This was posted to the Bloody Edith Facebook page, so maybe coming soon? This color combo is * chef’s kiss *
I’m feeling what Bloody Edith is putting down. Specializing in reproductions of the 1930s through the 1950s, Bloody Edith has distinguished itself from other reproduction brands by offering pieces (lots of great separates) that I haven’t seen in colors that I also haven’t necessarily seen and everything looks lovely and wearable. Based in Milan, Italy, their website is mostly in Italian, so I’ll stick to the Etsy page for links to purchase.
From the Philosophy section of their website:
“Each garment is designed and hand made by crossing a taste for the past to the advantage of a new item. In the roman tailoring shop are born dresses with floral theme stealing the colors of Hawaii, high-waisted trousers with a characteristic cuff that remind us of the big screen’s divas, screwed jackets and animalier shirts. This is not a simple reproduction of the Forties and Fifties fashion, but a unique replica of the trends that have left an indelible mark in the history of costume, to return to woman the pleasure of a single item, freeing her from the trends imposed by a market fashion plagued by the products in series.”
I like this idea of trends leaving a mark on history – as we all know, nothing is ever new in fashion, as it constantly draws references from the past. I also like the idea of being free of trends. Style blogs often preach basics, but basics are informed by personal style, body shape, the needs of the wearer, and beyond. Basic never has to be boring if it’s something you reach for in your closet over and over.
Of particular note are the excellent knits – knitwear used to be completely evasive and that has been slowly changing in the reproduction business, but is still not quite there as compared to other clothing items offered. I prefer natural fibers and was delighted to see knits in cotton and wool.
My only complaint is the size range – I am a very average size, even smaller than the actual average size woman in the US, and I clicked on several bottoms and probably won’t fit into the largest size. The 1950s jeans offered are not commensurate with actual 1950s jeans I own, which have a generous waist/hip ratio to accommodate a number of different hip measurements. I am assuming this is a modern accommodation, since the majority is so used to wearing tight denim, which I shall never understand.
Here’s what I’m loving on their Etsy page:
Just over here dying, floored, etc. – loooooooooooooooooove this sweater.Lots of 30s/40s trousers out there, but I’m not sure I’ve seen many that accommodate a belt – a great option.I love a jumper/pinafore – this black and white plaid is giving me The Queen’s Gambit vibes.OK, but I need these overalls – please make larger sizes… ❤
They really deserve a standing ovation. I’ve been following Sweden based clothing company Emmy for several years after their high quality winter cardigans came on my radar and have picked up a couple of pieces from each twice yearly collection since then, but the Spring/Summer 2021 collection took my breath away. Timely titled “Homebound Holiday,” it’s far from leggings and tees – it feels more like a collection of hope, for all sorts of occasions and things I want to do outside of my home and look fabulous doing it.
The collection takes inspiration from so many early 20th century sources, from Edwardian day wear to 1940s sportswear. If you like mixing and matching eras, this is a fab collection. The color coordination is superb – there are so many capsule wardrobes that could be put together from the collection with the purchase of a few pieces to mix and match to create multiple outfits. Also, part of Emmy’s philosophy is that all of their collections will coordinate with past collections so that you are building a wardrobe rather than starting over with new color schemes each season, so if you’re thinking about jumping in, I can assure you that the water is fine.
I am perhaps most excited about the bottoms in this collection, which can be difficult for summer plus dancing. If you are not a skirts person, I would highly encourage you to take a jaunt to the Emmy pants and shorts page and behold the summer weight fabrics in colors and neutrals. The Hayworth Holiday shorts are beyond adorable, and if, like me, you struggle with thigh circumference with shorts, the adorable pleats in the front look like leg liberation. I can’t resist a romper, so of course there are four to choose from. The addition of belt loops to the romper is brilliant to accommodate a variety of waist sizes and to give the option of a cinch when you need it and taco room when you don’t. There are three styles of trousers to accommodate styling preferences, two that can be paired with braces (that you can also buy on the website). Finally, there are adorable overalls in two neutrals and two candy colors that make me smile.
I could go on and on about everything, but I need to trust that you will go and see for yourself. I believe there’s something for everyone in this collection and look forward to wearing my pieces in the future for work, dancing, play, hanging out, visiting, exploring – everything we haven’t been able to do in the past year.
This deep red dress could be accessorized for day, evening, summer, holiday, winter, basically anything
For some reason, the 1920s is the most difficult for finding good reproductions. Perhaps it’s a combination of post-1920s Hollywood changing [ruining] the popular conception of what people wore or that the silhouette of the garments, once considered liberating, are taken to look unflattering by today’s standards. As someone who owns real 1920s clothing and good reproductions, I can attest that these garments are comfortable and, if the fit and fabric are good, they can be very flattering. The irony to all of this is that modern pop culture seems to love the 1920s, calling on the decade to provide themes for weddings and parties, leaving the participants/invitees scratching their heads and saying, “What do I wear for this?” Add to this the fact that swing dancers often learn a heavy dose of 1920s based dances, form dance troupes that perform 1920s-inspired dances, and may get called upon to perform, either as a performance group or as individual/social dancers to add to the ambiance of an event. At this point, I’d say a seasoned jazz dancer should have at least one serviceable and passable 1920s styled outfit in their closet for just these occasions.
