This weekend, vintage-loving Torontonians stepped back in time for an idyllic afternoon of playing dress-up (and croquet) in the Spadina Museum’s annual Gatsby Garden Party. Picnickers took the 1920s theme seriously, arriving decked out head-to-toe in their best Gatsby-and-Daisy-inspired apparel. Here, a selection of perfectly put-together outfits that do F. Scott Fitzgerald proud.
22, Bakery owner “My dress is an original piece, from 1924. An innkeeper at a 1920s mansion in Detroit gave it to me. She said she didn’t know anyone who would wear it and it would look great on me.”
25, Hairdresser “I wanted to look like Daisy Buchanan, with lots of bling and lace.”
7, student “My favourite colour is blue. I hate pink!”
26, Graphic designer “This is a piece from Brooks Brothers’ The Great Gatsby collection. I got the blazer 90 per cent off at the Niagara outlets.”
21, Student “I just watched The Great Gatsby and I love it. I wanted to look like Daisy today, but I ended up opting for a bit more colour—so now I’m more like Myrtle.”
52, Video producer “My wife and I are swing dancers, so we do our best to look the part.”
31, Entrepreneur “I’m a fortune-telling newspaper boy. This outfit is all vintage 1920s.”
33, Manager “I got the parasol at a vintage shop in Streetsville. I had the cover-up custom-made and crafted the headdress myself.”
26, Student “I go antiquing a lot. I found the dress in Waterloo—it has an International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union tag, so you know it’s legit.”
17, Student
18, student “We found these dresses at a vintage shop. The 1920s was the sports-revival era.”
30, Teacher “My friend is a really big Gatsby fan and she gave me this headpiece.”
27, Graphic designer “My girlfriend signed us up for this. I researched what to wear and found this jacket at a costume shop.”
30, Business strategist “This outfit is the result of a lot of Kensington market raiding, combined with my grandmother’s purse and earrings.”
34, IT consultant “I had most of this in my closet as well. We wanted to stick to a lighter colour scheme.”
29, X-Ray technologist “This look is a combination of different pieces I’ve picked up travelling. It just sort of came together.”
23, Bartender “I really want to win the costume contest this year. I would have won last year, but I left early. I couldn’t wear the same outfit so I went for a darker colour scheme this year. Everything was already in my closet except for the 1920s sunglasses.”
40, Media ops coordinator “I bought this dress at a consignment store called Second Nature. I was keeping my eyes open for something light.”
NEVER MISS A TORONTO LIFE STORY
Sign up for This City, our free newsletter about everything that matters right now in Toronto politics, sports, business, culture, society and more.