Hair and Beauty: Victory Rolls & A Cheats Guide To Curling Hair

Before I begin I’d like to say that this post is dedicated to Miss Doherty, my friend and hostess of The Vintage News, as without her advice, guidance and example I would not have learnt this skill.

This isn’t really a tutorial, but I received quite a few comments at the #ZOMGbloggersbash about my hair (a photo even ended up here) and since I was also planning something interesting for my trip to Blind Pig I thought I’d document the process.

Before I start here are a few things about me and my hair:

• I have naturally wavy hair, not hugely so, but enough that it holds curls quite well (this is the only reason I don’t really need too much hairspray).
• My hair was short for a long time after I had it cut for a speakeasy (yes I’m that committed) and now that its longer the layering can sometimes make it difficult to put rolls in, so I apologise if it’s not that neat.
• Lastly I’m still learning… please be nice to me.

Curling

To start with I washed my hair yesterday morning, after letting it dry enough so that it wasn’t uncomfortable I rolled it into eight ‘victoryrolls’ one at the top of my head, two either side of my face, two behind them, two lower at the back and one at the very back.

I find these are a good placement so that the curls frame my face in the way that I like. But it’s taken a lot of attempts to find good spacing. Depending on how tight I want the curls I simply adjust the number of rolls. For tighter curls I aim for around ten rolls and for really lose ones around four to six will do. 

I then wore the rolls for the rest of the day with a ‘stylish’ head scarf and slept in them overnight. By then the hair is dry so its not uncomfortable. When I’m just simple curling my hair I would take them out the next morning ready for the day ahead, but for today I was planning on an evening out so I left them in under a different type of headscarf so I could take them out later.

Taking Them Out

To remove the rolls I take them out one at a time starting at the back, I brush the curl to smooth it, then separate into two or three sections and reshape the curl with my fingers to create a softer look.

Once all the curls are removed you could then spray with hairspray if you desire.

Taking out the curls...           and resetting them after brushing.     

Styling

At this point you can leave the curls to their own devices, add and alice band (my lazy staple) or something that I find looks great, re-make new rolls at the front of your hair line and leave the back down.

In this case however I was attending a Speakeasy so I wanted to opt for something a little bit more 1920s inspired. So I pinned the bottom of the curls underneath so that my hair would look shorter and a bit more flapper...

I hope that's given you some ideas, and maybe a bit of courage to have a go yourself!

(after all if I can do it anyone can...)

Vintage Outfits: Flapping Around...

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As you know, I recently visited an event in Brighton called Blind Pig (click here to see what I thought of it). The theme of this event was 1920s speakeasy with an electroswing style, which of course means only one thing at Fancy Dresscapades... Flappers!

Flapper is the name given to the Charleston dancing girls that wore drop waisted satin and lace dresses, feathers in their hair, cloche hats and seamed silk stockings that were very popular in the roaring 1920s.

 Image source

The finest of Flappers

Anyone who knows me a little will know that I am a keen lindyhopper and have picked up a fair amount of charleston skill during my time performing with Sussex Swing under the careful instruction of Lizzie Abrahams a few years ago. So this event seemed like a perfect oppertunity to dress the part and put on my dancing shoes again!

Basic costume design

 I have been to a few different events of this type and have worn mainly the more characature style charleston dress that is a box shape and often has some fringing to it. For a change this time I wanted to wear something a little different and went with a navy lace number I picked up at Frock Me in Brighton last year- for a meer £5 I may hasten to add! The dress itself is actually from the 80s, but after pinning in the sleeves I felt it had quite a 20s shape.

 For hair and make up I curled my hair by pinning it up an a pseudo-victory roll style- a hot tip I picked up from my friend Sadie Doherty (reporter extraordinaire for the Vintage News and the former head of the University of Sussex Swing Dance Society) and took them out just before the evening. This meant my hair was lovely and curly and sat underneath my cloche hat rather nicely.

My makeup was a very toned down version of the 20s look with silvery metallic eyes, dark eyeliner and lipstick. I might have pushed this a little further had I had a bit more time to get dressed- woops!

