Fashion on the Fly...

One thing that all glampers have in common is this – a sense of creativity. It’s what separates the campers in their plain tents with their barren air mattresses from the glampers in their portable French chateaus with their chandeliers. Glampers do everything in style, from their dishes to their outfits, and Cindy Mundschenk of Abeline, Texas might be the very Queen of Glamping Fashion.

By week, Cindy owns a dance studio and puts on full scale productions, complete with costumes, choreography, incredible sets and entire stages full of young dancers ready to storm the world in their ballet slippers. On the weekends, she likes to get away in her 1965 Shasta, but she still likes to put on a good show.

All hail the Glamping Queen, and see what she has to say below about her fabulous wardrobe and her adorable little Shasta Polly Esther.

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I’ve always been into costuming since I started ballet at the age of two in Montana. As a dancer, an actress, and a dance studio owner I have had my share of costumes. I even played Queen Elizabeth for six years for the West Texas Renaissance Fair, now that is a costume! It is easy to pull off a look, it doesn’t have to be uncomfortable, just fun! I have always loved hats and I have quite an extensive collection of hats. I have over twenty-five hats on my antique hall tree, ranging from Victorian to a Deerstalker I got at a vintage market in London. I have over half a dozen hats in Polly Esther right now. Cowboy hats, vintage hats, pink sequin fedora and vintage scarves and purses. Of course I also have the hounds tooth cap and pink cancan and of course a pair of pink camo Duck Dynasty footie pajamas.

After a friend let us borrow her vintage trailer to take to a motorcycle rally I was hooked. When I purchased my Shasta Compact a year and a half ago I was searching online for decorating ideas. I kept coming across pictures of all these cool trailers and I was immediately hooked. In particular I found pictures of Sisters on the Fly in Waxahachie, TX. There was one picture of a parade of their cute trailers as far as the eye could see. All their trailers were so clever and fun. I loved the fact that they went all out and even dressed the part with their cancans and tutus.

I found out that the Sisters on the Fly were having a gathering at Buffalo Gap near where I lived the following month and I joined on the spot. I didn’t read the rules till after I joined. The rules are NO MEN (Oops that meant my husband was out), NO KIDS (Mine were grown so that wasn’t a big deal and I wasn’t a grandma… yet), NO PETS (Oops that meant my Pugs weren’t going camping with me) and BE NICE (I can handle that).

As a child we always had a cabin in the mountains of Montana (where I grew up). I guess having a trailer is basically a cabin or a doll house on wheels. I love having all the comforts of home on your own two wheels. Polly Esther is only 10 foot long (13 with the hitch) and it is amazing how much stuff I can pack into her. Being surrounded by things you love is part of the fun.

Ever since I painted Polly Esther in houndstooth everyone thinks of me when they run across something when they are out shopping. I love houndstooth. It is a very classic pattern that has been around for quite a while. I love the Audrey Hepburn era and the glamour lifestyle with dressing up for dinner and cocktails. I have a magazine article from LIFE June 1965. In article they show how to make different headpieces from a piece of houndstooth fabric. This was my inspiration behind painting Polly Esther in Houndstooth. The expanded size and color are a modern take on the classic houndstooth. The teal is a nod to the turquoise that was popular in the 60s.

I’ve been given several houndstooth scarves and one of my favorite is a cashmere houndstooth scarf from my Christmas SOTF Sister. I’ve been given things for Polly Esther like houndstooth sheets and a vintage tablecloth. People have even sent me vintage skirts and jackets they have come across as well as a backpack and just this weekend a SOTF Sister flagged me down in the middle of the road to give me a travel bag of houndstooth with hot pink trim that she found and said it reminded her of me. I treasure each and every one and it makes it really easy to keep up the glam.

When I recently had the opportunity to be part of a trailer tour I was able to find a couple really cool vintage houndstooth outfits on eBay. I like to wear at least one article of houndstooth each day. It might be just a hat but it makes it easier for people to make the connection between me and my trailer. It might be just a cap or a sweater or maybe leggings I found in Vegas. How crazy I really get might depend on if I am giving trailer tours. Since a lot of the Sisters have outdoors themes I love that Polly Esther is different.

At a trailer tour in Blanco, TX recently when one of the spectators came around the corner and saw Polly Esther and me in all my houndstooth glory and the vintage prom dress and the vintage accessories from 1965, she stated, “This is the Glamorous one!” I love it!

It would be hard to say which my favorite outfit is. The pink camo PJs with ducks on the feet have to be one of my favorite. We were at a Rally in Amarillo, TX and a tornado came thru. We had to dash thru the rain and hail to get to the storm shelter and the ducks on my feet were swimming in the puddles.

Sisters on the Fly started with two real sisters on a fly-fishing trip in Montana in 1999, because of that a lot of SOTF centers on cowgirls. An outdoor adventure group for women now pushing six thousand members (I’m #4198). Growing up in Montana and living most of my adult life in Texas has instilled the cowgirl spirit in me. To complete the look I found some cool chaps at an vintage/antique store around the corner from my house, I added a neat old cowboy hat from Austin, and a vintage leather fringe jacket from eBay and I’m good to go. I love searching estate sales and vintage markets.

I have a closet in Polly Esther that I keep certain things that I don’t use at home, like the pink camo footie PJs. The rest I pack in my carry-on bag. I also have several pairs of shoes, boots and hats to complete each ensemble. Some I pack into nooks and crannies in the trailer or in the trunk of my red convertible Mustang I pull her with. And yes I do pull her with the Mustang. My car has a 2,000 lbs tow capacity and Polly Esther is only 1100 lbs.

When I first acquired Polly Esther I was all about the history. I loved researching the clothes, the games and the magazines from that time period. To me she is a time capsule and it is like stepping back into a simpler time. Not only does it evoke memories of my childhood but a time when America was on the move. There were social issues like the Vietnam War; the Space Program was in full swing and the fashions of the Jet Set. The World’s Fair of 1965 was in New York City. I loved brushing my teeth at the kitchen window, looking out and wondering what the young housewife in 1965 was feeling standing at the kitchen window and brushing her teeth in her brand new trailer.

I guess I love glamping so much because it allows me to express my creativity. From what I choose to wear to how I decorate my trailer. I have also sewn my own awning and cushions for my outdoor furniture. I think a lot of people live vicariously thru those that do and they don’t have to. It is empowering to be able to hook up and back up a trailer. They can be the ones out there having fun and learning new skills and making new friends. TWANDA!