I have another tip on a German reproduction/vintage inspired clothing source, thanks to Florian Kremers, who messaged me to tell me about Vecona Vintage. From the website:
“Inspired by the fashion of the 1920ies to 40ies Vecona Vintage combines former glamour with the wear comfort of modern textiles. High class materials and accurate craftsmanship make every item become a very personal piece of fashion history you´ll take much pleasure in for sure…Vecona Vintage garments are hand-made high quality products. Every single step is executed professional and accurate by a highly qualified and experienced master tailoress.”
As an added bonus: “The high quality materials not only feel great further they are easy to clean so that you don´t have to get them dry cleaned after every dance. You can wash your new treasures in your washing machine at 30°C.”
Vecona Vintage really shines with its menswear and women’s separates. The menswear selection boasts traditional pants and vest combos, along with knickers and work pants for a more casual-but-not-quite-as-casual-as-modern-jeans look. The women’s collection features a selection of high waisted trousers, pencil skirts, 1920’s-style dresses, and some lovely blouses. Here’s what I’m digging:
Rusty Dusty work pantsLacy Daisy blouse in mintCasablanca linen vest and pantsMarlene pants in red
I’ve been on the prowl lately for more clothing that can double for work and swing, especially tops. I was delighted to see an email in my inbox this evening from My Baby Jo, a shop I blogged about early on in the history of Lindy Shopper, with some seriously superb reproduction sweater basics for fall. Their “Girl Can’t Help It” sweater looks like a great cropped shell, not too short, but not too long, with a simple weave and colors that are easily embellished with vintage jewelry. Definitely work-safe, and the email also said that matching cardigans would be coming out soon! Available in black, hunter green, lilac, baby blue, and pale topaz.
Aaaaaaand….cue obligatory dance scene opening credits:
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!
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. 😉
The International Lindy Hop Championships proved to be a truly inspiring event this year, with performances by top dancers, of course, but there was also an electricity, a sense of community, and mutual love and understanding that seemed to permeate the room. Am I getting on a hippie tangent? Maybe. But I shared some pretty awesome moments with hundreds of my fellow dancers.
My ONLY disappointment this year was the vendor area. I used the word “vendor” (singular) in the title because, aside from the ILHC tee shirts, I only saw one vendor table set up, which was the always charming Forties Forward, with their bevy of hair blooms and accessories. They were the bright spot in an otherwise empty hotel hallway/foyer.
I think the vendor area is important for a few reasons:
– Dancers get products they need
– Dancers can try things on
– Foreign dancers can buy things without having to pay for shipping
– We want to support businesses that cater to our specific needs/wants
– Many of the vendors are dancers themselves, so we like to invest in this micro-economy of dance events
I’m sure there are more. For whatever reason, I hope that the decline in vendor attendance is not permanent.
That said, I hate to leave a post like this, so I’m going to share with you some of the trends I noticed this year at ILHC, some of which I reported during my commentary on Yehoodi’s ILHC broadcast:
Head bands/scarves – the hair flower has reigned supreme for a long time as the hair accessory of choice for swing dancers. This year I saw many more things encircling dancers’ heads (including things with hair flowers attached), as well as creative use of colorful scarves. My favorite was Baltimore dancer Brandi Ferrebee using a head scarf as a snood to cover her curl set during prelims so that her set would be fresh (and dry!) for the dance that night.
The fabulous Anne Williams models a pencil skirt with a slit on the front left leg.
Skirts with a front slit – the skirt slit or vent can be an essential if you aren’t wearing a full skirt. A larger slit or opening can increase your range of motion, which is always helpful in Lindy Hop. The options ranged from the sexy offset front slit to A-line skirts to tulip skirts to a pieced/sectioned skirt that managed to have an awesome slit and twirl at the same time. The effect was functional and lovely, though add a bit of caution when securing or selecting one of these skirts – that slit can migrate, either from side-to-side or up the seam. Give it a test run and make sure the top of the slit is sewn securely or reinforced to prevent splitting.
Double breasted suits – I saw several gentlemen in competition looking very sharp and put-together with their buttoned-up double breasted suits. Certainly, giving men more clothing alternatives for competitions is an excellent thing.
Tweed – Ramona Staffeld and Todd Yannacone set the tweed tone with their matching plaid suits – Ramona’s a vest and skirt combo, while Todd’s was a three piece suit. They looked so sharp and were able to use pieces from this uniform for several competitions. I noticed other competitors in tweed-looking fabrics ranging from an oatmeal fleck to large plaids. The effect was definitely classy, with a nod to fall.
Sequin bloomers – ladies, your sequin bloomers were fabulous and timely, because ILHC is the time to sparkle. 🙂
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. 🙂
As always, I am very excited to be attending the International Lindy Hop Championships in Washington, DC – this year I will reprise my role as guest commentator on Yehoodi’s live stream broadcast of the Open Balboa competition (in HD!) and look forward to seeing all the wonderfully creative competition outfits and pairings the competitors put together. I will also be on hand to report about all the wonderful vendors at ILHC and I am hopeful for a few new faces this year in the vendor area.
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
This is the largest print, 48 X 72 inches – focal point!