I feel as a costume it worked quite well

Let me know what you think

I’ll have a gallery of some of my former flappers up in the new year too if you’re looking for some more inspiration on the look.

Vintage Events: Blind Pig - Brighton's Fabulous Fundrasing Speakeasy

Held at the beautiful and chic Proud Brighton Ballroom the Blind Pig is an event that mixes burlesque cabaret and dancing to the tunes of an electro-swing speakeasy.

Blind Pig takes its name from the prohibition era Speakeasy where owners of bars and clubs would charge guests to see a novelty animal while serving a complimentary alcoholic beverage- thus exploiting loopholes in the anti-liquor laws.

This piggy however was created for a different purpose. The night was conceived as a fundraiser for students at Brighton University studying Textile Design, their aim being to provide funds for their end of year degree show.

When asked about creating the night, Carolyn, one of Blind Pigs organisers stated:

“Many other year groups/disciplines hold fundraising nights and I wanted ours to be different, appeal not just to the student market and also be something I could continue with after graduation. Burlesque and dance is all I know and I wouldn't know how to put on another type of night! I wanted to make it accessible to a younger audience who may not have been to such an event before and have a mixed audience of all ages and backgrounds.”

Photo Source: 1 and 2 Lucid Photography and Blind Pig. 3 FD.

Some of the acts

I felt that this attitude of the organisers was certainly reflected in the wide range of attendees. The opulence of the Brighton Ballroom provides a perfect back drop for the speakeasy stylings of this event, with its deco mirrors, trendy bar serving sumptuous cocktails and its beautiful domed ceiling.

The event itself started quietly with most guests seated around the bar and table areas, but as the place filled up the acts came thick and fast! The show sessions consisted of around four or five different burlesque based acts- ranging from a male pole dancer (correct terminology?) to a pasties sporting fire eater. The acts themselves came in two blocks and began almost as the doors opened so DON’T BE LATE! Numbers were announced by compere Kat Frost and separated by perfectly selected and mashed electro-swing songs by DJ Gareth Jones.

Compere Kat and DJ Gareth

After the show portion of the night had finished the dance floor opened for a fine selection of tunes playing until the wee hours of the morning.

All in all the night ran very smoothly, with rapid turn around of acts, a vibrant buzz of attendees and still enough room to Charleston (…just!).

Photo Source: Lucid Photography and Blind Pig

Well dressed attendees!

My favourite act of the night was a lovely fan dance by Cherry Bella with seemless movement and a beautiful traditional performance.

Cherry Bella

Many of the organisers of the event were also performers at the show, and their enthusiasm for their art was clearly evident. This is the 4^th event that they have held at the Brighton Ballroom and hopefully they will keep Blind Pig going long after they graduate!

In my time as a lindy hopper I have had the opportunity to attend and even perform at a few Speakeasy type events, and always enjoy dressing for the part. With this in mind I asked Carolyn about Blind Pig's attitude to costumes:

“I think people love to dress up, with this sort of theme it's quite easy as well. You don't have to go all out, just a few accessories can make you feel the part. It is always great when people do go all the way of course! It definitely helps with the mood and atmosphere, if people put the effort in before the night starts then you know they are up for a good night!”

Photo Source: Lucid Photography and Blind Pig

The era of the feathered headband

Just looking around the venue you could see that many people shared this sentiment, the popularity of the feathered headband and dicky bow-tie was clear although some extra special outfits were also seen. My personal favourite costumes were a couple dressed as and RAF officer and a 20s siren.

Photo Source: Lucid Photography and Blind Pig

Dressing Fancy indeed!

It was exceptionally difficult however to get many good photographs at the event as the lighting and quick movement was simply more than my little camera could handle. However their resident photographer Simon Callaghan at Lucid Photography more than made up for my incompetence, taking some fantastic shots during the evening (they can be found here)!

Photo Source: Lucid Photography and Blind Pig

My fiance and I

The Blind Pig will return in the new year, but the exact date is still hush hush- you never know who may be watching!

But you can find out more here or follow on @BlindPig1920 on twitter for the latest updates.

There'll be another post on my costume for this event following shortly...

Happy Dresscapades!