Sunday, October 5, 2014

Walt Disney World's Dapper Day, 2014!

The weather's been especially miserable down here in Florida - it's rained every day for 3 weeks straight, and it was STILL 88 degrees! Gah! - but you know I wouldn't miss Dapper Day

And luckily the rain tapered off just before the big 6pm meetup at Hollywood Studios, so I was able to take LOTS of pictures for you guys!


As we approached the main stage by the big hat we heard swing music, and then:

 Yay! Swing dancing!

At first only this one couple was out, but as a crowd gathered to watch several more joined in:
 

Soon there was a massive crowd, and everyone was grinning and bopping around to the music. It was awesome.
I SO wish Disney would play Swing & Jazz more often in DHS - and while they're at it, maybe host a monthly Dapper Date Night? Eh?

Dapper Day gets bigger every year, and fans don't just dress to the nines; they dress to the ELEVENS.


 I've "vintaged up" all my pics today, so I had to include the original to show you just how vivid those dresses were in person!

 
 In addition to the vintage fashions, a lot of guests incorporate Disney Bounding, aka "closet play" or  subtle cosplay. Some are homages to their favorite rides, like the Haunted Mansion:

 Check our her Raven pin!


Love that smirk.

Or The Tower of Terror:

 
Perfection.

Most people dress as favorite Disney characters, though:

 A vintage glam Ariel.

 They asked me to guess & I blanked, but now I see it: Goofy & Pluto! 
(Her green necklace is like Pluto's green collar. :)

This Alice had the BEST flamingo purse:

And while we're at it, here's a Mad Hatter:
Check out the rhinestones on her skirt: they outline a teacup!

A sweet Snow White:
And Mickey & Minnie:


Here's Lilo & a little girl Donald:



Remember when I said Dapper Day keeps getting bigger? Here they are taking the official group photo:


Aaaaand the other side:
Then even more people jumped in!

It's a shame I didn't have my wide-angle lens!

I'm all about that yellow hat. It's especially gorgeous with her red hair!


  I love that you see a whole range of vintage styles at Dapper Day, from the 1920's all the way up to the 60s and 70s. 

Check out these next two: poodle skirts & a Pink Betty!


And here's a sweet Lolita and a flapper:

 

There was also some Star Wars 'bounding - which I guess is Disney Bounding now, huh?
 The Mandelorian's hat has the Boba Fett antennae on it!

And a Dark Side diva:
 
When I asked for her photo she was visibly startled, so much so that John asked her why. Her response? "I'm with David Tennant - no one wants MY picture!" Ha!

And here's her "David Tennant":
Huh. I guess these vintage fashions really DO span all time periods. 

HEYOOO.


 Now check this out: Captain America and Thor & Loki!

 
And the Avengers, assembled:
 SO GOOD.

 

Pretty pastels.

Have I mentioned all the fabulous hair yet? Especially impressive considering everyone had just come through a rainstorm, and humidity was still around 3000%. There were victory curls, pin curls, and perfect vintage coiffures all around:

 The lady in blue looks like she just stepped out of a vintage magazine ad!

One last shot of the courtyard, filled with fashionable peeps:

 
Oh! And later that night I spotted a great Jane from Tarzan - sorry for the lousy pic:
 
So sweet!

And finally, I'll end with the trio of ladies who reduced me to a squealing fangirl:

 1950's style Sam, Dean, & Castiel from Supernatural! Aaahhh!! 

When I asked for a picture (after declaring my undying love, of course) "Dean" broke into that perfect expression, which is just SO DEAN.


 And it gets even better, because LOOK:

"Sam" has moose horns, "Dean" has pie, and Castiel has wings - of course.

All the Kermit flails, you guys. ALL OF THEM.

Hope you enjoyed your virtual tour of Dapper Day, and thanks to all the readers who said hi! If you missed it this time, don't worry; there's another one coming up in March, and Disneyland has their own days, too. Check the Dapper Day website for dates and more details!


(PS - I have a few more pics from Dapper Day over on my Flickr account; mostly duplicates of the same people, but check it out if you don't see your photo here!)

29 comments:

  1. So many pretties! But that Doctor makes me swoon. It may be worth moving to FL just to get to go to Dapper Days!

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  2. That little girl Donald is the cutest I've ever seen!!!

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  3. I'm so thrilled to see myself in this post! I'm the Captain America, sans Avengers, and thought I recognized you at the event. I ought to have said something, but now I've learned my lesson for the spring Dapper Day. :) The very cool thing that I'm sure you noticed about the event is that it's kind of like a tiny maker fair. Lots of days start off with people getting dressed together, learning from each other how to set pin curls and apply some serious lipstick. But when you get to the actual event, people are doing nothing but complimenting each other and asking questions. How"d you make your hat? What did you use to make your dress? Exactly what did you do to make your shoes match? I think when you saw me, I was asking one of the star Wars ladies how she'd gone about making her fascinator, in fact. Dapper Day is just the best. And thanks for catching me!

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    1. I was the girl with the fascinator! I do wish I had asked more people about how they crafted and where they shopped. I can't wait for Spring. Thank you for including me in this round up, I feel so fancy :D

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  4. I love seeing all of the pictures from Dapper Day. Now if I can only time a visit at the right moment and convince others to join me in dressing up AND Disney Bounding...

