Thousands of Diner en Blanc virgins are at home right now wondering what fate awaits them this Thursday, Aug. 18.
All they know for sure is they’ve been instructed to dress in head-to-toe white and wait for instructions from a stranger that will lead them to a secret location for dinner. What could go wrong? This is the fifth anniversary of Vancouver’s version of the all-white, moveable dinner party, which began in Paris, France in 1988.
According to repeat Diner en Blanc participant Elsa Corsi, a little thought goes a long way in ensuring the evening is a success in white and not a washout in beige. The jewellery designer was gracious enough to share some helpful advice in preparing for the evening, which has evolved in time from a visual dinner party to more of a moveable art installation. Corsi’s top five tips are designed to make sure all goes white on the night.
1) Pre-party prep
Yes, it’s all got to be white — from tip to toe. Corsi enlists the help of her Diner date and fashion designer friend Hannah Tikkanen from Little Pink Dress to create the perfect outfit for her. Corsialso increases her white crystal collection of couture jewellery designs at this time of year and suggests adding hair accessories for some sparkle.
“Swarovski makes a crystal colour called white opal, which is milky white and I make a couple of things in that colour range. Everyone at my table likes to wear those. We discuss what we’re going to wear beforehand so it has a flow — the girls wear flower crowns or sparkly hair accessories.”
2) Be a lightweight
Corsi learned after her first year that buying your own gear works best when it comes to carrying tables and chairs. Unless diners opt for the catered option all the tableware has to be brought along. Corsi suggests collapsible accessories to keep things lighthearted.
“My first year I rented everything, but it was so heavy that it’s hard to look fabulous when you’re lugging items like a donkey. I was trying to check the dolly and my friends were looking fabulous while I was sweating in my silk — never again. By the second year, I had found a collapsible camping table online, which rolls up into yoga mat sized carry-on bag. It’s only five pounds and you can put it on your back and just go.”
Corsi recommends a collapsible table by Coleman, which retails for $50, and adds IKEA sells white collapsible chairs by Gunde for $8.99 a piece.
3) Make DIY decor look a million dollars
“I usually set my table up the night before so I know exactly what to bring. That way you don’t have too much or too little because you don’t really have a lot of space or time to play around. You want to hurry up and have fun as it’s a race to set up and the event’s only two hours long so you want to make the most of it,” suggests Corsi.
To that end Corsi bought all-white dishes at Daiso in Richmond for $2 each and friends decorated the table with flameless battery-operated candles and an inexpensive wreath of baby’s breath flowers from Sunflower Florist downtown.
4) Skip the cutlery
“I usually go to Oyama Sausage Co. on Granville Island to get pâtéand cheese and all that good stuff, along with some macarons and some of my local favourite things that are easy to eat and carry. We try to make it so we can eat with our hands — nothing too messy — and we always drink white wine because we never want to have a red wine accident.”
5) Snap that sparkler photo
“My first Diner en Blanc, at David Lam Park in 2014, was really beautiful — it was flat so you had a view of everyone like a sea of white. It was such a treat for the eyes. My favourite time is when everyone lights up their sparklers and that’s a photo that everyone has to get, so get a friend to take one of you. Play with whichever filter works depending on the lighting.” Tip: iPhone photos will need to be brightened up.
This is the fifth anniversary of the Diner en Blanc Vancouver, which is produced by the Social Concierge.
