Goodwood Revival 2013

Sit down with a cup of tea and prepare yourselves; this is going to be a seriously picture heavy post!

 

On Friday, after months and weeks of preparation, we set off to Goodwood! After a well documented (via Twitter) jacket nightmare, having it been held up for almost a month at Customs, it finally arrived and I could put together my look. A huge forties fan, I was desperate to put together a classic outfit that represents my style, but was within my modest price range! I decided to wear my own interpretation of the Dior New Look that came out in 1947.

 

And here is my version...

 

 

Jacket: Black Rock Vintage on Etsy

Blouse: Charity Shop

Skirt: Zara (3 years ago!)

Shoes: Ebay

Bag: Vintage Hobbs

Beret: Charity Shop

Brooch: Bobby and Dandy, Hove

 

I even found the perfect Dior New Look shape straw sun hat, whilst on holiday in Suffolk, however the decidedly rainy weather called time on those plans. I decided to go for a Beret and a pageboy set, Lauren Bacall/Nina Foch style.

 

 

 

It is the first time that I have worn a beret and I must say that I loved it!

 

Here come the pictures...

 

Super amazing Tesco's stocked with goods in original packaging

Brown sauce anyone?!

 

 

My boyfriend wishing this was his

 

I had such an amazing time, it really was quite overwhelming to be surrounded by such an incredible amount of everything that I love! I suppose that I am so used to searching out vintage in a charity shop, or seeing what a vintage fair has to offer, that miles of clothes, cars and just hours of people watching was just amazing. I really wish we had bought tickets for all three days so that we could see the finals of the racing, and spent more hours immersed in the atmosphere. The only problem has been my seriously achy legs the day after!

 

Have you been this year, or any previous years? I would love to see some of your pictures!

 

Hannah xxx

 

Dollydagger Model Search 2013

The time has arrived; it is officially nearly one whole year since I won the Dollydagger Model Search! Hasn't it flown!

 

I entered the competition a devout vintage lover, but perhaps lacking the confidence to embed it into my life completely. A month or so before the competition opened, I had the chance to have some pictures taken of me and thought that I may as well give the competition a go, never thinking that I would come anywhere near winning. New to Brighton, and not really knowing very many people due to moving around quite a lot over the past few years, I really didn't even think that I stood a chance. Never mind the fact that I am only 5"3 and by no means a model!

 

Here is my original entry...

 

 

 Never did I imagine that I would win and end up seeing myself looking like this...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fancy entering the 2014 competition then?! Read on...

 

 

Entries open from 23rd September, with voting running from 1st to 31st October. To enter, e-mail a full-length photograph and headshot, both taken within the last three months, along with a favourite photo of your choice and a written statement or video explaining why you want to win to modelsearch@dollydagger.co.uk.

Voting over Facebook will decide on the top 8 finalists, who all win prizes worth £50. The overall winner will win a 12 month modelling contract, and prizes from each shoot of up to £200! This lucky lady will be chosen by a panel consisting of Emma Ayres, Simon Flamson (manager of the Brighton based store), photographer Toby Amies and (drumroll please)...me!

Those of you wondering whether or not to enter...do it! This has not only been an amazing opportunity to wear some seriously fabulous dresses, but has also give me the chance to meet some really lovely people. A year ago, I would have never dreamt that I would be confident enough to wear vintage every day, write a blog and have met so many like minded people. I'm just going to try not to shed a tear when I hand over the reins to the next winner!

 

I can't wait to see your entries,

 

Hannah xxx

 

 

The Cold Days Are Coming

As a sunshine lover, I do get a feeling of dread as Winter approaches. Cold, wet weather and short dark days ahead leave me feeling a bit miserable, however there is something exciting about getting a warm, winter wardrobe prepared!

Since completely embracing my 'vintage lifestyle' and embedding it into my everyday life, my own interpretation and 'look' has developed and this is the first winter that I feel excited to dress completely vintage for. A 50s sundress, gypsy top or circle skirt are easy to pick up and give a fantastically authentic summertime vintage look, but I feel winter is a little more difficult mainly due to the temptation to be warm rather than stylish! An avid eBay and Etsy viewer, many an evening of late has been spent hunting down some classic winter staples to add to my ever increasing array of clothing. I am really looking forward to indulging in some more forties fashion and adding tweed, hats, fur and knits!

 

Here is a selection of some pieces I have my eye on...

 

Freddies of Pinewood Black Capri Pants

 

 

Freddies of Pinewood Saddle Sweater

 

Of course, most of my time will be spent wrapping up warm and hunting around the charity shops. Who can think of a better way to spend a winters day?!

 

Do you have your eye on anything in particular?

 

Hannah xxx

Transitional Tweed

So often am I used to throwing on an outfit and rushing out of the house to get my different jobs sorted, that I always forget to snap a quick picture of my outfit! Wearing vintage day to day can seem daunting to those who want to, but I intend to get snap happy with some of my outfits to show just how easy it is! A few staple pieces, such as a great skirt or Freddies, means that suddenly an old, discarded top can have a new lease of life!

 

Skirt: Vintage from Love Me Two Times in East Grinstead 

Top: Topshop

Cardigan: H&M

Shoes: Ebay

Bag: Mulberry

Headscarf: Boo Boo Kitty Couture

Brooch: A gorgeous find from my holiday to Suffolk (blog post coming soon!)

Hannah xxx

Quadrophenia Dreaming

I have a confession. Yes I love my 1940s and 1950s, but deep down I harbour a craving to be a  Sixties gal. The decade stood for change, monochrome and moving on. If my hips, legs and boobs would allow it, I would totally be a mod!

 

 

 

As the Bank Holiday weekend approaches, Brighton Rumble arrives in town and we celebrate the mod culture that made Brighton what it is today. Before it all gets going, I thought I would share some of the upcoming events with you!

