Oct 24
2011
Celebrating the Last Week of Frocktober

I try not to have any overlap between this blog and my HerRochester blog, but this post is very important to me.

The next week has temperatures ranging from 30 to 55 degrees in Rochester, but I’ll be wearing a dress every day.

I found out about this kind of late in the game, but this month is Frocktober, an event based in Australia with this challenge: wear a dress every day to raise awareness and funds for ovarian cancer research.

Here is my day 1 look:

Frocktober, day 1

It began back in 2007 when some Australian ladies wanted to do something fun and interesting to raise funds for women’s health. They went out to a local pub, each donning a dress, and raised $200.

In 2010 they raised $112,000 AUD for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation and they are well on their way this year, currently at $78,504.34 AUD.

This cause is very close to my heart. My mother passed away in March at the young age of 58, only one year and nine months after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. When she learned of her diagnosis she was likely in stage three or four, with four being the highest stage of ovarian cancer.

Me and my mom, preparing holiday goodies for the homeless.

While this may sound like an unusual case, it’s not. Most patients are diagnosed at advanced stages, and less than 50 percent of women survive longer than five years after diagnosis, according to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.

This is a cause worth fighting for. Please consider donating and learning more about ovarian cancer on the OCRF website.

Also, why not join me in celebrating the last week of Frocktober. Here are some ideas on how to celebrate:

Wear a dress.
Even if it’s only for one day, wear it proudly. Post a picture of yourself on Facebook and link to the OCRF website.

Host a Frock Swap.
Dig up the dresses you don’t wear anymore, and swap them for new (to you) ones with your friends.

Plan an event.
Host a dinner, evening cocktail outing, or afternoon tea. Ask attendees to wear their best frocks.

How to dress up your frock for the cold Rochester weather:

Keep your legs covered.
Throw on a pair of knit tights, skinny pants or legwarmers under your frock.

Layer, layer, layer.
Start with a long-sleeved shirt, add a sweater or vest on top and consider wearing a slip (yes, they still make these) underneath.

Accessorize.
Tall boots, a knit hat, and a colorful scarf are just a few ways to add to your look and keep yourself warm at the same time.

For more fundraising ideas and to learn more about this event, visit the Frocktober website. For more information about ovarian cancer and to donate, visit the OCRF website.

Filed in Fashion, Life Happenings, Rochester | Comment Now
Sep 23
2011
HerRochester Blogs

Hello readers,

Yes yes I know, I’ve been a bad blogger. Not posting on here since February. Tsk tsk.

However, I’ve been posting a few blogs on HerRochester.com where I’m doing some freelance work. Check them out! I promise to get back to personal blogging soon. I have some ideas in the works that I’m excited to share with everyone.

Now… read on!

To follow my HerRochester blog, subscribe to this link: http://blogs.democratandchronicle.com/her-staff/author/jhanus/feed

Filed in Fashion, Journalism, Life Happenings, Rochester | 1 Comment
Feb 16
2011
Bringing Back Dance Cards

One of the challenges faced in the Rochester swing dance scene (and probably many others) is getting people to dance with new people. This includes getting beginners to ask more experienced dancers and vice versa. Well, we’ve found one solution: dance cards.

The use of dance cards date back to the 18th and 19th centuries as a way to keep track of who you are going to dance with during the night. Women carried dance cards, probably around their wrist, and penciled in the names of their male dance partners on a numbered list.

My good friend Mike Hibarger from Boston gave me a vintage dance card from 1933 several years ago and I still appreciate this gift very much. The card is from a Valentine’s dance and includes advertisements, lists of officers, members and boosters, and of course, the program. Oxana, the gal who used this card, sure liked dancing with Chuck! He’s listed for six out of her 12 partners. How cute.

For Groove Juice Swing‘s Sweetheart Ball on Feb. 11, Mike Thibault printed re-creations of this dance card for all attendees.

“Oh how cute!,” “What a great idea!,” people said upon receiving their card. One new dancer even said, “This is the main reason I came!” However, not everyone was enthused initially. For some reason a few passed up the chance to use and possess one of these lovely souvenirs.

Seventy-eight years after the date on the original card (to the day), our cards worked a little differently.

Boys as well as girls would carry them, and the name of your partner was written down after you finished a dance with them. Once the 10 names were filled in, you were entered to win one of the following prizes:

  • First prize: $50 to Chocolate and Vines (a local wine/beer and chocolate pairing restaurant)
  • Second prize: a four-week class session
  • Third prize: one month free admission to Lindy Jam (our weekly social dance).
  • Also, the first 15 boys and 15 girls to fill their cards received an extra prize (handmade hair-flower pins for the ladies and valentine’s candy for the fellas).

The dance floor was packed all night. People who usually only dance with the person they brought were dancing with people they have never spoken to before. Beginners and advanced dancers alike were excited to be dancing, meeting new people and filling up their dance cards at the same time.

Oh, and the people who initially turned away the dance cards? They came back to the desk and joined in on the fun. Since everybody was using them, you seemed like an outsider if you weren’t.

While the dance cards were a lot of work to design and assemble, they were totally worth it. I wish we could use them for all our dances, but fear they might lose their magic. This is becoming a Valentine’s tradition for us, and I hope it will for other dance scenes too.

Filed in Dance | 2 Comments