I’ve blogged in the past about beaded reproduction 1920s dresses, but beads and sequins are not good for social dancing, as they tend to cut into your partner’s hands at touch points. Beads, sequins, and fringe are all well and great, but they aren’t the ONLY options for evening wear (and they certainly weren’t day wear) – so what do we wear?
One possible answer is to purchase a dress from Etsy seller LaVieDelight, who specializes in 1920s style dresses, bags, coats, and coordinating hats for a variety of occasions, all offering a number of styles, colors, and fabrics that are evocative of the decade. The company is based on Bangkok, Thailand and offers some standard sizing guidelines that appear to end on the small end of the sizing range, but they are really making each garment custom for the wearer and offer customization up to a 48 inch bust at the price listed, with the option of a greater than 48 inch bust at some additional charge. There are no additional fees for customization and the turnaround time is between 7 and 10 days (plus shipping time, presumably).
I really like the idea of LaVieDelight’s dresses for dance performances because they come in an array of colors, but also can be solid so that you can add things like hats/headdresses, jewelry, gloves, and other inspired accessories either to make it signature to your look. It’s the 1920s equivalent of buying that little black dress and making it the go-to in your closet depending on what you add to it – although, take heed, the 1920s loved color and I would encourage you to embrace a color other than black for your LaVieDelight dress, particularly if you are planning on making this dress your day AND evening 1920s dress.
OK, OK, I know this isn’t basic, but y’all know this SPEAKS to meThis slate gray with floral detail and pink trim is another option that would read day/night or warm/cool weather depending on accessories.Prints can also be versatile! This is another year-round dress IMO – click through to see that they’ve photographed it with white accessories in one photo and black accessories in another.
I will always love the experience of shopping at brick and mortar vintage stores the most, but online vintage shopping has opened up a world of opportunity and access. In the beginning the hot spot was eBay, then the launch of Etsy seemed to take over the vintage market. With Etsy changing their policies in ways that didn’t work for vintage sellers, I’ve seen people migrate to Facebook groups, Instagram sales, and some establishing their own websites. What about the casual seller or someone who needs to offload a few pieces? There wasn’t a single go-to place for buying/selling vintage clothing.
With all of this in mind, longtime vintage clothing collector and seller Laura Hipshire launched Garb of Ages, a website dedicated to the buying and selling of vintage clothing and accessories. The format looks similar to selling on Poshmark, where you create a listing and potential buyers can search, like, make an offer, or buy the item as listed. The listings are only for items made before the year 2000, to keep things truly vintage and distinguish from other consignment websites.
The fees look reasonable: Buyers pay a $1.95 fee for sales under $20 and 15% of total sales over $20. Sellers pay $.25 cents to PayPal when purchase is confirmed.
This all looks fairly straightforward – let’s give it a go, shall we? I’ll be exploring the listings and adding items of my own in the coming weeks that are left from my @lindyshopperscloset Instagram sales under the user name lindyshopperscloset. It looks like they are still getting started, but I’m excited to see where this website goes!
It cannot be overstated the impact COVID-19 has had on all aspects of our swing dance community and, while our old way of life seems distant at the moment, I see friends and colleagues finding new ways to both support themselves and endear them to us. New Orleans based swing dance instructor Mia Goldsmith Halloran and jazz trombonist Charlie Halloran are two of my favorite people – I have been an ardent admirer of Mia’s dancing for so many years and Charlie is an incredible and versatile musician with whom both my husband and I have enjoyed sharing the stage – and I watched them on social media as they, like so many friends, figured out their next steps.
They did an adorable series of YouTube music videos (Quarantunes) and Charlie’s trombone duet with his neighbor from their respective porches went viral. Then I saw Charlie had gotten a sewing machine, which has become one of the central pieces of my pandemic activities, and cheered him on. Then Mia messaged me that she was starting an online vintage clothing business and we discussed logistics.
As is common with people with excellent taste, both of them have already excelled in their offerings.
Mia launched Golden Levee Vintage last month as an Instagram-based shop at @goldenleveevintage – I know Mia has collected vintage clothing for a long time and, like anyone who has, you likely have enough vintage to open up a de facto shop. Beyond that, it looks that she may have been collecting in earnest to start a vintage shop, which has been a dream of hers. Mia’s initial offerings in the past two months have been an excellent mix of 1940s through 1990s vintage, with a distinctly wonderful Mia viewpoint – even the later vintage has the nod to a prior era (hello, 90s tropical rayon does 40s dress I missed out on because I am SLOW) and everything is cheerful, embracing color. If Mia’s shop was a mood board, it would evoke words like tropical, comfort, dance-friendly, lounge, elegant, fun, light, color, whimsical, basically an aspirational wardrobe for my fantasy life in New Orleans. Follow her and watch for more goodness!
