At the end of April, we held one of the last Vintage Vivants that will be for quite some time – at least until Austin’s hot weather season is over (but more on that later!). In attendance: Titanic survivors, wild Krakens, drowned sailors, an Angler Fish, and mermaids of all sorts. Thanks so much to Devaki Knowles of Fun Loving Photos for these amazing shots! The full set is up on Flickr, and you can contact her if you’d like to purchase prints!

Candice Johnson blew us all out of the water with her incredible mermaid ensemble!

Our delightful hostess Amelia made a marvelous mer-maiden!

Hostess Angeliska as a sassy sea-siren in a 1940′s inspired teal pantsuit and Coco Coquette curls!

Gina + Kitty sadly died in the icy waters. It was extremely romantical!

Unfortunately, most of the servants drowned also.

Lifeboats were reserved for first-class passengers only! This fine gentleman allowed his wife’s maid to perish at sea. The lady of the house seems quite unperturbed.

Jane Clarke of Amelia’s Retrovogue and Sarah Peltonen of True Blue Tattoo and Body Piercing were among those first-class passengers who survived the disaster. Thank goodness!

This way to the lifeboats, ladies!

Alas, some of the fine ladies met their end when the ghosts of the drowned servants had their revenge!

Hunter Lohse (aka. The Dapper Tramp), and Jon Ryan Parker with Whitney F. Jardine as a fabulous iceberg princess. Who’s that other gorgeous blonde? We haven’t met yet – but we hope to soon!

Anna Fugate is one of our favorite makeup artists in town – she did the fabulous airbrushed mermaid tails! The sailors rocked amazing hoar-frosted beards – their secret? Elmer’s Glue and kosher salt! Brilliant!

Our fave sea-faring babes Allyson Garro of Coco Coquette and Shari Gerstenberger of Charm School Vintage with dear Hunter and Jon Ryan – all looking amazing!

Can you handle the fabulousness? We cannot!

Becky VanZandt + Cristina Fisher = magical iceberg goddesses! You can’t see it in this photo, but these ladies were glowing!

It was Colin‘s birthday, and we celebrated him in fine style under the sea – he has real barnacles glued to his face!

Sea witches, cast your spells on us!

Celeste Bliss and Xochitl Sosa of Duo Volee performed a mind-blowing trapeze act for us! Video coming soon!

Amazing ladies! Cirque du Soleil, watch out!

Sapphire sirens of the seven seas!

Hailey Tuck and Amelia Foxtrot cuttin’ up in the middle of the ocean…

Rose Russogle + Iana Wickham are shipwrecked!

Addam C. Reagan and the Unsinkable Frannie Brown! Video of Frannie’s scandalous Celine Dion-inspired burlesque coming soon – stay tuned to this channel!

Chad Schaefer + Dana Bordwell – we love these hepcats! Chad does amazing analog vintage photography, and shoots often at Vintage Vivant. Dana’s alter-ego is Miss Mostess, and she has brought her signature party-magic to V.V. for our Hawaiian Holiday party, as well as providing incredible decor from her personal collection for the Titanic Ball! Too sweet! We are so lucky to know these two gems.

Maria and Jurgen Engler, two of our favorite (Russian and German, respectively!) immigrants were traveling in steerage and also probably died.

Jen Godsey and Annick Masseteau – such pretty salty tarts!

Francesca and Colin were forced to dine on the severed limbs of their fellow passengers to survive… Waaaaait a second…. They’re sea-zombies! Nevermind!

Dominique Vyborny + Jen Vu are maybe the cutest girls in the whole world. Did I say maybe? I meant definitely!

Zeke Brill and Jen Vu – that’s some hat, Mr. Lionfish!

Kim Quan and her handsome date looking fly in fishnet.

Our high-class passengers hob-nobbing with the Captain (who elected not to go down with his ship!)

Get a load of these fancies! Incredible Edwardian ensembles, ladies!

The lovely Shan Té and our beloved Asen Lorien flank Candice Johnson, in all her mermaid glory!

Beware of sea-zombies and drowned empresses!

Not to mention classy cads and sly dames who might swindle you out of your last dime!

Miss Naomi, Sailor Chri, and darling Jackie!

Cynthia Netting, Alex Amponsah, and a cutie we haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet!

What a sweet couple these two are…

Our beloved Swan Dive bartenders!

Camille Labry and her beau.

Dennis Campa – whatta catch, man!

She takes fishnet to a whole new level…!

