You could be dressed up like a million dollar trooper this holiday season in this fantastic 1930’s tuxedo, available on eBay from seller catalpa1961 with a starting bid of only $9.99! I do wish the seller had pressed the tuxedo and shirt before taking the photos, but you’ll have to imagine it after a pressing. Even with wrinkles, it’s easy to see that this tuxedo has some wonderful detailing, like the satin lapels, satin stripe down the leg, double breasted coat and vest, and, my favorite detail, checkerboard satin covered buttons on the coat and vest. This tuxedo has the rare added bonus of a period Arrow tuxedo shirt in good condition. Just add socks, shoes, studs, and cufflinks and a bow tie and you’re fit for any fête.
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.
After a weekend at EBC I noticed a lot of vests, but would love to see some different vests, besides the default black. Here are two great vintage options from the 1930’s from eBay to spruce up your vest options:
Caramel tweed herringbone vestTattersall vest in brown, blue and green plaid
It’s been a while since anything gentlemanly crossed my path for the blog, but here’s a wonderful double breasted navy suit from the jazz era, listed on eBay by seller privatescreening. From a “high quality prominent Seattle estate,” this suit has wonderful details, like pants cuffs, peaked lapels, a matching 6 button vest, button fly, and lots of pockets. A great investment for your wardrobe, as any of these pieces could be worn separately or together. The price is a bit up there, but comparably much less than the other three piece vintage suits popping up on eBay as of late.
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:
1940's kitchen dress - love the pockets and the rickrack detail1950's plaid dress with removable collar1930's or 40's cotton day dress1940's day dress - love the contrasting insetsThis 1950's two piece romper set is an outfit with built-in bloomers - sometimes you feel like a skirt, sometimes you don't
This 1930’s/40’s crepe dress from eBay seller 7shops is a standout in several ways. The dress shape and draping are classically elegant, but there are some wonderful and eclectic elements to this dress, specifically the slit cutouts below the neck, the pleated gathering at the bust, and the fabric itself. If you look closely at the fabric, the green and yellow shapes are trees and the background is a sort of zebra stripe wood grain in black and white. Someone with a 28 inch waist please buy this dress! Starting price is $9.99.
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:
Classic trumpet skirtKnickerbockers - 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?Splanky dressStudent pants - 1930's styleSplanky blouseSingle-breasted cashmere vestSailor pencil skirtA nod to classic ensemble Lindy Hop performances, your ensemble can also sport silky jumpers for the ladies with matching silk shirts for the gents
Polish up the nine iron because it’s time to get your knickers on and hit the links…or the dance floor. EBay seller hotclubduparis (location: Savoyville, Italy) has posted a matching vest and knickers set in a lovely menswear stripe with a little red in the stripe. Knickers are perfect for showing off your clever socks, no? Whoever wins this auction will be my hero.
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):
1950's black sweater1940's three-tone rayon dress1940's Tuxedo1936 three piece suit 1930's belted back suit1940's double breasted suitWWII uniform1940's or 50's striped pants
I can’t resist posting a tuxedo on here, even though most of you will probably never be seen in a tuxedo at a dance; however, in the off-chance you are feeling dapper and festive, here’s a lovely tuxedo that popped up on eBay from 1932. It looks pristine. The tag on this tux reads “Kennedy’s” and is dated October 10, 1932. I wonder who was buying a tuxedo in the middle of the Great Depression…
Check the measurements for sizing, but the seller is posting this is approximately a 33 inch waist on the pant and a 36 jacket. Note that the seller will not re-list the item if not sold. With two days left on the auction, no bidders, and a $49.99 start price, this could be a fantastic deal!
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.
Up for grabs on eBay is this great tweed vest and pair of pants in a lovely tweed with hints of orange, green, and rust. The vest has four pockets and the pants have buttons for suspenders and a high waist. The seller, timeless, has not guessed at a size, so check the measurements carefully for fit. To give you a hint as to size, the seller believes this set was made for someone “tall and lanky.”
I’m not sure how eBay seller justin711 came into this many pairs of men’s cap toe shoes from the 1920’s through the 1940’s, but he has listed eight pairs of them, all in wearable condition. My favorite pair are the two tone brown and white, with the scuffed up boots coming in a close second. Here are the goods, in sizes ranging from 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 and a $19.99 starting price:
It’s always nice to slip into a freshly pressed shirt, but what if that shirt was pressed in 1939?
This week, eBay delivers to the public two men’s dress shirts in white, still in their pre-war paper laundry wrappers, size 16 x 34. One shirt is labeled Carson Pirie Scott Chicago and the other is Tookason 5. Both shirts will have to be laundered again, of course. The auctions note that both shirts appear to have been mended, as it was customary to mend holes rather than replace the entire shirt. There are several other 1930’s/1940’s shirts this particular seller, chesneywold, has listed, all from the same estate in a similar size.
Lindy Shopper 