(Credit: Photo: Devaki Knowles)

Sometimes culture can be such a drag. Celebrity over-saturation, endless political punditry, and the general malaise of the times can beat down one’s soul. Luckily for us, Austin has no shortage of ways in which to get away from it: escapes into nature, sub-cultures, even the Jazz Age.

Vintage Vivant is your time portal into another era. An era in which jazz was king, women let loose, and the drinks were strong. Vintage Vivant is a monthly celebration of Jazz Age culture in Austin, Texas. According to the website, its a night for glamorous anachronists to dance, drink, and delight at the bevy of 1920s- and 30s-themed entertainment.

But what is the appeal of this bygone era of jazz music, flappers, and dances named after towns and animals? It is probably something that is so desperately missing from our present times: refinement.

“I think that one of the most charming and alluring aspects of the era is the refinement,” states Vintage Vivant founder Amelia Raley. It is still flamboyant, but it isn’t all about wearing chain mail bras, stilettos, and other tasteless things that you find on any given night down on sixth street.

By the same token, the era was no Calvinist’s paradise.

Bawdiness was the order of the day, just as much as it is in our Jersey Shore times. However, late night parties with Zelda Fitzgerald, endless Duke Ellington concerts, and swing dancing made the times exponentially more exciting than drinking Lone Star with a bunch of your boring friends on a weekend.

“It was a very extravagant era: in the 20s and 30s there was actually a lot of sex going on. This was the beginning of the newly liberated woman; the first decade where women were cutting their hair short, losing the corsets, and entering the male dominated work force,” said Raley.

Even though one might think that the fashions of the Jazz Age might be more appropriate in your grandmas closet, think again.

“I’ve heard this saying that ‘abstinence is the new sexy.’ I really interpret it to mean, the less that you do to sell your sex appeal, the more sexy it is,” states Raley. “I think that is definitely part of this evening as well.”

Vintage Vivant, held at The Swan Dive on Red River, starts at 9:00pm, and occurs on the last Sunday of every month. Shorty Stump from the White Ghost Shivers serves as the DJ. There is always someone there to teach free dance lessons (The Charleston, Foxtrot, etc.). Each event is given an era-appropriate theme. Attendees are encouraged to dress accordingly or else remain sad trombones.