Fabulous Vintage Hairstyles

 

Today I am off to the Kerang Boxing Day races with my lovely friend Mardi (photos to come later) and although I adore hats and have a lovely little collection of them, somehow I just never feel they do me any favours. So, the decision has been made, I am going with my usual flowers in hair instead (and summer brolly to save my skin!) That being the case, I need a wonderful vintage hairstyle to sport my flowers, and where better to look than my WONDERFUL Vintage Hairstyle Book.....

I picked up this treasure in preparation for the fashion parade I hosted last November.....there I was, walking innocently down the main street of Camperdown, at the Camperdown Rockabilly Festival in October, when this book literally accosted me on the street. I picked it up and simply could not leave it there - not when it was jam packed with wonderful advice, hairstyles galore, instructions and inspiration. It was perfect fodder for encouraging my fashion parade models !

 

 

 

I have been wanting to promote this book on my blog ever since, but to my great dismay, I have lost the business card of the wonderful woman who sold it to me! Honey, please forgive me ! I know you are a reader of my blog, however, so please please please contact me and I will rectify this unfortunate situation immediately - I want to give you the recognition you so deserve, and promote your great products !

 

 

My fabulous fashion parade models getting ready with their vintage hairstyles !

 

In the meantime, let me share some of my favourite styles from this book, hoping that you find the inspiration my fashion parade models and I did. As for my race day hairstyle, hmmmm, well, in an attempt to invoke the whole 60's thing (I have just finished watching Mad Men Season 5) I am going to attempt a Sophia Loren look below I think, with flowers of course !! Stay tuned to see if I actually pulled it off !! Happy Boxing Day people......

 

 

 

From Wikipedia:

 

In Britain, it was a custom for tradesmen to collect "Christmas boxes" of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year. This custom is linked to an older English tradition: Since they would have to wait on their masters on Christmas Day, the servants of the wealthy were allowed the next day to visit their families. The employers would give each servant a box to take home containing gifts and bonuses, and sometimes leftover food.

Doing your hair like Marilyn....

Didn't she have the most amazing look? Love her or hate her, you have to admit Marilyn was a beautiful woman. Personally, I don't think her acting was given the credit it deserved, as all the focus was continually on the way she looked and her love life. Some of her films are just wonderful - she was so much more than Laura-lie in 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' !

Thankyou to my beautiful friend Mel who let me do her up to go out on the town in Melbourne. I took inspiration from the above Marilyn hairstyle to do Mel's hair, and the following is a step by step guide to what I did - so you can achieve the same look !!

1. Firstly, you will need a short cut with layers at the sides and back. If you don't have this then it really wont work (obviously!!!)
2. Wash hair and before it is dry apply a liberal amount of gel all through your hair (about the same size as a scoop of ice-cream from a proper ice-cream scoop!!!). Hang your head upside down and dry with a hair dryer. I like to do this because it adds alot more volume and lifts the hair up and away from the scalp.

** Marilyn's hair was bleached to billi-o (Aussie expression there) and it therefore held style very very well - tortured hair usually does. If you hair is not bleached this gel process will effect pretty much the same result, although you may need more or less gel depending on your hair type. My hair is reasonably fine so I use alot of gel, Mel's hair is quite thick and wavy so a little bit of gel went a long way.

2. Once the hair is dry, use a hot curling iron to create defined curls all over the head. Only do small pieces at a time - too thick and the curling iron will be ineffectual. Refer to the photograph for an example of the amount of hair to use....Mel's hair has a natural part a little to her left of centre (right of centre for us looking at her), I decided to leave this part and direct the curls towards Mels ears on either side of the part (see photograph for what I mean!!). 3. Spray the curls with hairspray (maximum hold) as you go.

4. After spraying the hair, tousle the curls up a bit with your hands and move them 'into place' however you like. Pull back the sides of the hair over the ears and pin into place - you don't want alot of 'boofy-ness' out each side or your head. Dont be afraid to be a tad 'vicious' with the curls, they will hold and should keep most of their definition.

5. Once you have it looking 'just so', you can squirt it with hairspray again, or leave it as is.

And this is the end result - beautiful!! This is Mel and I out on the town.........