Dree Hemingway covergirl for Vogue Russia
Wow, check out this Veronica Lake hair…
Tagged: dree hemingway, Hair, russia, Veronica Lake, vogue
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Tagged: dree hemingway, Hair, russia, Veronica Lake, vogue
Olivia de Havilland
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).
Tagged: 1930s, 1940s, Dita Von Teese, forties, gone with the wind, Hair, hairdo, olivia de havilland, olivier, style, thirties
Fifties/Sixties Mashup in Vogue March 2008
Photographer Mario Testino for US Vogue in March 2008. Styled by our beloved Grace Coddington. Model is Karen Elson.
Tagged: 1950s, 1960s, beehive, fifties, Grace Coddington, Hair, Karen Elson, Mario Testino, retro, sixties, vogue
Marcel of Paris Hair Salon in Washington DC, 1926
Via Shorpy.com; the caption reads “Washington, DC circa 1926. Marcel Beauty Shop, Connecticut Avenue.”
Click on the image to see a larger version, and all the glorious detail of those mannequins and their perfect Marcel waves.
Tagged: 1920s, 20s, bob, curl, do, fingerwave, Hair, marcel, style, twenties, wave
Katja has gone black!
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 her website 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:
Tagged: 1920s, 1930s, bob, crop, dance, dancer, do, eton, Hair, katja hrastar, lindy hop, Louise Brooks, shingle, Slovenia, style, swing
The book every swing girl should own
A lot of SwingFashionista.com readers have written in mentioning this book, so I thought I’d post it up, just in case any of you lovely ladies hadn’t heard about it. It’s called Vintage Hairstyling: Retro Styles with Step-by-Step Techniques, and it’s by Lauren Rennells. I wish I’d had this when I first started out! Here’s the blurb:
There was something very special and beautiful about women in the early- to mid-20th century. The way they dressed was elegant and the way they wore their hair was feminine. This book shows how to create so many of those hairstyles by taking hairstyles from the 1930s, 40s, 50s, and 60s and breaking them down into simple, easy-to-follow instructions. It uses brand new photographs and detailed directions. Not only a manual, it is also fun to read. The Finished Styles chapter of the book contains coffee table book quality images of models with their finished hairstyles. Sprinkled in introductions and throughout the book are interesting facts about the history of hairstyling, origins of styles, and information about starlets and performers who made the styles popular. This 200-page full-color book has 6 main chapters. The book begins with the basics of styling and works its way back to advanced techniques. It also provides information on makeup, nails, and accessories for a finished look.
You can pick it up for $36.95 on Amazon.com:
Click here to buy ‘Vintage Hairstyling: Retro Styles with Step-by-Step Techniques’ on Amazon.com
Tagged: 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, bang, bob, fingerwave, flapper, forties, Hair, hairdo, marcel, pincurls, retro, style, thirties, twenties, updo, victory rolls, vintage, wave
1940s Faux Bangs by Fleur de Guerre
A part-time pinup girl and full-time Forties enthusiast, Fleur de Guerre 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 Sinderella Rockerfella, and we shot at a Hot Rod garage in the depths of Bedfordshire.
Miss Mink, the Pinup Poet
Miss FanTeasy, burlesque star and owner of some seriously luxuriant tresses!
Top top it off, she’s a model as well. Click here 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 ToTagged: 1940s, faux bangs, Fleur de Guerre, Hair, pinup
Vintage Hair Styling
Click here to buy ‘Vintage Hairstyling: Retro Styles with Step-by-Step Techniques’ on Amazon.com
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 Debutante Clothing:
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 ToTagged: 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, bang, beauty, bob, fingerwave, flapper, forties, Hair, hairdo, marcel, pincurls, retro, style, thirties, twenties, updo, victory rolls, vintage, vintage hairstyles, vintage hairstyling book, wave
The Great Victory Roll Folly
Victory rolls are a favorite hairstyle for swing girls, but so often I see this little mistake. If you have a round face, be careful not to leave the rolls too loose, causing the hair to balloon out at the temples. This will just make your face look rounder. Go for fullness at the top, not at the sides.
Because Naomi here is cute as a button, she absolutely gets away with it, but you can see how tightening up the rolls at the side (done here with the help of handy Photoshop), makes the look more elegant.
Of course, the opposite is true if you have a long, narrow face – then if you have a lot of height at the top and nothing at the sides, you can end up looking a bit like a Praying Mantis…
Just saying…
Anyway, here’s Dita doing Victory Rolls in fine style, and a few vintage shots to inspire.
