Emrey's and the 196 Club

Old Fashioned Sweet Shop & Speakeasy

L-R: Danielle, Jax, Becca, Emma, Amber, Caroline, Alice, Bianca (in front)

Around the end of May 2024, I attended a fashion meeting with my local community. We went to Emrey's Speciality Sweets & Sodas and it's night time business The 196 Club , along with visiting shops along the Pratt Street Historic District in Hartford, CT. Both businesses are located at the same address (196 Trumbull St), yet one of them has a secret entrance, requires reservations in advance, and only opens in the evening. 

Emrey's, located just across the street from the XL Center and near the Yard Goat Baseball Park, offer's a vintage soda bar with a variety of old-fashioned sodas, milkshakes, ice cream and select coffee creations. They also offer old fashioned candies and other gifts available for purchase as well as a digital photo booth. The inside is well lit, bright, and decorated in 1950's pastel pink with white and black tiles and accents. There is seating inside at the counter and other tables on the side. The counter fits a group of 8 comfortably, even while some of them are wearing hoop skirts. 

Pahl, Danielle, and Jax waiting for their frappe order

The pistachio frappe that Pahl and I are sharing has arrived!

Now at this point, you might be wondering why six people are wearing all pastel colors and why the other people are essentially wearing gothic styles in the group photo. Was it because the goth people lacked closet options? No, on the contrary, they were dressed for the speakeasy portion of the meeting. 

The 196 Club, (also located at 196 Trumbull Ave) totes itself as "an intimate and casually glamorous space for inspired cocktails, decadent bits, and rumored debauchery". You have to go to their Instagram to inquire on how to find it, but you must make reservations in advance either on their website or calling in advance. The dress code is upscale casual...we nailed that part no problem. They offer a variety of cocktails as well as mock-tails and small plates and desserts. Where as the Sweet shop evoked the charm and whimsy of the 1950's, the Speakeasy went further back in time to express an intimate yet darkly lit space of the 1920's prohibition era. Red painted walls with framed advertisements from the era hung near our small tables. We each ordered a drink and two small plates to share with everyone in our group, so I must say that I've also tried most of the menu. It is very good, but don't expect to eat a full dinner. It's just not that kind of place. 

Pahl drinking the lavender soda while waiting for the speakeasy to open

We had a bit of time before we could enter the speakeasy, so we all ordered speciality sodas in the meantime before settling down for our group photos. Pahl and I shared the lavender soda. I usually don't really like drinking soda, but I'm still dreaming about this one almost two months after I got it. The lavender flavor was subtle, but the overall taste was sweet (but not too sweet) and very refreshing! 

Danielle inside the speakeasy

See how our outfits better fit inside the speakeasy?

Our Speakeasy Outfits

Danielle standing in front of the Society Room's Door

For my outfit, I went with black, gray, silver, and off white as my main colors. The dress I'm wearing is called, "Where is the Bat?", and it is by a Polish indie brand called Lady Sloth. I purchased this dress from another member in my community earlier this year at a swap meet. The dress is light gray, with matte black illustrations of sphinx cats and bats with silver and black stars. It comes with a black waist tie. In other photos I've seen of it, it also comes with a black bow you can place on the bodice or a strap, but that wasn't part of mine. This dress is very comfortable and even has pockets.

Since it was getting to be warm outside, I opted for a mesh inner blouse from Chinese Indie brand Honey Machine.  It was my first time wearing it, and it's neat how the shoulders poof out a bit while the rest of the arm tapers down to a small flare at the wrist. It was a little tight in the chest for me, but other than that it fits fine for an inner blouse. I also wore ribbed lace heart pattern calf socks to echo the mesh look of the blouse. Now because I knew I was dressing for the speak easy, this is where I did some things that are different. I wore my Miss Point Rhine Riverside Top Hat and my Modo~Vintage Elegant Three Buckle Mary Janes in the off white to match the pearl details of the hat. I completed my outfit with silver and black jewelry along wtih a matte black shoulder bag. I am also wearing a hoop skirt for comfort. It is slightly big for my skirt, but it helped with comfort while walking around in the sun especially. 

Pahl's full outfit

Pahl wanted to match my black and gray look, so he wore a white striped shirt, a more casual gray and black herringbone waist coat, black jeans, black and gray herringbone oxfords, a gray bow tie with black polka dots, and a black hat. 

My hoopskirt billows out while Pahl gentlemanly bows to kiss my hand

It's always fun when someone plans a fashion meeting at a place that serves food and drinks where we can simply socialize and get to know one another. And this particular one was very clever to boot--with both the sweet shop and the speak easy portions. You could attend one or the other, or both--it  was a great way to get out and experience some cool new businesses in our little state!