This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
While not as epic or as extensive as the 70% off sale, this latest discount endeavor from Mod Cloth is no less worth mentioning. Use the code JUST4U between now and Friday, June 3, to get 50% off any of the items in their sale collection called You and Retro Too Sale. Here are some goodies from the sale:
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
There’s been a small influx of Remix shoes on eBay this week in or about a size 9. Take a look!
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
I know this item is a bit tangential, but I wanted to post these 1920’s tap shoes from eBay for several reasons. First, how many pairs of dance shoes do we come across that are this old? Regular shoes are already hard to come by, but shoes made specifically for dancing are even rarer, given the amount of wear and tear on any pair of dance shoes. You can see that this pair was definitely worn.
I also love that they are silver, which leads me to believe these were performance shoes and not practice shoes. Who would have worn these and what kind of fantastic, shiny show were they in? Or if they weren’t in a show, that they had silver practice shoes is pretty awesome, no?
Finally, I love the holes for the ribbons to tie the shoes on. When I was a little girl taking tap lessons my tap shoes had these ribbon holes and I thought having the bows on my feet were lovely. Think of the ribbon possibilities…any color!
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
After posting these shoes I thought long and hard about what you might wear with them – a solid dress, separates with those colors, but I never thought I’d come across a vintage dress with this same color wave. I was pleasantly surprised to discover this late 1930’s/early 1940’s dress on eBay with those lovely blues detailing the neckline. Finding matching pieces in vintage is already difficult, if not impossible. So disappointed that this is also not in my size. Surely there is someone out there to fit into this 28 inch waist dress AND wear a size 6.5/7 slightly narrow shoe!
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
I noticed yesterday that the My Heinies website has officially expanded their line of dancewear to include the shoes, hosiery, and hair flowers I mentioned in my previous post on My Heinies and their creator, New York dancer and instructor Carol Fraser. This certainly calls for another post highlighting these goodies, because now we have pictures. 🙂
Before we get to the goods, I want to point out that Carol does her homework. At week one of the Balboa Experiment, Carol brought in samples of everything and held a focus group to talk about what Balboa dancers look for in a shoe – heel shape, heel height, colors, styles, straps, where the shoe falls on the top of your foot, suede v. hard leather, and everything in between. The shoes now available on the My Heinies website represent the results of this group discussion, most of which Carol had overnighted to the Experiment house so that we could try them on in person, give further feedback, and have the option to purchase. The sample shoes remained at the Experiment house for weeks 2 and 3 to try out as well, and I’m sure she’s solicited feedback from a number of other dancers. Another great thing about using the Experiment as a testing ground was that it gave Carol an international perspective on what dancers would want to wear, not just dancers in the U.S.
Here’s what I love from My Heinies’ new selections of shoes, hosiery, and hair flowers (and don’t forget to check out the bloomers, I think Carol’s ordering a new batch very soon):
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
Aerosoles, often associated with comfortable and practical footwear, has stepped into the swing realm. I spotted Aerosoles on Laura Keat at The Experiment and on Nelle Cherry at DCLX, and wondered how they were dancing in these rubber soled shoes. The secret, according to Nelle, is to get the soles dusty and the rubber becomes the perfect consistency of slippery and sticky when you need it. Who knew? I wear Aerosoles to work for comfort, but I never thought about taking them out on the dance floor. This is great news for the people who dance in flats or heels or both – there’s a little something for everyone.
There are several things that make Aerosoles comfortable, but dancers specifically will notice the highly flexible sole, the cushioned footbed, and the soft leather interiors of the shoes. There are also some nice vintage-inspired shoes in their lineup.
Here’s what I like from the Aerosoles site:
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
Raleigh Vintage on Etsy has delivered another winner, this time in the form of these gorgeous 1940’s shoes with a blue swirl/wave across the toes. This is such a unique pair of shoes that they almost look too modern – but for the shape of the shoes I’d claim they were a remnant of Miu Miu’s 2008 suede shoe collection. Estimated at a size 6.5/7, but check the listing for actual measurements. If they were in my size I would plan an entire outfit around them…
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
Continuing with the shoe theme and the pink theme, I’m posting this eBay auction for a pair of Remix Open Toe Spectator Wedges in pink and black, size 7-8. I’ve never seen this color combination before, but I like it. The shoes are a size 8, but the seller says she wears a 7 1/2 wide and that the size felt more like a 7 to her. Starting price is $20, but the buy-it-now is $50! $50 for a pair of Remix shoes? You know what to do.
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
I love vintage with a story – these pink satin 1920’s shoes were an adventure to find. If you’d like to own these beauties (approximately a size 5N, 9 inches long inside, 2.5 inches wide), they are yours for the cost of shipping.
