Groupon for American Apparel

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

The Groupon for Raleigh/Durham today (and for the next three days) is $50 worth of American Apparel goods for $25. The best part? It’s for online sales only, so technically you could live anywhere and use this 50% discount. Huzzah!

(Edited to add that the link takes you to the main Raleigh/Durham Groupon page for the day, but on the right side of the screen there’s a box that says “More Great Deals Nearby” and the American Apparel Groupon link is at the bottom of that box)

Time to stock up on the basics. Here are a few of my faves from the site:

Ahoy!

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

My interest in all things sailor suit was piqued by this adorable nautical dress that popped up on Mod Cloth today. Another Stop Staring creation, this Luxury Craft Dress is fit for a swing dance or a cruise in one of those wooden motor boats from the 40’s or 50’s…yes!

Is it summer yet?

Holiday Dance Dress

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

There’s something about this red 1940’s dress, listed on eBay by seller redwineandfriends, that says it’s ripe for the holidays. Obviously the color is festive, but there are other details that make this dress extra-special and holiday dance-worthy, like the pleating on the bodice, the bow on the front of the dress, the little white buttons down the front, the wonderful goring of the skirt, and, on top of the goring, the back of the skirt has an inset for additional swishy-ness. As the seller says in the auction, “Holiday perfect – fur muff and ice skates optional!”

Time Machine Vintage on Etsy

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

The cuteness is overwhelming at Time Machine Vintage’s Etsy store, which offers custom made (or if the sample fits, you can buy the sample) 1930’s through 1950’s dresses made from the seller’s collections of vintage patterns and vintage fabrics. The patterns and fabrics are adorable and whimsical, two things I love to have in a dress.

From the dressmaker extraordinaire: “If you’ve ever tried to find a great vintage cotton day dress in mint condition, you know it is damned near impossible. Women wore them until they fell apart! “Make do and mend” was the buzz phrase of the WWII era and it carried over to post war too. So adding decorative appliques and trims to hide imperfections, stains, rips and holes was the norm. In my creations you’ll often find those great little vintage touches even on fabric that is in perfect condition.

I prefer to use authentic vintage feedsack and cotton fabrics but I often default to vintage reproduction prints since there are so many great ones out there now. If I can, I use recycled metal zippers, antique buttons and vintage trims. Just doing my part to save the earth from all those thrown away metal zippers! So browse my pattern collection and choose a dress sample that has already been put together or convo me with a color choice or choices (or actual fabric you have seen or have in mind) and a pattern selection and I can make a dress or romper just for you in your size!”

She speaks the truth – finding vintage day dresses is extremely difficult. I generally want day dresses for dancing because they are more breathable and danceable than more formal dresses and fabrics. In looking at Time Machine Vintage’s offerings, just about everything looks like it should be ready to hit the dance floor.

Perhaps the best part of this Etsy store are the prices – items range between $40 and $100 for a custom dress made for your measurements, with most dresses in the $65-$90 price range. The fabric alone would cost you at least $40 if you went to a fabric store today and bought enough yardage to make one of these dresses. These dresses are a steal. Buy them quickly!

My faves:

il_570xN.183541600 — 1940's kitchen dress - love the pockets and the rickrack detail

il_570xN.174050784 — 1950's plaid dress with removable collar

il_570xN.162004483 — 1930's or 40's cotton day dress

il_570xN.161361023 — 1940's day dress - love the contrasting insets

il_570xN.185141554 — This 1950's two piece romper set is an outfit with built-in bloomers - sometimes you feel like a skirt, sometimes you don't

Eastern Balboa Championships

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

I’m writing about the Eastern Balboa Championships early in the week because I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to write later on, living in the host scene for this event and organizing certain tangential events that occur this week; also, the event starts on Thursday and once I am sucked into the vortex of madness that is EBC, I may not return until Monday. 😉

Last year at EBC I organized a vintage shopping trip to a couple of local vintage stores in and around downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. The main conquest was a giant warehouse of a vintage store called Get Dressed. Unfortunately, this past May, Get Dressed closed its doors for good, leaving Raleigh without a source for vintage clothing of the swing era. The remaining store, Father & Son Antiques, has an impressive collection of mid-century furniture, but lacks in the clothing department. I still wanted to have a vintage shopping experience for the EBC attendees, after the success of last year’s shopping outing – 20 people signed up in advance and even more carpooled over to Get Dressed the day of the outing.