Sweet, sweet Rose…

Alas!

Another beauty perished at sea!

Whatever you do – NOT tease the Kraken….

Or Drew releases its wrath!

Shit got a little crazy towards the end of the night!

Raaarrr!

Whose fault was this catatstrophe, anyway?

What an amazing time we had! Thank you all for coming and supporting Vintage Vivant! We love you so!

To honor the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic
earlier this month, we will be holding an exquisite Oceanic Ball
where drowned socialites will find themselves waltzing with sailors,
mermaids will dance with starfish, and all manner of sea creatures
shall swirl and twirl the night away on the dance floor as we transport
you to an underwater fantasy beneath the sea! Come dressed in your
1912 Edwardian beaded best, or draped in jellyfish tentacles and sequins!

Featuring performances from:
Hello Lovers
The Unsinkable Frannie Brown
and aerial duets from:
Lydia Michaelson-Maverick + Tolly Moseley
and Duo Volee – Xochitl Sosa and Celeste Bliss

Fabulous projections from Lau of RECSPEC
www.recspec.org

DJ Shorty Stump will be spinning vintage party tunes!

Prepare to have your ensemble immortalized in the fabulous
photobooth from Fun Loving Photos!
www.funlovingphotos.net

Lovingly hosted by Amelia and Angeliska.
p.s. It’s also Angeliska’s sweetie Colin’s Birthday!
Come celebrate a marvelous man with us!

$10 – vintage attire
$13 – deadly dull
21+ only please

Vintage Vivant presents
An Oceanic Ball of Titanic Proportions!
Sunday, April 29th
Swan Dive – 615 Red River
9pm – 2am

Dear friends and patrons,
We apologize for the short notice of this announcement, but we have come the conclusion that after a year of putting Vintage Vivant on as a monthly event, that in order to be able to continue entertaining you all, we must switch to doing VV only every other month. The sad truth is that, without the enduring support of our community, we simply cannot afford to put so much effort, time, energy and money into creating such elaborate parties. If you love Vintage Vivant, and want to see it continue, you have to come out for it when it happens, and if you really love us, you’ll help us spread the word! It breaks our hearts to be forced into this decision, but at this point, we see no other option, other than to stop doing it all together.

We understand that perhaps you guys might get burned out from having such a fancy event every month, or overwhelmed with the idea of constantly having to come up with something fabulous to wear, or possibly people just take it for granted that they can always come next month if they miss one, or are feeling too broke to go. The reality for us, though, is that while most of our parties are very well attended, after we pay our our performers and crew, we end up with barely enough to cover our expenses and usually end up paying ourselves a pittance. Some of our parties have been huge, and we do well – but that barely covers us for the months when we end up with hardly anything. We both own our own businesses, and have lots of other projects going on, so busting our butts for almost nothing every month is really starting to take its toll. Vintage Vivant is a special night that includes DJs, Burlesque, Musical Performances, a Photo Booth and much more. We need to ensure that our bases are covered so that we may compensate our staff with a fair wage at the end of the night, and also, as hostesses, be compensated for our time creating, promoting and hosting the event.

The only real solution we can see to this issue, is to start doing Vintage Vivant less frequently – starting with every other month. We love doing this party, and we know that our community here in Austin also loves it, but without a guarantee of being able to cover our bottom line, it’s just not feasible for us to continue putting VV on as a monthly. Our plan is for Vintage Vivant to be held every other month, skipping this month, and starting with April, and to continue on even numbered months (April, June, August, October, December, etc).

We count on your continued support, and hope that we will see you out at the next Vintage Vivant on Sunday, April 29th – we will be honoring the anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic with an Underwater Fantasy Ball! Please come in your best mermaid, sailor, elegant Edwardian or fantastical ocean creature attire!

with much love,
Angeliska + Amelia

p.s. Just a note about attire – we know some of you may get intimidated at the idea of coming up with something appropriate to the theme every month, but dressing up is meant to be fun, not scary or a hassle! We would SO much rather just see your face out at our parties, even if you aren’t dressed to the nines! Slap on a black dress, or the suit you wore at your sister’s wedding, or a burlap sack – it’s not about how you look, it’s about having a good time. If dressing up is fun for you like it is for us – go for it! If not, we hope you’ll still come out and dance with us!