Charlie and his new sewing machine created Crescent Pennant Co. (@crescentpennantco), with handmade pennants in classic style featuring mostly New Orleans locations. This might seem like a hyper-local focus to some, but since New Orleans is the cradle of jazz, the locations have meaning to a wider audience – particularly if you know what it means to miss New Orleans. My absolute favorite pennant he’s created thus far is for Armstrong’s Secret 9, Louis Armstrong’s baseball team. Within weeks of launch, local boutiques were already buzzing and he’s been working hard to fill orders and create new custom designs.
Follow these two Instagram accounts for more goodness in the future – cheers!
I got a gut punch the other day when someone posted online about Loco Lindo’s collaboration with someone/something named Scout (feel free to explain this to me, I couldn’t locate info on the website), everything in seersucker and 40’s inspired. I was looking at a vintage romper I owned – same pattern, same material, only the romper in my closet was starting to get snug and uncomfortable for dancing. THIS WAS MY CHANCE AT REDEMPTION. I didn’t hesitate to place an order for the Carolina Romper (they are coming for me, DIRECTLY). It arrived and has all the bells and whistles of my vintage romper, only the new one is green (old one was red) and it fits me so comfortably. Check out this collection on the Loco Lindo website – the romper comes in green and blue and the collection features other pieces, like a 40’s dress, 40’s skirt, and tie top, all of which look really comfy and come in green, blue, red, and yellow.
Lindy Shopper’s Closet Episode 6 is up and I’m talking about the Art Deco Ocean Queen ensemble I wore for NYE 2017 at Lindy Focus. This is probably the last episode for the foreseeable future – I am an essential employee and have been working mostly from home, but on top of my city re-opening in two weeks (and going back to my office full-time), I find that I am way more busy than I anticipated. Family law is booming (my day job) and I have enough engagement with music-related projects that producing these videos is no longer in the cards. I hope you enjoyed these, I have enjoyed making them, if only to be able to talk to myself in my guest room about clothing and shoes that I love.
Lindy Shopper’s Closet Episode 2 is up and I talk about the pandemic’s effects on the swing dance community and what I would have worn to canceled events for which I had already planned outfits. We’ll call this the learning curve episode, I talk too much, I tried to wear too many outfits, and there are some things I would change and realized I forgot to do, but if you want to hang out with me and talk about clothes and how the pandemic has impacted life and the life of your music/dancer friends, you’re probably going to appreciate it. I’ve also posted a ton of links to things I mention in the episode – pandemic relief resources, events and musicians affected by the pandemic, and resources for the clothing and accessories I talk about in the episode.
The Hyatt Regency Newport Beach greets you with full California spendor
I attended my very first California Balboa Classic – aka Cal Bal – last month and I’d say I don’t know what took me so long, but I have another hobby that managed to conflict with this event year after year. I made the decision to choose Cal Bal this year and Cal Bal did such a great job welcoming me with open arms that I didn’t want to leave. It’s also the first event I’ve attended in several years that I was not hired as a musician, so there was ample time for dancing between DJ shifts, which I have sorely missed and desperately needed.
To set the vendor scene, you need to understand the layout of the hotel – this is a hotel event, but this is not your typical hotel. The Hyatt Regency Newport Beach is more of a complex, with lovely outdoor spaces connecting separate buildings, taking advantage of what are usually mild temperatures in southern California. The ballroom was a separate building within the hotel complex and to enter the ballroom, one had to walk down a little path and through a large covered-but-open-to-the-air space. It was a bit chilly at night, so the covered outdoor space had some temporary walls and heaters, as well as couches for sitting (basking) under said heaters, a snack station, a cash bar, and all the vendors for the event. Had the temps at night been a little warmer, the vendor location would have been truly ideal – during the day it was lovely.
There are so many colors in this, it goes with so many things!
Cal Bal had some great merch this year – you’ve already seen my post about the Kendra Dandy designed scarves and pocket squares, and there were also pins, bags, and tee shirt designs (one even featuring the Rendezvous Ballroom). I was elated to see a green tee shirt with musicians on it, so that came home with me! If you aren’t sure how to style your large Kendra Dandy Cal Bal scarf, Cleveland dancer and instructor Alexis Davila posted an awesome/adorable/creative video on Facebook of several different ways to wear it on your head – I believe you can still order one, it looks they are up on the Cal Bal web store.
At this point, I’m blessed that Re-mix Vintage Shoes owner Philip Heath knows me by sight and always gives me a little tidbit to keep me coming back for more. This year, the buzz was the production of a gold Opera model, which had previously been relegated to suede (which I don’t prefer to try to maintain) – since metallics are my go-to neutral, this was a delightful new development and I was excited that this particular model fit my particular feet, having never previously tried on any Opera model.
