Thanks to the awesome group of people who participated in today’s mission at Coney Island. If you were there, please leave an Agent Report in the comments. I know there are hundreds of funny stories waiting to be told. Also leave links to any photos you might have taken. Photos from our official photographers are posted below, and we hope to have our video up in a couple of weeks on our YouTube channel. (Subscribe to it!) When the video is posted, we’ll post our official mission report here. [UPDATE - video embedded above]
Photos:
- Agent Scott’s set (165 photos)
- Agent Sokoler’s set (146 photos)
- Agent Fountain’s set (89 photos)
For those of you who were not there– we had several hundred agents spend a day at the beach at Coney Island / Brighton Beach wearing black tie attire. We covered a mile-long stretch of beach with a diverse group of people of all ages (from babies to sixty-somethings) laying out, playing games, and swimming in the ocean, all in formal wear. Agents were instructed to find cheap tuxedos and ball gowns at thrift stores for the occasion.
The mostly Russian crowd of beachgoers appeared to have a blast watching the spectacle unfold, laughing, taking photos, and asking questions. (Brighton Beach has a huge Russian population.) My personal highlight involved a group of ten middle-aged Russian people chanting “Swim! Swim! Swim!” to me, not letting up until I belly flopped in the water in my tux. One of them then waded out in the water to take a photo of me, not for himself, but so he could email it to me.
Thanks again to everyone who participated! The official report and video will come out in a couple of weeks. Join/follow/subscribe our mailing list, Twitter, Facebook page, or YouTube channel to be updated.
The highlight of the day for me (and my friends John, Jon, and Brad) was definitely around 6:00. We were swimming in the ocean, and an NYPD helicopter flew overhead. We all waved our arms, and somebody in the helicopter waved back at us. After that, word must have gotten around in the chopper that there were some people down in the water in tuxes and a gown, because the helicopter idled for a bit, and then actually TURNED AROUND so that (presumably) the guys on the other side could see! The guys on the other side then proceeded to wave down at us, and then the helicopter continued on its way down the shoreline. An awesome moment during an awesome mission!
We saw that as we were packing up to leave, and wondered if they were looking at what was left of the mob of us! We figured it had to be when they turned around for a closer look!
We saw the helicoptor too! Myself and three others (Liv, Mark, and Brad) were walking along the shore when the chopper flew over us. We waved at it and it totally did a double take and came right back and hovered over us. There was one guy who was sitting on the edge trying to get a glimpse. It was pretty awesome!
Not everything is about you. Sorry. The people in the NYPD helicopters always wave back no matter what you are wearing. They go up and down the shoreline from one end of the beach to the other and back again. The only time they don’t complete the entire run is when they get a call. I was there and saw the sudden turn. I also noticed that there were sirens in the distance.
Way to be a kill-joy.
Wow, you are a major jerk…
I saw the helicopter, too, and it definitely turned around, and then turned BACK around and continued in the direction it was INITIALLY going.
No seriously, the guy in chopper did a double take as it passed by us. The thing turned around, flew STRAIGHT for us and then hovered there for a minute no more than 300ft out. (There were umbrellas tipping over and trash started flying around) Then someone leaned out to look at us, or take a picture, I’m not sure, and then they continued on the way they were originally going.
This was our first mission, and boy was it fun! I had my vintage Parisian gown from a couple of weeks ago, and on the spur of the moment yesterday, I invited my friend Rich. He scrambled to get a tux and accessories together, and I fortuitously found a tuxedo at the thrift store around the corner *this morning* for $8. It took a bit of altering in the car, but in the end, he looked amazing – definitely one of the best-dressed men among the crowd.
We met and shared space with a few other well-dressed agents farther down the beach than many. One of my favorite moments was early on, when Rich and I entered the water. There was a whole crowd watching, and as Rich dove in, they applauded loudly, followed by applause for when I immersed my red-gowned body. That’s the first time anyone has ever clapped for my swimming, and it was a memorable moment! And when we got out of the water, there were more paparazzi than Paris Hilton would have as we walked back to our towels.
We received many, many questions about why we were so well dressed, and why there were so many of us. Toward the end, I had refined my response to, “I always wear my tiara to the beach. Don’t you?” But our favorite question was asked of our younger buddies, “Are you *normal*?” We had a blast thinking of possible answers to that question after the fact.
