About Us

We believe that ballroom and social dance is a lifestyle.

If you’re reading this you’re probably not a casual practitioner, an occasional dancer, or one who dances only when convenient. No! Instead you probably wake up in the morning feeling the magnetic pull of the dance floor somewhere for some reason–whether it’s your class that evening, or a special social dance event coming up soon.You’ve probably arranged your life in so many ways around your need to dance–maybe you took a job in a different city, or stopped seeing your “non-dance” friends as often, or did other crazy things to do what you love, I know I did!

My name is Lauren Wilmore, and my obsession with dance started many years ago when I saw “America’s Ballroom Challenge” (that’s right–BEFORE “Dancing with the Stars”), I was absolutely in love. I loved the music, the movement, the costumes, the way the partners interacted with each other and created an exciting, fantastical world with their portrayals. I longed to be a part of it. Later, when I saw the movie “Dance with Me,” my world changed. Seeing a black woman (Vanessa Williams) portray a stunning and successful professional ballroom dancer allowed me to see myself in that role, and from that moment I committed to be a part of it…somehow.

Over the years I’ve been really blessed to be a part of the ballroom dance world in many different ways: I started a non-profit to teach ballroom dance to children (St. Louis Dancing Classrooms), I grew my own social dance school for adults to be one of the most prolific in St. Louis, MO, I collaborated with major corporate and civic partners to bring dance to thousands of people. Most recently I’ve been honored to teach, compete, and perform with one of the best ballroom dance studios in the world, Arthur Murray NYC-Broadway. Phew! What a journey it has been!

Through all those years, lots of experiences (positive and negative), and so many learning opportunities I came to realize that I want to live out my own values through the practice of my ballroom dance lifestyle. Something about partner dance styles for me feels like a celebration of community, collaboration, creation, and so much more, and I wish I could help even more people to experience its transformative powers. I believe that everyone deserves to be a part of it, and should enjoy that lifestyle fully. Lala by Lauren Wilmore is my chance to address one of the fundamental parts of any lifestyle–what you wear! From practice clothes to competition wear, it is my goal to ultimately provide exuberant, ebullient, extraordinary pieces, both ready-to-wear and custom-made, to help you express your passion, elegance, confidence, excitement…whatever you feel that calls you back to the dance floor time after time.It is particularly important to me that people of all colors, sizes, and ages see themselves in and through my products. Just as Vanessa Williams’ appearance on “Dance with Me” encouraged me that, yes! I belong there, too, so too do I hope that my products inspire you to go for it with all the power of your soul, to know that you belong there and have something very valuable and important to contribute. It would be my huge honor to help you to look and feel your best at every step of your dance journey!

I hope you’ll stick around as we learn and grow and expand our product offerings to serve you with excellence. And, more than anything, I hope to see you glowing on a fabulously adorned dance floor very soon!