is for: Dapper Dapper DO!
"In the 19th century, a fascinator was a lightweight hood or scarf worn about the head and tied under the chin, typically knitted or crocheted.
[1] It was made from soft, lightweight yarns and may originally have been called a "cloud."
[2] The "cloud" is described in 1870 as being "a light scarf of fine knitting over the head and round the neck, [worn] instead of an opera hood when going out at night."
[3] The fascinator went out of fashion in the 1930s, by which time it described a lacy hood similar to a "fussy
balaclava."
[4]
The use of the term "fascinator" to describe a particular form of late 20th- and early 21st-century millinery emerged towards the end of the late 20th century, possibly as a term for 1990s designs inspired by the small 1960s cocktail hats designed to perch upon the highly coiffed hairstyles of the period.
[4] Although they did not give the style its name, the milliners
Stephen Jones and
Philip Treacy are credited with having popularised and established fascinators.
[4]
Drawing of Princess Beatrice's fascinator by Philip Treacy
Today, a fascinator may be worn instead of a hat on occasions where hats were traditionally worn—such as weddings—or as an evening accessory, when it may be called a
cocktail hat. It is generally worn with fairly formal attire.
A substantial fascinator is a fascinator of some size or bulk. Bigger than a
barrette, modern fascinators are commonly made with
feathers,
flowers or
beads.
[5] They need to be attached to the hair by a
comb,
headband or
clip. They are particularly popular at premium horse-racing events, such as the
Grand National,
Kentucky Derby and the
Melbourne Cup. Brides may choose to wear them as an alternative to a bridal
veil or hat, particularly if their gowns are non-traditional.
At the
wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in April 2011, various female guests arrived wearing fascinators. Among them was
Princess Beatrice of York, who wore a piece designed by the Irish milliner
Philip Treacy. The unusual shape and colour caused quite a media stir and went on to become an internet phenomenon with its own
Facebookpage.
[6][7][8] Princess Beatrice used the publicity to auction it off on
eBay, where it garnered 99,000 euros for charity.
[9][10]
In 2012
Royal Ascot announced that women will have to wear hats, not fascinators, as part of a tightening of the dress code in Royal Ascot's Royal Enclosure.
[11] In previous years female racegoers were simply advised that "many ladies wear hats."
[12]
Now you know. You’re welcome.)
I originally bought a hat, but didn’t like it immediately. Now I’m stuck with a hat that I have to sell on EBay. Yeah, right. I have tons of time for that. I looked some more and found one I LOVED and that went with my dress much better. There, that’s your random rabbit trail for the day.
Where was I?
Right!
I had fancied myself up all the way down, err, up to the fascinator and discovered that the fire engine red lipstick I’d bought (for $12) was non-existent in my bag. Crap. Vintage screams red lipstick. I’m going to give you 3 guesses as to how many places sell makeup in Disney. Correct. I suspected that I’d forgotten it while still in Portland as well, so looked at the airport just in case I was right. Guess how many places in the Portland Airport sell makeup. Correct. Guess who had to use period INcorrect lipstick for Dapper Day. Correct.
Did I still look dapper? Sure, it was a passable look, and I waltzed out the door ready for Dappering.
You are probably wondering what Dappering involves, aren’t you? Well, first of all, it involves taking a lot of photos and posing for such ad nauseum. I got right on that. And by now, you know me pretty well; I’m not too shy to say, “Hey Stranger! Could you take my photo? I’ll even let you hold my camera. Don’t try to steal it, I always get it back!” I think the photographer who took these did very well considering the tough lighting conditions I chose.
I was feeling rather fancy and couldn’t wait to see what this gig was all about. I didn’t go far before I found other Dapper folks. Among those on my bus, there was plenty of happy chatter and excitement. It was becoming clear that this was no small event. Little did I know… But first things first. I mean everyone who spent an hour or more (and hundreds of $$ on accoutrements) getting ready certainly needed screening for nefarious purposes. Kinda detracts from the point of taking participants back to the days of Stepping Out in your Sunday Best to stroll along Main Street in a simpler time. 
Here is a description of the event for those of you who have not heard of this Unofficial Day in Disney:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dapper_Day
Assured that messing up a good hair do with violence with was not part of the plan, I met up with my equally Dapper Dapperer (@pkondz ) where Dappering begins: Main Street, USA. And it wasn’t long before we encountered about 1,000 other merry people dressed in amazing attire from all eras of style from the 1920’s flapper to 1950’s Big Band. Everyone was accessoried up to the nine’s and the level of commitment to having fun with this event was a sight to behold.
In hindsight, I wish I’d taken far more photos, but as we’ve all remarked at times on our TRs, there are times where it’s just so much better to put all the tech away and simply… enjoy. Most of the time was spent perusing Main Street, ducking into shops as we went, and admiring the various outfits that were on display. There were lots of friendly waves and quite a few, “Hey, can we take a photo with you?!”s.