Clowns, streamers, Luna Tart, balloons, mini cupcakes and pounds upon pounds of confetti all made our birthday party so much fun! Guests came in their vintage and masquerade best. Devaki of Fun Loving Photos blew up hundreds of gold & white balloons for her photobooth photos, as evidenced below:

Angel and Amelia celebrate with twin feathered turbans from Coco Coquette and champagne from Swan Dive

Candice showed up in an amazing birthday cake hat, in honor of our special day – and Asen…! Well, let’s just say her pearl collar, gorgeous sheer lace dress, and everything underneath were pretty much the best birthday present we could ask for! Wowie zowie – these girls know how to BRING IT!

Drew dressed up as a present for us to open!

Rowr!

It was also Sassy Delure’s birthday! Happy birthday to one of our favorite performers, and a dear friend!

Life’s a party – let’s live it up!

We just adore these fabulous dames & their beaded gowns! How many pounds of dress are in this one photo?

The fabulous ladies of Love Craft Vintage, Coco Coquette and Charm School Vintage

Allyson & Devaki = two sweet dames!

Kitty of Kittenille Vintage, who set up her great rack (ahem) of marvelous frocks that night.

Jen Delk – seamstress extraordinaire at Clothing Hospital.

We love Lauren Collier’s sexy beaded follies chic – with a hint of Egyptian

Our entertainment for the evening – Luna Tart & her crew

Luna Clown and the Dumb Bondage clowns

Naughty farce from the Dumb Bondage Clowns

DJ Shorty Stump is not only a famous meme, but has a PhD in Jazz Hands!

Your hostess Amelia based her makeup off of an Angelique Houtkamp tattoo

Your hostess, Angeliska, a rare bird of the soiree.

Giving some Jean Harlow realness, eh?

What a divine peacock blue beaded dress!

Jackie + Lauren

Two cuties among the balloons…

Two of our favorite new Vintage Vivant patrons: The fabulous Juergen + Maria Engler!

Ain’t this a fine lookin’ pair?

This is where you lay one on me!

We met Kathlee one year ago at the first Vintage Vivant! How time flies!

Iana + Victoria of Hearts + Robots Salon – they do great hair!

What a grand evening we had…!

 Party crowd, circa mid 1920s
 Philben Sisters
The Soapsuds Group -At the Living Posters Ball / Baba Beaton, Wanda Baillie-Hamilton and Lady Bridget Poulett,1930 by Sir Cecil Beaton  Sennett Girls, on set, 1919
 Earl Carrolls Vanities backstage- 1925
Champagne Ladies – 1930s
Cool and aloof, blending in with the furniture.

Sydney Lust Girls, 1919
Chorus girl outfit with musical notes

 Betty and Beth Dodge

Champagne girl’s yoo hoo!, circa 1922

Thelma Todd with balloons

This month, join us for our birthday: Life’s A Party! Imagine a technicolor ball with champagne, cake, streamers, lanterns, flowers, masquerade, pierrot & bright colors! We’re doing it up right!

Spring is right around the corner – can you feel it? Let’s welcome it with citrus colors!

Dames in piano shawls

Masquarade masks, feather fans, and coy smiles are all encouraged.

Please show up in your most fanciful rainbow attire.

Vintage Vivant presents:
Life’s A Party!

This month we’re celebrating our 1 year anniversary
with a blowout birthday party bash inspired by the
colorful art deco soirees and masquerade balls of yore!
Prepare for decadent and absurd party games, copious
champagne, cake and surprises, confetti and streamers galore!
Wear your favorite party dress, fancy wigs, masques or
bizarre costumes! It’s going to be a wild and wonderful night.
Come celebrate one year of vintage fabulousness with us, won’t you?

Luna Tart and friends will be entertaining us with songs of love.

Vintage fabulousness
available for purchase
from Kittenille Vintage

DJ Shorty Stump will be spinning vintage party tunes!

Prepare to have your ensemble immortalized in the fabulous
photobooth from Fun Loving Photos!
www.funlovingphotos.net

Lovingly hosted by Amelia and Angeliska.

$10 – vintage attire
$13 – deadly dull
21+ only please

Vintage Vivant presents
Life’s A Party!
Sunday, February 26th
Swan Dive – 615 Red River
9pm – 2am

Vintage Vivant is now one year old! Thank you, Austin, for all of the amazing costumes, dancing, and entertainment throughout 2011. We couldn’t have celebrated it up right without you! Here is a look back at our poster designs for each event, each designed by our lovely Angeliska.

