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:
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
Lindy Hopper Jacqui Oakley is a dancer, instructor, and illustrator from Toronto, who has created several Lindy Hop-inspired illustrations and offers prints of her vivacious and colorful originals on her Etsy site. At $35.00 a pop, one of these prints would make a fantastic gift for your favorite Lindy Hopper, or treat yourself to one of these cheerful prints. The illustrations remind me of old comic book illustrations, the Dick and Jane books, a little bit of Disney circa All the Cat’s Join In, and photographs of Bobby White and Kate Hedin.
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…
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
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:
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
I came across Tic-Tac-Toes dance shoes in the early 2000’s when I decided that I wanted a pair of bronze Mary Janes to dance in. Finding cute dance flats was already a giant chore, but somewhere in my internet searches I stumbled on the Tic-Tac-Toes website. I ended up with a pair of their “Shag” shoes (presumably Carolina Shag) in bronze and was a very happy camper – the shoes are lightweight, with leather soles, and come in 38 colors. That’s right – THIRTY-EIGHT COLORS.
Thus, if you are looking for a very specific color of dance shoe, Tic-Tac-Toes may be the very place to look. They have a number of styles they have designated for Lindy Hop, such as saddle shoes, two-tone t-strap wingtips, and t-strap heels, but really any of their dance shoes could work. If you are worried about heels, all of the Tic-Tac-Toes shoes have a wide heel and there’s nothing on this website over 2 inches.
The shoes are made in Gloversville, New York for men and women, and come in narrow, regular, and wide widths. The soles and upper parts of the shoes are leather. According to the Tic-Tac-Toes website, “We proudly use only domestic finished leather in our dance shoes. Because we do not use backers between our leather upper and our soft foam and tricot linings, our leather will stretch and mold to the shape of your foot thereby adding to the comfort of the shoe. In addition, our leather has a durable top coating of urethane which allows for easy cleaning and less scuffing.”
Here are my picks from the Tic-Tac-Toes website:
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
There are certain things that people associate with Lindy Hop. When you associate Lindy Hop with a garment or object, that term can yield some interesting results.
As I was pilfering through the Etsy listings a few months ago for 1940’s dresses, I happened upon this jumper, which had the words “Lindy Hop” in the item’s title. Something about this jumper does evoke Lindy Hop and the youthfulness of the swing era in the 1940’s, which made me think, “How appropriate to list this particular item with the words ‘Lindy Hop’ in the title!” I’m sure there are other communities that may be looking for 1940’s jumpers for adults, but something about this was just spot on for a Lindy Hopper (or at least this Lindy Hopper) to want and have in her wardrobe. Needless to say, it has been a match made in heaven. 🙂
Can this success be replicated by searching for items listed under “Lindy Hop” on Etsy? For the most part, yes. There are a few irrelevant items, such as some random non-swing era jewelry, a child’s dress, and some Hello Kitty hair clips (arguably dance functional, but not necessarily evoking Lindy Hop specifically); however, there were some really great listings and item associations with the phrase:
Lindy Shopper 