 

Everything kicks off on Friday evening, with Komedia hosting the first of three Mod nights...

 

 

Head into the North Laines on Saturday and Sunday for Brighton Rumble on the Beach at the Prince Albert...

 

 

The Brighton Big Screen really gets things going on Sunday, from 7pm there is an exclusive preview of All Or Nothing- The Mod Musical which is quickly followed by one of my favourite films, Quadrophenia. General admission is free. Keep your Quadrophenia album in mind and move straight onto Concorde 2 for Stay Sick Mods vs Rockers. Admission is £3.

I will be sure to get some pictures taken ready to report once I have recovered!

Hannah xxx

 

 

The Pageboy Tutorial

Ever since I used curling tongs to create a lovely Pageboy hairstyle, I have been determined to teach myself how to do the same style but by setting, a much more hair friendly method. Like all vintage setting styles, practise makes perfect but I have found this quite an easy one to do as there are only six sections to set. I use rollers to set my hair, rather than pin curls as I must admit that I still have to master that technique! Rollers give a great heat free styling option that works every time once you know where to put the rollers to work for you.

I must also add that when I compare pictures of my Pageboy done by a set and curling tongs, the set picture looks much more authentic!

To begin the set, separate the hair into six sections. This can depend on how thick the hair is, but I do have very thick hair and this method works fine.

Part your hair as you would normally. I always begin with the smaller side which my fringe isn’t on as there is normally a little bit less hair.

1. Section One: Hair from just in front of the crown parted diagonally to the point at the tip of the ear.
2. Section Two:  I imagine a vertical line down from the point near the crown that I began section one from, to the hairline at the base of the neck.
3. Section Three:  A semi circle of hair around the crown that will mainly be backcombed
4. Section Four:  A rectangle underneath the hair in section three.
5. Section Five:  Take the hair out that will be in your fringe and part in a similar way to Section One.
6. Section Six: This should be the remaining hair just behind the ear on the fringe side.

 I use rollers that I recently bought from Boots for around £2 (these are them!). I add a large foam roller for the section at the crown as this gives a looser set to get the dramatic U shape of a Pageboy set. Don’t forget a spray or two (or three!) of setting lotion before putting the rollers in!
 

Now comes for the scary bit, adding the rollers. My top tip here is to really think about the end result when adding the rollers. Think of the classic U Shape of the pageboy and roll the hair to recreate this. To put the rollers in Sections One and Two, I roll the hair upwards with the plastic bit of the roller at the bottom.  I like to end up with the rollers fastened in place vertically to almost create a ringlet once taken out later. I use the same technique for Sections Five and Six except I find it easier to have the plastic securing bit of the roller at the top, because I am right handed it helps me to secure the roller in really tightly. For Section Four, I do sometimes add two rollers, to continue the U shape well for both sides of the head, however it does work fine with one. Put the roller in, rolling it up underneath. I sometimes slightly twist the roller so that the hair is slightly more set to the side which has least hair. If I do this, I then add the roller for Section Three slightly twisted in the opposite direction to that of Section Four. I hope this makes sense! My thinking is that the U shape will be a continuation along the hairline, rather than the hair parting down the back and falling to each side.

Add a quick blast of hairspray and a headscarf and get some beauty sleep!

The beauty of this set is that it is relatively quick and easy to style in the morning as the curls are quite large and loose. Remove all rollers very carefully and I generally encourage the hair back into ringlets once the rollers are out. You should look very old fashioned with a head of ringlets! I then take a large round bristle brush and gently brush underneath the hair to loosen the set. I use my other hand (that isn’t holding the brush) to smooth and shape the hair up and under into the pageboy style. If you get any fluff, don’t worry, just keep brushing out and smoothing around and underneath and you will be perfectly pageboyed! A little backcombing to Section Three and sorting the fringe, however you would like seals the deal and you are ready to go!

I hope you find this useful, and would love to hear how you get on!

Hannah xxx

Pride

Last weekend, the whole of Brighton turned into party central as it was the turn of Brighton Pride! I went out with the lovely Danielle of Daniella Christina fame, and we met up with fellow blogger Hayley of Vintage Vessel at The Black Dove at the top of St James Street where you can regularly find Hayley DJing every Saturday night. If you ever go here, I recommend you check out the extremely decadent and lavish downstairs, we certainly made the most of our surroundings with an impromptu few photos!

We decided to dress up in our vintage finery and celebrate in our style, vintage glam! I turned to my trusty wardrobe staples, a Collectif Dress and Vivienne Westwood Melissa shoes. It had been a hot day so I decided against the seamed stockings; however I was regretting my choice a few hours later as my feet were killing! Seamed stockings always save the day in the old Viv’s!

I embraced my inner Carmen Miranda/Betty Grable with my hair, creating a range of victory rolls on top of my head for an updated poodle style. This not only covered my outrageous roots but was a really easy style with the help of my latest purchase, 1940's Hairstyles. I took on a slight bit of the rainbow theme with an assortment of flowers pinned in my hair. I bought these one early morning at Brighton Marina Boot Sale where there was a stall selling a range of beautiful haberdashery. These were cards of 12 flowers for a pound each, so I snapped up two cards of Pink and Yellow flowers. They come with flexible metal legs which slide easily into your hair then can be securely attached with a Kirby grip or two. It was a great style for a warm evening as it was lovely to have all my hair out of the way for a change; normally I am worrying about my set dropping! I have also been wearing this non stop in the warm, sunny days that we have been having.

 

There is another great look in my new book, which incorporates a French twist with flowers hiding the join. I think I shall be trying that one out next!

Have a lovely weekend,

Hannah xxx