One of the most annoying things about wearing shirts tucked in while we dance is that they tend to come untucked while we dance (one of the main reasons you will see me in dresses v. pants/skirts). One solution is to wear things untucked, but not every shirt was meant to be worn untucked and sometimes we want to look a little more polished. Aside from tucking things into your underwear (which isn’t foolproof), what other options do we have to keep our shirts tucked in?
For example…
I was scanning my Facebook news feed a few weeks ago and noticed that Philadelphia dancer and instructor Sascha Newberg had posted about military shirt stays as a possible solution. If you are not familiar with stays, they are elastic bands that attach on one end to your shirt tail and on the other end to your pants. They serve the dual purpose of keeping your shirt tucked in and your socks pulled up. If you are going for military precision, some sloppy shirts and droopy socks aren’t going to cut it.
I remember seeing these for the first time when my friend Joanna went to the U.S. Naval Academy. I commented on how impeccable she looked in her white uniform, how everything was just so, and she pulled up her pants leg to show me the stays. She said they took a little getting used to, that certain “spring” in her step, but after a while they just became part of the uniform.
What say ye? Shall we add a spring to our Lindy Hop steps? In the name of keeping shirts tucked in!
I’ve written a guest post for Raleigh Vintage on what a brand new, never-been-to-a-swing-dance-before, dancer might want to know before heading to their first swing dance. I know there are tons of these, written for every swing dance society/group ever created, but I figured these things can’t be said enough – the more resources, the better.
At last…my love has come along…my lonely days are over…and life is like a song…at last!
After what seemed like an exercise in futility, my trumpet skirt crusade has returned a winner that I hope will take off like gangbusters. Like every good crusade there’s a story and mine begins with a Facebook message from Valerie Salstrom.
Val messaged me in May that she had a great lead on trumpet skirts in Korea, a tailor named Chloe Hong who had a shop called From. She raved about the quality and construction of the skirt and, knowing Val’s extensive knowledge of vintage clothing and construction, I started to get excited. “They have a little more weight and a little more “slip” to them. They move like a dream.” I was sold.
I messaged Chloe about the skirts and after some discussion of sizing I ordered one in brown and one in black. She was so helpful and gracious – she also made arrangements to have a Korean dancer, Jade, bring the skirts to ILHC for me so that I could save on shipping. It was well worth the wait and after I picked them up from Jade (thank you for transporting them!) I ran back up to my hotel room to try them on and twirl in front of the mirror.
Chloe Hong’s store in Korea
This is a superior skirt for several reasons:
– The fabric has this wonderful weight to it – it’s 100% polyester, but it almost feels like a soft faille, with the drape of a crepe silk.
– The fabric has a slight stretch, which helps with fit and movement.
– The waistband is substantial enough to stay put and not roll over.
– The cut is superb – flattering to the tummy, hips, and bum, it starts to go out from the waist from the waistband, rather than hugging the hips too tightly and then flaring out (which can create several fit issues and give the illusion of gut or hip bumps). It just lays so nicely!
Oh, the lovely drape!
– The skirt is lined in a way that creates a mini-slip at the top of the skirt, from the waist down to just below your bum. The lining also helps in terms of smoothing things out (like your top that’s tucked in or the elastic line from the top of your bloomers) and helps with the movement of the skirt, so that it doesn’t catch on whatever you have underneath the skirt. Because the lining/slip hits just below your bum, you still get all the benefit of showing off your legs during the twirl, without having to worry as much about what is covering your bum (or what may have shifted).
– Machine washable!
– Travels well – it came from Korea to ILHC to North Carolina, I hung it up for two days, then wore it to work without having to iron it.
The price is a mere $52 for what I would consider to be the best trumpet skirt I have put on my body. If Chloe does not carry your size, a custom skirt would cost $80, which is really not terrible considering the quality of these skirts. Colors available appear to be black, brown, steel gray, mauve, and red.
Giselle Anguizola in the shorter version of the “flare skirt”
Chloe also has some other great skirts for dancing, including a shorter version of the trumpet skirt and a pencil skirt with a front slit that Laura Keat has been sporting (and rocking out with her dancing) for competitions. Chloe also does custom work, which Val has attested is simply beautiful.
