This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
Here’s some more jazz icon screenprinting madness on Etsy, this time from seller nelesc, who offers not only Billie and Nina on raglans, but also any icon of your choice on an asymmetrical hoodie/track jacket. Any icon, you say? How about three, like all three Boswell sisters?
Who would be on your track jacket?
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.
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.
This post was written by Lindy Shopper.
I’ve been getting the Delia*s catalog since I was about 14 years old and with each passing year I wonder when I will grow out of loving things from this catalog. True, the number of “love” items has grown smaller as I grow older, but there is always something in the catalog that catches my eye or ends up catching my wallet. This season, Delia*s has put out a number of great pieces that are all white. I love wearing white in the summer – it always looks so light and cool. Check out these lovely pieces, with details like ruffles, pintucks, battenburg lace, and smocking – some of these garments come in darker colors, if you have trouble seeing the detail:
Lindy Shopper 