So here’s the story: Raleigh/Durham dancer and advertising whiz kid Jamie Foehl invited the local dancers to be in a commercial set in the 1920’s for her job. On a very cold morning this past March we set out in cloches and derby hats for a farm in Chapel Hill, which would be the site of the commercial. I can’t reveal too many details about the commercial, but the farm itself was an interesting backdrop, with beautiful scenery, a lake, a giant catapult, a miniature horse, and enough horse poop to make walking around in Remix shoes very challenging. The owner of the farm came over to a group of us in vintage clothing and said “I’ve got some old clothes and jewelry from my husband’s aunt in the house that we’ve been trying to get rid of. Would you be interested?”
The answer is always YES, even if it turns out to be a bust.
This time, yes meant coming inside to a fire in the fireplace and a downstairs closet with hidden treasures. She pulled out the jewelry first, which was mostly 1960’s and 70’s stuff, but I did snag some MCM cufflinks for the Boy. I think the pink shoes were next and they were carefully boxed and preserved, in all their pink glossy glory. Next came the fur muffs (there were two), so Jamie and I each got one of those to take home. Finally, a WWII army nurse’s cape made its way out of the closet and into my arms. Now, I just have to find the rest of the uniform. 😉 There were also hats, but apparently the hats were in a closet in a bedroom where someone was sleeping (Jamie, any follow up on that?). Needless to say, it was a very successful day that ended with pizza for lunch and a bowling ball being catapulted across the field.
And that’s how we got these pink shoes…but what to do with them? They need a very special home, so I’m hoping someone reading this blog has tiny feet.
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
This pair of 1940’s gold heels is about as glamorous as it gets – seller FrauleinMarlene has restocked her shop to include this amazing specimen of vintage footwear. Now that we’ve seen the sparkle, consider the practicality of such a pair of heels – gold is a metallic neutral so it can go with many things, and the mesh insets on the outside of the foot allow for breatheability and a little give on the side for your pinkie toes. I bet that gold leather is super soft…and the price? This gold will only set you back $59. I’d have snatched them up myself, but I already own a similar pair. That said, if you don’t snatch them up, I may reconsider. 😉
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
It’s back to reality, post-Experiment, but while I was away I did have a chance to chat with instructor Bobby White about some of his impeccable garments. He directed me to Magnoli Clothiers as a great source for vintage reproduction three piece suits. I must agree with Mr. Whi-te on this one, as the tailoring and fabrics look spot on.
Magnoli Clothiers is more than just menswear, it “is dedicated to the reproduction of vintage clothing, historic garments and popular film costumes. These reproductions, however, are not costume pieces, but tailor-made, high-quality clothing…any piece of mens clothing that you can provide images of can be reproduced. We can copy a garment you already own, or, by analyzing various images, we can reproduce any article from photograph or film stills.” The sky is the limit, or you can choose from their impeccable sample suits, pants, leather jackets, sport coats, shirts, vests, shoes, hats, and accessories.
The prices are no bargain, but for custom pieces…consider this an investment in looking awesome. Reasonably priced vintage repro menswear is hard for Lindy Shopper to find, but I am on a reproduction kick right now so I thought it best to share. Did I mention shipping is included in the price? That helps a bit.
Here are some of the great pieces you might want to own:
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
I’ll keep the shoe theme going for another post…I stumbled upon Johnson Shoes in one of those lists of vintage clothing and shoe resources where most of the links are no longer working. Fortunately, the Johnson Shoes link still worked and I discovered a wonderful resource for 1930’s through 1950’s shoes for men and women. Based in the UK, Johnson Shoes has been selling hand crafted shoes since 1983.
From the website: “We always carry black, brown and white dance shoes, but all our ranges come in all colours. Different soles are available according to your needs. Whilst some styles and colours are in stock due to the fact we offer high quality handmade footwear so it can take a number of weeks to produce your shoes. We offer quality not speed.
Whether you want to dance all night or be comfortable all day we make quality footwear that caters for your needs. Whether you choose from one of the many designs you see on our site or design what you want it’s all in with the price.
Johnson shoes are dance orientated. We have jazz, rock and roll, swing, balboa and lindy-hop shoes, ballroom, and latin shoes, 40s jive, ceroc, leroc, salsa and jive shoes.
You can choose from a wide range of materials including, leather, suede, nubuck, patent, pony, non-leather and a choice of soles, leather, eva, suede , crepe and non-leather. We do all the above footwear from size 3 including half sizes to a ladies size 9 in selected styles and up to mens size 13”
You had me at Balboa…
In addition to custom footwear, Johnson Shoes carries some styles in stock, which are sold through the Rock and Roll Products website. The styles available in stock are also the styles you can customize.
Here’s what I’m loving from the site (there are no individual links, for some reason – sorry!):
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
I couldn’t resist posting this other pair of Remix “Deco” shoes that popped up on eBay, size 6.5 – $19.99 starting price for Remix shoes in almost pristine condition? Yes, please!
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
Continuing the shoe theme of this week, for a limited time Dancestore.com is offering their 1940’s velvet and mesh Mary Jane for $49.95. Regular retail price is $69.95, so this is a significant reduction in price! No word on how long the sale will last…
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
This is definitely a good shoe week on eBay, so here are a couple of finds for the gents from the 1940’s and some more Remix shoes for the ladies:
Lindy Shopper 