Those leisure lovers looking for bowties and gingham shirts or chic sundresses and elaborate head pieces for D.C.'s most retro cycling event are in luck.
Eric Channing -- founder of the Dandies and Quaintrelles site and organizer of the 2011 Seersucker Social in June -- has teamed up with select vintage clothing retailers for a shopping night on Wednesday, May 25.
Retailers located around U Street, including Junction, Ginger Root Design, Rock It Again, and Dr. K Vintage are offering discounts up to 20 percent on select items during a sale dubbed Seersucker Prep.
The stores are open until 9:30 p.m. with pop-up shopping at Marvin from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.
The big social on June 4 begins with a bike ride at 2 p.m., after which guests roll in on their two-wheelers for a lawn party at Hillwood Estate (4155 Linnean Ave. NW) from 3:30 to 7 p.m. The seersucker-donning set can nibble on cucumber sandwiches to complement the extravagant and oh-so-sophisticated mixture of Bulgarian Rose and cucumber in Hendricks Gin.
You can also enjoy badminton, croquet, garden tours and craft tables. People “like the idea of dressing in style and refinement and the behavior that coincides with that,” Channing said.
He described the event as “a laid back way to have fun,” and an alternative “to getting trashed Friday night and being hung over Saturday morning.”
Well, in that case...
Tickets to this quintessential D.C. event can be purchased online for 10 bucks (food and drinks extra) or via phone at (202) 686-5807. Registrants will be e-mailed a meet-up location for the bike ride.
Six other cities, including San Diego and Charleston, S.C. hold similar socials, but the event attracts the largest crowd in D.C., as it strikes a chord with the city’s young demographic who know how to mix awareness of their environment with a good time, Channing said.
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