Tom & Vittoria In Full Swing

Hello! Ciao!
For this vintage theme blog we would like to introduce you to our models Tom and Vittoria, an international vintage-loving couple, and when we say 'vintage' we are referring to the fashion, music and swing dancing of the 20-50s. They're both big fans of dancing and fortunately at Revival we have a great offering of clothes for men and women to suit getting your groove on.

Tom, a 'lad' from Yorkshire (UK) has been in the wonderful world of vintage for some time now, collecting original vintage clothes and wearing them to teach dancing. He is also a DJ for swing events. Even when he works in other contexts, he does it in style. For example, when he is bartending in the traditional pub, The Craven Arms, he can't help but wear his vintage waistcoat or when he is singing in the folk band, The Jack Tars, you won't see him without his braces, cap and traditional sailors Gansey jumper.

Vittoria, a 'ragazza' from Puglia (Italy), has always had a great fascination for the fashion of those years, in fact she has always sought out clothes and outfits from the wardrobe of her 'nonna' or 'mamma', but not with great success. She can't help but swing dance every day in Barcelona (Spain), the city where she currently lives, but finds it very difficult to source original clothes or vintage reproductions from the 1940s. The word 'vintage' is now commonly used to refer to something from the past but in an indefinite way, so often in a ‘vintage’ shop (in every corner of the city) you will find clothes and accessories from the 70s, 80s and even 90s and unfortunately not the 40s.

Where did we meet?
In Barcelona, during a social dance, swing was our cupid.

Imagine a parquet hall with soft lighting filled with musicians improvising to the song 'All Of Me' and dancers participating with their steps and smiles. We were among them too, it all started with a look and a '¿Quieres bailar?', unaware that from that night on we would never leave each other again.

So, we find ourselves living between Barcelona and the enchanted landscape of the Yorkshire Dales, where we are both models for Revival. In Barcelona Tom volunteers as an English teacher in a primary school and Vittoria works as a landscape architect. She also teaches her mother's traditional recipes and Italian cuisine.

We can say that ours is a love of the past!

Ciao! Vittoria here!
Shortly after meeting Tom I fell in love twice, first with him and then with the blue bolero jumpsuit he gave me. He won me over. It is gorgeous, perfect for any occasion. I tried it on for dancing and highly recommend it. Comfortable and light, the bolero gives a touch of class.

I love my 40s style green Melody dress. It is light and suitable for the warmth of ballrooms or the climate of Barcelona. In the winter months I pair it with my brown Fair Isle wool jumper and off I go, I am ready for a thousand swing outs!

Hello, Tom here!
I’ve been dancing in original and reproduction vintage clothing for many years now. I hope to offer some advice and tips to help you decide what is the most comfortable outfit for your occasion. I love wearing original vintage when I can, but I no longer tend to wear it as much for dancing due to the fear of damaging it with excessive movement or the dreaded ‘sweat’ damage.

My go to outfit for a dance would have to be a 3-piece suit with all the accessories, purely because it feels so smart and traditional. Looking back at old photos, you always see well-dressed chaps attending dances in a 3-piece suit. Now you will get rather warm in this, so it is better suited for those traditional 1940s dances when you are dancing a foxtrot, waltz, barn-dance and possibly a little swing. If you get too warm you can always remove the jacket and still look smart in your waistcoat and of course pocket watch.

For those warmer months, a rare occurrence in England, or for those who like to dance a lot of fast swing or jive you might want to consider wearing some slacks and a 40s/50s short-sleeved shirt! I also love wearing this style of outfit for dancing in Spain as it is much better suited to the climate of course!

Another one of my favourite outfits is the fishtail back trousers with braces and a long-sleeved shirt complete with a vintage swing tie! Make sure you fully accessorise it with sleeve garters, collar bar, and cufflinks! This works really well as a semi-formal option that still has all the perfect vintage components. You can experiment with colourful ties or if you feel more comfortable without you could wear a collarless shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

We highly recommend Revival for all your vintage clothing needs and one thing is clear. Thanks to them we have no doubts about what to wear when we want to go swing dancing or simply dress up and have a romantic vintage evening together.

We love working with Tom & Vittoria! Nothing is too much trouble to get the perfect shot. Even being based in another country didn't put them off joining us for this photoshoot in our local park complete with a beautiful band stand.

Hope you enjoyed finding out a bit more about them as much as we did. Thank you.