Chloe’s website is set to launch very soon, so you may wait until that occurs, or you may want to go through the Facebook page for her shop, From. I was able to order by waist size – measurements and sizes are available on Facebook. Also, Valerie says that Chloe will be at All Balboa Weekend in 2014 and that she is bringing a bunch of ready made skirts with her from Korea! Looking forward the website launch and seeing more from Chloe Hong. 🙂
One of my lovely supporters, Raleigh Vintage, is offering 10% off to Lindy Shopper readers for the foreseeable future. I’ll keep the reminder in the side bar to the right, in case you forget. Enter the code LINDYSHOPPER at checkout. 😉
I couldn’t resist posting this 1940’s dress with detachable skirt because I think it’s such a clever design. It seems that any time buttons are involved the cuteness is magnified, and when you make a skirt detachable it appears to require a lot of buttons. The dots with the solid fabric is a great combo, and I love the contrast collar on the shirt as well as the inset panels on the skirt. Wear with skirt attached or pair with pants for a cute cropped top…maybe without skirt for prelims, with skirt for finals? That’s smart packing, too. 🙂
I was in Bygones in Richmond, Virginia a few weeks ago and noticed a label that I had never seen before on their reproduction dress rack, attached to a very attractive dark teal rayon print dress. I, of course, forgot to write it down, but Bygones was able to connect the dots for me about Petrunia via Facebook…
…and, upon further investigation, it appears that Petrunia has an entire line of dresses and coats, many in shapes and fabrics reminiscent of the decades when swing dancing was popular.
From the website: “As specialists in vintage apparel and textiles we know that the most-cherished pieces that are kept and worn for decades share the traits of extraordinary quality and a style that serves the wearer as well as the latest trends. Certain pieces are so feminine and flattering that they are truly transformative, making the wearer look and feel her best. With this in mind we have recreated the fabrics and the fit and feel of some of the best coat and dress designs from the 1930s to the 1960s, and we have added modern fabric and design innovations.”
This is all very reassuring, inspiring confidence in a Petrunia purchase that it would have those qualities of vintage clothing. Regretfully, I didn’t purchase that dress at Bygones, but the fabric did feel like a dreamy cool rayon and the construction details were lovely.
It looks like there are only limited quantities of certain garments available for purchase directly through them, but there is an extensive list of retail locations around the United States where you can purchase Petrunia garments. Hopefully, this will change and you’ll be able to purchase everything online, but I don’t see any news to that effect, so we shall have to be patient.
(Edited to add that the owners of Petrunia contacted me to let me know they just launched an online store at http://shop.petrune.com/)
Here’s what I’m loving from Petrunia:
Grace DressEmbroidered Linen Dress40’s dress in aqua and greenMargaret dress in scallop print
It’s never too late in the season to pick up a proper summer suit and this vintage Brooks Brothers linen suit is no exception (ignore the ill fit on the model, poor guy) – the seller is dating this as 1920’s or 1930’s, but, regardless of decade, this is a quality suit. Looks to be around a 42/44 jacket with a 36 inch waist and a 30.5 inch inseam with a solid 2 inches to let out. SOLID.
If only they had just left that button unbuttoned…Bonus: buttons for braces
And we can dress real neat from our hats to our feet – and surprise ’em with the victory cry…
As we travel to events in different cities and dance the night away, sometimes our wardrobe fails us. Sometimes we don’t have backup clothing when our wardrobe fails us because we’ve sweated through all of our clean clothing or something else more catastrophic happens. If you’ve got the right things in your suitcase or dance bag, you may be able to make a quick repair or have a quick solution to keep yourself together and out on the dance floor for a few more dances. Here’s what I like to have in my bag:
SAFETY PINS
They are so essential I carry them around on my keychain. They can do just about anything – mend a seam, hem pants, keep a neckline in place, pin a stray bra strap, or even hold a tie in place. Start keeping the ones they give you to pin your number on in competitions, just put them on your keychain or in your dance bag until you need them. 😉
DOUBLE SIDED BODY TAPE
Also known as “fashion tape,” this stuff is great for many of the things safety pins can do, only with more finesse. If you don’t sweat too much when you dance, you can use it to secure fabrics to your skin to prevent them from moving, and it is also great for fabric on fabric dilemmas at dance events. I’ve used it to secure larger collars or other loose clothing appendages, hem pants, make bows perkier, and to secure gaps when I wear button-down shirts.
SEWING KIT
Yes, I know, this is obvious – but it does come in handy.
STAIN ERASER
Easy as one, two, three!
I am a messy eater and I will inevitably spill something on myself during a meal. If you are like me, you dress up to go out to dinner with friends before the big Saturday night dance at an event and, in your finery, something saucy falls in your lap and you run to the bathroom to try to blot it out before it sets in. In times like this, it’s a good idea to have something on hand to eliminate the stain, like Tide To Go, so that you can go on to the dance without having to change clothes or wear something with your dinner on it.
