Saint Savoy Dancewear – A Swing Dance Shoe Company

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

Saint Savoy, in technicolor! — Saint Savoy, in Technicolor!

I love a sale and I love it when I find new products tailored for swing dancers – here, we have Saint Savoy Dancewear, a swing dance company founded by Rani-Patricia Dirnhofer, a Vienna-based dancer who grew up in Spain and uses her connections there to collaborate with Alicante shoe manufacturers to create this line of men’s and women’s dance shoes – from oxfords to t-straps, flats to heels, brogueing to cutouts…there’s a lot of variety here! Additionally, Saint Savoy is running a sale until November 30, 10 Euros off any pair of dance shoes…

…but what about these shoes, you say? Let’s take a closer look:

It seems all dancers struggle with finding that perfect pair of shoes – Rani-Patricia shared this struggle: “While hunting for stylish dance shoes, we searched through countless websites from all over the world. The meagre array, several bad buys, and a lot of research brought us to the idea of starting our very own company.” What is remarkable is that people are actually doing this, starting companies and making these shoes – clearly there is a demand!

So if you could come up with a dance shoe company, what specs would you include? Saint Savoy touts the following:

– Jazz age and swing-era-inspired designs

– Product testing by international Lindy Hop superstars such as Jo Hoffberg, Kevin St. Laurent, Isabella Gregorio, and Pontus Persson

– Sustainable production: “We hold the manufacturing methods of our products to high ethical standards, and select the materials used according to durability and sustainability. We proudly ensure that our shoeboxes are made from recycled paper, plastic packaging is minimized, leatherwork follows German PCP Regulations, and working conditions for our shoemakers are fair – more ways in which we join traditional and contemporary.”

– Options for leather or synthetic soles

– Sales/vending at European events

Here are some favorites from the Saint Savoy line of shoes for men and women (ladies, note that there are flats and low heel options) – don’t forget to place your orders before November 30 to get the discount!

ILHC 2014 – Trend Report

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

This year’s International Lindy Hop Championships were a little topsy turvy for me – instead of competing and commentating on the Balboa Strictly competition and ILHC trends for Yehoodi’s broadcast, I was DJ’ing the Balboa competitions and singing with Jonathan Stout‘s bands. I ALMOST thought I wouldn’t have time to gather information for a blog post, but then I found myself going “OK, I have 5 minutes before sound check, let me just run over here…” So, you see, I have a post for you after all – two, even. 😀

Let’s start with trends! Here’s what I saw this year:

They actually looked better styled by the dancers at ILHC - tuck in shirt of your choice, hem to ankle length, add Keds and optional belt and/or head scarf. — They actually looked better styled by the dancers at ILHC – tuck in shirt of your choice, hem to ankle length, add Keds and optional belt and/or head scarf.

– Women’s high waisted pants with tapered leg, optional pleat – if they had gotten them at the GAP, it would be a new era of khakis swing because these pants were everywhere. I counted at least 10 pairs on follows in one of the Lindy Hop prelims heats, plus scattered sightings elsewhere. NYC dancer Jessica Miltenberger reported that American Apparel was a prime source here, offering said pant in a recent sale for a great price and versatile colors. It looked like a casual scene in a 1950’s technicolor film, with all the tucked in shirts, high waisted pants, and skinny belts…but that’s probably a different GAP commercial…

– Men’s suits in non-traditional colors – I saw lovely shades of deep burgundy, purple, and different blues, all elegantly done and tastefully accessorized, but with that extra pop that makes you notice them – which is exactly what you want in a dance competition, to be noticed.

– Stockings with detail on the lower thigh – yes, Jo Hoffberg has been doing this for years, but this year people must have Googled hard enough to find all her elegant stocking sources. The beauty of the lower thigh detail is that you don’t have to wear a super short or flyaway skirt to see all that glorious detail, and it emphasized swivels in a really cool and different way.

– Men’s purple dress shirts – were rampant! Light, medium, dark, all the shades. See also coordinating follower outfits.

– Remy Kouakou Kouame & Vincenzo Fesi – holy mother of *insert expletives of joy*, those white suits…all their ensembles from the weekend, really, but their powers combine in this magnificent routine for sartorial and jazz dance sublimity.

Vendor report coming soon – stay tuned!

Lindy Hop Necklace

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

The creative talent of both Lindy Hoppers and sellers on Etsy never cease to amaze me – combine the two and you get a seller like MarKhed, who has crafted this wonderful Lindy Hop necklace, hand sawed out of silver. The silhouette looks like it was taken from a photograph of Kevin St. Laurent and Jo Hoffberg.

Check out the rest of her Etsy store, as there are some really amazing cutouts in her jewelry, especially those of the human form. She even takes custom orders – perhaps your dance silhouette should be memorialized in a piece of jewelry!