Tag Archives: Tempo

Judging 1920s Fashion, Alice Sydow

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A little bit of fun knowledge on the fashion & style in the 1920′s

The key to 1920s women’s fashion was femininity and grace, but without the curves we often see today. A slender and flat chested silhouette was the key objective for women in this era, and large busts could actually be flattened with the help of early bras that were created. Most people actually tend to think of the 1920′s style as the Flapper Look.

 

The 1920s man will be best characterized by Prohibition and the 3-piece suits that were favored by both the FBI and gangsters like Al Capone himself. Trends started during this time for men with the fedoras,  two tone brogue shoes, and bow-ties.

 

 

To read the full post from Alice Sydow of i’vegotyourstyle.com visit her website.

If you really want to impress Alice on Saturday, give her a call and she can help you pick the right dress or suit for The Rogue Song!

Alice Sydow
Image Consultant & Wardrobe Stylist
I’ve Got Your Style
612.759.3733
www.ivegotyourstyle.com
alice@ivegotyourstyle.com

For details on retail discounts, tickets and all the Rogue Song dish visit www.mnopera.org/roguesong.
*Tickets are limited for VIP and advanced sales end Friday,  March 22, 2013, 6pm.  General Admission at the door will be $40/person.

Puttin’ on the Ritz – Denny Kemp Salon and Spa

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Denny Kemp Salon and Spa, retail partner for The Rogue Song, has you covered. In addition to offering a 15% discount on services and products for event-goers – just mention “The Rogue Song” – DK’s talented staff will help you complete your look with hair, make-up and nails. Call 612-676-0300 to book today. Also, a shipment of Art Deco-styled jewelry from SequinNYC just arrived, to add the finishing touch.  Several colors are available in each style of bracelet, necklace and earrings. You can’t get these baubles anywhere else in town, so move fast!

Alright dolls, this section’s for you.  To capture the look of a 20’s screen siren or fabulous flapper, photos are a helpful starting point. Famous stars of the time included Greta Garbo, Louise Brooks, Marion Davies and Clara Bow (Marion and Clara pictured below).  These ladies usually went for several trends at the same time, both in their films and out on the town. Pencil-thin brows, lush lashes, smokey eyes and statement lips with the cupid’s bow emphasized rounded out the make-up look, while hair was usually set in finger waves or cut in a sleek bob. Waves or faux bobs for long-haired dames as well as these dramatic make-up looks (including false lashes!) can sometimes be difficult to achieve at home, so take advantage of the discount and treat yourself to an afternoon at the salon for the event. DK carries hair products from Bumble and bumble, Kerastase and Shu Uemura and make-up from Becca Cosmetics (pictured below) so you’re certain to have the best of EVERYTHING to get glam.


As for the fellas, although there may not be as much variety to the hair looks of the time, you’ll be able to pull off a statement style with more ease. Head in to DK for a trim or cut the day of and they can easily mold your hair into a sleek 20’s style like Rudolph Valentino  – jungle cat accessory is optional. For more on Valentino, tune in next season at Minnesota Opera in for an opera based on his life!

If you’re game to try his look at home, Bumble and bumble’s Gellac or Bb Gel will be helpful. Apply generously to damp hair and comb back or off to the side. The more product the better, since it will keep the style from being mussed up by your fedora.

Visit www.mnopera.org/roguesong and get your tickets to The Rogue Song on March 23, 2013 at The Pourhouse in Downtown Minneapolis.

L’avenir Luxury at The Rogue Song

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luxury n. : 1. the state of great comfort and extravagant living 2. something inessential but conducive to pleasure  adj: luxurious, fancy, deluxe

Inessential, I don’t think so. In preparation for the fabulous Rogue Song event, L’avenir has been busy creating some amazing new and delicate accessories.

Jewelry is only the tip of the marquis for the local designers who take recycling to a higher level. Feather head pieces made from beat up hats from the 1950′s transform your look and authenticate it with modern vintage appeal. What was luxury then can still be luxury now, with a little revamping (after all, they don’t make it like they used to). L’avenir has a firm grasp on how to breath new life into beloved pieces from the past.See more at LAVENIRDESIGN.COM

 

AVAILABLE NOW! Lining the cases at Via’s Vintage you will find these luxury items and more! And thru March 23rd if you mention the “Rogue Song” receive 20% off your entire purchase. Subject to availability. Other restrictions may apply.

