I know what hairstyles they wore back then, but I'm having trouble with the costume part. I only picture women called "Flappers," but that costume wouldn't be appropriate for a church Christmas play. So if you have any ideas please let me know A.S.A.P! The play goes from Dec.10th-12th. Thank you!

Hi dramaqueen,

I found this site/store that is like a museum and store in one. There were six pages of women's dresses from the 1930's from day wear, to suits, and evening gowns. They also have a feature where you enter your zipcode, and they list vintage clothing stores in your area. Anyway you could look at FashionDig to get a reference for '30's fashion. I also wonder if a vintage clothing store would loan or rent the wardrobe you all need for the play, considering it is affiliated with your church. Hope this is helpful.

http://www.fashiondig.com/index.asp

Thank you greendancer! The church play is going to be big, so I wanted to get ready ahead of time. I will be doing the "Charleston Dance (which is a very simple swing dance, with it's own kick)." That dance is from the 1920's & 30's, and that's why I needed a costume from the 1930's. Thanks again!

Flappers are 1920s. Not what you want. Flappers were a sort of hipster-chic for urban faring young women in the 20s.

I used to do a lot of swing dance performances, and for a time dancers would get vintaged out every night they'd go dancing. What we would do is go to antique stores and libraries searching for old periodicals like Life Magazine, and it is what I would recommend for you.

However, in the 1930s some socio-economic trends influenced fashion quite a bit--the Great Depression and War. Styles came in that conserved materials, and IIRC, this is where the pencil skirt came into being. Short stacked-heel Maryjanes are a typical style from this era. It really depends on the age of your character and economic standing. Women also took eyeliner pencil and drew a line up the back of their calves because silk was needed for parachutes more than it was needed for stockings.

Sailor pants were another popular style but that may be more 1940s. And if you're doing Charleston, you want to wear a skirt or dress to accentuate the kicks.

Hope that helps.

Thank you for your suggestions! I am trying to find a dress from that era. I have to dance to a song called, "Forget Your Worries." I went to fashiondig.com, but it didn't help much. Most of the stuff is too expensive to get, and it didn't list any vintage stores in Grand Rapids, MI. However, I know there are some vintage stores in Grand Rapids, I just don't where in GR, they are. So I'm going to have to figure something out.

Hi dramaqueen,

I'm sorry fashiondig didn't give you ideas for a costume...I really meant that you look at the site for ideas, not really for purchasing.

Have you checked your online, or paper yellow pages for "vintage clothing" in Grand Rapids? Maybe the stores are listed there. The Life Magazine archives are a great idea as well for inspiration.

I was reading about your need for a vintage dress, I don't know if ya found anything, yet. But, I went into the ebay website and typed in 1930's vintage dress. Several popped up. You might check it out if you have had no luck. Guess the tricky thing would be size issues. I don't know what dress size you need. However, if these are too big, maybe they can be altered. The Cristmas church play sounds interesting and fun! Our minister is hugely into theatre. I think he would know if ya have no luck elsewhere. Let me know if I need to ask him. He is awesome with these things.

Blessings, ladyfitz

My church play is going to be tons of fun. My problem is figuring out how to dance, sing, & keep in time with the beat at the same time. It's kind of hard remembering the words to the song, remembering the steps, and counting the beats, and paying attention to my fellow dancers & what beat they're on. I give kudos to and broadway actors out there! Anyway, we have decided to go with the flapper costume. We tried picturing something else to wear, but we can't picture anything else but the flapper costume for the Charleston dance. I know the flapper costume is from the 1920's, but the Great Depression started in 1929, & that's what I need; a Depression era costume. We put a note in the church bulletin that we need sowers (I'm getting bad at spelling). I guess we'll have to see how it all comes out.

You will be able to do it. Try to relax and let it come to you. More than likely, if ya make a mistake, nobody will know but you...possibly a couple of others. But it is supposed to be fun! Go with that thought.

I did see a flapper dress on the ebay site as well. Can't remember the color.

Anyway, the more you practice, the better and more confident you will become!

Have fun with it sweetie! ladyfitz

When in doubt, go for an A-Line skirt and a cardigan and worry about hair and makeup.

