If you are looking for information on the Spring 2014 Dapper Day, click here.

On Sunday, the boys and I attended the third annual Dapper Day at the Disneyland Resort. According to LA Weekly, approximately 15,000 dapper guests turned out for this year’s event and I am here to tell you that it was perhaps one of the most fun days I have ever spent at Disneyland.What is Dapper Day?
According to the Dapper Day website, Dapper Day is “inspired by the original Disney park designer’s illustrations, which often featured extremely well dressed guests enjoying the park,  (and) Dapper Day celebrate(s) the tradition of stepping out in style.” On Dapper Day, guests show up to the parks dressed in vintage-inspired fashion–head to toe, from babies to senior citizens.

We loved meeting other dapper guests! This guest asked to take a picture with my boys since they were all dressed the same!

When do Disneyland guests ever just walk up to one another and ask to take a picture together? Dapper Day!!!!

I loved seeing guests of all ages in on the Dapper Day fun!

This Disneyland guest named Emily was checking her reflection in her iPad. I squealed with delight when I saw this vintage-loving gal checking herself out using technology. That’s just not something you ever see!

Dapper Day style spanned a variety of era! Although I met these beautiful gals in Tomorrowland, I think they would have looked right at home on Buena Vista Street.

I loved that this family coordinated their dapper look!

What makes Dapper Day so great?
Like I said, Dapper Day was perhaps one of the most fun days I’ve ever had at Disneyland! It’s hard for me to explain why it was such a blast. Maybe it was seeing all of the amazing clothing. Maybe it was the huge smile on all of the guests‘ faces as they proudly strutted their stuff. Perhaps it was being able to just walk up to another guest and chat about their outfit, how much fun they were having and the magic of Disneyland. Maybe it was all of the dapper dressers greeting one another with “Happy Dapper Day!” as we passed one another in the parks. Or maybe, just maybe, it was just amazing knowing that there were thousands of other people in the park who love and respect Disneyland of yesteryear as much as I do.

I loved this family’s homage to Wendy, Tink and Peter.

I met a lot of people during Dapper Day and I loved their stories. I met a woman who traveled all the way from Canada to attend with her family and another family who just happened to be at Disneyland last year on Dapper Day and insisted on taking part of the fun this year. No matter who I spoke with, Dapper Day was a celebration of Disneyland’s past and dressing up in a way that people once did when they visited Disneyland. As most Disney fans know, when Disneyland opened on opening day, the asphalt wasn’t completely set and because of this, the women’s high heels sunk as they walked through the park on that hot July day. Today, it’s rare to see a woman in anything other than sneakers yet for me, I love the idea of dressing up for Disneyland, as one does (or used to, anyway) for the theater. I guess I’m old fashion; I see the way we dress as a form of respect for where we are and on Dapper Day, I couldn’t help but fee like there were a lot of people who shared my opinion.

On top of it all, Dapper Day is more than just the clothing. The Dapper Day event organizers (who, I might add are completely independent of Disney), planned special meet-ups throughout the day. One of which took place on the Columbia. The original plan was for the Columbia (or Mark Twain) to sail around the Rivers of America with Dapper Day guests in the afternoon. As it turned out, it was too windy for the ships to sail and they had to stay in port. Many guests were upset by this, but I actually thought it worked out even better! I was able to meet so many incredible people while waiting to go on the ship and while on board. Other events included a meet-up at King Arthur Carrousel and a little “adult time” at Tangaroa Terrace at the Disneyland Hotel in the evening.

Dapper guests waiting to come aboard the Sailing Ship Columbia.

This father and his kids were Disneyland guests on the last Dapper Day. After seeing how much fun the dressed up guests were having last time, they vowed to return this year all dressed up and here they are!

What to wear…
I’ll be honest, I am kind of a stickler about what my family wears to Disneyland on every trip. While I don’t require “dapper attire” for park visits, I typically make my kids dress nice, as I love taking pictures and never know when I’ll capture just the right image to feature in a blog post. So again, Dapper Day is right up my alley…

While there were some pretty amazing ensembles at Dapper Day, it wasn’t about how creative or extravagant the outfit was; it was just about the fact that you participated. I dressed my two older boys in khaki pants and white shirts and allowed them to accessorize as they pleased. My middle son opted for his Indiana Jones hat and my oldest son opted for a tie. (He has vowed to wear a tuxedo and top hat to the next Dapper Day. Wish me luck finding a top hat for an 8-year-old.) My youngest went dressed in his Mickey Mouse tuxedo, because you truly can’t get more dapper than that. 

My Dapper Day dress was from Unique Vintage and I felt like a vintage princess the entire day. My specific dress is from their in-house line. It was incredibly comfortable and so easy to wear! You will die when you see all of the cute clothes and accessories at unique-vintage.com!

As for me, I wore a purple vintage-inspired dress from Unique Vintage. Located in beautiful Burbank, California, Unique Vintage specializes in amazing vintage-inspired clothing–from dresses to evening/prom dresses and even wedding dresses. (There’s another Unique Vintage store in Valencia, California and another shop opening March 9 in Huntington Beach, California and you can purchase directly from them online from anywhere in the country!) I’ll have more about Unique Vintage in an upcoming post here at Babes In Disneyland and over at BurbankMom.com.

There was something so magical about being dressed up in my purple dress and crinoline. I felt like a 1950s princess the entire day. Dressing up how the women would have dressed on Disneyland‘s opening day felt so special and so right–it felt like I was paying an homage to the past and celebrating Disneyland history. 

I honestly cannot say enough about how incredible Dapper Day was. Although there were a lot of families in attendance, it was by and large kid-less folks.I really hope that you will consider joining me at Disneyland for the next Dapper Day in September. As time gets closer, I will plan a meet-up and tips for you and your babes as you prepare for your trip back in Disney time.

And don’t forget, I’ll be posting more soon on Dapper Day so stay tuned! 

Thank you, Unique Vintage for making my Dapper Day extra special. My dress was amazing and for one day you turned this mommy into a true glamour gal! If you live in Orange County, please be sure to stop by Unique Vintage’s grand opening in Huntington Beach on March 9 for great prizes, deals and fabulous fashion!