 

 

You’ll see L’avenir pieces on many ladies at The Rogue Song on March 23 at The Pourhouse.  Bergen Baker, Minnesota Opera Teaching Artist as well as featured Rouge Song performer placed a custom order with L’avenir for the event.  ”I loved working with L’avenir. I was in need of a headpiece that not only would “wow” at the Rogue Song event, but also be versatile enough to wear to other formal functions. They made the process fun while still remaining attentive to my requests and personal style. The quality and artistry in their pieces is unprecedented…tres chique!”

L’avenir is also gifting a fascinator to the “Best Dressed Dame” of the evening!  Alice Sydow, Image Consultant & Wardrobe Stylist, owner of www.ivegotyourstyle.com will be our “Style Expert & Best Dressed Judge”.

The Devil is in the Details

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When invited to a 1920’s party, many people are at a loss as to what to wear. At Via’s Vintage, we frequently put together 1920’s looks from the casual to very formal. 1920s clothing is a vintage category all its own. When you see the light as air chiffons studded with glistening glass beads, you know it was an amazing and decadent time to be alive.

While assembling your 1920s outfit, start by thinking about what you want to look like. Do you wish to be the classic fringed and feathered vamp? Or perhaps the cool and elegant lady? For inspiration, you can always check out an original 1920s film. They provide the best and most accurate representation of what people wore, and how they wore it. One thing you need to keep in mind is that the 20s was all about the complete head to toe look. Although there is something to be said for wafting about in the incredibly simple, yet insanely intricate gowns of the 1920s, it is really all about the jewelry, shoes, gloves, hair and makeup. Details, details, details!

If you do not have the disposition for wearing an authentic dress simply start with a loose fitting dress or slip. Many times, 30s, 40s or 60s dresses will do. They are still vintage and can look 20s if accessorized appropriately. For an evening event, opt for hair adornments rather than a cloche hat. You can use a scarf headband knotted on the side, and add a brooch at the center of the knot. Or take a sequined headband and add a comb or clip feathered hairpiece. You can accessorize with authentic jewelry, like a fabulous deco bracelet and earrings. They are easily worn again and are beautiful to own. For shoes, wear something with low heels and oval toes, Mary Janes work well. Don’t forget a handbag, something small with a handle. Finish off with gloves, fishnets or sheer hosiery and a cigarette holder, and your look will be complete.

Via’s Vintage is offering an exclusive discount on all of their inventory for attendees of The Rogue Song as well as a gift certificate for the best dressed dame at the event.

We also have Pintrest boards created to provide additional inspiration for our Dames and Fellas.  For details on the Via’s Vintage discount and The Rogue Song visit www.mnopera.org/roguesong.

Hats are HOT at The Rogue Song

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Hello from Goorin Bros., your local hat shop(Uptown), here to chat briefly about the basics of Prohibition style headwear.  We’re delighted to be partnering with Tempo for The Rogue Song this year and figured we’d share our knowledge to help all of you dress your 1920s best!

In 1895, Cassel Goorin sold his first hat off a horse-drawn cart in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Cassel’s sons – the Goorin Brothers – continued the tradition when they moved the family business to San Francisco in 1949. Today, Goorin Bros. is led by Cassel’s great grandson who remains dedicated to the hat business.  In other words, we know our classic hats- and luckily hats are hot again!

Fedoras, cloches, bowlers, feathered headbands are all in the mix!

There’s no way of knowing if the thanks goes to period television dramas such as Mad Men, Downtown Abbey and Boardwalk Empire, or musicians like Bruno Mars wearing throwback styles, but whatever the reason, hats are back.

Ladies, the 1920s was entirely about rebelling! During the wild ride of Prohibition, dress hemlines were shortened, along with new bobbed hairstyles to match the hat of the day: the cloche.  This famous style has a rounded top and frames the face in the classic flapper style.

Gentlemen, the end of World War I brought about a switch to less formal suits in the 1920s.  Tailcoats and top hats were abandoned in favor of pinstripes suits and bowlers or fedoras in fashionable circles.  The bowler, a rounded top hat with a shorter brim, was worn in more formal situations.  The fedora was saved for more casual circumstances and the classic 20s gangster look…

Give our website a glance for ideas, come in and visit us!

Goorin Bros is offering an exclusive discount on all of their inventory for attendees of The Rogue Song as well as a handmade hat for the best dressed fella at the event.

 

Get your tickets to The Rogue Song on March 23, 2013 at The Pourhouse in Downtown Minneapolis.  For details on the Goorin Bros discount and The Rogue Song visit www.mnopera.org/roguesong

Minnesota Opera Votes No

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I feel anxious about casting my vote November 6th. I’m sure lots of people feel that way when considering the next American President. The vote this November, however, addresses something so personal to me that it leaves me feeling uneasy. In the past, I’ve felt removed from the many political issues that have come and gone; my family, for the most part, has never been greatly affected by any major political shifts, and this is the first time in my life that we will be voting on something so personal. It’s the strangest feeling. I think the best way to describe it, and perhaps why I feel so uneasy, is that it feels as if I’m voting on whether or not my love is valid. I wonder, if my love is not considered valid, or is somehow considered less than yours, what am I?

