Image by Robert Smith. Courtesy of ADSC.
Notice something different? Well, let me fill you in. For Gatsby Summer Afternoon this year, the Art Deco Society of California decided it was time for a new invitation and program image. Event Chair Heather Ripley contacted Robert Smith, who is a Gatsby Summer Afternoon enthusiast and the graphic artist for Griffith Observatory in Southern California.
“I explained that we wanted a fresh image,” says Heather, “gave him some parameters and on the first try he came up with this beautiful collage that is so perfect.” Indeed it is. It includes all the Gatsby elements from the drink to the gentleman’s hat to the classic car. Nice job placing the Daisy-like character in the foreground. Gotta love her oh so impish mug.
Robert Smith at Gatsby Summer Afternoon a few years back donning a 1920s Princeton football sweater. Nice!
Robert has been a follower of the Art Deco period for twenty years and has attended Gatsby Summer Afternoon several times. “The thing that comes to mind when I think of that event is women in hats with drinks, great music, cars and well-dressed men in linen suits,” says Robert. For the new image he used advertising art of the era. The woman in the blue dress is from a cover of the August 1933 issue of Ladies Home Journal. “To push period authenticity why not utilize original art?”
When not creating great images, Robert lives vintage full-time. He shares a 1940s apartment near Pasadena with his wife Ashley, and they both dress exclusively 30s to 50s. Transport for the couple is a 1940s Dodge Luxury Deluxe Sedan, which has yet to make an appearance at Gatsby Summer Afternoon but Robert hopes some day.
In the meantime the countdown is on … the big day is coming up on Sunday, September 13th and word is that tickets are selling fast. Get yours online now and don’t miss out on a day of Deco dancing, dressing, cars, picnics, and an all around fabulous time. Like Robert says, “It’s a nonstop pleasure trip into another era!”
(Don’t know anything about Gatsby Summer Afternoon? Click here to read my coverage for the San Francisco Chronicle.)
OverDressed for Life 
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