The Dapper Day Experience
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For the past three years I have been dying to photograph Dapper Day and I always seemed to have a scheduling conflict that kept me from doing so! Since I’m a wedding photographer this always seems to be the story of my life, but somehow this year I was FREE to photograph at the parks that weekend! I love photography. To me it’s not entirely an art form. I think it’s more a beautiful way to document a moment, a feeling or small sliver of your life. I have randomly found myself taking pictures of strangers at parks, museums and events to later having these beautiful photos and no way of getting them to their owners. Dapper Day was a dream come true in this sense!
I don’t remember when I learned of Dapper Day but @rockabillydisney helped me fall in love with it! There’s something so beautiful about encompassing a time through dress and attitude that really resonates with me. I have similar feelings about Disney Bounding. For my Dapper Days I wanted to capture the 50’s in a way that struck me personally.
Pure Elegance
My first night of the Dapper Day weekend was kind of a quick hodge podge of what I could put together of what I already had from my hotel room. I had left my intended outfit at home :( But it was no problem as the first evening I went with what I thought Dapper Day would be in it’s truest form, pure elegance! I pulled a few items together, curled the hair and gathered my composure to meet the Dapper Day community!
1950s Paleolithic Adventurer
For my Animal Kingdom Dapper Day attire I wanted to capture one of my life long loves. Dinos! The Dinosaur ride is one of my favorites and as a child I was sure I would grow up and find living dinosaurs as Dinosaurologist. (Yes I believed they weren’t extinct, just hiding, for way to long). So this outfit was to capture the adventurer inside me as well as my love for dinosaurs. So with the help of Amazon and Bows and Dots and Things I think I captured the perfect elitist that would walk herself right into Dinosaur country if she could.
1920’s Flapper
For my evening Magic Kingdom outfit I wanted to take it way back in time to the timeless flapper girls of 1920. This style has always captivated my heart with it’s risque touch and Gatsby vibes. This was also a last minute add to my Dapper Day outfits and was put together with most of my own modern closet.
Shop my Outfit: Dress | Glasses | Shoes | Head band & Accessories
1950s Nina Leen’s Woman
I wanted my Epcot Dapper Day attire to mimic what I was doing all weekend (capturing photographs) so I thought I would go with a Nina Leen inspired character. Now Nina Leen was a 1940/50s photographer that was incredibly quirky and pushed style trends to the core. I wanted to not encompass the look of Nina, but the look of her 1950’s woman. A full skirted, poised, gracefully beautiful women that always appeared to have more scandalous knowledge in her brain than any good woman should. And with the help of Amazon I think I did just that!
Photographing Dapper Day
Throughout the Dapper Day weekend I felt overly blessed that I got to come out and photograph these amazing people. With every “Happy Dapper Day” I got as I walked by crowds and every “Oh my God thank you” after each photo I took my heart shook. I am SO happy I got to be a part of this community and meet so many amazing people! I can honestly say there wasn’t much else I did on Dapper Day than photograph and meet new people! I maybe rode all of three rides that weekend, but I will gladly say I ate all the snacks! This was an experience I wouldn’t change for the world and I am beyond grateful I got to take part!