It’s taken me years to get here. I first told myself that was I gay when I was 9 years old, standing in my parents’ backyard. It scared the crap out of me. I spent a lot of time praying, asking what I did wrong, and wondering what I was supposed to learn from it all. To this day, the memories of those moments continue to make my heart ache and go out to all of those thousands and thousands of young gay boys and girls living these very same moments. I didn’t come out until my sophomore year of college. Nothing major happened in my life to make me come out; perhaps it was the fact that “nothing major” was happening. I became very good at hiding my feelings, and very good at pretending to be someone whom no one would suspect was gay. My sophomore year, I decided I wanted to experience life like everyone else did. I wanted to be in love with someone, and to know what it was like to feel that intertwined physical and emotional bond.

After I came out, it took me a few years to figure out exactly who I was. I still get emotional when I think about how many years I spent terrified to tell my family that I was gay, and then now, realizing the overflowing amounts of love they’ve shown me. I’ve taken one step further and found someone so amazing, I finally get what that love feels like! Our lives are great! We’ve moved in together. I spend my week trying to work my way up in the world, while he painstakingly finishes his PhD. I have an amazing set of parents, a sister and brother-in-law who have given me two nieces and a nephew who I absolutely love! I reflect upon all of this and smile, but there’s always a crack in the image. The whole world doesn’t see what I see, or what my family and friends see. I am capable of the same love as you. And my love is worth as much as your love.

I am beyond thrilled that Minnesota Opera has publicly supported the VOTE NO campaign, and from the bottom of my heart I would like to thank them! This November 6th, I will be VOTING NO, because in my mind, voting no is telling those gay boys and girls that they will grow up in a world where they feel just as valuable as any straight person, and that they deserve just as much as everyone else.  I very much hope that you will reach out to others and join me in voting no on November 6th.

- Colin Dickau, Tempo Board of Directors

 Visit Minnesota Opera’s blog every week for Tempo Tuesday 

Beyond Doubt

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I had an interesting conversation with a friend a few days ago. We were discussing Minnesota Opera’s upcoming world premiere of Doubt. We were both excited about the future run because, in our minds, the opera addresses something relevant and deeply personal to many. Suddenly I wished there were more operas that touched on current events.

With a combination of music and theater, opera has this amazing ability to tap into carnal values, forcing us to recognize them–unrequited love, for instance, and the desire to possess. I am happy and proud to say that I have experienced how opera can make one internalize complex human relationships. Performances like The Grapes of Wrath, Silent Night, and even Madame Butterfly left me with a new perspective on culture, interpersonal relationships, and myself. As much as I love opera’s ability to do this, I sometimes wonder if the year in which the opera was published, or the era in which the opera takes place, can occasionally create sizable distance between the audience and the performance happening on stage.

I think it would be amazing to see how opera addresses current affairs. Watching how the opera approaches topics such as Wall Street, gay marriage, abortion, or the Bush Administration would fascinate me. I imagine an already heated and complex issue, complimented by the richness of opera, and find myself hungry to know the result. I love the vast display of beauty from various eras, and by no means do I intend to criticize a masterpiece. Seeing the richness and depth that opera adds to any classic story or moment in history, I am simply eager to see what it might bring the the dramas of our own time.

- Tempo Board Member Colin Dickau

Visit Minnesota Opera’s blog every week for Tempo Tuesday 

Opera Veterans vs. Opera Virgins

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About a year ago, I attended an opera with a few friends. It was a mixed group of people. Half the group, I would consider to be opera veterans. People made up of former opera singers, or people who had simply been around the scene long enough to reference opera with precision. And in the other half, where the first-timers. People who had never been to an opera before. They were probably terrified that the next 3 hours would consist of them sitting uncomfortably still, while they desperately waited for sleep or the show to end.

2 hours and 50 minutes later…

When we made our way out of the theater, I was happy to see that not only did the new opera goers not die of cultural exposure, but they were excited about what they had just seen! They were moved and eager to learn more about what opera had to offer. At the same time, the veterans looked disappointed. Commenting on what they felt the show “lacked”, or why this or that “just didn’t work”. As the conversation continued, it seemed as if the veterans were somehow trying to explain that, contrary to our own thoughts and beliefs, what we had all actually just experienced was, in fact, an okay/bad show.