I have been in touch with one of the vintage collectors from Get Dressed, Andi Shelton, who also runs an Etsy store called Raleigh Vintage. Andi has been keeping the dream alive of Raleigh having a vintage clothing retail store, looking for a location to have a less sprawling store with a carefully selected stock of good vintage clothing. It seems that North Carolina may need the assistance of The Rent is Too Damn High Party so Andi can find some reasonable retail space; until then, Andi and several other vintage collectors operate under the name The Vintage Collective, making appearances at various local events and offering their wares for sale.

I have arranged for the Vintage Collective to appear at EBC, during the day and into the evening on Saturday – specifically, 12:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Brownstone, the hotel hosting EBC. Andi wrote this about The Vintage Collective:

“The Vintage Collective is collaborative of three vintage clothing enthusiasts who have a passion for collecting and sharing special pieces. Just for the EBC, we’ll be sharing our collections of 1920s-late 1950s clothing for men and women, as well as accessories to complete the look. Offerings include dresses, tops, sweaters, skirts, lingerie, pants, suits, vests, hats, gloves, jewelry, ties, and shoes….a little bit of everything!

We’ll be accepting cash and paypal (if wi-fi is available in the hotel lobby).”

I know the ladies of The Vintage Collective have been saving up their good stuff for EBC, so I’m very excited to see what they will bring. Actual location in the hotel is TBA, until I can get over there and work with Chris & Holly Owens, the organizers of EBC, on the best location for the Collective to set up.

I’m looking forward to some vintage shopping without leaving the venue! I am also looking forward to seeing what Andi pulls out of the vault…we all know they keep the good stuff in the back. 😉 If you are planning on attending EBC and have any questions about the vintage shopping, please post your questions as a comment to this blog entry. Thanks!

Mod Cloth: Ilsa Dress

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

There is so much about this red Stop Staring! dress to love. It’s fire engine red and form fitting, definitely a head-turner; but it’s also ladylike and tailored, with ruched sleeves, bodice detail, a modest hemline and a little flower “corsage” to decorate the shoulder. This dress would be an asset to any dancer’s wardrobe – click on over to Mod Cloth’s website to pick one up. I’m debating this one myself…

Swing Outfits: Custom 1930’s and 1940’s Clothing for Men, Women, and Lindy Ensembles

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

Someone posted on Yehoodi this week asking about where to find skirts for a dance team, either to be made or to order. This post jogged my memory and I immediately thought of Swing Outfits, a website that sells custom, made to order clothing for men and women from 1930’s and 1940’s patterns. Swing Outfits offers some wonderful options for just about any basic swing garment you could think of in an almost endless selection of fabrics.

Swing Outfits has a section of their website devoted to dance team shopping. I understand that selecting an outfit that everyone agrees on is nearly impossible; however, Swing Outfits offers some sound advice on selecting a team or couple’s costume:

“For couples that dance regularly in competition or performance it is especially important to have a costume. It is one thing to dance at a party, and a different thing to dance on a stage before an audience. It is not enough to just have nice clothes on each individual performer – you need to look like a unified couple.

What makes a good stage costume for a couple? First of all, your costume must be tailor made for you – we will need measurements from both dancers. You will also need to select a fabric and a design for your costumes. Pictured below are three sets of costumes: Silk, Polka Dots, and Plaid/Stripes. Within each set are a number of elements that you can select for your costume, and each will be made from the same material you have chosen.”

The website then walks you through three easy steps to select pieces for your performance outfit. The beauty of these pieces is that they can be mixed and matched with anything – with each other or with something you might find at Target or H&M.