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  5. Oh my gosh the supernatural girls... I need to go stalk someone... I mean ummm...

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  6. AWESOME.

    The girls in the flower dresses and the girls in the pic with the yellow hat .... are they supposed to be someone? I know one of them in the yellow hat pic is Minnie...

    LOVING the Supernatural girls!! I'm on Season 7. :)

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  7. This looks super fun, and is one of those Disney things I didn't know about! I LOVE the poodle skirt with Cinderella's castle on it, the Avengers group, and the Imperial diva. :D Thanks for sharing!

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  8. The dancer in the brown pants, vest, and hat is one of my favorite swing dancers ever, Hurley! Since he works at WDW, it doesn't surprise me that he was there. I miss swing dancing in Florida! I'm shooting them the link to to this post on FB.

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  9. These are all so awesome, but I have to admit - I LOVE when I see m Supernatural guys pop up in events like these! Can't wait for the season premiere next week.

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  10. Beautiful clothes and hair! Beautiful people! Beautiful photos and photo editing!

    Thanks for braving the rain and heat to bring us this lovely coverage of Dapper Day. Everyone looks like they were having a great time despite the hair-ruining humidity.

    So, what do all these people do after the meetup? I can't imagine walking the park in heels or going on the rides in a dress. Is it mostly just local people with annual Disney passes who show up and mill about looking gorgeous for an hour or so and then drive back home?

    Does Disney do anything special for Dapper Day? Did they at least have a live band there playing the swing music or was it pre-recorded? I mean, I can see people onstage, but none of them look like musicians with instruments. If they don't even bring in a live band, shame on Disney. Hopefully, they will in the future as the event grows.

    And, I agree, a monthly Dapper Date Night would be awesome. Especially if it could be combined with an Epbot meetup, and especially especially especially if you and John would dress up, too. Oh, my gosh! You guys would look too freaking cute in dapper duds. Even though you prefer photographing and documenting for the regular Dapper Day since it's a big event, I bet if it was a smaller gathering with some supportive Epbot readers/friends, it could be fun to dress up, right? *fingers crossed*

    KW

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    1. Most of the dapper crowd was there all day dressed like that, although some didn't last 'til the meetup; we saw quite a few leaving as we were coming in around 5. After this a bunch headed over to the Boardwalk for more dining & dancing & general dapperness - or at least that was the plan, according the DD website!

      Disney hasn't really done anything for the Dappers except release a pin you can buy (of course.) The DJ played a couple of swing songs - which was awesome - but that was about it! It's too bad the park doesn't do more to welcome the group, but maybe as it grows they'll have more music & dancing opportunities, if nothing else!

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  11. The plan totally came to fruition! Drinks and dancing were had by all! And I don't want to butt in, but the pins aren't Disney official. Instead they're sold on the Dapper Day website. They work great for gentlemen's buttonholes in lieu of flowers.

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    1. Oops! I thought I'd heard about a dapper Donald pin, but I must be mistaken. (Or maybe it's not officially for DD?) Anyway, thanks for the correciton, Leah!

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  12. GAH! CAN'T HANDLE ALL THE AWESOME!!!!

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  13. Does Disneyland in California have a Dapper Day? All my family is in California, but I'm in Wisconsin. I would love to go to such an event with my husband if they have it!

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    1. Yes, I think Dapper Day actually *started* in CA! Pretty sure they have 2 each year; just check the website for dates.

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  14. Ah so fun to see a pic of my girl on here. We chatted with several of the folks in your pics, including those awesome Avengers and the girl in the beautiful Tower of Terror outfit. I am only sad that we missed out on the fact that there was a special pin. Drat! Next time. :D

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  15. I almost bought a plane ticket to Florida to go to this event... hmm... maybe next year. :(
    Looks like it was an awesome time! So jealous.
    Such creativity and swoon-worthy attire.
    --Piper P from Washington State

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  16. I love how many cosplayers (or dapper people!) will help each other out. I was privy to a conversation this spring between two cosplayers discussing where to get materials, shoes, etc. I learned a lot just listening in.

    So next year, at our local convention, I'm going to DO IT!! I'm going to do a variation of Bounding as Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony (I think she'll be the easiest). Thanks, Jen!!!

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  17. OMG that Supernatural group is amazing! I just love seeing people's creativity. :)

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  18. I think maybe the flapper is Tiana from The Princess and The Frog.

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  19. Did you guys dress up as well?

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  20. The flapper is Tiana! It's like the dress she wears in her dream sequences of opening up her restaurant!

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  21. Huh, no Jessica Rabbits? If I ever go, that's what I'll do!

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  22. Thank you for having pictures of fat people too. And with their heads! (I wish I were completely joking about this.) I really do appreciate that you see fat people as human and worthy of pictures and display on your super awesome blog. which of course, just makes you even more super awesome.

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    1. That's literally one of the best bits of Dapper Day. All the awesome fat people get dressed up. It's harder to find true vintage so we get more creative, I think, about how to interpret the event and make it our own. It's way more chill than cosplaying that way, I've found.

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  23. Thanks for the great picture of us as The Dapper Avengers and of our Thor & Loki!!! We can't wait to see you at the next Dapper Day - we'll keep an eye out!!

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