Showing posts with label 50s style. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 50s style. Show all posts

Monday, 29 June 2015

Tutorial: A 1950s pincurl set!

Hello everyone! It's been a little while but I am back, and I have something for you that has been requested by a few people. An explination of how I do my hair!

I have always felt that the icing on the cake of an outfit is the hairdo. I love experimenting with my hair and although I am not an expert at doing my hair I am a frm believer that practive makes perfect, and the more styles I try the better I get.

At the moment my hair is a sort of shaggy bob/midi hybrid and I have tried a few different ways of setting it, such as foam rollers, bendy rollers, curling tongs and using GHDs and I have come to the conclusion that the best, and most authentic way to get the type of set I want is pincurls.

 I am aiming for a sort of Elizabeth Taylor meets early Mad Men Betty Draper:

http://www.musebeautyproblog.com/the-allure-of-red/elizabeth-taylor/

 So here is how I go about it:

Step 1: Gether equipment
I use the same equipment every time, a tail comb for sectioning, pin curl clips and section clips for holding the curls, hair grips for holding everything secure, a wide paddle brush for brushing out and I use Lottabody setting lotion because it is THE BEST!



 Step 2: Setting
I set on 95% dry hair, I let it dry naturally mostly, but as I am setting it I gently spritz with the setting lotion that has been diluted in a spray bottle. I spritz as I section, just enough to make the hair a bit  tacky.

Starting at the top next to the parting I then take 1 inch squares of hair and curl them around my fingers and clip the curl down flat to my head. I then work back towards the crown and then start a second row. I use roughly 3 rows of pincurls from front to back.

(apologies for the naff webcam pictures, it was all I had to use :S)
Step 3: Waiting
I keep pinning until I have about 25/30 pins and all the hair is clipped up.
I then wait for it to set. Usually I wait over night, but sometimes I will wait for a few hours while wearing a headscarf. I would say you should wait for at least 6 hours, but overnight is better if you have time.

 Here is me putting a hearscarf on, looking like a bit of an idiot...
 Step 4: Brushing out
Once the curls are set I take out all the clips. I don't do anything with the hair until it is all out, then I run my fingers through the hair giving it a thorough comb with my fingers and give it all a shake.

At this point you probably look like a frizz bomb but that's okay, the vital step is going to hapen next. Using a wide paddle brush I take sections of the hair and brush it, I brush flicking the ends as I do so and I twist and shape the curl while I brush. I tends to take a few minutes of brushing and it will get less frizzy as you go, the key is to use your hands to shape at the same time.

I often will add a little bit of pomade at this point to help shape the hair, prevent frizz and give it some hold.

Step 5: Fringe and final shaping
For the front fringe section I always brush the hair straight up and shape into a big barrel curl, this way I get to keep as much of thevolum on the top as possible.

Step 6: Hairspray the life out of it!
Once I am happy with it I give it a spritz with hairspray, either elnette or treseme usually as they hold well.

Aaaaaaand hopefully you end up with something like this:
 



Now the outcome of these sets is very variable, it depends on the twist of the curl, it depends on the shampoo, it depends on how you sleep on it, but if you follow these steps you should end up with fairly similar results each time.

It did take me about two weeks of experimental setting before I managed to get this one to work on a regular basis, but lets face it, that is part of the fun!

Do you set your hair? Do you have any tutorials to recommend?




Friday, 5 September 2014

Why vintage repro rocks: A red Vivien of Holloway Peggy Lee dress

You've probably seen me talk about Vivien of Holloway before on her as it is one of my favourite brands and I think they do some amazing vintage reproduction dresses (and jeans, and skirts) and a few have appeared on here in previous posts.

Many moons ago while I was still a poor student I really wanted the Peggy Lee dress, but sadly it came and went from the shop before I ever had the funds to buy it. So when a brand new red Peggy Lee dress popped up on ebay I was powerless to resist (the seller had also listed it as a buy it now for a stupidly low price).

I decided to wear the Peggy Lee to London to visit my parents. They were staying in Stratford next to the Olympic park so I could not resist taking a few pictures against the stadium backdrop (even if it is being converted to a football ground).




I think the dress is a beautiful fit. It goes in and out in all the right places which is one of the real advantages of a Vivien of Holloway dress. If you've not tried one on before then you have to look carefully at the measurements as they are not conventional, they have more room in the bust and hips, perfect for curvy girls.

The dress also has nice big patch pockets, which I'm obviously impressed with if this picture is anything to go by:

My husband and I being completely stylistically mismatched, as always :)
I tried something a little different with my hair. Something a little more fancy. I took inspiration from Vintageous on youtube and attempted this side roll do (on a side note Natalie's tutorials are excellent, really clear and easy to follow I highly recommend them).

It was actually pretty easy to do just following the video step by step, the only part I had difficulty with was getting my fringe in there, its still not long enough to back comp properly so I couldn't really get the volume needed, but I think I just about got away with it.



A super extra added bonus of this hair do was that when I took it out I ended up with a lovely asymmetrical wave. I think if I'd taken some time to brush it out neatly I could have created a lovely pin-up inspired down-do.

Outfit Details:
Dress: Vivien of Holloway
Shoes: M&S





Tuesday, 30 July 2013

A Dress of Unknown Origins

A little outfit post today. After a bit of charity shop racking I found this dress in Oxfam, it cost the grand total of £4 and has a lovely red print on a white background. The thing is, it has no size, no tags at all and no signs of where one may have been take out, which makes me wonder, was it hand made?

It is really difficult to date too as it has no zip or labels just the little buttons on the front, it feels like a cotton fabric though, if that makes much difference.

Yes that is my cat photo-bombing me.
 I teamed the dress with a red thin belt to give a bit of contrast at the waist and  pair of Swedish Clogs. I can't believe how long it took me to discover that this type of shoe exists, they are simply gorgeous and they have orthopaedic soles which is really important for me and my rubbish joints.

Lastly I also wore the Dita wig that I mentioned in an earlier post to at a bit of glamour and added a pair of 50s style sunnies from Accessorize that I got a few years ago.


Have you seen a dress like this? Can you make a guess of where its from or who it might have been made by? I'd love to know!


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