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I had been eyeing the WWII Era 40’s Ball for years now. I follow their Facebook page and love seeing all of the beautiful, dressed up couples swing dancing and enjoying another time. While I subtly hinted to my husband for years, he didn’t get it, so I finally took matters in to my own hands and bought tickets. The ticket prices were kind of expensive, but I could see it being worth it for a one of a kind event. I got early bird tickets and still spent $102 for two entrance fees and a free t-shirt. They also have VIP tickets and reserved table tickets for much more.
I was super excited to dress up 40’s style and I excitedly dragged my husband to every vintage store I could find, searching for dresses and stylish accessories. Really the only two I could find in the Denver area were Boss Vintage and Regal Vintage. My favorite, Flossy McGrews closed a while back; it will be forever missed. I ended up getting a dress at Boss Vintage for $80. They actually had quite a few dresses that I tried on. I am happy that I bought the dress in a store, since each dress looked different from I had imagined it would once I put it on. (Vintage dresses also fit differently than modern-day dresses, they are much smaller). I got the rest of my outfit from Etsy and Amazon. I found a cute wrap, in case I needed a jacket and a small beaded purse. I also had an Etsy seller create a custom hairpiece, complete with a flower and net! Check out her store.
I found vintage gloves and a pearl necklace at an antique store. Here are some similar ones I had been looking at. I had my entire look planned and about 100 hairstyles and makeup ideas pinned on Pinterest!
When the day finally came around, I had my hair done for the big event. I was very excited to spend a night out with my husband, especially since it is such a rare occurrence. I was feeling a little nauseous that day from the pregnancy, but nothing was going to ruin it ?. (I bought the tickets back in January and now that it was June, there was something I hadn’t planned for lurking inside me.)
We drove down to Boulder to check into our hotel. After waiting in line to check in for a half hour, the guy said room was not ready we would have to wait an hour. (Luckily this post is not about that hotel… because it was BAD.) After hanging around and realizing that we were going to be late if we didn’t start changing, we went to let the desk know we were going to change in our dirty room. The man then switched our room, downgrading it a little, but at that point I was happy to have any place to change.
When we arrived at the dance, we had intended to go to the free swing dance lesson they were offering, but instead we got caught up on site seeing. There were vintage cars, trucks, old army camp supplies, medical equipment and real WWII planes. It was amazing to see all that old stuff together in one place! We decided to pay to have our photos taken by an airplane before it got dark.
As more and more people started arriving, I looked at all the beautiful costumes and I took joy in the fact that people of all ages were enjoying this one of a kind night together. There were true WWII vets there, in their 90’s, dancing the night away, that was awesome to see!
They also had WWII airplane flyovers, two different dance floors, both with amazing 40’s style music, food vendors and shopping. It was hard to keep up with everything that was going on over such a large area! We spent the majority of our time at the main dance floor. We switched between dancing, eating and resting. While me and my husband took a swing dance class a long time ago, I was amazed to see how many beyond amazing dancers there were. (I almost felt like I knew nothing beside them). We warmed up our moves and still had a lot of fun dancing under the stars. ?
The only negative thing I have to say about the ball was the bathrooms. Porter-potties. No mirrors and not much light at night. They also had super long lines and they were pretty full and gross by the end of the night. (What else can you do in a field though) Oh that, and my husband lost my free shirt ?.
Overall, while it did cost a lot of money; between buying clothes, pictures, tickets, food, drinks and a hotel; I would say that everyone who enjoys this era, or dressing up, or swing dancing, should do this at least once. It is an unforgettable experience!
They also have a White Christmas 40’s Ball in December, which I may have to try in a few years. I am assuming those restrooms will be indoors! I am selling my full 40’s look if anyone is interested in funding my future Christmas Ball dress!
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