14 Jul 2011, Posted by admin in Dawn,Headlines,Thoughts, 0 Comments

Step Into The Past

Words by Dawn

When I heard that the Southbank Centre was holding a Vintage Festival, I nearly fell over in my kitten heels. Like any seasoned festival goer, I’m prepared to slum it with the best, get my wellies on and tramp through the mud. But I tell you, after a weekend of biblical rain at this year’s Isle of Wight Festival, I’m ready to swap my wellies for brogues.

All you burlesque beauties and vintage vixens will be tripping over your petticoats to get in line, for anyone (like me) who dreams of seamer tights, tea cups and chaps with spats, the Vintage Festival at Southbank offers the ultimate self-indulgence in all things classy.

Hailed as a breakthrough ‘up and coming’ festival, there’s a titillating array of activity as the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall is transformed into a six level playground which includes no less than 10 nightclubs – The Studio, Prohibition Room and The Bunker Club to name but a few. Plus an overwhelming array of impeccably dressed vintage fashion gurus, hair dressers who have perfected their pin tucks and curls (nearly impossible to the average Jane like me) and make-up artists who can transform you into Elizabeth Taylor, Marlene Dietrich, or my personal icon, Audrey Hepburn.

For those like me who don their brogues at the odd swing dance picnic, the lure of a dashing chap (who actually knows the steps) asking a girl for a dance always works like a charm.

Vintage virgin? Grab a glass of Pimms and connect with your inner Gene Kelly at one of the beginners dance classes. If you’re slightly worried about making a tit out of yourself on the dance floor, not to worry there’s plenty of live performance and fashion catwalks to keep your head turning.

After a day of dancing and perusing the stalls, the evening’s entertainment features the Electronic Phuture Review on Friday night, the Soul Review on Saturday and Hit Parade on Sunday, each will take you categorically through the last seven decades. Grab a dry martini and immerse yourself in a crowd oozing class and style: welcome to a stylised life, no jeans please.