The Memorial Day weekend dances are fast approaching (this weekend already) and I thought it might be helpful to provide links to some sites that cover fashion and hair for the periods being featured (20’s & 30’s Sat. night, 40’s on Sun. night in Tampa). Keep in mind that some or most fashions might look great, but not be very realistic for dancing.

No matter how you decide to dress up, when it comes to the hairdo for the ladies, I highly suggest you try doing it one night before the night of the dance. Doing it once before will give you an idea of how long it will take and what problems you might run into. With that said, below are links broken out by fashion and hair for the 20’s, 30’s , and 40’s eras:

20’s Fashion
http://www.fashion-era.com/flapper_fashion_1920s.htm
http://www.1920-30.com/fashion/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920s_in_fashion

20’s Hair
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flapper
There is much more information available for women’s 20’s styled hair, just do a search on “finger waves” in Google and take your pick

30’s Fashion
http://www.murrayonhawaii.com/nolan/fashionhistory_1930mens.html
http://www.angelfire.com/retro/lisawebworld/30sfashion.html
http://www.fashion-era.com/stylish_thirties.htm

30’s Hair
http://www.hairfinder.com/hairstyling/1930b.htm
http://www.fashion-era.com/hats-hair/hats_hair_8a_hairstyles_history_1930_1940.htm
http://www.revampvintage.com/30shairstyles.html

40’s Fashion and Hair
http://www.flyinfootwork.com/blog/2007/05/08/vintage-style-tips/
http://www.flyinfootwork.com/blog/2007/12/12/how-do-to-victory-rolls-in-5-min/

For men, you can find men’s vintage style wide leg pants at Adam’s Men’s Wear in the Seminole Town Center Mall. You can typically find wide leg pants in specialty menswear shops that carry more trendy/edgy men’s suits. You may have to sort through the bright colors to find the vintage look, but men’s dressy fashions haven’t changed that much over time. As for the 20’s/30’s style driving caps, fortunately those have made somewhat of  a comeback in recent years and you can find them at many stores like Burlington Coat Factory and occasionally even at Target.

So, Rob and I went flying recently on a Friday night with a fellow dancer/friend who has a pilot’s license. As the afternoon passed by, I got more and more nervous and excited about what was coming up that evening. You see, I don’t necessarily have a fear of flying so much as a healthy respect for heights and aviation. Before a year ago, I had never been in anything smaller than a 25 person prop commuter plane and that wasn’t bad at all. Last year Rob and I got to ride in a 1925 biplane that seated 4 passengers and that was excitedly “gripping” (referring to my white knuckles), but quite nice once I relaxed and remembered to breathe.

So I wasn’t sure what riding in a 4 person Cessna plane would be like. As we watched our friend do the pre-flight check that the FAA requires of licensed pilots, I kept thinking that I just wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into and should I go through with it. It’s not like I can just bail once we get up there and I don’t like it ya know. But I decided a long time ago that I wouldn’t let my fears stop me from enjoying life in different ways. And I’ve always had dreams of flying like a bird and how cool it would be. But even with my interest and bravado, I almost bailed like twice. But I persevered and got in, strapped in, and prepared myself for the experience.

It’s not like I’m afraid that we’ll fall out of the sky mind you, it’s more the feeling of fragility that comes with being in a small craft that is easily pushed around by winds. So it’s like driving in a truly 3D environment where you have the added element of physics affecting your stability from all angles, instead of just gravity as in a car. So we go and take off into the wind which caused us to have lift quite easily and quickly… and away we went. The wind did bump us around during the hour that we were in the sky flying all over Orlando and even Disney. But it’s not like we were hitting air pockets and falling 50ft or anything. Our friend Joshua did a GREAT job of keeping things smooth and easy going for me. He did do a few things that literally left my stomach in my throat. Like one maneuver called a parabola (the bell curve from statistics class… anyone… anyone?) where he points the nose up and then brings it down like going over a hill. Yikes that really got my stomach up in my throat (notice the look on my face).

