Sock Hop ideas, themes and parties!

Poodle skirts are often times referred to as such because they were adorned with a small poodle sewn in, but the design can be whatever you want, or you don't have to have this at all. You should however have a long skirt that widens a bit at the base. A simple, plain sweater is the perfect top to wear, and generally light, creamy colors for the shirt work best when going with the poodle skirt.

Sometimes the sweat will have a signature emblem sewn into it, but this is again optional. A scarf tied loosely around the neck is also a nice touch, but you will probably want to pull your hair up (if you have long hair) into a pony tail, and tie it off with a small, colorful ribbon to get the perfect look.

Bobby socks are a must, as they lend their appeal to the very name "sock hop". Saddle shoes are the last touch. These can be bought at a lot of retail stores like Target, or Amazon, and surprisingly for on average between 30-40 dollars. If you're on a tight budget, don't forget to scan through Ebay listings for a sweet deal.

Now, we certainly also had some bad girls (and guys who would show up at this event), so if you want to play the more controversial version, here are a few suggestions.

It might just be a little more scandalous to wear a blouse that's unbuttoned a little, and to sport yourself a bouffant hairstyle. Don't forget that bright makeup will make you standout as that total 50's babe. What bad boy wouldn't want to wrap his arm around your at the midnight showing of "The creature with 30 eyes!" now?

You can also do the "car hop" look. Just wear a short dress, maybe even checkered for kicks, adhere a few plastic see-through cups and plates to a tray with some glue, and sport yourself some roller skates. Just be careful, or you might be hopping to the hospital.

The classic look of the nineteen-fifties stud is very simple. Just look at James Dean in Rebel without a cause. The only difference with that portrayal is that he's a bit of an odd duck, and comes across as a bad ass in good kid's clothing.

For this look you should wear bluejeans with white socks only, topped by a letter sweater, and don't forget the white t-shirt that goes underneath. Add a little grease or gel to your hand to make it stand on its own a bit and you're basically read to go. In terms of footwear, some simple loafers or even sneakers for that matter will do. Sneakers aren't technically the most authentic approach, but they still carry the theme nicely.

For the devil in all of us, use lots of grease, slick your hair back and leave just a tiny grouping of strands hanging down over your forehead. There's two more options. Either A, the black leather jacket look (with white t-shirt underneath), or B, just the white t-shirt with a pack of cigs rolled up into the sleeve.

Blue jeans are still acceptable for this look as are sneakers.

The look and theme of the party can really be as simple or complex if you want. I advise doing some research, which is actually just an excuse to watch some awesome movies. American Graffiti and Grease are two of my favorites for getting ideas.

You can take large sections of blank paper, sheets of cardboard, sheets of tar paper,etc. Then what you may do is measure out lines going across your surface area about a foot apart from each other. These will be horizontal, then do the exact same thing going vertical. These lines should be drawn in with a color pencil. Then paint the lines with black acrylic paint (about 1/4 inch in thickness). Now you will have some squares. Alternate the squares between white and black to get a checkered dance floor look.

If you have some high sitting chairs or stools, those are great to put around the parameter of the room for your sock hop party. You can also take old vinyl records and either dangle them from strings (from the ceiling - different lengths for variation), or you can mount them to the walls.

Though its not very authentic, you can pick up some cheap classic monster movie, and "atomic age" looking posters online and place them around the room. Actual jukeboxes can be very expensive, but a cheaper alternative might be an old radio, or even CD/RADIO/RECORD PLAYER combo units, which are often times designed to have a classic look, and can be very affordable.

Places like Big Lots also have things that can be tweaked or left alone, and can quite possibly add perfectly to the look of your party.

Theme party Secrets is one of my favorite sources of information for throwing awesome theme parties. It has tons of information about sock hops, in terms of the look, feel, games and approach. It also has a lot of information on other types of theme parties from Birthday's, murder mystery, Vegas, and tropical themes as well.

The ebook is great because its very down to earth. For instance, the author understands very well that a party can be too over the top, or too boring. So, extremely beneficial tips are given to keep things exciting, lively, and to make sure that not only is the look and feel great of every party, but that there is plenty to do to keep your guests having a blast! You should honestly see what other people have had to say about Theme Party Secrets just by visiting their website.

I've thrown great parties my whole like, and there is an artistry to doing this. Still, Theme Party Secrets showed my new directions and ideas that I thought didn't exist. I just assumed that I already knew everything about hosting great social events. This book, and its bonuses gave me a real edge.

There are professional party planning services that charge hundreds of dollars an hour just to do this very thing. Its a very fun and rewarding business to be in, but if you read this book then it can save you tons of dough, AND give you a great education. Who knows, maybe you could start your own party planning business.

If that's the case then I also recommend that you check out Purse Party Profits. Its a very affordable set of digital books, written by a woman who turned party planning into a big business for herself. Its a really fantastic resource, and she gets specific.



If for some reason you are interested in reading both, open each link in a new window so that you don't lose track of one, or bookmark this page and come back to it later. Again, that party planning business course is Purse Party Profits.