Here we are again, for the second installation of the Newport marathon of awesome-ness. If you missed it, you can view the first installation, the 1920s Gatsby Ball at Rosecliff, here.
The Seaside Tea Dance took place on Tuesday. It was held at a venue right on the beach that also houses a operational carousel! In fact, the carousel was shut down for the public so that those of us at the ball might ride it with our other costumed companions. If you’ve ever been to Newport, this beach area is the one just down the hill from Bellevue Avenue (where many of the mansions are). Actually, many of the mansions along the left side of Bellevue Avenue actually have a view of the beach area where this event was held. The day events did not have specific time periods, thus you’ll see a variety represented in the pictures. It’s nice to be able to choose, but I enjoy the atmosphere most when everyone is wearing clothes from a short time span (as is the case at the formal evening balls).
It wound up being a rainy afternoon, which caused some stress, but we managed to overcome our various situations and have silly, fun time anyway. You’ll have to look through the pictures to see the adventures! Onward!
I hardly danced at this event–I wasn’t in the mood. BUT, I did ride the carousel!Carousel!Hm… not actually smiling, but with the same look on their faces.More of the fabulous young set…Being proper ladies, we were obligated to ride side saddle! (And you can see the back of my newly decorated hat.)Now you can see the front of my hat.This was ride number two. I was practicing my princess wave.As I mentioned in an earlier picture: we didn’t dance much. We did spend a lot of time sitting and discussing things (I don’t remember what things… I think mostly that we didn’t feel like dancing…). You can also see the fabulous knot I made on the blue belt! It was all pinned in place at the last minute, but I do like it.We, the young set, might not have been dancing, but that didn’t stop other people!If you’re going to wear matching bathing suits, you must take pictures on the beach!Oh no! The picture has been crashed by a random modern guy! Eep!Single occupant pictures are always essential.Here I am: 1900. New skirt, blouse from 1913 (shhh…), new belt, and newly trimmed hat (that appears to be listing to one side… oh well, it’s jaunty, right?).From the back.Close up. I love that I finally have a picture of this blouse that shows the details!Another good blouse shot. I can’t resist including lots of pictures of new clothes!Silly fun! We went wading in the ocean, in the rain! It was pretty warm, so the water didn’t feel cold.It is for spur of the moment events like this that it is always useful to wear historic underthings… You never know when your combination legs might be seen!Look, you can see one of our faithful cameramen!After getting our feet all sandy, we had to hose down a little bit.My ostrich feathers were rather bedraggled when we finally went inside… but I fluffed them and they dried looking just as wonderful as before the rainy sea adventure.Walking to the car. More petticoat ruffle is always better!
Final picture tally: 22 pictures out of 655 total from this event… You made it!
The Quintessential Clothes Pen 
Years ago I used to collect postcards from that era and yes, you all really look like you’ve jumped out of one of these! Just gorgeous!
Sabine
What a lovely compliment, Sabine! Thank you for sharing your kind words.