Another great thing about having team costumes made for the team members is that you avoid the one-pattern-fits-all problem that you encounter when purchasing something from a retail store. Having personally experienced the pain of not fitting into the mold of a chosen team costume, I would personally rather pay more and get something that fits perfectly, that I don’t have to pay someone to alter, and that I might actually wear again dancing.

Which leads to my next point – you don’t have to be on a dance team to wear and enjoy an outfit from Swing Outfits! Make sure to browse their selection of patterns, then their selection of fabrics, and think of the endless possibilities. The Libra in me may never be able to decide…

Here’s what I love from Swing Outfits:

knickerbockers — Knickerbockers - yes, this is the photo from the web page - why hide those pretty socks when you can do them justice with a pair of knickers?

students_pants — Student pants - 1930's style

striped_vest — Single-breasted cashmere vest

A nod to classic ensemble Lindy Hop performances, your ensemble can also sport silky jumpers for the ladies with matching silk shirts for the gents

A Dress for the Chrysler Building

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

This dress is impeccable and stunning, just like that gorgeous Art Deco skyscraper in New York. I love everything about this dress – the color combination, the contrast, the points that go down the front and back, the buttons down the back, the pockets, the belt buckle, oh, I could go on! There’s drama in this dress, but not so much that it would be too formal for dancing.

This dress is offered for sale on eBay by Mill Street Vintage, a store that has caught my eye on numerous occasions, with outstanding pieces of clothing from the swing era. Definitely keep your eye on this eBay seller.

Leluxe Vamp Dress on eBay

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

Here is your chance to own a gorgeous 1920’s reproduction dress from Leluxe Clothing Company at half the cost. Leluxe occasionally sells dresses on eBay at a greatly reduced price, but you definitely have to watch for them. The deal of the day is their delicious Vamp dress in black, which retails for $245.00, but is available on eBay with a starting bid of $129.99 and a Buy It Now of $155.00.

Why is this dress worth it? Aside from the gorgeousness and divine detail, this dress is durable and danceable (unlike its original vintage counterparts). I have this dress in silver and have worn it on three occasions since I purchased it in June, with rave reviews at each event. When you spin, the little car wash panels at the bottom flare out nicely, and there’s that delicious sound of swishing beads. My only warning for this dress would be if you are dancing in this dress, you may need to pin it to your bra – the dress did not feel heavy when I was wearing it, but the beads are heavier than fabric and the centrifugal force of the spins caused the straps of this dress to head towards the walls, rather than remaining firmly on my shoulders. Once secured, this was no longer a problem.

Wouldn’t you like to be the ultimate flapper for Halloween? Or every day? 😉

Candy Striped Dress

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

This 1940’s style striped dress from eBay seller buddhaboogie was too adorable not to post, even though it’s not in season. But then it’s never too late or early to shop for all things fabulous. I’m in love with this candy striped dress – it’s made with a great vintage fabric and has a chevron skirt, matching belt, and flutter sleeves. It’s good enough to eat!

Emerald City Vintage on eBay

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

410920823_tp — This 1950's jacket is nerdy and awesome

I am very impressed with the selection of clothing that eBay seller Emerald City Vintage has posted, for both men and women. If Emerald City is from Seattle, then it comes as no surprise to me that this seller has excellent threads, as my own excursion to Seattle last year yielded three critical wardrobe items.

The selection is primarily 1930’s through 1950’s clothing and the starting prices are generally around $20.00. Some of the items for sale are buy it now – whether or not some of these items are reasonable is open to interpretation, but some of the buy it now items are what you would pay in a decent vintage store and others are a bit pricier.

Randomly, there are also several dirndls in the store, if you are looking for something befitting Oktoberfest.

Overall, this is a very focused selection of garments for swing era ladies and gents, with lots of great basics for both men and women. Here are my favorites from this week’s selections (but I would encourage you to browse the eBay store, as there are lots of different sizes available in similar items, such as pants):

411237665_tp — 1940's three-tone rayon dress

410383933_tp — 1940's double breasted suit

404549525_tp — 1940's or 50's striped pants

Trashy Diva for Fall

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

jennyssdress1 — Jenny dress short sleeves

Trashy Diva goes back to basics for fall, with a collection of basic black dresses in a poly/rayon/spandex that has “the look of vintage wool jersey without the scratch.” With added spandex, these dresses should be extra danceable. My favorite is the Jenny dress, which comes in short sleeves and long sleeves, and has these amazing darts at the waist that look like they will give you a lovely hour-glass, wasp waisted shape.