I didn’t notice the new addition to the men’s shoes (maybe a Fairway or a variation thereof? I’m not seeing it on the website) until Nicholas Centino posted the photo below of their gloriousness, but there’s a new two tone brown oxford with perforations that is so subtle and lovely. I’m also not seeing them on the Re-mix website, so pick up that phone…
Subtle and sweet oxfords by Re-mix – photo courtesy of Nicholas Centino
Next stop in the circle of vendors was the new-to-me Swankys Vintage, who appeared to have mostly menswear and some women’s items, with a mix of Swankys reproductions and vintage clothing, with a very 1940’s/50’s California aesthetic in terms of styling and color palette. The reproductions were almost seamless with the vintage at first glance, the textures, fabrics, and colors were so spot on. Lots of clothing that evoked comfort, ease, and fun, as well as some really nice looking classics, like tweed trousers with a buckle back. It was so nice to see more of a focus on menswear, which tends to be minimal to non-existent in terms of vending at events.
California vintage and repro by Swankys Vintage – it’s hard to tell what in this photo is vintage and what is repro
I’ll also give an honorable mention to the gent who set up a mostly vintage men’s shop for Saturday night, who I asked for a business card and he said this was his last vending spot ever and that he was liquidating his collection and selling it to another vintage seller. It is hard work running these vendor spots/booths at events, carting around inventory, being present to run the shop, paying vendor fees and for hotel rooms, so my hat’s off to all the vendors – whether you’re still in the game or getting out, this is an important part of events and I’m appreciative of everyone who shows up.
I’m always excited to see Jenna Applegarth‘s Applejacks shoes at events, as I’ve probably learned more from her than anyone about the extensive and often frustrating process of designing, producing, and shipping dance shoes – I’m completely invested in this storyline and here for all subsequent chapters. Remember that this is a labor of love each time you buy a dance shoe made by swing dancers for swing dancers! I know several of us are eagerly anticipating the new models (I swear I saw green on Instagram), but the models out right now are particularly well-suited to Balboa. One of my friends noted that she didn’t necessarily know what she’d wear with the rose gold shoes, but that they felt so good on her feet that it didn’t matter. Good thing metallics are neutrals!
Applejacks’ army of Balboa-ready Seneca shoes
Next up in our tour of vendors was Swingbird Fashions, who I have previously blogged about in terms of an Etsy shop, but since that post this brand has expanded greatly and wonderfully. I am terribly sad that I was not able to meet the creator of these garments, Leea Kuronen from Denver, Colorado (it’s hard to be at your booth at every minute of the day, I completely understand) because I was smitten with everything – the colors, the fabric selection, and all the lovely details. There’s this one green dress with white soutache detail that is absolutely to-die-for – I saw both Teni Lopez-Cardenas and Heather Ballew had purchased one of these dresses and wore them in competitions that very weekend. It’s an I NEED TO WEAR THIS NOW kind of dress! Lovely trousers, skirts, blouses, and dresses all around – this corner of the room made me smile.
Swingbird Fashions’ dress of the weekend – SOUTACHE, Y’ALL, BY HAND
Across the room Loco Lindo represented with their line of crepe printed dresses, blouses, skirts, pants, and, of utmost importance, their Venice Beach clip dress, recreated from the one worn by Genevieve Grazis in said clip, she of the many gored twirly skirt. It’s honestly super gratifying to see a whole line of them on a rack, knowing the history behind the dress and the process of getting this dress reproduced – get your twirl on and your shuffle on, let’s do this! On a related note, I’m sad I missed the crunchy sound of shuffling on sand the Monday of Cal Bal where everyone met on the beach near the site of the former Rendezvous Ballroom – living that beach clip dream…
Beach Clip twirls as far as the eye can see…
Sharing the space with Loco Lindo was Jen Gomez of Bandini St., who typically also shares a space at Camp Hollywood. It’s a great idea, to share space, share labor, and have that symbiotic relationship of pairing dresses with hair accoutrements immediately. This is probably going to be super personal to my preferences, but I was particularly happy to see pairs of hair flowers that were an ideal size (Goldilocks here, not too big, not too small…), flat – but with enough texture to be interesting, and a color gradient so that it goes with various shades of whatever color it represents. VERY SPECIFIC. I need to go through my closet to see what I might need, as these are available on the Bandini St. Etsy shop in several colors.
Basically my perfect size dance-friendly hair flower
Finally, we’ve reached the lovely Saint Savoy booth at Cal Bal, with a candy colored array of heels and flats. While their Riviera model remains the most popular and is available in a wide array of colors, I heard lots of talk about their oxfords for women being particularly comfortable. A few other notes: 1) I’m pretty sure their Grace shoe in Neptune is one of the most beautiful dance shoes ever made. I own a pair and I only wear them for singing because I would Gollum-style freak out if anything ever happened to them; 2) I’m having feelings about their The Whip oxford in Mulled Wine because I had a pair of Doc Martens in high school with a similar color gradient and broguing (a whole different level of nostalgia); and 3) it was nice to see their Grand Prix t-strap dance flat in person – loving all the variety in heel heights, thank you, more of this from dance shoe makers, please. 🙂
And that’s a wrap – I hope I haven’t missed anyone! I loved all the vendors, thank you again for your time and energies in attending Cal Bal and creating products with the swing dance community in mind.
Saint Savoy Riviera shoes in so many lovely colors
Saint Savoy’s Grand Prix in neutrals – ready to be the work-horse of your dance shoe wardrobe.
