What to wear to A USO Swing Dance?
I might go to a USO Swing dance coming up and they recommend dressing in the era. They say civilian/military. What does that mean and in what era? 1930s? 1940s? and daytime wear or nighttime like swing dresses? I also want to find a good price for a dress as well, or buy a vintage inspired dress and make it look swingish. Any ideas?
USO Dances were most popular during World War 2. Normally they consisted of enlisted men (Army, Navy, Marines, etc.) in uniform, and civilian women there to "entertain" the soldiers. This just meant socializing and dancing with them. Normally, these girls would wear a semi-formal dress, and an arm band with "USO" on it, to indicate their support and volunteering for the organization.
Here's what a normal dress for the era would look like:
http://www.revampvintage.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=reVamp&Product_Code=WD-832402&Category_Code=W40s
Anything that is slightly above knee length is good. No spaghetti straps, or strapless dresses though. If you can't find a dress with more coverage, throw on a cardigan to get a more concealing look.
Print out some photos of 1940s fashions when you go shopping and see what you can find that's similar. H&M and JC Penny normally have outfits that are passable.
Now that you have an idea of what to wear, here's a description of how to style your hair:
When picking a hair style, the first thing you have to do is determine if you can do the style that you want . Hair was cut to the same length everywhere on the head (so if you have bangs, you'll have trouble doing these hair styles). Long hair is ok, and actually a good thing because it let's you do more with your hair.
(Secret to getting your hair to hold curls: Setting Lotion from a beauty supply shop!)
To prep your hair, you'll need to curl it (don't use a curling iron). You'll want to use "Setting Lotion" when you curl your hair with sponge curlers or pin curls to get your curls to be uniform (let set until dry, or sleep in your curlers). When you curl your hair, you'll also want to do it in layers (think rows of where you want to put rolls). You'll want a row of curls (curling the hair back) that follows your face around the top and sides.
When styling your hair, don't get frustrated if it takes a while. You will need a lot of hair spray and bobby pins. Even using this, your hair may not do what you want it to do, because it takes a while to train your hair to style the way you want it to.
You'll probably want some waves or curls on the front top and sides, then put the rest of your hair in a hair net or snood (you'll want to brush it out big after you curle it so that it fills the hair net uniformly), or let your curls hang for a "Shirly Temple" type look, or split the hair in the back and do two pig tails.
Practice, practice, practice! As you style your hair like this more often, it becomes easier, and your hair easier to manage. I have a friend who does WWII reinacting and she can put her hair in pin curls while driving to work!
Anyways, I hope that helps!
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