SINK WASH
If you happen to be attending a longer dance event and/or have very little luggage space, you may want to consider doing laundry while you are gone and wearing some things twice. I’m thinking about those of you who make multiple shirt changes each night – who wants to sacrifice luggage space to pack all the tee shirts you actually need for a week-long dance event? If your housing situation does not have laundry facilities, you can always wash your clothing in the sink – Tide also makes travel sink packets with detergent for washing your clothes in the sink.
SHOE GLUE
Inevitably, at some point in your dance lifetime, you will be in the middle of an event and the suede on your shoes will start to come off, or maybe even the entire sole. If Dancestore.com isn’t there vending and you didn’t bring backup, you could be in trouble. Have some sort of adhesive handy in your luggage – people have differing opinions about what works best, but barge cement and contact cement seem to be the most popular.
Your deal of the week is this cream Leluxe Clothing beaded dress on eBay, worn once by a bride to her engagement party, and is now selling dress plus slip with a starting bid of $119.00. A new dress from Leluxe Clothing will set you back $300-400 and then the matching under slip is another $50. If you are planning for a Gatsby themed dance/party, a wedding, or your New Year’s Eve ensemble, this would be a great option!
The other wonderful thing about these dresses is that they tend to fit a range of sizes because they are made of mesh. I’m trying to place the style, but it’s not matching up with any dresses on the Leluxe website – I’d probably use “The Charleston” dress as a frame of reference for sizing.
Laura Keat’s dress, the “Savoy Ballroom Kleid” – Laura has it in red, but I love the teal. I CAN HAZ?
This shop comes to you courtesy of Laura Keat, who posted a photo album on Facebook detailing the sources of her most-asked-about items of clothing. I recognized all of her sources except for one – ViNSiNN. A Google search led me to a website written entirely in German. Not easily deterred*, I used Google translator so I could browse their shop and tell you about it…in English.
The founders of this retail site are Marina Fischer, Peter Bieniossek, and Lucy Flournoy, all swing dancers with a passion for the vintage aesthetic that comes with the dancing. Marina details her frustrations with attempts to locate vintage clothing, mostly sourced from America, and dealing with shipping, taxes, customs, and the waiting, only to find out that after such a great effort the garment wouldn’t work after all. Then came the resourceful idea to start a shop of vintage-inspired garments to sell in Germany. I am a firm believer in “if it doesn’t exist, you create it” and Marina picked up the ball and ran with it, along with business partner Peter, who shared similar frustrations, and Lucy Flournoy, whose paragraph did not translate well in the Google translator…but I can attest to Lucy’s sense of style, as I observed it when she was going to college in North Carolina and dancing at regional events.
Great socks!
This is definitely a store with the dancer in mind – as I browse through all the lovely dress, top, and skirt options, I notice lots of great modern takes on familiar vintage shapes, lovely details, lots of color, but the overarching theme is that all of these are dressing I wouldn’t hesitate to dance in. There are some great basics for men, even a pair of knickers. And the socks page is divine!
Now I have the reverse problem as Marina and Peter – how to get these items (reasonably) from Germany to the US? Anyone coming to ILHC? 😉 Faves listed below.
*I once used Babelfish to translate an entire transaction over the phone, in real time, into Spanish so I could order custom tango shoes from Columbia from a salesperson who spoke no English.
How About a Second Mate? Dress – also available in a romper, what the what?!Anything Goes vest and……matching knickers!Splanky ShortsLots of great caps to choose from…Twelve Bar Blues skirt, also available in blackEach pair of socks is named after an illustrious swing dance instructor – shown here, the “Nick socken”
Tampa, Florida dancer Tom Blair tipped me off to Dapper Designs, an Etsy store that specializes in bow ties, hair bows, and other swing-inspired accessories, made by another Florida dancer, Margie Sweeney. There are a few things I really like about this shop:
1. The bow ties are available in four different styles: classic, diamond point, and those skinny nod-to-the-1950’s bow ties in both straight and wide straight. Let’s not deny that this period in history happened and that one does not have to look like a gift wrapped package to call it a bow tie. Options are always welcome.
2. The neck-wear extends to women, so we can all get a jump on our neck-wear wardrobes to give the guys a run for their money during OcTieBer. I especially like the custom cross-tie, being reminiscent of some Girl Scout neck piece I may have worn and I think it would look fab with a blouse, a 30’s skirt, and a jaunty hat.
