Aris Allen White Wingtip Oxford

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

Aris Allen is on a roll this week, this time with the debut of a new men’s shoe (a rare occurrence, indeed) – a lovely white wingtip oxford with classic broguing detail along the seams and on the toe. Aris Allen has been the go-to for affordable men’s swing dance shoes and I’m happy to see this welcome addition to their men’s footwear line. Now, you just have to decide if you are a white wingtip man or a white cap toe man…

Johnson Shoes

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

"A Brogue" oxford in brown and snake

I’ll keep the shoe theme going for another post…I stumbled upon Johnson Shoes in one of those lists of vintage clothing and shoe resources where most of the links are no longer working. Fortunately, the Johnson Shoes link still worked and I discovered a wonderful resource for 1930’s through 1950’s shoes for men and women. Based in the UK, Johnson Shoes has been selling hand crafted shoes since 1983.

From the website: “We always carry black, brown and white dance shoes, but all our ranges come in all colours. Different soles are available according to your needs. Whilst some styles and colours are in stock due to the fact we offer high quality handmade footwear so it can take a number of weeks to produce your shoes. We offer quality not speed.

Whether you want to dance all night or be comfortable all day we make quality footwear that caters for your needs. Whether you choose from one of the many designs you see on our site or design what you want it’s all in with the price.

Johnson shoes are dance orientated. We have jazz, rock and roll, swing, balboa and lindy-hop shoes, ballroom, and latin shoes, 40s jive, ceroc, leroc, salsa and jive shoes.

You can choose from a wide range of materials including, leather, suede, nubuck, patent, pony, non-leather and a choice of soles, leather, eva, suede , crepe and non-leather. We do all the above footwear from size 3 including half sizes to a ladies size 9 in selected styles and up to mens size 13”

You had me at Balboa…

In addition to custom footwear, Johnson Shoes carries some styles in stock, which are sold through the Rock and Roll Products website. The styles available in stock are also the styles you can customize.

Here’s what I’m loving from the site (there are no individual links, for some reason – sorry!):

Penny Loafer in black and white (I remember someone bemoaning Aris Allen discontinuing their white loafers...)
"Telephone" heels in gold and silver - I can't even begin to tell you how much I am in love with this pair of shoes
White bucks to go with your seersucker suit
"Spanish" shoe in purple with teardrop cutouts
Saddle shoe in brown and beige
"Clio" heels in brown croc

Delia*s Makes Me Wish For Summer

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

As most of the United States is blanketed with snow and ice, the Delia*s catalog arrives in my mailbox, bearing good tidings of warm weather that we won’t see for a few more months. I see cork soled wedges and sundresses and I want the temperature to go up 40 degrees so the sheet of ice covering my driveway will evaporate and I can emerge from the cocoon of winter coats into the warm glow of a summer sun. Is that too much to ask for?

Delia*s is one of those stores/catalogs that I think most people associate with teenagers, but every year I find something in the Delia*s catalog that becomes that thing that everyone asks, “Where did you get that? It’s so cute!” It’s definitely worth a look. Here’s a preview of some good things to come from Delia*s:

Polka dot dress, only $44.50
Nautical stripe knit dress
Polka dot short
Yellow polka dot bikini - hehe
Two tone oxford, also in black and white
Peep toe espadrille flats, also in navy
Yang wedge, in 4 colors...not danceable, but we still need arrival shoes, right?
A more danceable option, Keds Champion Oxford in silver, also available in metallic blue

Steve Madden Wingtips for Women

This post was written by Lindy Shopper.

For a more casual, menswear-inspired look to go with your Lindy Hop duds, check out Steve Madden’s series of wingtip-inspired shoes – with leather soles no less!

Melin Oxford in black - also comes in two-tone hot pink and black or white and black
Miltie Oxford - hit the links or the dance floor; also comes in all black and all white
Mistaa Loafer - also comes in black, tan, silver, and white