Was looking at all the lovely hats for sale in my shop and thought they were worthy of a post of their own. So many different styles and materials and textures. The hot pink 50s topper is so bright and cheery and the 40s velour number with the bow is just amazing!
For all my readers that are fans of Art Deco design and the fashion 1920s and 30s, I have several boards full of my favourite visual collections over at Pinterest that I add to on a daily basis. You are welcome to follow me there also. Enjoy 
Well, if you are Downton Abbey fan, you will no doubt have watched the series 3 Xmas Special by now (as I have), and I won’t give away any spoilers re the storyline here. BUT, I will however share some of the delightful 1920s fashions. I think that Lady Edith sported the best garb in this ep, along with an amazing cocoon coat worn by Lady Grantham.
Categories: Accessories, Clothing, Hair, Hats, Men's Fashion
Tagged: 1920s fashion, Downton Abbey
I found a bunch of great things for my Etsy store at a huge antique fair on the weekend, from 1950s lucite hair clips to an amazing satin 1930s gown. Here is a wee sample. They are all linked back to the shop if you are interested. 
Categories: Accessories, Hair, Men's Fashion
Look at these gorgeous little bobby pin boxes! Cute and glamorous they feature vintage pin ups and photos of movie stars of the 20th century, with bobby pins included! What a wonderful way to store those pesky pins that are always getting lost! These would be a staple on any vintage loving gal’s dresser!! Available at on Esty.
For all my 1940s loving friends…I have been scanning some of the great ads in vintage magazines that I own and thought I would share them as some of the shoes are simply stunning. Most of the pics are featured in a mid 40s Sears and Roebuck catalogue and the other is from the 1943 British magazine – Britannia. I love the Specators and the ‘Kumfees’. Great name
I am a graphic designer by profession and my love of 20s and 30s design has always influenced my own work. I have admired and collected design examples from this time period since my college days studying design and art history and am always adding to my digital collection. Broders, Schmidt, Rodchenko, Schlutz-Neudamm, Loupot, Kiesler, Falcucci, Carboni, Bouchard, Cassandre, Kuhn and Ansieau – just to name a few – are some of my favourite designers of the day. Sometimes I forget about all the things I have stored away in files and am excited when I come across them again and just want to share. So, please enjoy these vintage lovelies from the 20s and 30s.
Categories: Cosmetics, Hair, In Magazines
Tagged: 1920s ads, 1920s cosmetics, 1920s perfume ads, 1930s ads, 1930s cosmetics, 1930s perfume ads
I have always loved these gorgeous ads from 1930s Japan. Such stylised, beautiful ladies and a wonderful use of colour and design. The girl with the red hair bow is stunning and I adore the green hat in the second poster.
My interest in vintage hair began when I was a child, as I have always loved the 20s, 30s and 40s, but I actually began styling my own hair in vintage styles back 1999 when I started swing dancing. I have also run vintage hair workshops many times in the last 12 years. The 1930s softly waved and curled feminine hairstyles are my favourite and I drool over old pics from the time. I have a short middy cut myself so I can wear a 30s look when I want to. Sadly, ladies today don’t have the benefit of being able to go to the salon on a weekly basis to have their hair ‘wet set and styled’ as they did back in the day. The ‘beauty salon’ certainly was a different place back then. I once read in an old hairdressing magazine that around 50% of a salons’ business (from the 20s to the late 50s) came from ‘setting’ hair alone. Today it’s all about cut and colour.
Most of the waved and curled 30s styles required sculpting and constant upkeep. So wearing a hair net to bed with pin curls, wavers clips or rollers to maintain it was just part of every day life for ladies of the day, unless of course, you were lucky enough to have hair that waved or curled naturally and easily. Husbands and boyfriends back then certainly were used to seeing their ladies in curlers regularly. Was just part of life.
