Oh What a Night!

The Chap’s Grand Silver Jubilee Ball was indeed a night of a thousand waistcoats.

On Saturday 12th October 2024, three hundred immaculately dressed souls descended on Hamilton House in Balham, a region of the capital not generally known for decadent soirees. But this was a truly special night, for The Chap was celebrating 25 years of publication at the Grand Silver Jubilee Ball.

Never in the field of human conviviality has so much hair lacquer, so much mascara, hair pomade, moustache wax, hair curlers and lipstick been used on a single night. From 7pm there was a seemingly endless flow of the restless of jaw and the itchy of foot pouring through the doors, in search of glamour, excitement, loud music from a bygone era and gallons of champagne.

Reader, they found it. Nattily attired guests such as Zack Pinsent (above) set the sartorial bar very high, but many of the guests, having chosen a different wardrobe route, managed to reach it. Outfits ranged from a man in full Cavalier costume, to several 18th century Macaronis, through a range of Wildean dandies and Victorian bustles, many superb showings of black and white tie (hats were permitted indoors, on this special occasion), spivvy 1940s double-breasted suits, military wear including a genuine Guards officer in full mess kit, 1920s flappers, divas and vintage fashion mavens, sharply angled forties femmes fatales and even a sprinkling of louche fifties lounge lizards. In the Gothic/punk corner was The Damned singer Dave Vanian, whose birthday it happened to be that very night.

Entertainment kicked off with Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer, whose Chap-hop ditties got the crowd to their feet, immediately followed by several prizes awarded for best dressed Chap and best dressed Chapette. A special award of a Geoff Stocker silk dressing gown for the louchest outfit was awarded to Sarah Sewandsew, who had delighted the judges (both male and female) with her unique showgirl outfit.

The prize for Best men’s facial hair went to Tim Garner, who won a splendid men’s grooming kit from Captain Fawcett, while Sally Sweetlove won a wonderful beaded shawl from Pretty Eccentric. Best dressed Chapette went to Pandora Harrison, who received a gift set from What Katie Did, and best dressed Chap, who won a Harris Tweed jacket from Walker Slater, was secured by Aidan Rothnie.

Once speeches had been made, cocktails consumed and rubbernecking engaged in, it was time for main band the Silver Jubilee Hot Jazz Serenaders to light up the dancefloor. This rootin’ tootin’ quintet banged out a multitude of cracking swing jazz tunes, after which disc jockey DJ Lou Lou took to the decks to keep everyone moving.

Just when everyone thought it was all winding down and craning their necks for their carriages outside, a lone figure entered the grand ballroom, wearing a full head walrus mask and playing the bagpipes. The confused crowd parted and let Gary Gronestaad take the stage, where he squeezed out an excellent and moving rendition of Auld Lang Syne to delirious rounds of applause.

The Grand Silver Jubilee Ball captured, in one magical night, the essence and spirit of anarcho-dandyism, and brought a decadent crowd together into a grand ballroom to celebrate the peculiarity of being a Chap or Chapette. As host Gustav Temple put it in his short speech, “Tonight we are the bright young things, the old fogeys and the scarily eccentric, all at the same time. Tonight we are all 25 years old!”