3. The fabric selection for the custom ties has a little something for everyone – from classic plaid to dots to geometric patterns to a faux bois print.
And there you have it! Lots of custom options for guys and gals, handmade by one of our own.
(Edited to add that David Lochner has informed me that “the “cross tie” is called a “continental” in menswear and the straight bows are “batwings” – I learn something new every day! 🙂 )
ARE YOU SEEING THIS?!? Trashy Diva has out-Trashy Diva’d themselves and come out with a jumpsuit (perhaps, even, beach pajamas?) in gorious navy rayon. This isn’t a gown, these are some awesome, wide leg, flowy pants! Pants with all the utility of a dress – just one piece and, voila! Your outfit is complete.
This is part of a nautical collection they have been inching out onto their website over the past couple of days, so there may be more additions after this post. I’m going to post everything here because it should be seen. Adorable!
Sailor dress with giant pockets!Anchor dress…this one is calling my name…
…this denim jumper popped up on ModCloth.com – On The Double Dutch Jumper, a bit more casual, perhaps a nice modern update of this classic shape? Denim goes with everything, or so I’ve heard…
I’ve been meaning to seek out the items for this post for a couple of years and Memorial Day seems like a good time to share – following my last What’s Old is New featuring outfits from A Day at the Races, I’d like to look at some of the costuming choices in Groovie Movie and note where you may find similar items in modern times to hone your 1940’s-inspired dance pieces. As this was a film made during World War II and the film features some the male dancers at the end wearing military uniforms, this appears to an excellent film to highlight, in the spirit of Memorial Day. Jitterbugs, veterans, and those who served our nation with honor – we salute you!
I’m going to focus on some of the followers’ outfits at the end of the film because some of the earlier outfits were more…to prove a point or to further the narrative. 🙂 For military garb, that’s a bit of a can of worms. Visit your local army/navy surplus for inspiration, talk to your grandpa, or delve into the potentially very expensive (and very specific) hobby of collecting vintage uniforms.
Onward, ladies!
Jitterbuggin has a great jumper/pinafore that’s similar to the one Irene Thomas is wearing in the clip.A jumper similar to the one worn by Kay Vaughn (Smith) in the clip, courtesy of Time Machine Vintage on Etsy – adorbs!Jitterbuggin has Irene’s number – this blouse style is so close. The cat print is great, but you could probably convince Kim to make you a white one to complete your Groovie Movie look. 🙂And it looks like Time Machine Vintage has Kay’s number – Kay’s shirt is a little harder to discern, but it looks like a button-down with some sort of tie at the neck. Request in white sans lace for your Groovie Movie homage.This bow looks like it’s about the right size. 🙂 Courtesy of Whispy Love on Etsy.Jean Veloz’s fitted V-neck shirt with ruching on the front is the most difficult – I still can’t find a good reproduction, or even a pattern I feel comfortable identifying as “close.” In terms of closeness, this pattern is about as close as I could get. Find a seamstress friend or Etsy seller for hire and get to work.I’ve looked at the blurry image of Jean’s brooch on her blouse long enough that I’m fairly certain it’s a flower (though witch on a broomstick was a close second) – search eBay for “1940 flower brooch” and the options are plentiful!Trashy Diva’s gathered mini skirt looks like the junior version of their high waisted 1940’s skirt – perfect for the Groovie Movie look, as Jean’s skirt was definitely above the knee. Available in teal, purple, green, red, and blackWedges for everyone! Get yours before Dancestore.com discontinues them – available in the sale section, in black and brown.I couldn’t find ankle tie wedges, so these ankle straps will have to do – from Cruisin Australia.
Bonnie Parker wants to know where the hell her trumpet skirts are – she’s long overdue for a new one.
It’s been over a year since my Ode to a Trumpet Skirt, the subsequent crusade, and Dancestore.com‘s response that, yes, we should bring this product back because there is a demand for it. Given the manufacturing process and understanding that these things take time, I figured I’d check back in on Facebook and see how things were going.
Lindy Shopper: Still waiting on that trumpet skirt…
Dancestore.com: Hi Laura! Are you waiting on an order to arrive?
I’m not sure what else we can do, ladies – over a hundred of you personally posted on Dancestore.com’s wall saying “YES! We would buy this skirt” even “instantly” and, in some cases, “in every color!” I guess it’s time to start looking for another source. I have a lead on something, which I hope to write about very soon after a purchase and a test run…we shall see.
Lindy Shopper 