Catch a tube in London on any Friday night, and you'll see a curious thing. There'll be all the usual characters headed out for a night on the town – women in miniskirts destined for nightclubs, or men in shiny new suits travelling to bars. But what you'll also, increasingly, spot are people who look like they've stepped out of a previous time – girls in 1950s dresses with bright red lipstick, or men sporting 1920s braces and fedora hats.
Throwing such parties certainly isn't easy – they require the host to source everything from scene-setting props to authentic period food – so what advantages do they offer?
"If you love parties, like any good host, you want your party to be remembered," she says. "Vintage themes allow people to break the ice more easily – it helps with conversation, whether you are complimenting someone's beautifu beaded flapper dress or having a conversation about the food."
You don't, she says, need a large budget to throw such an event – the devil is in small details. Themed invitations set the tone right from the start, and should offer some advice for costumes. Music is one of the most important ingredients: "Get this right, and your party will swing when it's meant to, and keep your guests from leaving early".
Food should be evocative of the period, planned in advance, and can take the form of canapés if you don't have the money or time to organise a meal. It's important, she says, to offer themed drinks - like punch for a 1950s street party, or cocktails popular in the Jazz Age for a 1920s event - and to make sure that they are chilled in plenty of time for the party. As for props, many can be easily handmade.
"Just pay attention to getting the ingredients right," she says. "So your guests really feel they have had a little taste of the past, in the world they live in today."
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'Style Me Vintage: Tea Parties' is available from Pavilion, £9.99
Source : http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/564649/s/330d080f/sc/38/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cfoodanddrink0C10A40A46160CThe0Eart0Eof0Ethe0Evintage0Eparty0Bhtml/story01.htm