I’ve always considered the purpose of art to be the stimulation of either an emotional or intellectual response. Therefore, should the fact that the art moved group A, but not group B, somehow lessen our perception of the content’s worth? Time and study can grant any musical veteran the ability to recognize layers and depth. At the same time, is it possible that skill and experience can cloud, not only our perception, but our ability to recognize something that is simple and good?

Opening Night Tips from Tempo: What to Wear

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Opening night at the opera is usually a very well publicized formal event. In fact, this season is the 50th anniversary for the Minnesota Opera and Nabucco is going to be a VERY big deal. So, ladies and gentlemen, be prepared to look good. Go big or go home.

Such a grand occasion tends to bring back old world glamor so expect women to go all out with jewels, up-dos and ball gowns. Also expect to see some men donning classic tuxedos or white ties and tails. If you’re not comfortable in this style, semi-formal attire is also appropriate. The important thing is to look classy.

So, what do you wear?

Men: You don’t have to bust out the tails and white tie, but if there is anything you should wear, it should include a well-tailored or fitted suit with a tie/bowtie and a jacket.  All men look good in jacket.  ALL MEN.  If you do decide to wear a tailcoat – it must have a cut front that reaches to your waist and there should not be any part of the white vest underneath showing below the front. These coats have a split in the tail and often buttons on either side. The tails at the rear should not fall below your knees.

 

 

Ladies: Ball Gown or formal gown.  Any color will do.  In fact, the bolder –the better! However, you are not at a cotillion, so please avoid the white from head to toe as this is usually reserved for debutantes. A ball gown can be sleeveless, have short sleeves or even long sleeves (suitable for older ladies). It can be one piece, two pieces, long or short.  If opting for short, please make sure you are not wearing something that will embarrass you parent’s too much – i.e. – showing more skin than is necessary.  This is a formal event, not the prom. Where to shop? Stop in to Saks 5th Avenue Off Fifth, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus or Macy’s for some newer fashions. Want something a bit more unique? Check out consignment shops such as GH2, June or Rodeo Drive for something a bit more price conscious.

Don’t have the funds to drop on a formal gown? No worries! Rental sites are a great way to dress up, without the commitment. Rent the Runway is an online membership-based service that offers thousands of designer dresses and accessories that women can borrow for just 10 percent of their retail value. They have tons of formal gowns from designers such as Bagdley Mischka, Zac Posen, Nicole Miller, Diane von Furstenberg, Vera Wang, Robert Rodriguez, Anna Sui and Christian Siriano.

Accessorize

Even if you don’t have a formal dress, you can still glam up your outfit with accessories. Carry an elegant evening bag to complement your formal dress. A cashmere shawl will add a nice touch to the outfit as well. The opera is also a good opportunity to break out that expensive jewelry you stash away for special occasions. If you don’t have the funds, Bag Borrow or Steal has additional accessories or purses to complete your look and make you look like a million bucks – for only a hundred of bucks.

Remember, whatever you do decide to wear – remember to have a great attitude and lots of fun. People remember the fun-loving couple having a blast more often than what they truly were wearing.

See you on opening night!

A Message from Tempo’s Chair

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Tempo’s 10 years old – and looking better than ever, don’t you think? As I begin my second year as Chair, I’m proud to be just one small part of a thriving organization. Minnesota Opera has led the path, proving that opera is not only healthy but also has a place in the 21st century. In addition, through a dedicated base of volunteers, Tempo has helped supplement an already strong audience with the next generation of opera goers in their 20s and 30s.

This year’s volunteer Board of Directors is the largest group Tempo has ever had, and I’m continually amazed by the passion, dedication, optimism and enthusiasm they bring to the organization. We are a diverse group, but one of the common themes amongst us is that Tempo is more than just attending operas; it’s a community.

We are very fortunate to have a strong arts scene in the Twin Cities, and opera here is thriving. These days you can see opera on traditional stages like the Ordway or Orchestral Hall, but also in a park, in the ruins of an old mill, or even in a bar. Opera is quickly reaching new audiences with its gift of an unamplified voice soaring out over the orchestra and reaching inside and squeezing your guts.

This season is shaping up to be fantastic: not only some of the best operas from the repertoire of Puccini, Verdi, and Donizetti, but a world premier and rarely produced version of Hamlet. Tempo will be at each production to educate and entertain, and continue to introduce opera to the next generation. I invite you to check us out, whether it’s your first opera or your hundredth – I promise you’ll enjoy it.

See you at the Opera!

Benjamin Jones

Chair, Tempo Board of Directors