15% Off All Remix Vintage Shoes

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

Remix Vintage Shoes is having a sale, which is a rare occurrence! Get 15% off ALL Remix shoes now through December 29, just in time to spend your Christmas cash or get a pair for New Year’s Eve. As an added bonus, all domestic orders over $150 will receive free shipping through December 29. Cheers to Remix for making gorgeous reproduction footwear and offering a holiday discount!

In addition to the holiday sale, the Bauhaus shoe is available for the special price of $98.00. This is a great crossover shoe for Lindy and Balboa, with a 2 inch heel.

Bauhaus - comes in black and brown

More Swing Dance Shoes on eBay

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

‘Tis the season to get rid of your dance shoes? One person’s trash is another person’s treasure, so we don’t mind here at Lindy Shopper! Here’s this week’s eBay offerings to get your feet ready to go for the next dance:

Red Remix Picasso Wedges, Size 10
Remix Pleated Toe Wedge in Black, Size 6
Aris Allen Camel 1930's Velvet Oxford, Size 10.5

Black Suede 1940’s Oxfords

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

Black is a staple color and I’m sure most of you have a pair of basic black dance shoes, but there was something about this particular pair of black oxfords, offered by Etsy seller Raleigh Vintage, that caught my eye and made me wish I could make this pair mine. They have a graceful shape and this lovely “stitched” detail throughout, which gives the appearance of either large stitches or a thread of ribbon running through cutouts in the shoe. At a size 6, they are small, but not so narrow, as the shoe width comes in at 3 inches.

Swing Dance Shoes on eBay

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

Yes, I own a lot of shoes, but I rarely pay full price for them. Why? I am patient and if I wait long enough, eBay will deliver what I need at a reasonable price. If you buy cheaper shoes, you can buy more of them, theoretically, or have more money leftover to pay for all these amazing swing dance events coming up in the next few months. Lindy Focus, anyone? 😉

There were too many new auctions popping up for Remix and Aris Allen dance shoes, so I’m lumping them all together in this post. Here’s hoping they are in your size…

Aris Allen 1930's Oxford, size 9.5
Aris Allen 1930's Camel Velvet Oxford, size 9.5
Aris Allen Black Rugcutter Wedge, Size 7.5
Remix Piazza in green, size 9
Remix Open Toe Spectator in Brown, size 6.5-7, $0.99 starting price
Remix Greta Wedge in Green, size 6.5-7
Remix Open Toe Spectator Wedge in brown, size 8

Mod Cloth Sale

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

Well…everyone is having a sale today, but I’ve been particularly smitten with Mod Cloth‘s recent offerings, especially their holiday dresses. That’s one of the beautiful things about swing dancing, is that there’s always a dance party to attend, with a little sparkle added during the holidays.

Mod Cloth also has some great gift ideas for guys and gals – I found some great things to stash under my Christmas tree for friends and family.

Here are some goodies to make your Black Friday bright and cheerful:

Classic Beauty Dress
City of Lights Dress
Dream a Little Gleam Dress
Blumengarten Dress
Peppermint Pansies Dress
Cocoa Cozy Dress
Proscenium Dress
Under the Dark Sky Dress
Oberek Romper
All Aboard Heels - actually a pair of divine Remix shoes, on sale for $100, size 9.5 - last pair!

My Baby Jo

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

My Baby Jo has a little bit of everything to help you embrace your inner pin-up girl, and some essential menswear clothing and accessories for the swing era gent. My Baby Jo has a retail store in Los Angeles, CA, but thankfully they also offer their excellent 1940’s and 1950’s-inspired clothing, shoes, and accessories online.

The website has a great selection of women’s dresses, swimwear, undergarments, hair flowers, jewelry, shoes, handbags, cosmetics and men’s jackets, shirts, pants, shoes, hats, pomade, ties, and vintage watches. The vintage men’s watches are especially good, with watches from the 1920’s through the 1950’s that look like they are in sturdy, wearable condition. Their swimwear selections feature the best of Esther Williams’ swimwear line. The site also offers some fun pieces that may fill gaps in your wardrobe or Halloween costume (like that Rosie the Riveter jumpsuit – where else do you find that?). They also have an extensive selection of men’s hats and hat-care items, including brushes and felt cleaner.