Women that could afford to go to the salon on a regular basis usually went for a ‘wet set and style’, which would last up to a week if you protected it while you slept. For those of you new to vintage hair speak, a wet set involved having your hair pin curled or finger waved in the style you wanted while the hair was wet, then sitting under a hood dryer for an hour or so at the salon, until the hair was completely dry. Then the hair would be brushed out and combed into the style required by the hairdresser. Certainly a lengthy process, but worth it for a week of hair that retained its style. This was a common practice right up until the 1960s in salons. Many ladies of the day (like my Nana and Grandmother) who weren’t flush with money, learned to style and set their own hair at home in the 30s, 40s and 50s for the most part and went to salon once a month.
Tips for 30s waves:
What many people don’t realise is that finger waves were actually designed to enhance, tame and smooth the waved, curly tresses of those lucky enough to have them. The waves and curls were stretched and moulded into the looks in the pics shown. But for those like myself who have dead straight hair (ugg) – I was given some invaluable tips a few years back from a lovely ex-hairstylist named ‘Lily‘ who is now in her 90s. This is how told me she used to set waves and curls for her straight-haired clients in the 30s:
- wet set hair with setting lotion under a hood dryer (or overnight) to give yourself a good curly base to work with
- THEN brush out the tight curls, smoothing the hair and relaxing it a bit
- use a styling comb to sculpt the curls on top and sides of your head into soft waves and ridges and clip them into place with wavers (so much easier when the hair is already curled). It’s all about the sculpting.
- sculpt the smaller curls so they are softer around the back of your head/ears etc using the comb and your fingers. Spray on some hairspray to set.
So – curling first, drying, THEN waving for us straight haired lot! For years I wondered why trying to achieve soft finger waves was so much harder with straight hair … simple, because they were designed to beautify curly hair! So, salons of the day had to come up with techniques to help out the straight-haired gals like to me achieve these amazing styles too. Information has just been lost over the years as the older generation pass away. Anyhoo, here are some great style to inspire you. My fav 30s ladies are Carole Lombard, Myrna Loy and Ginger Rogers.
This post is inspired by my last. I have drawers overflowing with this stuff (mainly from the 30s and 40s) – but I do love collecting and trying to use them. Must cull some of them soon though, maybe when I open my Etsy shop in mid Feb. So many contraptions; clips, rollers, water-wavers, barettes, finger-wave making sliders, pin-shooters, combs and hair nets. The lucite rollers below are interesting. I have never seen that variety before. My interest is two-fold as I am a graphic designer and I adore Art Deco packaging. Some of it is truly beautiful, especially the hair net envelopes.
* All items are linked back to their original Etsy store.
Categories: Accessories, Hair
Tagged: art deco hair comb, barrette, bobby pins, hair net, marcel waver tongs, vintage hair, vintage hair pins
Ginger is definitely one of my greatest idols, and her look in the 30s inspired me to go blonde myself. She had a long career, so her style (and hairstyles!) span the golden era of showbiz. Here are some of her looks that I love love love.
I loved the hair flowers in Marc Jacobs’ Spring 2011 show so much, I thought I should post the detail shots. Lovely flowers, non?
As promised, the backstage hair and makeup shots from the ready-to-wear show. In a few shots you can see they used facelift tape to lift the models’ brows, just like they did in the couture show. And nice shots showing how they curled the models’ hair, and the false betty bangs. The colour match on most of the bangs is fantastic, only one or two of the blondes are a little mismatched, but I love the look. High pigment, bright block colours seem to be the go for eyeshadows this season. Lovely to see the black eyeliner kitten flicks over the top. Some nice colour inspiration here, perhaps I will branch out a little more. Galliano’s shows always inspire me to be more theatrical.
Dior Spring-Summer 2010 Women’s Ad Campaign
Remember this photo of Dita’s stunning hair that I posted a few days ago? Well I just stumbled across an image of Olivia de Havilland sporting a similar ‘do in the late 1940s, and had to share. If anyone knows how to create a look like this, please do let us know!
