friend Time!

VIVA 18 Pool Party Style Rockabilly style and vintage swimsuits — Hanging out with Friends at the Pool in my 1960s Vintage “Ceeb of Miami” swimsuit from Cabaret vintage

VIVA Rockabilly18 Pool Party Style — Cool Glasses Ladies

Time for the Men’s Swimsuit Contest! Here were some of my favorites:

Men's Vintage Swimsuit Contest VIVA Rockabilly Weekender 18 2015

Our host (man with the microphone) plays Carl Perkins in the Million Dollar Quartet in Vegas.

What a great contest, the men really had wonderful vintage swimsuits and it was a fun afternoon. But all good warm and sunny day’s have to come to an end and so we packed it up and got ready for the evening ahead.

My Friday Night Outfit. 1940s Vintage Seersucker dress from “The Best Vintage Clothing” online store.

First band of the night and now one of my favorite singers, “Kay Marie“. Her sound channeled the spirit of Americana trailblazers with powerful and passionate vocals, and had this old school vintage feel that I just loved. I danced almost to every one of her songs and it was fantastic to see the room so packed for her show.

Kay Marie VIVARockabilly Weekender 18 2015 — Kay Marie in the Bienville Room

After Kay Marie it was time for one of the big shows in the Ballroom that I was really really looking forward to… Bobby Brooks Wilson, the son of Jackie Wilson. If you have time click on his name and read about his story about how he found out he was Jackie Wilsons son, it is pretty incredible.

Bobby Brooks Wilson at Viva Rockabilly Weekender 18 2015 — Bobby Brooks Wilson

Speaking of incredible…his show was incredible! I thought I was listening and watching Jackie himself. Such an amazing talent and a ridiculously good show. A highlight was when one of the past singers of the Platters came on stage to sing “Only You”. Check out my video to experience what I experienced that night.

After my mind was blown for an hour and half, I still had tons of energy to zip off and support a favorite band of mine (and the Toronto Rockabilly Scene), Jittery Jack. Jittery Jack’s band always puts 120% into their shows and once again this was another good one.

Jittery Jack at Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender 18 2015 — Jittery Jack

Only one person is having fun here..can you guess who (and it’s NOT Bill from the Hellbent Rockers lol)? Cheer up Drea..the night is not over yet, it’s time to hit up the Ballroom!

Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend 18, 2015

I ended my Friday night checking out the final performance EVER of the band “The Chop Tops“. The band coined the phrase “Revved-Up Rockabilly” to describe their wild, upbeat blend of rockabilly, psychobilly, old punk, teddy boy, and surf music genres (source) and have been playing together since 1995. This final show was going to be nothing but amazing and filled with surprises at every turn. And it was!

The Chop Tops at VIVA Rockabilly Weekender 18 2015 — The Chop Tops

One of those surprises was bringing up Mario Valens the brother of La Bamba singer Ritchie Valens. That was a real highlight of the evening for me.

Mario Valens brother of La Bamba singer Ritchie Valens. at VIVA Rockabilly Weekend 18 2015 — Mario Valens

Here is Mario singing with the Chop Tops a tune you might all know….

And that friends was Friday of VIVA 18. Stay tuned for Car Show and Dion (The Wanderer) day aka Saturday.

Those who went to VIVA….How was your Friday Night?

Further Reading:

Liz 🙂

I’m a Lindy Hopper (the original swing dance of the 1930s/40s and beyond) and I have been for a long time, I’m also a lover of 1940s fashion (if you read my blog this is a no brainer), so it was with a squeal and glee that I saw that the Frankie Manning Foundation was running a fun challenge on the day of Frankie Manning’s Birthday (one of the original creators of Lindy Hop) and I hope you can all join along.

(NOTE: CHALLENGE NOW CLOSED but feel free to do your own Lindy Look)

Frankie Manning vintage photo of the legendary Lindy Hopper / Swing Dancer — Frankie Manning

The Challenge:

On May 26th they are encouraging everyone to wear something from the 1930s thru to the 1950s to peak a conversation at work or at the coffee shop about the dance we love, The Lindy Hop. Then take that picture and post it on social media with the hashtag #THELINDYLOOK.

1945 Swing Style — Source: Flickr: Julie Alicea

WAIT! You don’t have to be a dancer to participate….

Now I got to thinking that maybe you don’t have to be a dancer to get involved (because I know some of my lovely readers have mentioned that you have 2 left feet). You could join along by doing the following:

Put on your best vintage like you were going to a dance
Post your picture on Social Media with the Hashtag #THELINDYLOOK
Or you can share it with me (email: thevintageinnblog@gmail.com, twitter, my FB invite) and I will collect everyones images and post collectively on my blog.

I know for many of you all you need is an excuse to dress up and this is a pretty good excuse (at least I think so). And if asked why are you dressed up so nice? “Because Frankie Manning said I should”.

Speaking of Frankie Manning…..

These were the depression years (which didn’t make that much difference to my family since we were poor anyway) and dancing was an outlet for people because there wasn’t much else they could do. We all stayed in Harlem, but you could find someplace to step out every night of the week. Going to a ballroom became our social life.

Even though we were poor, we always dressed up. People in Harlem felt that they’d get more respect if they dressed well. Guys felt that the better they looked, the more likely a young lady would be to dance with them. I only owned two suits, but I always wore them with a shirt and tie and nice shoes, not two-tones, just black or brown ones. This was the fashion, and everybody dressed that way.”

-Frankie Manning-

Inspiration for #THELINDYLOOK AKA 1940s Fashions

Over my time as Blogger I have written many posts on 1940s Style, Swing Style etc. So here are links to those posts that you can use for your own inspiration on May 26th.

Happy May 26th Planning!

FURTHER BLOG POSTS ON THE SWING DANCE / LINDY HOP ERA: Swing Dance & The Big Band Era

Liz

Category: Vintage Style

Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend 18-Friday

May 26th, Suit Up Swing Style – #THELINDYLOOK

The Challenge:

Inspiration for #THELINDYLOOK AKA 1940s Fashions