After we got to “buzz” the Disney attractions at 3,000 feet, we proceeded back to the executive airport where the landing was really neat and we even saw a HUGE bald eagle at the edge of a pond on the way back to the tarmac. I survived and even had fun. And Rob even had the foresight to snap a few pictures of all of us (and me) while flying…so enjoy those.

People often ask what we do when we aren’t teaching dancing or putting on swing dance events. I could tell you about our day jobs working on computers and web sites, but I wouldn’t want to let the secret solution to insomnia go public just yet. Instead, I’ll tell you about Dawn’s alter ego… Dawn, the animal lover. A simple walk around the block during a break today turns into adventure as Dawn rescues two baby ducks from being hit by cars as they cross the road. As she watches the babies scuttle along to the pond, wild kingdom unfolds before her eyes as a hawk swoops down and carries off one of the babies. Not having anymore of that, Dawn, champion of all fluffy defenseless cuteness, ensures the other duck’s safe voyage to the pond. Unfortunately, mother duck was nowhere to be seen. After monitoring the situation all day, the outlook for the baby duck did not appear to be good. As I was sitting at my desk this afternoon, Dawn walks in with a box. She had rescued the ducky!

Who else do you know that keeps a baby duck at their desk?

We’re taking the little bugger into a wildlife rescue this afternoon.

For any woman who has yearned to do their hair in a sweet vintage style, this video clip tells you how. I have not yet tried the technique myself, but after doing battle with my hair on many an occasion, I can tell you that this should work pretty well. The lady in the video, as you will see, has somewhat short hair that does not look very thick and she is able to make it work quite quickly.

What I love about this technique is it does most of the hard hair work in one fell swoop and just some clean up pinning is required from there. The lady does not go into detail at all about how to roll your hair and it does not appear to me that she rolled her hair before showing the technique. If you have time and want to play with rolling your hair to get more body, that’s always helpful in doing vintage rolls… especially for those of us that have thick, heavy hair or a lot of hair.

What I have done before when I need to do a quick vintage ‘do is just spray the heck out of the areas of your hair that you are going to style and that will add some body and stylability to it. Don’t spray it so much that it’s stiff or unbrushable per se, just has some “grit” to it. “Dirty” hair or hair that has any styling product in it is much easier to style quickly than clean hair is. Between this and the technique that this lady shows you, anyone can do a vintage do in mere minutes

Happy styling and thanks Shelley for sending me the link to this clip!

People often tend to overlook dancing as a legitimate form of working out and getting fit, however, you’d be surprised how many calories can be burned by hitting the dance floor. While we don’t know of any exact studies on dances such as Lindy Hop, Shag, Balboa, or Charleston, we can compare these to “fast ballroom dances” that studies have been conducted on. Given this, swing dancing can burn between 306 and 374 calories per hour (assuming a body weight of 150lbs). Beginners may see more on the lower side as you usually start out dancing to slower songs when you learn. As you become more experienced and spend more continuous time on the dance floor the calories you burn will continue to rise. In fact, if you spend some quality time on the dance floor, a night out dancing can easily burn off the equivalent of a Big Mac with cheese (704 calories). But dancing is all a lower body workout, right? Wrong! Holding a frame, maintaining connection, posture, and adding style all exercise the upper body as well making dancing a complete workout.

The common misconception is that you have to lift weight to work your body out. After all, a workout has to be strenuous to be a workout, right? Well, actually, no. In reality, the important thing is to just get your body moving and get the muscles in motion. One of the biggest reasons for failure in workout programs is loss of interest or boredom. Dancing is all together different. It’s entertaining, social, and fun. The fact it is a form of exercise is a fringe benefit. Tons of everyday people of all ages and physical backgrounds enjoy dancing without ever even noticing the workout they are getting from it.