You probably know Olivia de Havilland as Melanie in Gone with the Wind. She was a fairly serious actress in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, and often played in period pieces. She also happens to be Joan Fontaine’s older sister. She is still alive today (she is 93 years old).
I am a huge fan of Gwen Sephani, especially when it comes to her fashion choices. Do you remember this picture of her from the Billboard Music Awards?
Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous! Well, you’ll be pleased to know the someone has bothered to break down how to do this hairstyle! Over at Bobby Pin Blog, Lauren takes you through. Here’s a little preview (in case you haven’t already clicked over to the post!)
The sections of the style are asymmetric. One side of the top section is parted above the outer eyebrow. The other side of the top section parts starting at the hairline about an inch above the ear. Clip this out of the way.
Take all of the rest of the hair and create a French twist. The ends are not tucked in above the twist at this point. I am actually going to use the ends to help create some stamina for the pompadour. This doll has a decent amount of hair, so if you have fine hair, a rat may help you here.
For more detailed instructions on hair basics such as curling and setting, check out . I have the book and I love it. If you have questions about the book, click the link above and check it out or ask me a question and I’ll do my best to answer.
Categories: Celebrities, Hair, How To
The best bob hairdo in Lindy Hop without a doubt goes to the drop-dead gorgeous Katja Hrastar from Slovenia, and I just noticed on Facebook today that she’s gone from fiery redhead to femme fatale ebony black. Ooh la la! Either way, still the best bob since the 1920s. Luckily for us, one of her best buddies happens to be the brilliant photographer Luka Dolenc, so there’s plenty of documentation of Katja’s uber fabulous hair!
Come to think of it, Katja is a pretty smashing photographer herself. Check out for more photos. Anyway, check out these 1920s illustrations and you’ll see just how spot-on that ‘do is:
And of course, I can’t go without mentioning Louise Brooks, the 1920s and 30s actress who made this kind of bob iconic:
A part-time pinup girl and full-time Forties enthusiast, shares her knowledge of vintage and provides lots of authentic vintage & retro fashion inspiration, plus styling tips & tricks, events and other fun stuff. Here is a great video of her showing how to create faux bangs that were so popular in the 1940s.
Fleur is exceptionally skilled and truly has a knack for what she’s doing. She has styled for a number of photo shoots and here are some pictures:
Model , and we shot at a Hot Rod garage in the depths of Bedfordshire.
Miss FanTeasy, burlesque star and owner of some seriously luxuriant tresses!
Top top it off, she’s a model as well. to go to her gallery, otherwise here are a few of my favorites:
Pictures by John Evans, Tobias Key, Damon Allen Davison, and Paul Godfrey respectively.
Categories: Hair, How To
Vintage Hairstyling: Retro Styles with Step by Step Techniques is a guide showing how to create hairstyles from the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s using simple, easy-to-follow instructions. I have revised and revamped the book of worldwide popularity to be even more informative and fun. This 2nd Edition takes hairstyles and breaks them down so that the directions are clear. It uses over 750 brand new photographs and illustrations and detailed directions in a 200-page full-color book.
The book begins with the basic elements and works its way back to advanced techniques. It concludes with information on makeup, nails, and accessories to finish the look. No matter your skill level or hair type, Vintage Hairstyling has something for everyone.
A Review of the book from :
From cover to cover, the book is full of beautiful photography of vintage hair styling tools such as pink dryers and jars of Lustre-Creme. But this book is not a fluffy, pretty art book full of hair related pictures. The book is more instructional without being boring.
The beginning of the book walks you step by step through the necessary tools you will need and basic curl techniques in order to create a true vintage hairstyle. Then, Rennells leads you into the techniques for combing out the curls. Finally, you get into the actual styling.
I’m a very visual person. I have to see someone do something in order to determine if I am doing it correctly. The step by step directions with accompanying images are the next best thing to having Lauren right next to you. The steps are clear and concise.
I myself am thinking about getting the book. Perhaps it could be a Christmas or Birthday present?!!
Categories: Books, Hair, How To