January – Paper Moon
In 2005, two girls who shared a love of vintage clothing and the Jazz age met via livejournal while each was living in New Orleans and Portland. They became fast friends when they met in Austin in 2008. When we caught wind that Mickie Spencer of the East Side Show Room was decorating a new bar in the Red River district, we jumped at the chance to hold a monthly Jazz Age themed event. Teaming up with DJ Shorty Stump, front man of  The White Ghost Shivers  as DJ, and Devaki Knowles of Fun Loving Photos, as photobooth photographer extraordinare, Angel and Amelia set out to make an event that was memorable, interactive, and  different for the city of Austin. After our first event, we were so impressed by the costumes & enthusiasm of our guests that we dreamed up bigger & bigger themes as the year went on.

February – Gangsters + Molls
We worked with local improv troup Parallelogramophonograph to stage a hold up of the joint, complete with fire arms and hostages. Two Left Feet performed a dance as Bonnie & Clyde, and burlesque cutie Sassy Delure enchanted guests with her sequined wiggles.

March – Goldiggers
Our pals in the East Side Dandies drummed up authentic hot jazz, and Balboa dancers nearly wore a hole in the floor dancing!

April – Bunnyhop Bash
Djamberry Caravan serenaded us with Django-esque tunes, and the Fatbottom Cabaret lead a very joyous bunny hop circle all around the venue.

May – Storyville Bordello
This was the theme where every aspect of Vintage Vivant really came together. Stride pianist Reese Gray, who cut his jazz teeth on the town of New Orleans at the tender age of 17, joined us as piano master to a stage filled with hussies decorated and bewigged by Charm School Vintage and Coco Coquette. Rebecca Havemeyer sang a rousing rendition of “Shave ‘em Dry,” and I saw more than one of y’all’s sweater kittens that night!

June – Great Depression
“What a depressing theme for a party!” some concluded when we handed them the flyer. We invited you to take a spin in garments that were on their last leg, dresses that had been mended and remended during the Great Depression. This was one of our favorite Vivants, especially as we posed with the literal MOUNTAIN of canned goods that patrons donated at the door for the Austin area food bank. We had a soup kitchen, old timey tunes, and feather fan burlesque from Riley Do Right, because, we can’t be depressed all of the time, can we?

July – Paris J’taime
We announced in late June that we would be taking a hiatus for July, and were met with a resounding “NO!!!!” from our fans. In attendance: several mimes, the wonderful & melodious Mistress Stephanie, and lots of cuties in berets.

August – Tramps + Vamps
This month, we teamed up with the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz for a showing of 1927′s silent film “It,” starring Clara Bow, and accompanied by Reese Gray on piano. It was a lovely date night, with dinner and a movie at The Alamo, and dancing & music at The Swan Dive.

September – A Night at The Circus
This month was amazing! 999 Eyes Freak Show made a surprise performance of music & side-show-ery. Colin manned the cotton candy booth, and Agent Ribbons played all of our favorite songs.

October – Halloween Witches’ Ball
The Vintage 15 (a 15 piece big-band style ensemble) stole the show, and the costumes of the night were truly amazing.

November – Forbidden Vices
Another fabulous tableau vivant by Coco Coquette, Black Swan Theory, and Charm School Vintage – this time, the ladies were outfitted as opium den loungers. Sick from Sick’s Pack performed naughty songs about drugs and booze with Reese Gray, and Frannie Brown temped us with a Snow White burlesque routine.

December – Hawaiian Holiday
A vacation from the holidays! This was one of the most decadent Vivants to date, with catered food from Hostess Miss Mostess (those cookies! that ham & pineapple thing! and the paper umbrella wreaths?! I’m dying!) and authentic tunes from a land that seems so far, far away in the chill of December.

January – Hot Girls Of Weimar Berlin
A stage full of naughty girls styled by Coco Coquette and Charm School Vintage took turns spanking one another, and Mistress Stephanie and her Melodic Cat sang a song especially penned for Vintage Vivant. Kitty’s burlesque to a very German “Oops, I Did it Again” had us on the edge of our seats, but that was due in part because our bottoms were raw from all the swatting.

February – Life’s A Party!

This month we’re celebrating our 1 year anniversary
with a blowout birthday party bash inspired by the
colorful art deco soirees and masquerade balls of yore!
Prepare for decadent and absurd party games, copious
champagne, cake and surprises, confetti and streamers galore!
Wear your favorite party dress, fancy wigs, masques or
bizarre costumes! It’s going to be a wild and wonderful night.
Come celebrate one year of vintage fabulousness with us, won’t you?
RSVP via Facebook