I’ve been helping Jason Sager pick out items* for his new studio space for The Lindy Lab and one of the decorative items is artwork for the walls. Studios tend to have large expanses of wall, so the question becomes how does one fill up that space in an interesting and inspiring way?
With Lindy Hop photography prints, of course. A search for “Lindy Hop” on AllPosters.com takes you to a selection of photographs from the August 23, 1943 LIFE Magazine spread featuring Leon James, Willa Mae Ricker, Kaye Popp, and Stanley Catron. If you’re in the market for wall art, these are some great, classic Lindy Hop prints!
*New items also include this bad ass Art Deco bar that’s going to be the DJ booth – oh, yes!
This one seems like it would be a good fit for a studio – progression of movement 😉
I haven’t done a post about Aris Allens on eBay in a while, but if you aren’t doing regular searches for these shoes, then here are some great deals for some used, some barely worn, dance shoes on eBay:
Red wedges, size 6, starting bid $10 – the listing says “used only once as I have no sense of rhythm” – my heart goes out to her!Brown and white wingtip oxfords, size 10.5, starting bid $40White mesh oxford heels, size 9.5, starting bed $19.99Black and white wingtip oxfords, size 10, starting bid $29Herringbone Mary Jane wedges, size 9.5, starting bid $5
Getting specific about period make-up tends to default to whether or not I decide to wear red lipstick, but I admit that I have been curious about the more specific make-up trends from each decade. Glamour Daze has put together four make-up guides – one each for the 1920’s, 1930’s, 1940’s, and 1950’s – compiled from period manuals and magazine articles and made available to you as an ebook. Content covers things like the right colors for your hair/complexion, makeup techniques, skin care, and some decade-specific beauty norms and, perhaps, some not-so-norms by today’s standards. Each ebook is $9.99, or you can get all four for $19.99.
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”
If the source of our power as Lindy Hoppers is how we use the floor, then this sage advice bears repeating – nay, it deserves to be memorialized in a tee shirt. Parody. Star Wars. Nerds. Dig?
Greenville, South Carolina dancer and artist Jackie Palmieri has a history of creating fiercely awesome graphic designs (have you seen the EBC ninjas?) and her latest creation is this tee shirt design, which she will be printing for the Greenville Lindy Exchange, but also taking orders.
If you are interested in owning one of these tees you can either find Jackie Palmieri on Facebook or email her at jackiecricket@gmail.com with the subject line “Use the floor” – send your size, contact info, how best to receive payment, and how best to get the shirt to you. The tees are $15.00 and, if you aren’t attending GVLX, shipping costs.
Last year was the first year that Yehoodi live broadcasted all of the competitions at the International Lindy Hop Championships. The broadcast garnered over 23,000 views and had an international audience. This is no small feat! I had the pleasure of being a part of this landmark broadcast as a commentator during the Open Balboa competition and marveled at how dedicated the Yehoodi staff was to putting out a quality broadcast in spite of their small crew and minimal equipment. It was a lot of work, for sure, and I am excited to report that they are planning on doing it again this year.
But they need a little help to do it right. From their Indiegogo page:
“For 15 years, Yehoodi.com has been providing, free of charge, an online home for the lindy hop community. We’ve run discussion forums, live events like the Basie Centennial, streaming online swing radio, and audio/video podcasts like the Yehoodi Talk Show, Hey Mr. Jesse and SwingNation.
In all of that time, we have never asked for a dime from our members and viewers. Today is the first time on all those years we are asking the lindy hop community for support.
ILHC logoLast year, we went to the International Lindy Hop Championships in Washington DC and produced our first live on-site dance competition show. Using basic production equipment and a skeleton crew, we were able to put on a high quality production that had 23,000+ views over the weekend, with viewers logging in from Korea, Sweden, Australia and many more countries. We heard from hundreds of you how much you enjoyed the live broadcast and the video archive later.
This year, we think we can do even better. We have an opportunity to create a television-quality, high definition video production from ILHC. But we need your help.
Here’s what we need:
– bad ass equipment
– a killer production team…
(insert description of bad ass equipment and killer production team)”
FURTHER:
If I’m not attending this I want to be watching this!
“We have already been approached by several event organizers to stream their competitions and showcases live to the internet. In particular, the team behind the Frankie100 Centennial Celebration have said that they would love for Yehoodi to be there in May of 2014 to stream some of that historic event to the world. With your support, that can happen.
Also, if we reach our goal, we will be able to provide the lindy community with a much higher quality version of our weekly lindy hop based show, SwingNation, the only weekly live streamed video podcast that delivers news, events, interviews and featured dance videos for our Lindy Hop audience. The SwingNation show archive will be in the best quality possible for future generations to come.”
MORE BROADCASTS. We will be in a whole other realm of hobby at this point, with potential for a broader international reach, not to mention the ability to bring the events to people who aren’t able to attend them, to see MORE AWESOME DANCING.
I am super excited about the prospects. As with any worthwhile endeavor, it takes blood, sweat, tears, and cash to make things run. Drop a few dollars their way, this is definitely one project that we can continue to benefit from well into the future. Click here to invest in your Lindy Hop future. 🙂
Lindy Shopper 