Trust me on the old Life Mags. They will not steer you wrong.

Hi dramaqueen,

Here's a link to a flapper dress on e-bay, they have several: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48866&item=8140234636&rd=1

The prices of the dresses I saw range from $5.00-$150.00 (est.) The current bid for this dress was $11.50.

You might want to first practice the singing and dancing separately, then put them together when you feel comfortable with each part. I'll bet you will have fun.

Hey..Did you ever settle on a costume for your play? Just wondering?

Ladtfitz

Someone is going to put a notice in the church bulletin, for some costume sowers. The Charleston Dance is going great though! We had to modify the dance a little for church. I do know that everyone doing the dance will be wearing flapper dresses (but modified also), so if we did the kicks with our dresses it wouldn't look appropriate for a church play. That's the only bad part. I want to do the kicks. Oh well. The good news is, we have an idea of what we want the costumes to look like (I think).

Just modify them from high to like a short hitchkick. Why wouldn't that work? You need not "flash" everyone in church your everything....I would just lower the height. I'm sure that you know a high kick line can be toned down. Sorry, got carried away....felt my "jazz" hands moving again. Been a while.....great fun when I did a bit of dancing!

ladyfitz

From what I remeber about the charleston it was often done with a low kick like taking a step without stepping down that would help...Also some of the flapper costumes of the late twenty and for money resons they did span into the early thirties actually went past the knee with both frabric and bangles...in an area were women rarly showed there ankles a knee was provocitve enough. Let me know if this helps.

Oh and for the singing/dancing/extra Take a hint from someone who has done it before practice each seprately then slowing intermingle them...and just because you have a partner doesn't mean you can't practice alone in the mirror I did alot...and practice at least for 2 weeks ahead of time in the shoes and type of skirt you will be wearing for the event. The skirt just has to be of the same cut/lenght and room(ie how far you can actually take a step in) and then dance your heart away.

Hope this helps.

Believe me I would do the kicks & I want to, but for modesty reasons & out of respect, I won't & can't do them. I'm going to go to Walmart and look in their catalogs, in the costume section, and see what patterns they have for 1930's costumes. Oh by the way, I don't have a partner for this dance. There are around 8 people doing the dance, but we'll all be doing it by ourselves. All the people doing the dance are women. The men chickened out. However there are 2 other dances that men will be dancing to in the church play. So they can't get away from dancing entirely. Hee hee.

I believe I finally have a costume. It's like the costumes in the musical Chicago. That should make for a jaw-dropping sight for the people at church! It doesn't have any sleeves, so it's time for me to work on toning my upper arms. All the performers wil be wearing long gloves, and a thin,sequined-headwrap, with a feather sticking out of it.

I definitely have a costume, and it's definitely a flapper dress! It is awesome! It's black, sparkly, with fringe from top to bottom. When I do the Charleston Dance, the fringe sways like crazy, making for a really cool effect! The play is next week, and it's really coming together. Practicing for the play has been a lot of fun, and I can't wait until it actually happens!

This Friday-Sunday is the play. Wish me luck, or break a leg (or whatever). My costume had to be tweeked a couple times, but it's in working order now. However, the zipper still wants to keep sliding down on it's own. So I have to safety-pin the zipper to part of my costume. It wouldn't be good for a zipper to slide down on it's own, in front of a church audience. That would make a nice video for America's Funniest Videos, wouldn't it?!

Good luck Dramaqueen! Lotsa diva love!

Let us know how it went!

Brava, dramaqueen!

The play went wonderfully! There was a packed house every night! There were about 200 people working on this play including set design, food, directors, and costumes. I had a blast! I'm very sore right now though. It was all worth it! Some of the men in church took out all the pews so they could bring in tables, to make the auditorium look like a cafe. One side of me is glad that it's over, but another side of me is kind of sad that it's over, because I've had so much fun! I also didn't like giving my costume away, but I had to because it belongs to Grand Rapids Civic Theatre. Although I had fun this year, I think I might take a break next year. We'll see though.

I have had a fun time with this thread, but since my play is over now, I no longer need advice on this matter. You have my permission to lock this thread.