Twinkle Toes

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Dress: Vintage, 1980s Discovery Gold silk

Heels: Bon Bons patent Mary Janes

Bag: Vintage beaded

Brooch: Erstwilder resin 

Bracelets: Colette faux pearls

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Had the pleasure of attending a dance class with a difference yesterday - the first of a five fortnight course where participants learn all the steps/moves of dances from a myriad of eras, taught in no particular order. This week focused on 1930s/40s "War Years" swing numbers including the Jitterbug & Lindy Hop, all accompanied by a live band! It was very Glenn-Miller-in-the-suburbs & although I'm (sadly) not a natural-born "twinkle toes," I'm already hooked!

...And not just because a succession of sweet, older gentlemen (some in their late 70s) acted so chivalrously all morning, filling my dance card & offering sweet compliments likening me to living doll...

Seeing as I love to dress to a theme, I donned this vintage "80s-does-40s" duck-egg-blue & white spotted silk midi-dress with pleated skirt & flared hem to create that wonderfully satisfying "swish" as I swirled, recreated in some small part for the video below:

Sturdy dancing shoes were obviously a must & these Mary Janes were just the ticket, their mid-sized heels & tight straps keeping me upright despite my errant clumsiness & their shiny, patent exterior matching the gorgeous vintage beaded evening bag that wouldn't have looked out of place in the dance halls of 1940s London during The Blitz. 

When it came to jewellery, less was definitely more - a trio of white faux pearl bracelets & the piece de resistance: a quirky, retro-style black resin Erstwilder brooch in the shape of a Chatelaine walking a poodle on a thin silver chain that not only worked well with the expanse of the high neckline & square, pleated sleeves, but added the requisite amount of je ne sais quois to the entire ensemble. See below for a close-up:

For a string of pearls a-la wool worth

Every pearl's a star above

Wrapped in dreams & filled with love

That old string of pearls a-la wool worth

String of Pearls, Glenn Miller & His Orchestra, 1942

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