What to KnowA Vintage Valentine at the Queen Anne CottageLos Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic GardenArcadiaFeb. 14, 2 to 4 p.m.$60 general public; $55 memberEach ticket holder will receive entry to the Queen Anne Cottage; guests ages 21 and up will also receive two Champagne tickets (“Non-alcoholic beverages available with advance notice)
Articles of clothing that feature oodles of lovely lace are often pulled out of drawers, armoires, and trunks when Valentine’s Day is due, all to give our outfits a little romantic flair and timeless charm.
And while lacy gloves, hankies, and shawls are some of the items we might think of first, there are other finely filigreed favorites that come to mind around Feb. 14.
Take one of Southern California’s laciest landmarks, for example. It’s the Queen Anne Cottage we’re thinking about, a sweet yet stately structure that has graced the grounds of the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden for decades.
The well-decorated building preceded the opening of the garden, of course — the property’s long-ago owner, Lucky Baldwin, constructed the Queen Anne for his fourth wife — and it remains a favorite of visitors today.
And many of those visitors will be out in festive force to celebrate Sweethearts’ Day at the Arcadian idyll.
A Vintage Valentine at the Queen Anne Cottage will unfurl, like the rolling out of a lacy runner or tablecloth, from 2 to 4 p.m. on Feb. 14.
A look inside the cottage, and bubbly for guests who are 21 and older, are part of the day, as is the opportunity to arrive with your own packed picnic basket and enjoy lunch in the exquisite setting.
The rituals of Victorian courtship will be a flowery focus, and the opportunity to learn more about how bouquets, and the blossoms within, “spoke” their own special code when privacy wasn’t possibly between potential paramours.
Dressing in your bustle-boasting frock or a seersucker suit? That’s encouraged.
You might even choose a lacy look that pays homage to the cottage’s famous flounces and frills. Pull out your parasol and promenade by this site to check out the building for inspiration, and the secure your tickets to the genteel Valentine’s affair.