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

 

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

1940's Hairstyles- A Book Review

A rare decision to tidy up a box of ''important things'' lead to me making a great discovery...some Amazon vouchers! I decided to treat myself to a few things that I have wanted for a while, in particular this book, 1940's Hairstyles by Daniela Turudich. With beautiful Gene Tierney on the cover, how could I ever resist?!

 

The book begins by covering the basics, from the different styles that hair was cut into to create the best set, to pin curl tutorials to form the perfect rolls, poodles or pompadours. It details how the forties hairstyles focused on detail at the front of the head, and has beautiful pictures to demonstrate some of the amazing looks of the day. It describes the different methods in which you can get perfectly coiffed, from exactly how to 'fluff' your hair or how to set it to create a reverse roll. I think I will have to give some techniques slightly more practise yet though!

 

 

 

I think this page below features the hair of my dreams, look at the pageboy on the top right!

 

 

Of course when I reached the page with Gene Tierney AND Lauren Bacall on, I was completely sold

 

 

It even reveals some of best tips of the day used by Hollywood studios to conceal and camouflage any imperfections. I definitely studied this page for a while and was amazed with how the most subtle alterations can seriously conceal a range of flaws!

 

 

At the end of the book, there are a few pages explaining how to authentically accessorise a hairstyle, with flowers, bows, ribbons and much more. Another favourite section gives a few ideas for 'Career Girls'. As a vintage girl through and through, I dress 'vintage' all of the time, and really enjoyed getting a few more ideas of how to create an authentic but professional vintage hairstyle for every day.

 

 I have found it to be incredibly inspiring! It is more than a simple tutorial book, reading more like a reference guide. Modern day methods are acknowledged, such as curling tongs, but it also suggests techniques that have worked since the forties to emulate the same styles. I am potentially being a vintage snob, but I love learning the 'proper' way to style my hair as I really do believe that the old techniques work best. Great quality pictures of forties models provide much better inspiration than Google Images or Pinterest (dare I say?!) and so I am very happy with my purchase.

 

Have you got this book? It is a bargain on Amazon too so I would definitely recommend you picking one up!

 

Hannah xxx

Hey Pageboy!

Whilst I normally favour a set, victory roll or hide beneath a brightly coloured headscarf, last Saturday I had a little time on my hands and decided to try a new hairstyle. I have recently rediscovered my love for Dita Von Tease's' perfect waves and modern pageboy hairstyle, and thought I would give it a go. 

...Sigh, these are all so perfect!

 

I hadn't set my hair the night before (lazy!) so decided to also pin curl it first using my curling tongs. I separated my hair into three sections, back and two sides, and then curled big chunks of hair towards my face. Tip- a little hairspray before using the tongs works a treat! I would say I got three pin curls per each section of hair. Immediately after releasing my hair from the tongs, I rolled them into the pin curl in the direction that I wanted the curl to be, secured with a Kirby grip and gave a quick spray of hairspray. The most important part of heat styling is to allow the pin curl to fully cool before releasing it.

 

 After doing my make up, I released the pin curls and gently brushed the curls out with my Kent brush. I tried to brush the individual pin curls out so that they merge with the other pin curls from that section of hair. I then rolled them underneath and secured with a Kirby grip, another blast of hairspray and 'et voilà!'

 

 

I am really happy with how it turned out, especially considering it was my first attempt! I think this will be a perfect hairstyle for when my hair gets a little longer as I will be able to embrace Dita's look completely. I am not keen on constantly using curling tongs as I am petrified that I will kill my hair, so plan to try doing this style with a set. I will tweet and update my Facebook with how I get on!

 

Hope you like it and I would be grateful for any tips!

 

Hannah xxx