I really enjoyed swimming with my gown on, and I would do it again. It was fun being the center of attention in such a theatrical way, and walking around seeing all the creative ways others were experiencing this day. We even came along at the right moment to photograph a group of agents who had buried two men (heads with bow ties). Thanks for the memories!
The best parts of today for me was the following: Overhearing and understanding conversations about us in Polish and Russian. (The words “stupid” and “crazy” were thrown around a lot.) Being photographed by men in tight, ill-fitting, Speedo swim-trunks. Playing frisbee and taking a dip in a dry-clean only dress. Standing out and yet fitting in all at once. Great fun!
The mission was amazing. There were a lot more people than I expected. Maybe it makes to turn it into an annual event – a la No Pants Day?
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More pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/111890152303396885395/BlackTieBeach?feat=directlink
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It should definitely be an Annual. Hands down the most fun I’ve had in a long time. Perhaps change the beach?
Oh, please do! I would love to make a vacation of it next year!
Charlie, please consider making this annual.
@John I think doing it on a different beach each year is a good idea.
My friend Dan and I got there just a little before the set meet time, and already there was a crowd. I was stoked to see such a turn out, but the group simply multiplied exponentially in the few minutes we were waiting! I was having fun just seeing the various flocks of people gathering together before we set out.
People cheered intermittently as instructions were given, and it was really just fun to be part of a group of strangers with one single thread of commonality between us. We hadn’t even gotten onto the beach yet and already I was having a blast.
Another first-time Agent named Max came over to my friend and I and all three of us had such an awesome time at the beach that we ended hanging out all day together! I’ve never had that much fun with such a fast friend before, I was sad to realize I’d probably never see him again after we said goodbye.
As we made it to the beach, my dress made the unfortunate decision to rip on me (irreparably down the back) so for the first hour or so I jaunted around with a torn dress and hoped people wouldn’t notice.
“What happened to your dress?” a lady asked me.
“It ripped when I hopped the banister!”
“A likely story!” she retorted, both of us laughing heartily.
A woman and her son approached me while my friends Dan and Max were swimming in the water and asked very carefully (and repeatedly) what was going on.
“We just wanted to dress up for the beach today,” my response.
“Who is WE?” she demanded, thinking that I was amid the whole crowd of people dressed for the beach today.
“I don’t know any of these other people! I just came here with my friends Dan and Max! See? They’re over there!” and I would point out to the water where my two friends were swimming. The lady would not believe it was just my little party of 3 that decided to dress up today.
“You must be making a movie. I have to call my husband.” then she walked away, confused as ever. I was telling the truth, after all, I didn’t know anyone else who was dressing up.
I overheard some people talking about what was going on, a man sitting in a chair and an inquiring mother and kid. The man said “They all say the same thing, they don’t know each other, I have no idea what’s going on.” I smiled quietly to myself, as I was laying back and working on my “dress tan.” Those ankles are highly ignored, you know.
All in all, it was an incredible day of brightening people’s days and meeting new friends.
You owe me lunch someday, Max!
My best time was getting to play vollyball with the life guards….They told me this is a first….I said what playing with a 50 year old lady….They said no playing with a hot lady in an evening gown on the the beach.
I managed to convince my sister and father to come along to this, and my sister brought a friend. And it was so worth it, We all had enough fun for ten people! Maybe it was just new york, or maybe it was the strange event happening that day, but everyone was really nice. One stylish couple lent us a kite to fly around for 15 minutes, and we had a very nice conversation with them. The lady selling ice cream gave one to a friend for free, just because we made her day. However, their were two major highlights of my day I would like to note-
We started a chorus group somewhere in the center water, with about twenty people singing hits together like “Hey jude” and family guy songs. Can’t touch this got a few minutes, as did can’t stop believing and some I didn’t recognize.
Around 5:30, the group of well dressed people in my area started a game of red rover. Instant win. I was unaware it was such a violent game though, we had people who could of been james bond crashing through two ladies holding hands. It was very comical.
SHOUT-OUT TO TEAM #1 WE’RE BETTER THEN YOU, TEAM TWO!
