Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers

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World’s Fair

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Lindy Shopper | 2 Comments

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

Scarf from 1939 World's Fair

I’m still looking for the perfect compact and keep coming across ones I like from the swing era World’s Fairs. The World’s Fair is a series of large expos held in different countries, the highlight of which were the national pavilions, created by participating countries. According to Wikipedia, the early expos, starting in the early 1800′s and, until the late 1930′s, were focused on trade and “were the platform where the state of the art in science and technology from around the world was brought together.” After that, the World’s Fair focused more on cultural exchange. Key expos of the swing era held in the United States were Chicago in 1933 and New York in 1939 (the 1939 World’s Fair also featured performances from Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers). The merchandising opportunities for these expos were in abundance and you saw everything stamped with a world’s fair logo, from silk scarves to money clips to parasols.

Here are a few fun World’s Fair items on eBay:

1933 World's Fair pin - I think it would be hilarious to see this on someone's lapel - "You were there? Really??"

1933 World's Fair walking stick/cane - for that soft shoe routine you've been working on

1933 World's Fair Japanese silk scarf - seller says her mother-in-law kept it in her cedar chest for over 60 years

1939 World's Fair parasol

1939 World's Fair Persian lamb fur muff

1933 World's Fair Japanese silk scarf

1933 World's Fair radio in original box

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Posted in 1930's

Tagged 1933, 1939, button, cane, Chicago, eBay, I was there, New York, parasol, radio, scarf, Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, World's Fair

What’s Old is New: A Day at the Races

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Lindy Shopper | 1 Comment

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

I love magazines that do the “real” v. “steal” spreads – taking designer and runway ensembles and translating them into more affordable pieces to create the same or a similar looking ensemble. I’ve been wanting to do this on Lindy Shopper, but instead of designer, take looks from iconic Lindy Hop photographs or videos and create an ensemble using modern pieces of clothing. I love doing this for Halloween costumes, but it does take patience to find each piece.

So here we go! For the first ensemble in this series, I’m looking to A Day at the Races, the classic Marx Brothers film from 1937 featuring Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers. For the most part, the dancers appear in street clothing, but there are two follows wearing bias cut plaid skirts that really pop on the silver screen, the bold pattern contrasting with the more solid colors on the extras in the background. It’s no secret that I love plaid and this is a great use of plaid to draw attention to these two follows.

For the most part, the two outfits are the same: bias cut plaid skirt, white socks, dark shoes, and a collared blouse/sweater. The first plaid skirted follow has a low heeled t-strap shoe and a wing collared short sleeve sweater, while the second has a low heeled oxford and a collared blouse, which may or may not be under some sort of short sleeved sweater. The white socks also help draw attention to the follower’s footwork, especially with the t-straps.

It’s always interesting to see exactly what pieces come together to make up an ensemble. Sometimes it’s more simple (or more complicated) than you think. I had no trouble finding the skirt or the shoes, but the tops were quite difficult and I’m still empty handed on the lace trim collared shirt. Here’s what I was able to dig up to help achieve this look: