I had a totally different blog post planned for this week and then this appeared on Google….
Frankie Manning the founding father of Lindy Hop would have celebrated his 102nd birthday today (he lived to be 94) and after years of emailing Google they finally made all Lindy Hoppers over the world happy…Frankie Gets/Got to be Google Doodlefied (not even sure that is a word lol). Isn’t it awesome??!!
Now you may think..”who cares, it’s just a Google Doodle”. Well one of Frankie’s Missions was to spread the love of Lindy Hop around the world and he worked very hard in the later years of his life to do this. Today marks the day that Frankie’s dream became a reality in the digital world, Frankie’s dream just went viral 🙂
Another reason this is such a milestone is because of events like the one I’m part of this weekend. Toronto Lindy Hop is running a big swing weekend with a big band and lots of fun activities called ‘Toronto Celebrates World Lindy Hop Day‘ and none of this would be possible if it were not for this man and the other Savoy/Whitey Lindy Hoppers that just went out on that Savoy Ballroom floor and danced the danced they loved…the Lindy Hop.
Check them out in action in the video below (featuring Frankie Manning).
Recently I received a comment on my blog from Jessica from Chronically Vintage and she brought up the statement about the movie “League of their Own” being a big vintage influence in her life. Then when I returned her response, I had to think for a moment who MY vintage influences were that helped shape the vintage gal I am today.
Well I have given it some thought and now I would like to share them with you and then maybe you can share yours with me?
I was a late bloomer when it came to my transformation into the clothing side of the vintage world. It was not really until that I moved to Toronto for Fashion school in 1999 that I started to stumble upon vintage items that were hard to come by in my home town (thank you Kensington market!) which then helped start my vintage clothing obsession.
BUT I was exposed to many vintage “things” growing up before this time. Here are some of the things that influenced me in my early days:
My Grandfathers Big Band Collection of Music– I remember spending what felt like hours sifting thru his collections and asking to borrow one or 2 CD’s to take home and listen too each visit. He is the reason I fell so deeply in love with the early sounds of the Big Bands.
Source: Flickeriver
Sunday Afternoons watching MGM Musicals with my mom-It was a tradition for my mom and I too sit down and watch one of those amazing Technicolor fantasies together. I loved escaping from the world around me for 2 hours as I was serenaded by Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced across my screen in one stunning outfit after another.
Meet Me in St. Louis with Judy Garland
Cyd Charisse and Gene Kelly in “Singin’ in the Rain”
Anne of Green Gables and Road to Avonlea– I adore all of Lucy Maud Montgomery books and so when they were turned into a TV mini series (Anne) and a TV series (Road) I was even more hooked. Hooked on the stunning outfits from the early 20th century (1903–1912) to be even more exact.
Anne of Green Gables
Road to Avonlea
I feel so in love with the show Road to Avonlea that I wanted to create my own clothing for the characters, so sketching of my own designs became my new hobby. And eventually was the reason I entered Fashion marketing school in Toronto (and forever changing my life).
Costume from Road To Avonlea-Sullivan Entertainment
Swing Kids the movie-I must have watched this movie 10 million times and vowed to one day learn how to dance like that.
Enter the..Swing Revival in the 90s which lead to my ongoing love of Lindy Hop.
Johnny Favorite Swing Orchestra-First Neo Swing Band I ever saw that visited Sarnia
The famous Gap commercial from 1998 that helped bring swing music back into mainstream: a real swing revival in the US.
Here are my more recent influences:
Vintage bloggers (thank you internet)-My first vintage blogger I ever found was Retro Chick and she ended up sending me down a rabbit hole of awesomeness that I have never been able to get back out of (or want to).
Retro Chick herself
Toronto Vintage Society-Being part of this group and their awesome knowledge of all things vintage has really pushed my passion to the next level. Thanks everyone!
Flickr and Pinterest-These 2 sites are every vintage lovers dream. The image below I found on Pinterest but was originally seen on Flickr. Seeing real-life images of ladies in gents from your favorite era is a great way to perfect your vintage look.
Source: Flickr-PROprofkaren
Etsy &, eBay-What I don’t have to leave the comforts of my home to pour over tons of vintage dresses and accessories in a store but can instead buy them online? Yes Please! And boy have I ever used these sites (Etsy more than Ebay) to push my style to the next level.
Source: Etsy-TheVintageMistress
Source: eBay
Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
