The Palais Royale returns to the 1920s
The Palais Royale, December 4, 1928.
If you’ve driven down Lake Shore Boulevard near Sunnyside Pavilion, you may have noticed a certain building and wondered: “What is that gorgeous piece of art deco all about?” Being who I am, I’ve also wondered “Can I go to a 1920s themed party in there?”
My dream is coming true this Friday, January 30 as the Palais Royale hosts “Speakeasy”, a special Winterlicous event, taking the building back to its roots in the 1920s. Guests are encouraged to dress in period clothes – which for men thankfully means tuxedos – and there will even be live jazz. They’ve also added “dance only” tickets which start at 9:30pm. Click here for dinner or dance tickets.
The Palais Royale has a rather long and complicated history. Here’s a brief version: the building started as a boat club for people enjoying the lake at Sunnyside. It morphed into a dance hall in the 1920s and hosted the likes of Duke Ellington and Count Basie. But like all things of the era, decline set in in the 1960s and the building was slated for demolition. There were many decades of pop concerts until finally the Palais Royale was completely renovated in 2005 and re-opened as a dance and event hall. It now mostly hosts private events like weddings and corporate parties. That makes this, the very first 1920s themed event, even more special.
Clothes are, of course, a big part of my excitement. But as I’ve written before, as much as I like vintage clothes, I’m not interested in living in the past. So it’s not so much the period that interests me about “Speakeasy” as the opportunity to wear my tuxedo. There aren’t many chances to wear black tie (although for me this is the 3rd in 3 months) so I jump at every one. For this evening, to be more true to the period, I’m going to wear my stiff full-dress shirt with detachable wing collar (pictured above). My dinner jacket is double breasted, which was not that common in the 20s, so for the first time in my life I’ll be fashion forward.
I am very excited, however, to see how everyone else dresses, especially the guys. I will be taking photos and posting them here next week so stay tuned or, hopefully, see you there.
2 Comments
Peter
January 28, 2015 at 3:09 pm
Liz
January 28, 2015 at 3:17 pm
A perfect excuse to bust out my detachable collar shirt and classic waistcoat! See you there . . .
I too am looking forward to attending this event on Friday 🙂 I Love the Palais and I love it’s rich history in the Jazz Scene in toronto. Every time I attend an event there I always find myself transported back to a time where the music was just amazing and the people were impeccably dressed.
I will be attending the dance portion part as I’m a lindy hopper and will be helping judge the best dressed contest as I’m also part of the Toronto Vintage Society and we have been brought on board to help make this event 100% fantastic!
Looking forward to seeing your tuxedo.
Liz 🙂