GUSSY UP AND GO: Do you still get a little dressy-dressy when you're going someplace? Oh, we don't mean you do the dressy-dressy thing with your arrival point in mind. Rather, you don some pearls, or a stylish hat, or a houndstooth jacket, for the sake of the journey, in addition to the destination. Jaunting about the planet in the Golden Age of Travel was very much a fashion affair, among other things, and few vessels were as vivacious on this end of the sartorial spectrum as the Queen Mary. Glance back at photos from the '30s and you'll see stars in their elegant best, simply swanning about the decks of the grand ocean-liner. Those dressy-dressy days live on each year during the Art Deco Festival, a three-day gathering devoted to gussying up, yes, but also the splendid, unparalleled architecture and design of one of the world's great Art Deco landmarks. Slip into your velvet heels or two-toned pumps and strut for...
LONG BEACH... over the Aug. 19 to 21 weekend. A confetti horn full of to-dos is on the schedule for the celebration, from dancing to period-cool bands (hello there, Dean Mora Orchestra, and greetings, The Lindy Sisters) to tours of the nook/cranny-packed ship. There are stay-over packages on the purported-to-be-haunted Queen Mary, which should give you time for all the thorough exploring you desire. But you'll do the dressy-dressy thing before Nancy-Drew-ing for ghosts, yes? The weekend is about design, and architecture, but clothing and cultural touchstones of the time, too. Best wear your dance-ready duds, the ones that look as though they sprang from 1934, the very year the Queen Mary was constructed alongside the River Clyde in Scotland.