Ok, Jake, yes, you are right. I got caught by Team One and they brought me over to the dark side. And they ended up winning, although Red Rover ended up devolving into everyone falling on the sand face down and crawling to the sea like baby turtles that had just hatched – Jake’s dad
I had 2 of the guys walking up and down the beach selling cold water meet and stop right next to me and start talking. They kept it up for over 5 minutes saying things like “they just came out of nowhere!”, and “I have no clue what is going on!”. They were wonderfully baffled by it, and finally walked off shaking their heads.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5070582&l=133e6bb9eb&id=641198172
Today was amazing! The men around us were very frustrated by our response of “we always dress up on Saturdays. Last week we went to the movies” Someone mentioned we must be from Germany as they do that sort of thing there. Can’t wait to do it again!
Today was extremely cool. I was only stopped and asked once, by someone who worked for the beach, why I was so dressed up, though I was stared at constantly, from the time I got out of the car. Personally, I had two favorite moments: The first being when a group of about 15 people all dressed up started singing together in the water (I was glad I was part of that group!) And the second being when a young kid said he was dressed up to “pick up some ladies.” It was my first mission, and I’m definately going to do another!
I’ve been following IE for awhile now and was so excited to finally participate in a mission! My friend and I got so many questions, similar to everyone’s experience so far. She’s not a fan of the ocean so one of my highlights was that I managed to get her waist deep in the water, in her gown!
Another highlight was a older Russian man on the boardwalk on our way out:
“Why are you all dressed up? What’s going on?”
“Oh, we just like to dress up for the beach!”
“But I saw 60 or 70 people in the park all in suits and dresses and then everyone went over to the beach. Is this one of those flash things?”
“Um, no, we don’t know them…”
I was so amazed that he knew about flash mobs!
This was such an amazing way to end my summer. Thank you!!
thanks for a great day!
my favorite was pretending like wearing a nice dress was perfectly normal and everyone wearing bathing suits was under dressed!
This was certainly an awesome mission. My friend and I happily told anyone who asked that the two of us were personally protesting the “Jersey Shore” and “beach-bum” culture and were trying to bring a little class to the beach.
My favorite encounter was with a lifeguard who promised us that we could walk out on the rock jetty (something that is generally forbidden) if we would just tell him what was going on. When we fed him the usual story, he looked at us incredulously, said “You can’t bullsh*t a bullsh*tter!” and stormed off.
Ariella, did that lifeguard have Rad Rick written on his shorts? If so, we talked to him, and he tried the same line on us. Excellent cover story.
This was my first mission, and I’ll definitely be back for more! Two highlights:
-My girlfriend and I were some of the last to actually get onto the beach. After we set up and had been sitting a few minutes, a woman in front of us woke up from a nap. It was great watching her process what must have happened while she was asleep!
-On the way out, I stopped at the men’s room, where another agent was using a urinal. I stood at the urinal one space away. A man (non-agent) arrived at the urinal between us, and looked back and forth between us suspiciously the whole time.
My first mission. My absolute favorite parts
1- Man in the brown visor who was SO frustrated because he didn’t understand what was going on! He asked EVERYONE that came by him
2- Overhearing a man in a tux tell a man in a speedo that he (man in tux) thought the man (man in speedo) was overdressed for the beach!
3- Woman on the phone telling her friend she had to call her back because there were people in formal wear, carying beach stuff and eating corndogs.
4- Man at the parking lot saying “look, here come a princess” then asking me what was going on. I said “If you can’t dress up to go to the beach, where can you dress up to go?
Thanks for a great first time IE experience!
After getting to the beach, I quickly befriended a stylish Russian woman who was sitting alone. She told me that she was watching her grandson who visiting for the day. I introduced myself and asked if she would mind watching my things while I went for a swim.
Smiling, she looked up at me from her striped chair, said that of course she would not mind., But then, in almost a whisper, she asked why all of us were so dressed up.
I told her that I couldn’t speak for anyone else, but that my two friends and I had never been to Coney Island, and we had been told how beautifully the Russian women here dress , and we did not want to feel out of place. Besides, I added, my friends were visiting from Ohio, and they always dress like this on Lake Erie.