There’s so much goodness here, I’ll try to narrow down my favorites:

Mrs. Moore Day Dress, comes in 5 colors
V-cut Plaid Jacket - lots more of these on the site in different fabrics
Alika dress, also comes in red and in a pencil skirt style
Motorcycle sweater
Marilyn eyelet tie top, also in blue
Leading man two pocket shirt with topstitching
Riveting jumpsuit, also in blue stripes and black
Melton captoe by Johnston & Murphy
How cute is this sailor outfit?
Tailored double pleated trouser - available in 13 different fabrics
So many hair flowers, but the orchids are my favorite
There are tons of hats in traditional colors, but this green fedora was my favorite
Love the face on this 1937 watch

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:

Shirt Dress
Classic stripe sweater
Wrap dress
Striped socks
Round collar shirt

Remix News Flash

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

If you’re on the Remix Vintage Shoes email list, this probably isn’t news because you saw this in your inbox this morning – but for the rest of the world, Remix has introduced some new styles and a new color in an existing style. Three danceable pairs for the ladies and a new pair of oxfords for the gents. Excited! Here’s the lineup:

Boardwalk

BOARDWALK – Sporty ladies oxford style lace-up in two tone combinations of Grey/Black, Brown/Cafe and Brown/Sand. Smart perforated details make this new style a stand-out! All leather construction with a polished stacked leather heel. Whole and half sizes 5.5 to 11. 1 7/8″ heel height.” This shoe is double hot in the black and gray combo…*drools*

Strider

STRIDER – Smart vintage “replica” oxford in “croco” embossed leather with grosgraine trim detail. Picture yourself striding down the lane in this 1940’s “peep toe” lace-up with it’s rich, polished stacked leather heel. Comes in Cognac or Olive color embossed “croco” with all leather uppers and leather soles.
1 7/8 inch heel. Sizes 5.5 to 11.” These shoes look classy and efficient and, as the email points out, the green almost has a military look.

Cassandre

CASSANDRE, now available in a two tone black combination. A 1920’s – ’30’s style with faux buttons and slip on construction. Also comes in navy or ivory.” This shoe has been in Remix’s catalog for a while, but the addition of the two tone black (with gray?) is a welcome one. I have these in the navy combo and love them…maybe Santa will bring me a pair of the black ones for Christmas. I’ve been really good this year, right?

Cap Toe Oxford

CAP TOE OXFORD. A style that originated in the 1920’s and still remains a men’s classic, the Re-mix CAP TOE comes in white Nubuck with black leather trim, white Nubuck with brown leather trim and all white Nubuck. All have a polished leather sole and all leather construction. Sizes 7 1/2 to 13. Good for the “Avenue” and great for the dance floor!” Gentlemen, this is a good looking shoe. Feel free to invest in looking spectacular.

Now I have something to spend my Christmas money on after Christmas…as if that was ever a problem. 😉 I do love the new additions to the Remix shoe collection and can’t wait to see them on the dance floor. If you acquire any of these shoes, feel free to post a review of them in the comments section.

EBC Vendors: The Vintage Collective

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

EBC attendees are likely in various states of recovery after the immense fun of this past weekend, as am I on this Monday of Mondays. My big contribution to the weekend’s festivities was organizing a vintage trunk sale through my friend Andi Shelton of The Vintage Collective, who set up their wares in the hallway of the hotel from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturday. The ladies of The Vintage Collective set up a truly impressive and beautiful display of jewelry, hats, purses, shoes, and three garment racks of clothing for men and women from the 1920’s through the 1950’s. In between classes, competitions, and the dance that night, EBC-goers browsed the racks, tried things on, and there were many successes.

I’ve mentioned this before, but there is no better vintage experience for me than shopping with other Lindy Hoppers (or in this case, Balboa dancers for the weekend) who share a passion for vintage clothing, or even just dressing well for dancing. It took Kate Hedin about two seconds to find the perfect dress, a 1930’s/40’s navy dress with a swing skirt and white embroidery. Stephanie Simpson found an amazing purple 1940’s dress with a fauxlero and studded detailing. Heidi Rosenau, one of my favorite vintage ladies, left with my favorite dress of the day, a chartreuse 1930’s/40’s day dress with a tropical flower print. I spotted some ladies even wearing their purchases from the day at the Saturday night dance. Lindy Shopper did not leave empty handed, coming away from the sale with a pair of two-tone brown and cream perforated leather heeled oxfords, which Heidi referred to as “The Holy Grail.” After dancing in them in prelims, I can confirm that they are, indeed, magical shoes.

The best part of the sale was having an edited selection of swing era garments and accessories brought to an audience who really appreciates them. Not having to wade through polyester = maximum convenience!

Where are the photographs? I was too stressed out to remember to take any, so my apologies. This should serve as a reminder to me that I need to cut out something next year – being at work at 8 a.m. the Friday of the event instead of taking the day off, DJ’ing, competing, organizing, and singing in the band on Friday night was just a bit much.

Thanks again to Andi Shelton, Claire Villa, and Laura Churchill Pemberton for all their hard work and for making an appearance at EBC as The Vintage Collective!

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!

Silver Shoes Go With Everything

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

Well, maybe not everything, but silver/pewter shoes certainly go with almost everything. They are neutral without being boring – a little bit shiny and exciting. A pair of Remix pleated toe wedges in silver showed up on eBay this week in a size 10.5/11. The Buy It Now is about half the retail price of this shoe, but the seller is open to offers. It definitely never hurts to make an offer.

I’m not seeing any silver wedges on the Remix website – limited edition color? Sample? I’d really love a pair of these in my size, can Remix make more of these in silver (hint, hint)? 😉