I wanted to post something here that I thought would be relevent to all of the female swing dancers. I recently had my hair and make-up professionally done for a friend’s wedding renewal ceremony. The person I went to was highly recommended by multiple people in the Orlando area. As I was talking to her while she was doing my hair and make-up, I got on the topic of doing retro 40’s hairdo’s and how hard and complicated they can be. Well, she told me how she is trained to do styles going all the way back to the 1800’s Victorian era and everything in between. So I asked her if she does private sessions where she teaches hair and make-up one-on-one and she does!

A few options went through my head like getting a group of interested people together to have a session with this lady. But then I realized that what works style wise for some people will not work for others and probably doing one on one private sessions with her would be a better use of your money spent (no dollar amounts for one on one sessions were discussed).

I’m including her website and contact info in this blog so if anyone would like to tap this wealth of hair and make-up information, you can do so. Her name is Candi Ekstrom and her email is ExpressWeddings@aol.com. Her website is www.expressweddingsflorida.com. Do not be thrown by the website in that it is very focused on weddings, that is her local specialty. Feel free to contact her about having her work with you to get that right mix of cool retro hairstyle and sizzling vintage make-up customized for your skin tone and hair

With the Memorial Day Weekend “1940’s Vintage USO” theme just around the corner, several people have asked for tips on dressing vintage. I thought I would put a few things together that you may find helpful.

It’s hard to find real vintage that is both in good shape and fits your size. If you do, it is often expensive and/or you spend hours in thrift stores trying to find it. The alternative is to either get vintage recreations or look for vintage-like styles off the rack in stores. Vintage recreations can be found online or if you are savvy with a sewing machine, you can make them yourself. They are a bit expensive (or time consuming if you make them yourself), but the advantage is that they have an exact fit and wear good. If you are looking for vintage styles off the rack, all it takes is a good eye and some time looking in stores. The best way to start is getting familiar with the styles of the era by looking at old photos online or the great recreations people have made. Just try a few searches on Google to start. That way, you’ll be able to spot key styles when you are in the store. Be sure to check these sites out:

• Dancestore.com - Women’s dance fashion section (great for hair accessories and dance shoes also)
• ReVamp Limited Vintage Edition Recreations

Also, keep in mind that you will be dancing in your vintage outfit. Just as today, dancers of the era didn’t always dress in the high fashions you seen in media publications. For an example of what swing dancers of the era wore, do a search for “jitterbug” at the LAPL Photo Collection. Comfortability is also a key factor when looking for vintage styles you can dance in too.

For ladies hairstyles, the best word of advice I can give is allow some extra time when getting ready and to experiment. This is especially true if you have never done a vintage style before. Again, look at old photos and take your time. Here are some links that you will find helpful:

• L.A. Nocturne
• Hair Styles of the 1940s *warning* good resource but triggers possible malitious popups.
• Lipstick Vogue

For the men… in some ways, you have it easier. Men’s styles don’t change much over the years. However, if you are looking to set yourself apart a bit, we have a few tips. Again, look at old photos for a basis. You can find men’s vintage style wide leg pants at Adam’s Men’s Wear in the Seminole Town Center Mall. You can also often find men’s vintage style driving caps at Burlington Coat Factory and occasionally at Target.

Oh and you might want some dance shoes to go with the new outfit. Here are a few links:

• Dancestore.com - Men’s Shoes - Women’s Shoes
• Women’s Wedges and Heels
• Men’s White Bucks

If you are looking for authenticity, you may want to steer clear of the common swing dance clichés such as poodle skirts (more 50’s) and zoot suits (a symbol of rebellion that was not associated with dancing until after the era). However, the saddle shoe, while commonly associated with 1950’s, enjoyed popularity throughout the 30’s and 40’s as well.

If you wish to dress in vintage military, we suggest you start with eBay. Also, check out your local Army/Navy surplus store. We have also heard you can rent complete vintage recreation uniforms at costume shops.

Update: Vintage recreation military uniforms can be rented here. Also, Payless Shoes has a large slection of vintage styled women’s wedges. They are priced around $12 a pair. For men, Old Navy has men’s stripe socks.