Tagged: 1940s, 40s, curls, do, forties, Hair, roll, style, updo, victory, victory rolls
Hair – how to tutorial
Lisa Freemont Street has some great hair tutorials on you tube. She is quite the glamour girl and clearly a fan of classic cinema and rockabilly culture. What I like about her videos is that they move along quickly and she the main points are written out. Here is her most recent video:
This video is a mixture of two styles, a more casual and a more formal one. It’s rather simple in the front, but still very lovely.
She has a myriad of videos on her page. Check out her Classic Pinup Series, Starlet Series, and Authentic Hair Technique from the 40s.
Categories: Hair, How ToTagged: Hair, How To, Lisa Freemont, pin curls, tutorial, youtube
Lilyan Tashman
Look at these perfect water waves and tiny, tiny pincurls!
Lilyan Tashman was a Ziegfeld girl, silent film actress and a model, from the late 1910s until the early 1930s. She appeared onstage in the Ziegfeld Follies, and in films including Head Over Heels, The Garden of Weeds, Ports of Call, Pretty Ladies, Seven Days, Texas Steer, Camille, So This is Paris, Craig’s Wife, The Trial of Mary Dugan, The Marriage Playground, and The Gold Diggers of Broadway. She died in 1931 of cancer, at the age of 38.
Via Art Deco Blog
Tagged: 1920s, 1930s, actress, film, fingerwaves, follies, girl, Hair, hollywood, Lilyan Tashman, marcel, pincurls, silent, thirties, twenties, wave, ziegfeld
The Sartorialist Snaps a Retro Cutie
Snapped on the street, after the Louis Vuitton show in Paris by The Sartorialist.
Tagged: 1940s, a-line, belt, cinched waist, curled, dress, fashion, forties, Hair, sartorialist, skirt, street
Milla Jovovich
Milla Jovovich at the The American Museum Of Natural History’s Museum Dance on March 26th 2009 in New York City.
Tagged: carpet, curls, gown, Hair, Milla Jovovich, red, velvet, Veronica Lake, wave
Man’s Last Great Bastion: The Barber Shop
Old-fashioned barber shops seem to be having a bit of a renaissance right now, getting recent mentions in The New York Times, Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair and Esquire, just to name a few. The perfect antithesis to the androgyny of modern spa-salons, get a straight-blade shave and a no-frills haircut, with old-world customer service in a boys-only zone. But this is old news for swing boys, and anyway, the best barber shops around are still the ones that have actually been around for a long, long time. Here are a few such establishments, and feel free to email us with details of your favourite old-timey barbershop in your local city!
F.S.C. Barber, New York City
Cool retro styling – even the barbers are decked out in retro threads. Not too cheap but hey, have a haircut $75, straight razor shave $40, and someone has to try their Hangover Treatment $25 and report back to us! But don’t bother with an appointment, they don’t take ‘em.
fscbarber.com
Truefitt & Hill, London
Claim to be the world’s oldest barbershop! Grooming London gents since 1805, get a traditional hot towel wet shave for £35.00, or for £70.00 you can even take a traditional cut throat shaving class!
www.truefittandhill.co.uk
The Art of Shaving, locations across the USA
Ok, it’s a chain, but they’ve got the aesthetic right. Old-style leather chairs, dark wood surrounds, jazz in the background. Haircut $40, straight-razor shave $35, Royal Shave (45 minute package, with steam towels and mask) $55.
www.theartofshaving.com
Rudy’s Barbershop, Seattle
Funky, retro-styled barber shops, incorporating local art and music. The vibe is barbershop meets coffeehouse meets tattoo parlor. Walk-in service, no reservations needed, cheap and casual. In the words of AskMen.com: “Coolness of yesterday without trying too hard.” Seven locations across Seattle, but stores in LA and Portland too. Visit the original Seattle (Capitol Hill) shop on East Pine.
www.rudysbarbershop.com
Hyde Park Hair Salon, Chicago
Established in 1927, and the first integrated barbershop in Chicago. Haircuts $21, shaves $10, shave & a haircut for $27. Past clientele have included Muhammad Ali, Spike Lee and even President Obama.