Bandini St.’s array of headbands
Love this print on a peplum’ed Loco Lindo dress
Cheerful yellow trousers from Swingbird Fashions
Wrap dress goodness from Swingbird Fashions
I love the little kiltie detail on Applejacks’ Newport shoe
Excited to be here, got some loot!
Men’s trousers by Swankys Vintage, giving me pants envy…
Racks of candy colored shirts, by Swankys Vintage
The brand new gold Opera by Re-mix
The Minnie shoe just absolutely kills me with adorableness
So many people love fall – while I dislike the idea of temperatures plummeting toward winter, I do love the sights and flavors of fall, particularly those involving Halloween – you may have noticed that I love to dress up and a costume is, for me, dressing up to the fullest! I happened upon Kitschy Witch Designs earlier this year and essentially everything on this website is what I imagine as lovely and fun imagery around the Halloween season, taking inspiration from literature (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the Wizard of Oz), pop culture (Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride), and vintage notions of magic (fortune tellers, magicians, and the hallows eve itself).
Kitschy Witch Designs features the fabric, clothing, bag, and jewelry designs of artist and entrepreneur Stephanie Buscema, whose designs are fun, whimsical, and vintage-inspired. From the website:
“My mission is to create unique collections of items you won’t be able to find anywhere else. Items are made in small limited edition batches, with our custom fabrics and clothing being printed and sewn here in the USA.
All art, textiles and designs are created by me in my home studio with real paints, paper and pencils, using traditional image making methods to create just about everything you’ll find here. Carefully curated and of course, made with the utmost love and care, KWD is most definitely my passion project. My hopes are you’ll find a few things here that will make you smile and bring a little magic into your life!”
I am absolutely smitten with the latest collection inspired by the Wizard of Oz – once you’ve been Dorothy in a community theater production of the musical, you basically never need to let that go (is what I am telling myself). If 1950’s silhouettes are not your bag, there are plenty of other items on the website with more universal appeal – totes, clutches, makeup bags, scarves, jewelry, and sunglasses – which can be used year-round. I know for some people Halloween is a state of mind and I think Kitschy Witch expands upon that to glorious effect.
What a glorious (green!) and colorful print (green!)!
The Triangle dancers are in a flurry preparing for the inaugural Bull City Swingout (July 12-14, 2019) and we are so excited to share with you all the lovely things our area has to offer – doing my part here and sharing all of my local vintage clothing and jewelry haunts. While the event is walkable within downtown Durham, North Carolina, if you want the full vintage shopping experience, you will need to venture out in a car – however, there are two vintage stores in the downtown area, so even if you don’t have a car you won’t miss out. I’ll start with the stores closest to the event and work our way (distance-wise) out from there.
DOLLY’S VINTAGE
213 W. Main St. (2 blocks from the Durham Armory)
Durham, NC
Tuesday – Friday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Dolly’s is a vintage clothing store and gift shop, offering both men’s and women’s clothing in addition to some fun Durham merch, cute gifts, and some downtown necessities (i.e. umbrellas in case you forgot yours, socks for jurors who get cold at the courthouse). Most of the clothing will be 1950’s-1980’s, but there are a few Art Deco gems hanging around – there’s a brown crepe and sequin evening gown and matching bolero from the 1930’s in there right now that better go home with someone! Dolly’s is only two blocks away from my office and is my haven when I need a cheerful place to be during a lunch break – say hi to Larisa Harrison, the owner, or maybe local artist Anna Wallace will be working that day. This is also where I take most of my vintage clothing that no longer fits.
GIBSON GIRL VINTAGE
1001 W. Chapel Hill St.
Durham, NC
Open 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. (closed on Mondays, open ’til 8 p.m. on Thursdays)
Owner Sara Spissu opened Gibson Girl Vintage a few months ago and she’s already got a full shop with more inventory coming in all the time – every time I go in, there’s new things to see, which is all very exciting. Gibson Girl has both men’s and women’s clothing, as well as a good bit of furniture and housewares. Like Dolly’s, it will mostly be 1950’s-1980’s clothing, with a sprinkling of earlier clothing – there’s a lovely yellow lace 1930’s dress and some hawt black 1940’s pumps (size 7.5) in there right now that I wish fit me! It’s about a 20 minute walk from the Durham Armory – if you decide to take that hike, there are some other great things within this block of the city, like the Durham Co-op Market, Grub (a yummy restaurant), and a Joe Van Gogh coffee shop.
CARLISLE & LINNY VINTAGE JEWELRY
112 S. Churton St.
Hillsborough, NC
Tuesday – Friday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday – 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday – Monday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
If you like vintage jewelry, Carlisle & Linny is the stuff dreams are made of, stocking Victorian through 1970’s jewelry, and not in a token way – there are so many Art Deco pieces that I spent about two hours in the store the first time I went, mulling over the pieces I should buy. I am fairly indecisive, particularly when there are so many lovely things…regardless, this tiny shop is packed to the gills and there’s even more in the back. If you are looking for something specific, reach out to owner Lindsley Bown ahead of time to see if she might have something – her inventory is deep, jewelry is small, so it takes some effort to find things. This shop is about a 17 minute drive from the Durham Armory and downtown Hillsborough is adorable – there are several good restaurants and a wonderful chocolate shop, Matthew’s Chocolates, within a couple of blocks of the shop.
