Essex Clipper Dinner Train

Essex Clipper Dinner Train

Danielle and Pahl next to one of the dining cars

One of the first times I dressed up in EGL fashion all summer since the swap meeting was to attend a dinner date with Pahl on the Essex Clipper Dinner Train.  This train service is a very special four course dinner aboard a beautifully restored 1920's Pullman diner car pulled by a vintage diesel locomotive. The website suggests that you "relax and reconnect while our two and half hour scenic journey soothes away the stress of everyday life. The rhythm of the rails and our attentive staff transport you back to a day when rail-service was king and dinner and diner was a delicious special occasion."

It truly felt like we had gone back in time.  We got there early (as it said that the train service was very prompt), so we had a photo shoot at the buildings near the station and other objects of interest while hearing music from the 1920's amplified around the platform.  News Flash, getting there just on time is fine because they still have to move the dining cars to the main platform. I'm not sure if things were running late because there was also a wedding happening at the same time as our dinner train event. They even had a bit of a whoops when part of the wedding's dinner was stuck on the dinner train kitchen car while we were out on our excursion, so as a result, we had a bit of a layover at Deep River Landing (Shipyard) while another locomotive was sent out to pick up the chicken dinners for the wedding reception. 

While you're dining there's a conductor who basically narrates the whole journey. He told us all about the restoration of the cars, how this particular rail connected parts of the shoreline to Hartford area, and pointing out all the major sights of interest including the Deep River and Chester Creek Bridges, Gillette Castle, East Haddam Swing Bridge, and the Goodspeed Opera House. 

The cost of attending such a dinner is $119.95 per person, which you pay for in advance (we purchased our tickets a month in advance, but if it's only a party of two, you can probably wait the week before). Some people booked tables for a whole family and they were all seated together in the same area, which is really excellent planning and coordination on the Dinner Train's part. The service REALLY was impeccable. The rhythm of the rails, is somewhat squeaky and a fair amount of jostling, so I highly suggest ordering an adult beverage on the onset if you truly want to lean into the rhythm. 

Inside our car, the Wallingford.

The view inside our part of the car, which was more intimately arranged.

Our table was already dressed and had some wonderful snacks ready and waiting.

Since we knew that the era we were stepping back in time for was roughly the 1920's, we tried our best to look like we were also from the era. I think the Dinner Train staff really appreciate when people dress up, because they gave us one of the best seats in the car and we were able to have a conversation easily as well due to less people overall seated in our area.  Some of the staff came who were assigned to other cars came over to "see what we were wearing", so I think we did a great job. 

I built my outfit around the French Style Elegant Lolita JSK dress from Chinese indie brand Miss Point. For some reason, to me, this dress reminds of some early to mid 1900's fashion, but I can't quite place it. The term JSK for this piece is misleading. I have never been able to find a blouse to wear with this dress, so I am going to refer to it as an OP or one piece until I do. It's a black silver laced and rose design with delicate white lace around the neckline and the bottom of the skirt. This one fits a little more snug than other Miss Point designs that I own. I checked the sizing and the 2XL (which is the size I am wearing) only has a bust of roughly 100 cm (give or take 2-3cm), so if you're normally buying their 2XL for the 102+cm bust, this will probably be too tight. 

Last time I wore this dress, I paired it with more black accessories than pearl, so of course I wanted to see how far I could reiterate the black and the pearl in new ways. I opted for the Miss Point Sally Garden Luxurious Pearl Belt this time as opposed to the black sash that came with the dress. The belt only comes in one size, and I pretty much have to wear it with things that are empire waist, or else my waist is technically too large of a circumference to wear it at all.

For other accessories I am wearing black fishnet style socks that I wore low as opposed to under the knee height paired with my Modo Vintage Elegant Mary Janes in Milky White. I am also wearing a low black bonnet that repeats the same black silver laced material on its bow and has a pearl ribbon around the top of the hat. Instead of wearing long black gloves like the suggestion in the dress listing, I am wearing white, pink and ivory floral beaded wrist cuffs with gold and pearl details hanging off of them. I decided to throw on my "regency choker", which is black velvet with a grey toned jewel surrounded by a gold encasing. Fancy "pearl" earrings back from my days as a retail worker at a store that no longer exists complete the jewelry. Lastly, I brought my all white heart shaped hand bag. This bag comes in many colors that often have a contrast white stitching look to it, but I got the all white because I thought it was the most versatile in my wardrobe. I think it is. I've already worn it for both sweet and classic looks, and I don't doubt it's versatility in an all white gothic look either. 

Pahl, the adventurer

Pahl kind of looks like one of those adventurer's in the 1920's that explored uncharted jungles. He's got brown cargo aviator pants, paired with a white blouse and a cotton linen blend jacket (with more pockets and a waist sash) from Thomas Farthing that we found for him in London last year. He has his hair slicked back and is wearing small black rimmed glasses, which was a style that was popular of that era. He is also wearing tall laced leather boots and a very special steam punk style watch that lights up and tells the time three different ways. He is also wearing a red paisley cravat with his ensemble. 

The tripod selfie that I'm very proud of

Pahl standing next to a colorful building

An image of myself that I converted to B+W next to the car

That golden hour glow waiting for our cars to rearrange themselves

The Essex Clipper Dinner Train is a wonderful experience that I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to check it out or for a special occasion.  The food and service is great as are the sights to see. It runs all throughout the fall and winter too--so don't think you have to wait till next year!  And make sure if you go, do try your hand at historical fashion. They love when people do that!