One place that was unique to this event was a pop up store selling vintage-style clothing, but in Disney-themed fabric. Not my cup of tea so much (for this event anyway), but there were quite a few folks in there browsing. It was located in the Main Street Theater which seemed to be Dapper Days Central where a lot of Dapperers were hanging around and checking in. Not meaning you have to “check in” officially. It’s a FREE event, NOT officially sanctioned by Disney, and there is no registration. It’s simply come as you are, dressed as fancy as you want or as casual, but vintage in any style you wish.
Another “hub” for Dapper Doings seemed to be in “The Side Alley”- you know the one with the singing lessons? There, we assumed, was the official photographer for the event (not a PP one) and there were quite a few little places obviously set up for posed shots. People were mingling and admiring each other’s get ups and that I think was maybe the best place for keeping cool and seeing the variety of imaginations in the park that day.
Around 1:00, we parted ways for a bit while I went off to meet a longtime friend, Dawn. She’s since left the DIS, but we’ve remained friends on FB ever since the “early days”, pre-Steppesister. It was a long time coming and the stars aligned for us to sneak in a very short Meet and quick ride on BTMRR. They had other things planned, including getting Meadow back to the resort for some schoolwork and naps all around, but the time we did spend standing in line were a lot of fun. Coincidentally, Anita and Mark, whom many of you also know, were there at our meeting place as well. To this day, I still don’t know who arranged that or how it happened, but I was thrilled I got in yet another, albeit completely unplanned, DISMeet! Sorry, no photo of those 2.
Pkondz and I met back up and took the Tamest Train in the Wilderness. By then, my feet were just DONE, and I needed a ride to get me off of them for a while. So, we took the entire circuit. It’s boring compared to the Disneyland Train, but at least it’s a slow-paced way to relax a bit in the park. Especially when the train is hijacked by the afternoon parade. It doesn’t matter how hard I try, I am ambushed by that infernal parade Every. Single. Time. After sitting on the tracks for 15 minutes in the station, we were on our way past Indian villages, very, very still deer, and a Storybook Circus that no one really goes to unless their kids are under 5. Or you’re doing a job interview for a position as Charge Nurse for the 7 Dwarves Mining Co. (See last TR.)
Touring in heels makes me hungry. Or just in the mood to sit. I’d read about a picnic lunch that had been offered in years past special to this event, but alas, it was not offered this year. Sad, because one of the choices was fried chicken. It has been a long, long time since I’ve had fried chicken. Mine sucks. Umm… I need to fix this. Alison… Plaza Chicken…?? Pretty please? (@franandaj )
Luckily, we’d discovered this lack of amenity in our planning with plenty of time to snag an ADR for perhaps the most appropriate place one could end up for Dapper Day. I mean if you’re going to go through the trouble of wearing gloves and heels all day at Disney, you may as well get your hoity-toity on in the most prissy way possible, right?
TEA TIME!!!
The monorail ride was fun; we got no small amount of stares and questions (the whole day, in fact) and it was fun to strut the stuff with our upturned noses to the masses.
Not really. Neither of us is snooty.
Or snotty.
Or snobby.
At least I don’t think so? (Why do I suddenly feel very vulnerable? 
)
Our Highway in the Sky took us swiftly to our snobby destination (I’m not snobby, but the GF kinda is, so I go there to pretend I have money and a matching ‘tude. I mean, why not, I had been pretending all day long, right?) and we got off with a few minutes to spare. More minutes than we thought in fact, because when we checked in, our table wasn’t ready. YAY!!! We had time to check out the gingerbread house. What a work of art! I knew it was big from rumors of past, but big enough to fit a shop inside?! I had no idea! Yes, it was pretty cool. And delicious looking. “Nibble nibble like a mouse. Who is nibbling on my…” Oh wait. Sorry. Wrong season.
Bzzz, bzzzz…. That would be the pager. Time to lift a finger. No! Not that one. The pinky one. Whilst sipping from these little beauties.
It didn’t take long to place our order after our server attentively walked us through how it all worked. Here’s the menu in case you feel your inner snob wishing to be unleashed:
http://allears.net/dining/menu/garden-view-tea-room/afternoon-tea
We both went with the Cheshire Tea and we two were both impressed and delighted.
While we waited, we broke character and became quite silly. Two TR writers, doing what TR writers do. Dorks in Dapper Duds. But the point is to have fun, so we did.
The selections were generous and delicious, and, while I can’t speak for pkondz, I was stuffed after the sandwiches and scone. So much so that I only had 3 bites of my trifle. To be honest, this was my least favorite offering. **Warning: I tried to keep the tiny bit of self-snobbery repressed, but it’s about to say hello. ** Frankly, my homemade trifle is better. Because trifle without sherry isn’t. Mine is made with raspberries, not blueberries. Blueberries in trifle was just… puzzling. In the end, it didn’t matter. I was WAY too full to even bother. I’d had had just enough to pass judgement though. Hmmph.
It was pretty though...
And right about then, I passed judgement that it was time to call it a day and head back for some rest and eventual sleep.
Dapper Day was a success and I’m glad I can say I’ve done it now. It’s not for everyone, but if you happen to be at the Magic Kingdom on that day, I think you’d enjoy the free vintage fashion show.
Next up!
A is for African Departure Adventures- Where Adventure Begins Before You Even Leave. 
I should have told them I'd taken the day off work and they should pay me lost wages. 
