Month: May 2010

Anthropologie cherries dress

Oh, this dress! It is a truly exquisite piece from Anthropologie – the little cherries are made with wonderful embroidery techniques, the skirt is twirly with an additional layer of flounce at the green gingham on the bottom, it is made of a wonderful lightweight cotton, there is elastic smocking in the back for a more custom fit, the gingham has green piping, and there is a wonderful fabric covered button front and center on the chest.

I purchased this dress in 2002 from eBay, after pining over it in the Anthropologie catalog, and wore it for years until it no longer fit. There are so many happy memories of the ECU Swing Dance Club and dances at the Durham Armory in this dress! Once it was time to say goodbye, I listed it on eBay and it promptly sold for more than I had paid for it – not only is it gorgeous, it’s a sound clothing investment.

I am showing a picture of me wearing this dress, circa 2003, because the dress form in the eBay auction picture doesn’t really fill out the dress and it’s always better to see it on real person. If I hadn’t sworn off halter dresses, I’d keep this auction to myself. 😉

Sock Dreams

Socks are a critical part of every swing dancer’s wardrobe, regardless of gender. I stumbled upon this fantastic website devoted to socks, called Sock Dreams. I was specifically looking for striped socks for men, but I was delighted to see that this site does not differentiate its sock genders:

“What is it that makes a sock specifically a man’s sock? We’ve long wondered this and avoided the label for years, but here it is, our “Men’s socks” section. These are socks that our suppliers label as “Men’s” plus some others that fit the niche…”

It’s a free-for-all!

Socks for men and women – take your pick from their wide selection of excellent socks. Here are a few of my favorites:

A classic chevron sock that comes in an array of conservative and not-so-conservative colors.
Fairisle socks, multiple colors to choose from.
Stripes! More colors!
Circuit boards...certainly not in the vintage style, but I know enough techie Lindy Hoppers that this was a necessary post. They are also in classic two-tone.
Sock garters. These always make me think of old cartoons...
Argyle socks are the hotness! More colors on the website.
More argyle hotness!
Floral lace trouser socks, more colors on website.
Dotted diamond tights.
Zurich texture tights.

Urban Outfitters, May 2010 Catalog

I got the Urban Outfitters catalog in the mail yesterday and was pleasantly surprised at the offerings. Lately I felt like Urban had gone astray, focusing on clothing items that look like something I could find at Goodwill and would never wear (as opposed to items I could find at Goodwill and would definitely wear) or it was just more of the same hipster garb I already had in my closet. However, they appear to be coming out of this sort of ratty, gross phase and are offering some really interesting pieces, including clothing and shoes that appear to be dance-worthy. I began dog-earring the pages of my catalog immediately and, upon closer inspection of the website there are even more pretty things for guys and gals, more than I am posting here. Here’s what I liked:

The catalog showed these shoes in black, with black fishnets and painted toes - very hot! They come in a hot pink, too. 😉
Chiffon lady dress - maybe to go with those pink t-straps? Also comes in blue and gray.
Loving all this chiffon - this one comes in a berry stripe, too!
Nice detailing on the puff sleeve - comes in several prints.

Chiffon drop waist dress. I love that they have the models twirling in some of these dresses to show off the fluid skirts!

Art Deco inspired tank
Tap shorts!
For the guys, I liked these sneakers with a sort of cross-hatch fabric.
An interesting take on the saddle shoe, for men.
Classic Bass saddle shoe
Stripey socks! They also have argyle and plaid.
Straw fedora, comes in four colors.

This week’s lovelies from eBay

Another bevy of beautiful garments, courtesy of my favorite shopping website:

Let's start things off with this lovely red and white striped 1940's blouse.
This yellow sleeveless 1940's dress is perfect for spring and, from the looks of it, that skirt has some twirl potential.
This confection in pale pink crepe not only has a peplum, brooch, and matching belt and buckle, but also comes with a blue jacket and matching pink stockings. This auction is loaded with goodies!
I am intrigued by this dress, as it somehow manages to be both girly and intimidating. Black + ruffles/rickrack = sinister pinup?
I love this 1940's coral color and the beading on the bodice of this dress is gorgeous.
A sweet 1930's linen dress.
I can't resist a gingham dress with pockets!

Anna Sui Deco Tree dress

Is there something about this dress, upon closer inspection…is that…is that a peplum? I believe it is. Anna Sui’s Deco Tree dress sports a retro print and a serious peplum that originates in the front in two pieces and continues to the back, cascading all the way to the hem. At $186, on sale at that, it’s out of the price range I like to post, but I couldn’t resist showing a modern peplum dress on the blog. My guess is the Forever 21 knockoff isn’t far behind…

Aris Allen black and silver oxford, size 11

Lindy Shopper Classified Ad – For sale by owner: A pair of lovely Aris Allen black and silver 1930’s style oxford heels, size 11, barely used, $50 or best offer. According to the seller, Julia Seymour, there are “two tiny scratches (from the heels hitting together) on the right shoe and a small indentation on the same shoe. I don’t know how much shipping would be so let’s say $55 total and I’ll pay the shipping (standard in the US). I can be reached by email to work out the details: juliaseymour.writer@gmail.com.”

Remix “Dara” shoe

This is my main shoe. If I could wear this shoe every day with a sundress, I would, and it would go with all of them. This shoe kept up with a pair of Chacos on a two week tour of Italy, all terrains and weather, and was just as comfortable as a pair of athletic sandals. You think your Remix heels are comfortable? Let me invite you to enjoy the bedroom slipper of the Remix line…

This pair of Dara shoes in pewter is on eBay for $140 or you can get them at the Remix site for $168. Unlike other Remix shoes, I’ve only seen this pair available on eBay twice, and I bought the first pair. 😉 Yes, this is spendy. No, I didn’t pay that much, I got my pair for an even lower price on eBay. But think about it – a shoe that goes with everything, can be worn under almost any conditions (except maybe hot lava), that is so comfortable, AND is adorable. I challenge you to find a more versatile pair of sandals!

I also found this pair in red in a size 6 for $118 on Amazon.com.

This shoe does not have a leather sole, but don’t discount it for dance purposes yet! For me, it serves as the ever critical arrival and departure shoes – you can’t mess up your suede soles, but you should still show up to the dance in a great pair of shoes! They are extra critical for the departure, as nothing feels better than a pair of cool, comfortable, ventilated flats on your hot, tired feet after a long night of dancing.