RALEIGH VINTAGE
18 Glenwood Ave.
Raleigh, NC
Thursday – Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
If you attended the Eastern Balboa Championships, you may already be familiar with Raleigh Vintage, as they were our wonderful lobby vintage vendors who saved all their good swing era stuff all year for our selection. You can also get a nice selection of their inventory on their website, but obviously nothing beats going in person and being able to try things on. This shop is a 30-35 minute drive from the Armory and can be a little hard to find if you don’t know what you’re looking for – the entrance is down a ramp, between a shop and a parking lot, look for a door and a Raleigh Vintage sign at the bottom of the ramp. Once you’re inside, it doesn’t even feel like you are in a basement, the space is a light and airy salon with a selection of Victorian through 1970’s clothing and accessories that reflects the excellent taste of the owners, Andi Shelton and Isaac Panzarella. It’s also a few doors down from my favorite Triangle bakery, The Cupcake Shoppe.
FATHER & SON ANTIQUES
302 S. West St.
Raleigh, NC
Monday – Saturday 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Father & Son is a Raleigh institution, predating any of the aforementioned shops and was one of those places before the downtown area started revitalizing that was an admirable and crowded mix of excellent junk, vintage clothing, and awesome furniture. They have moved to a location that is less crowded and less dank and it is just not the same and my heart will always belong at that old location. Father & Son tends to be better for menswear than women’s clothing, but it’s still worth a trip, particularly if you love mid-century furniture – they always have a beautiful selection and furniture makes up about half the store. This shop is also about a 30-35 minute drive from the Durham Armory.
When things started picking up with the Mint Julep Jazz Band, I was voraciously searching for vintage dresses to wear for performances. I didn’t necessarily have a ton of money to spend, as the recession was still in full swing, but it never hurt to watch the dresses I’d love to buy on Etsy and add them to my favorites list or on Pinterest. One of these dresses, a 1930’s cotton print dress with a rickracked sailor collar, I watched for at least a year in Moon River Mercantile‘s Etsy shop and, when it sold in 2014, I had strong regrets about not finding the money somewhere to buy it for myself. I don’t often have these regrets, but this is one of the few that stuck with me.
Flash forward to a few months ago and Emmy released previews of their spring line – much of the collection is sailor-inspired and I gasped when I got to their Silverscreen Sailorette Dress. It looked almost exactly like THE dress, the REGRETS dress, even in a red colorway, it couldn’t be a coincidence. I cross-referenced with my Pinterest and then emailed Emmy about the dress. It’s entirely possible we had the same love for the same dress – she said she found it on Instagram rummaging through vintage sellers’ accounts.
The Silverscreen Sailorette dress is available as of today – Emmy’s spring line was launched in three waves, with releases a month apart and today being the last wave. In addition to the red Art Deco print, it also comes in a blue Art Deco print, solid cream, and solid navy. I’m both excited and grateful for a second chance at this dress! ❤ Pictured below, the original (left) and Emmy’s dress (right).
The alternate title for this post is I Have Too Many Things To Write About and No Time To Do It – my hope is that you’d rather have the news as it comes, rather than a comprehensive post about everything, so I’m giving you the tip of the iceberg here and trust that you’ll enjoy all the things at your leisure:
Zoe Vine – glorious dresses (with sleeves!) in lovely colors, based in the UK (because the UK has everything I want right now, right?), machine washable – gimme!
Hepcat Corner – tees, sweatshirts, bags, phone cases, and more, all with the swing dancer in mind. Bonus points for graphic of shag dancing couple (labeled Charleston – could be either!).
August Three – I had hoped to cover this in a Lindy Focus vendor post that may never come to fruition, but I got to see the beauties from this new swing dance shoe company based in Thailand and the quality looks great and I loved the custom color options. Would love to hear from others who have tried them! Jenna Applegarth has endorsed these and she is essentially the international swing dance shoe expert at this point, I’m not sure there’s a swing dance shoe company she hasn’t tried!
Pretty Retro – In December I discovered that my new favorite go-to clothing website, The House of Foxy, has an offshoot brand called Pretty Retro. I’m not sure what the differences are, it all looks like more glorious, quality vintage-inspired reproduction clothing and I am here for it.
Some sunshine for these gloomy winter days, from Swingbird Fashions
Green of Grey – I found another magical trumpet skirt in the wild (which has since sold out, but maybe custom order? That bow, AMIRITE?) and a number of other adorable swing-era-inspired items in this adorable Etsy shop.
Swingbird Fashions – a Denver-based Etsy shop, with trumpet skirts IN STOCK, adorable 30’s style shorts/skort, 30’s blouses, trousers (both wide leg and those pleated/tapered ones that everyone seems to compete in), some gorgeous dresses, really so many quality things!
Groovy Fox – what a fun name for this new swing dance shoe company! Bulgaria jumps in on the dance shoe game and the results are lovely – we so spoiled with all these new shoe companies with lovely colors and styles. Loving the lilac and mint and wanting to build a spring wardrobe around these colors…
As I wrap up the last of my dance-oriented gigs before the holidays, a common farewell is, “See you at Focus!” As usual, my holiday dress shopping is a double-duty task, as I look to acquire festive attire for both holiday parties/dances and for dancing at Lindy Focus. I’ve been smitten for some time with the House of Foxy’s offerings, but they about knocked me out of my chair when they released four of their Grable dresses in holiday-perfect hues. Festive red, dark green, a berry hue, and classic black – I love solids for the holidays because they are so easy to dress up or down with jewelry, shoes, and other accessories. This dress is also a crepe poly/viscose/spandex blend for a quick and easy wash and wear turnaround. Can you guess what color I ordered? 😉
This year was my first full Camp Hollywood experience, flying in before the event began and flying out after the event ended, and after I got my obligatory In-N-Out Burger fix, I headed to the vendor area to hover and watch the magic unfold in the vendor area. The vendor area was comprised of an entire ballroom, a large adjacent conference room, and a large Camp Hollywood merch table where you could purchase both camp swag and music from the bands and musicians performing over the course of the event. This is definitely the largest vendor area at any event I have attended – I marveled at it last year, but this year I understood. The traffic in Los Angeles is so bad that you almost don’t want to leave the hotel, or at least not to go somewhere outside of a 5 mile radius. I looked into some sightseeing on Friday – maybe a vintage car museum or a Frank Lloyd Wright house – but the 12-15 miles to get there would take over an hour at 10:30 a.m., which I was neither willing to spend the time nor the money to accomplish at that point, especially with evening band obligations. So, the shopping comes to you!
Ladies and gentlemen, Jo Stafford
I did manage an excursion with fellow vintage enthusiast Brettie Page, who had a car at Camp Hollywood – through some careful planning on her part and a small window of time on Monday where the traffic would only take about a half-hour, we rushed over to Paper Moon Vintage. I don’t have a full report because, when one has the challenge of an hour in a vintage store, one must be focused, particularly when said vintage store has a great selection of swing era items. Brettie and I both left with garments – she an incredible 1940’s bathing suit in shimmering white with gold stars and me with a silk 1930’s garden party dress – which is just about all you can ask for in a successful run to a vintage shop. I also left with this swell Jo Stafford pin – like, how often do you come across 1940’s band merch? Like, never. The cherry on this sundae was that everything in the store was 15% off.
I. Love. Wedges.
Back at the LAX Marriott on the first day of the event, I hovered near the ballrooms and enough friends were volunteering at the Re-mix Vintage Shoes booth that I got pulled in with some lovely chatting and managed to be their first purchase of the weekend. Some day I will visit the mothership, but it was still great to chat with owner Philip Heath about shoes, pick up the shoes I had reserved, and check out all the new gorgeous purple shoes and a selection of wedges (which he doesn’t usually bring to All Balboa Weekend, the only other dance event Re-mix attends as a vendor). I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Starlet shoe will actually fit my feet, even though I believe it’s on the same last as the Gabrielle, which my feet are entirely too fat to wear – another pair to go on the wishlist!
My second stop of the trip, in the brief window between sound check and downbeat, was to hit up the Vintage Blue Moon booth and I’m so glad I did! Apparently, the vintage expo at the Queen Mary didn’t happen this year and Vintage Blue Moon was having a magnificent sale on jewelry, both vintage and some excellent reproduction “Bakelite” jewelry. The first pass yielded a Bakelite scottie dog brooch, a 1930’s rhinestone ukulele brooch, and a matching repro necklace and earrings set in peppermint stripes. I returned later to go through the clothing and there were some truly special pieces – in particular a 1930’s black satin (that heavy/heavenly indestructible kind) jumpsuit with appliqués (dying/gasping), really excellent 1920’s dresses, 20’s/30’s lingerie, and an impressive wall of menswear.
The Venice Beach dress, with a rack of Venice Beach dresses beside it!
As I’m running through the vendor area, I notice a dress – CAN IT BE – it’s the Beach Clip dress! As we’ve talked about on this blog, I knew the Beach Clip dress (originally owned and worn by Southern California dancer Genevieve Grazis) was being reproduced for sale by Loco Lindo and recently heard that it would be debuted at Camp Hollywood, but I almost couldn’t believe my eyes. Having examined it up close and inside out, I was so excited to finally see this project come to fruition and to see an entire rack of these dresses in wonderful prints on comfortable and washable rayon crepe. I made a beeline for the Loco Lindo booth after the main dance ended and was relieved to find several prints still available in my size, including a scottie dog print. (Fate? Fate.) Loco Lindo owner Linda Marrone and her crew did an incredible job with the design, translating a fairly complicated late 1930’s dress into the garment I ultimately purchased, which will be comfortable and movable for dancing, with the same amazing twirl from that gored skirt. You could also buy a Beach Clip skirt, and, of course, any of Linda’s other wonderful dresses, skirts, pants, and blouses in that wonderful crepe fabric. The “Venice Beach” skirt is already on the website and I hear the dress will be posted for sale in short order. Very special thanks to Jennifer Halsne, who essentially unearthed this dress, brought it to national attention, and then worked with Loco Lindo to make this reproduction happen! For more on the story of the Venice Beach/Beach Clip dress, visit Jennifer’s blog, Swing Sleuths.
Sharing the vendor area with Loco Linda was Bandini St., selling a variety of head bands, hair flowers, shoe bags, and ideally situated next to the door leading to the main ballroom across the hall. Let’s say you’ve already picked up a pair of Re-mix shoes, snagged a dress from either Loco Lindo or vintage dress, then you can put the finishing touches on your ensemble and/or buy a nice shoe bag to protect your new shoe investment. I had thoughts about WHAT IF THE AIRLINE LOSES MY LUGGAGE and then I realized that I’d be at Camp Hollywood where I could replace everything except my underwear.
All the Shiny Things! Occupied the center of the main vendor ballroom with an intense amount of jewelry for just about anyone or anything. I noted on the evening of the A Bug’s Life theme that it would be easy to stop by the ATST booth and instantly upgrade your outfit to tonight’s theme by purchasing one of many insect brooches or small pins to be worn on a dress or lapel or collar. I particularly loved the rainbow display of bangles – lucite, bakelite, other plastic, who knows? But if the color fits…
Need a hairstyle to get you through the weekend or maybe want to do something special for the Saturday night dance? The stylists from Hush Hush Bang Bang had you covered, offering an array of services from blowout to a full updo or glam waves.
A tropical oasis in the vendor ballroom at A Walk Thru Time Vintage
A Walk Thru Time Vintage is the last stop in the main vendor area ballroom, offering a mix of swing era vintage, later vintage, and costume pieces. I particularly loved that they created a tiki/tropical vignette, as we were surrounded by palm trees poolside at the Marriott and it just seemed right that you might want to pick up something festive to wear by the pool or to the special poolside live music on Monday.
Across the hall in a conference room I found a Lip Sense booth, which was a collaboration among Iris Tarou (who was also vending at Lindy Focus this past year, Tawnie Gadd, and Lisa Cleveland. I am a big fan of budge-proof lip color for dance events for obvious reasons (short = face sometimes accidentally grazing lead’s shirt during Bal, also having to be dressed before dinner because of time constraints) and I am not above forgetting cosmetics! I also love the combined effort of these dancer/business women, which means the booth stays open more often for shoppers and they can alternate dance time!
The remainder of the conference room was a bit less defined, so I apologize if I credit a garment to the wrong vendor. Both Pepperpie Vintage, who was at Camp Hollywood last year, and Rare Revival Vintage carried a mix of swing era vintage and dance/fab appropriate later vintage items, mostly women’s items. In the very back was a men’s corner by Purple Peacock Vintage, with some truly fabulous menswear pieces, like a 4 piece suit (extra pants, y’all), other swing era three piece suits, and the cutest light blue and white polka dot braces (that I really considered buying even though I don’t own any pants that could accommodate them).
If I’ve missed anyone, please give me a shout! There’s so much going on at Camp Hollywood and the vendor area is no exception – save your pennies to do some serious shopping at next year’s event!
Double seams give the sleeve on the Venice Beach dress a bit of structure
The Venice Beach skirt – gores and twirls for days…
A cross-section of Venice Beach skirt fabrics at Loco Lindo
Need a head band? Bandini St. has them, even in coordinating Loco Lindo fabrics!
Bandini St. also offered an array of classic blooms
The wall of menswear courtesy of Vintage Blue Moon
The main display at Vintage Blue Moon
This satin jumpsuit, tho…I hope someone got this and takes a photo of them wearing it and sends it to me…
The sweetest vintage lingerie at Vintage Blue Moon
The weave on this straw hat…
Fun and excellent reproduction Bakelite style jewelry at Vintage Blue Moon
Services available at Hush Hush Bang Bang in-house salon
Taste the rainbow of bangles at All The Shiny Things!
The instant theme night outfit
A little something to hold your necktie in place while dancing, at All the Shiny Things!
Re-mix wedges, how do I love thee…
Classic men’s oxfords at Re-mix
*drools*
Lucite handbags at A Walk Thru Time Vintage
I love a houndstooth jacket – at A Walk Thru Time Vintage
The entrance to the Pepperpie/Rare Revival/Purple Peacock area
Super duper wished this had been in my size – at Pepperpie Vintage
Gorgeous 40’s dress, at Pepperpie Vintage, I think???
Lovely handbags and accessories at Rare Revival Vintage
My favorite type of vintage men’s shoe – this mesh is so practical! At Purple Peacock Vintage.
One of many delicious vintage men’s suits at Purple Peacock Vintage
Cowboy braces at Purple Peacock Vintage
Ending with Lip Sense, to give you all a virtual kiss goodby without the residue. 😉
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
Lindy Shopper 