Another recent collection features two fabrics dotted with the fleur-de-lis, a symbol of New Orleans, which is the home base of Trashy Diva. The more graphic of the two prints is featured on their 1950’s and 1960’s inspired dresses and the smaller print is on their classic 1940’s and 1930’s pattern dresses.

If you missed out on earlier Trashy Diva goodness, check out my last blog entry on this obsession-worthy clothing company.

JENNYLSDRESS1A — Jenny dress long sleeves

Tucker for Target

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

Unlike the highly anticipated Zac Posen collection for Target, I had never heard of Tucker by Gaby Basora, so I was not planning on showing up at Target at 8:00 a.m. the day the collection debuted to get first dibs on the goods. However, after I saw an ad in VOGUE for the Tucker collection featuring an Art Deco print dress paired with a wide brim hat and flapper stockings, I changed my mind and set my alarm for 7:40 a.m. this morning to go check it out.

Target was blissfully empty at 8:00 this morning and I had a fantastic time rummaging through this fall collection that has a little something for everyone and some great pieces for work, fun, dancing, and evening. Some of my favorites from the collection are a burnout velvet dress, an orange polka dot blouse, an orange herringbone skirt, a sparkly boucle cocktail dress, several floral dresses, and a pair of herringbone shorts. The fabrics are obviously not the designer’s usual silks, but the fabrics chosen for the collection didn’t feel or look cheap, they draped well, and are much more washable and wearable from this dancer’s practical perspective.

The clothing from the collection is shown in “looks,” but I was more inspired looking at Tucker’s official web site. The intro video was delightful eye candy, with vintage-inspired looks featuring Tucker’s fall collection with vintage jewelry, hairstyles that ranged from Gibson Girl to Marie Antoinette, crocheted gloves, flapper headbands, red lips, hair flowers, and dessert. 🙂

Here are some potentially dance-worthy pieces:

41uA6KIAMCL._SL380_ — I bought this whole look, work appropriate and danceable - the fit was fantastic

413+B9x7HcL._SL380_ — I'm wishing this burnout velvet dress had fit me better...or, better yet, that the collection had a 1920's-inspired dress in this fabric

51xLVfDzRuL._SL380_ — Black boucle dress

41DFxUTYFEL._SL380_ — This dress looks painfully short on the Target model, but was not terribly short and would be comfortable for dancing

417dymMW1ZL._SL380_ — These shorts are awesome - I'd pair them with suspenders and a newsboy cap or a girly blouse

Lucky Vintage on eBay

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

I happened upon eBay seller luckyvintage in a fit of 1920’s shopping, inspired by my weekend at the Jazz Age Lawn Party. This Seattle-based seller has a small, but carefully selected, collection of clothing and accessories from the 1920’s and 1930’s. The starting prices for these items are very reasonable, considering their age and the detail of the garments. Have a look!

402453299_o — Beaded flapper dress with cape

401351146_o — Rust chiffon beaded 1920's dress

401350158_o — Gold lame and salmon 1920's dress

Fraulein Marlene on Etsy

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

Hello Fraulein! That is the greeting at the top of Fraulein Marlene’s Etsy shop, welcoming you in to look at her lovely vintage goodies. Almost half of her selections are divine vintage shoes from the 1930’s and 1940’s in neutral tones, like brown, black and beige, so they’ll go with everything in your fall and winter dance wardrobe. The shoes also look like they are in solid condition and are reasonably priced.

Fraulein Marlene says simply, “I love clothing and accessories from the 1920’s-1950’s. Vintage is my first passion —> but i am no professional seller…it is a hobby.”

Here are some selections from this excellent hobbyist: