Pretty much in love with these cufflinks…that is all.

THE sailboat dress

Incessant scanning of the Mod Cloth website can lead you to discover new brands that you instantly love – I fell in love with this sailboat dress, and a quick search took me to the Trollied Dolly website. The sailboat dress was there, along with an array of colorful vintage-inspired dresses and tops in clever prints – dragonflies, butterflies, seagulls, honeybees, strawberries – essentially adorable overload.

Based out of the UK (like everything else I want to buy these days), Trollied Dolly is the brainchild of two sisters, Louise and Nicole, who share with us that “the Trollied Dolly range reflects the colour and vibrancy of far flung places, lively cultures and perky people, all shaken up with a slice of London Town and a splash of getting’ down! They believe in a land where bad outfits, dull fabrics and boring basics are banned and dreams of utter wardrobe brilliance really can come true!” Getting’ down means “let’s dance,” right?

I’m thinking yes – on top of the adorableness, these dresses are made of cotton – breatheable, danceable, washable cotton. Yes! Yes! Yes!

Here’s what I love from Trollied Dolly:

Green, butterflies, and a cutout

Watch the Birdie dress…hehehe

Buckle Down Dress

Hello Boys Peplum Top

I can’t resist a silver dance shoe and this 1930′s pair listed by FabGabs on Etsy is just perfect (except for the size – too narrow for me!) If you are a size 7 or 7.5 narrow you can pick up these gorgeous low-heeled beauties!

Do you have a 1940′s outfit? Are you attending All Balboa Weekend 2013? If the answer to both of these questions is yes, I would encourage you to participate in this year’s 1940′s fashion show at All Balboa Weekend! After the success of the 1930′s fashion show in 2011, Valerie Salstrom & Co. are bringing back the fashion show, highlighting a different swinging decade of fashion.

If you are interesting in appearing in your ensemble or modeling else’s clothing, please email me at caab241@hotmail.com. If you are wearing your own outfit, please email me a photo of the outfit (or outfits, we’re always up for a wardrobe change), preferably with you wearing it. If you are interested in modeling, please email me with your sizes (bust/waist/hip for women, jacket/waist/inseam for men).

Any ensemble will do – work-wear, military, gowns, nightgowns, swimwear, you name it, we’ll show it.

As I head east to the sands of Corolla, North Carolina for the Balboa Experiment, I leave you with a week-long Jitterbuggin spring sale – 25% off your order, now through Sunday, May 5 with the code “SPRING FLING.”

From the Brooks Brothers Great Gatsby Collection

With the pomp and fanfare given to Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming film rendition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” comes the opportunity for various merchants to cash in *ahem* I mean present collections of Gatsby era inspired clothing, rugs, shoes, flooring, you name it. It’s one of those things that sort of elicits a collective groan and, at the same time, a hope – a groan for the fad, the hyped up eBay prices for 20′s clothing, the assumption that you are part of the fad even though you’ve been an Art Deco lover for years; a hope that some really beautiful items will come of this that may not be plentiful in their vintage form.

I’d love to have a complete list of all the collections for 2013 that have been inspired by the movie – please feel free to submit your own! In the interim, here’s what I’ve been able to dig up:

(I’ll have to make an exception to my maximum price rule with this post, but Gatsby is all about luxury and what we can’t have, no?)

Brooks Brothers – there are several threads on Facebook criticizing the collection for its modern cuts, uniform hat sizing, and other elements that would either not be period appropriate or luxurious enough to warrant the cost. Yet, with a retailer as large and established as Brooks Brothers, one can always hope for knockoffs.

I would wear this EVERY DAY if I owned it.

Tiffany & Co. – some simply stunning pieces with, what I would consider, an appropriate mix of modern and Art Deco elements. Anyone with an extra $200,000 in their bank account can purchase one of the gorgeous headpieces… *drool*

Armstrong Hardwood Floors – I’m no wood floor expert, so I’m looking for a tie-in to the Gatsby era…perhaps inspired by hardwood flooring stains of the 1920′s? I do know that Tudor architecture was popular during the 1920′s, so their Oak – Tudor Brown makes sense. The rest, I’m not sure…

Rhapsody Rug by Catherine Martin

Sue Wong – designer Sue Wong debuted her Fall 2013 collection inspired by the Great Gatsby. The collection is not on her website and I’m having a hard time finding photos of the actual collection, rather than the celebrity attendees. From the scant photos, it looks to be a modern interpretation.

Catherine Martin Rugs – this is probably my favorite, these Art Deco rugs are just divine, pieces of art themselves.

We can keep going…I’m happy to add to the list, if you have others!

It’s been a while since I scoped out eBay for Aris Allens, there are a few good deals on the auction block this week:

Camel velvet oxfords, size 9.5, bidding at $26.95

Black t-strap heels, size 8, bidding starts at $14.99

Brown and white wingtips, size 10.5, buy it now $50.00

WordPress is telling me that today is my 3 year anniversary of registering and, with Lindy Shopper being my first WordPress.com blog, this means 3 years of blogging about swing dance clothing, shoes, and other things swing dancers may find useful. When I started this blog, it was at the whim/request of some local dancers here in Durham, NC, who encouraged me to share my knowledge of where to find these things and I’m certainly happy I listened to them!

Thank you to all of my readers and friends, who continue to encourage me, share their ideas and sources, and inspire me to write about what you were wearing and where you got it.

I often write about undergarment options for coverage when we wear skirts, but what about what we wear under our bloomers or our pants? What about the material? What about all that gross sweating we do? Where dudes bring multiple shirts to a dance weekend, I bring multiple pairs of underwear because there’s nothing worse that sitting around or dancing in a puddle of your own sweat (along those lines, there’s nothing better than putting on a fresh pair of underwear after you’ve danced, especially between a main dance and late night – file that under my body odor commentary).

Cotton breathes, but it also soaks everything up. Synthetics can be icky in terms of odor and I usually don’t like they way the feel against my skin. Can we get some technology in here to engineer us some undies?

Montreal dancer Alisha Ruiss sent me a link to this great Indiegogo campaign for Thinx: Change Your Underwear, “where technology and fashion intersect to solve a global problem.” How is this underwear smart? You can check out the diagram to the right, and then listen when I tell you that it

1) Is leak/stain-resistant, anti-microbial, moisture-wicking and lasts for several years

2) Acts as back-up to traditional methods of leakage prevention during your period (but will not replace these during heavier days – they are working on creating this style next!)

3) Completely replaces liners on light days

Thank you for the different coverage options!

Whaaaaaa?! So this is obviously super practical in real life, and in your dance life having that bit of extra protection there for potential leakage (because we move around a lot, just like athletes, and we sometimes lose track of time…) or just sweat absorption could make the world of difference in your comfort at a dance, on any day of the year.

They had a previously successful Kickstarter campaign, but due to the nature of Kickstarter they were not able to raise money for a cause, which is the intersection of this project.

From the Indiegogo page:

For more information on AFRIpads, visit afripads.com

“Beyond our own desire for the smartest underwear for our drawer, we found out that there was an even bigger problem for girls and women in the developing world.

Girls in the developing world are missing up to a week of school per month and using unimaginable things to manage their monthly cycle like twigs, leaves, newspaper, plastic bags or dirty rags. In Africa alone, 67 million girls have dropped out entirely which overwhelmingly leads to early marriage, pregnancy and a greater difficulty in raising themselves out of poverty.

THINX is part of the solution. For every pair of THINX you buy, you help fund the production of a 7-pad washable kit for a woman or girl in the developing world via our partnership with AFRIpads. This kit helps create local jobs and empower the economy while also helping keep girls in school during that time of the month.”

Can you imagine what these girls have to give up? I know I can’t – and I’ll remember this every time I take my ability to leave the house during my period for granted.

I am excited that smarter solutions are being developed, with women all over the world in mind. Looking forward to seeing more from this company.