Then, with a puzzled voice, and pointing to my one-strapped bright pink dress with sequins down the front, she added, “but that must have cost more than $100 (actually $19), and your silver shoes (which I walked the beach and swam in), here you are ruining them.”
I told her that especially in NY, that sometimes one had to risk ruin for style.
She told me I had a point, but again asked about the others. I told her that I could only speak for the 3 of us, as I didn’t know anyone else at the beach.
There’s nothing quite like a large group of finely attired beach-goers singing a rousing rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” then playing Marco Polo to pass a beautiful day at the beach! I came alone, and within minutes met a lot of folks who had done the same, and it was the best time! I think my favorite outfits included the man in the top hat, the woman in the fifties dress, and a woman in a lovely steampunk style outfit. Of course, the woman with the wrist corsage, and the ones with full length gloves were quite stylish!
We told curious onlookers that we had heard we should always dress up for outings in New York, and it drove them crazy trying to figure out what was going on. Our little group was near the Red Rover game and the concert in the water, it was great! We flew kites, made sandcastles (or applauded the efforts), and just thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I think the poor attendant in the ladies’ room went quite mad with all of us changing our dripping dresses in her nice clean facility!
This was my first mission for IE, and I know it won’t be my last. Props to everyone today, excellent fun!
This was amazing. I went with my daughter (12mo) who wore her best party dress and my two friends Andrew and Reina. We went straight for the Nathan’s hot dog stand where we were asked if we were in a wedding–a popular question. When we started spilling chili cheese dog all over our formal wear, we got a lot of gaping. One lady walked by us slowly three times before we stared at her and she said, “Thats a uh cute baby you got.” hahaha. We went over to the Cyclone where we got straight out “congratulations to whoever got married” and “you all are some kind of crazy #*!@*& wedding party” To which we casually replied, “no wedding, just enjoying the beach.” I loved the faces. We also had a young boy of 10 or so ask Andrew and Reina, “Is it because of your religion or something?”
I concur with others that this could be annual. ;-) I would love to swim, eat messily, ride roller coasters, and play in the sand in an evening gown again. How constrained you normally are in evening attire! A liberating experience for sure. ;-)
Thank you IE! We had a blast and will ready ourselves for whatever you have in store for our next mission!
Check out our pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2171705&id=1005919&l=d1a3bd9c75
Hi guys! I attended the black tie event today allong with my step daughter. We were both extremely excited to see the turnout. My personal highlight was at the very beggining where I got the oportunity to very briefly say hi to Charlie Todd and I got to shake his hand ( I wanted to jump up and down and hug him… but I did my best to keep my cool… I think I did pretty well! Lol).
It was a first for my step daughter and I and it really has been a great and fun experience. We got a lot of stares, and since we were one of the few latinas there, some spanish people approached us…asked if we spoke spanish in very broken english,, and once I said yes, she asked us what we were doing?! It took some time convincing her that we just love dressing up and feeling glamorous, even if its just to go to the beach. She then asked to take our picture.
Right after her, we had an older man come to us and told us we looked beautiful in our dresses. He too asked what the occasion was, after telling him our dress up excuse, he thank us.
He said”thank you for doing this, there are soo many of us here that are very sad, and you guys just put a big smile in our face”
He then proceded to take my picture, and shook my hand.
Thank you once again IE…. I love what you guys do. We can’t wait to see what pranks we can join in next!!!
We camped near a life guard who kept trying to figure out what it was all about. We wouldn’t tell him, but he guessed right away that it was some sort of “mission” and one of those things you see on the internet.
We had a great time swimming, kite flying, sand pyramid building, and then the highlight was definitely UNO H2O. UNO will never ever ever get boring!
Haha mmy friend Dan noted your waterproof Uno cards. That was definitely another detail which made the day great. Thanks!
Also dogged by a guy who wanted to know what was going on, when we repeatedly gave him the party line… he said “THAT’S WHAT EVERYONE IS SAYING. THIS BETER NOT BE SOME CULT!”
My friend Zoe casually told several people that she read on a NYC website that “this beach is formal on Saturdays” adding, “I thought everyone knew that”. Great line.
Wait, forgot one more overheard comment from a bunch sunbathing behind us “Hey, I think I’ve seen this kind of thing on the internet. They do stuff like this.” The guy’s buddy replied “What is it asshole.com?”