www.hydeparkhairsalon.net
State Street Barbers, Boston & Chicago
Admittedly not old, but in a nostalgic style – in their words “An old fashioned barbershop with contemporary style and convenience.” They offer a hot lather shave, complete with steaming towels and a classic straight razor shave. And the standard haircut comes complete with a shampoo, scalp massage, straight edge neck shave and shoulder massage. Not too shabby…
www.statestreetbarbers.com
Gornick & Drucker’s, Beverly Hills
Established in 1936, this barbershop has some serious Hollywood pedigree. This is where gangster Bugsy Siegel got his last shave & trim, hours before being shot dead. President Ronald Reagan was a loyal customer for 40 years, and the Rat Pack filmed the original Ocean’s Eleven there. Enjoy the original mahogany and leather barber chairs, get a shave, haircut, manicure – even get your shoes shined.
www.beverlyhillsbarbers.com
Al’s Barber Shop, Denver
Opened with the aim of creating the ultimate relaxing space for men and men alone, Al’s Barber Shop is all black counter tops, shiny stainless steel and large screen televisions. The retro styled barber chairs are their own own operable stations, so you get your hair washed and cut, a straight-blade shave, whatever your fancy, all in one seat without being ushered all over the shop. Haircuts from $30, and hairline clean-ups are only $5, just so Al and his staff get to see you more often.
www.myspace.com/alsbarber
House Cuts Barber Shop, Washington DC
A hidden gem, why not get your hair cut where the Congressmen have been going for 37 years? You’ll have to go through the metal detectors at the Rayburn House Office Building, and head to the basement, but there you’ll find Joe Quattrone’s storied barber shop, open to the public. He’s cut the hair of Al Gore, Dick Cheney, even trimmed Gerald Ford the day before he assumed the presidency. And cheap as chips: haircuts $14, shave $10, beard trim $5.
Tagged: barber, blade, cut, fashioned, Hair, old, retro, shave, shop, straight
Bow-tastic Fascinators
As a kid I hated bows, but for some reason I just love them now. Some of the bows below clip in and some are on headbands (or alice bands if you are British). Well priced at £7-£20, except for the last two are over £130. Hopefully this will at leave give you ideas so that you can make your own if you have the time and means.
ASOS.com has expanded into one of the most comprehensive shopping destinations online and is the no. 2 player in the UK online clothing market. They’ve got some incredible pieces that are sampled from celebrities as well as their own unique designs. Here are some of their fun hair accessories that are all on sale!
For more on bow accessories, check out this post.
Categories: AccessoriesTagged: Accessories, ASOS, bow, fascinators, fashion, Hair, head
1920’s Hair Tutorial
If you have long hair, here’s a nice way to pin it up into a 1920’s style:
By Iris.
A few words about hair in during the 20s:
The Flapper era began with the look called “comme le garcon” (or, “like the boy”), straightening and shortening skirts and dresses, slimming figures and—most shocking of all—cutting the hair of the nation’s fashionable young women. Short hair was a big deal: nice girls kept their hair long, as a metaphor for maidenhood. For a woman to chop her hair short was to practically admit she was no longer a virgin. But women went more than a step further than a boyish haircut and tendency to party; they began smoking in public—something no “lady” did. They outfit themselves with silk robes embroidered with vintage inspired floral motifs. They discarded the restrictive girdles and corsets and bound their breasts flat to achieve an even more “masculine” appearance in their costumes. And they wore lots and lots of makeup.
The bobbed haircut made the nineteen twenties Flapper movement what it was, and sent many young women to their rooms in disgrace “until it grows back!”. The Bob hairstyle was a blunt cut worn halfway between cheekbone and chin. Bangs could be worn cut straight across or swept to one side. Like the made up face, hair didn’t look “natural”; it was slicked down, glistening with brilliantine. The Shingle, which followed the Bob, cut the hair at the nape in a V-shape, exposing the neck. Shingles were accompanied by marcelled finger waves or spit curls at the temples. The most drastic version of the Flapper hairdo was the Eton crop, cut very short and close to the head, with a curl plastered tightly above either ear.
Excerpts from Free Beauty.
Categories: How ToTagged: 1920s, 20s, bob, crop, eton, finger, fingerwave, flapper, Hair, hairdo, hairstyle, How To, tutorial
More Women at Work in World War II 1942
Tagged: 1940s, 40s, color photograph, fashion, forties, Hair, Rosie The Riveter, women, World War II, wwii
Clark Gable and his Moustache
And with a moustache like that, stuff like this can happen:
Tagged: Clark, Clark Gable, Gable, Hair, moustache, slick, suit
1920s Hair Styles
Tagged: 1920s, 20s, bob, crop, eton, finger, fingerwave, flapper, Hair, hairdo, hairstyle, Josephine Baker, Louise Brooks, shingle, style, twenties, wave