We'll never be Royals

But we can have fun playing dress-up and pretend! After all- life is too short not to wear your "fancy pants" once in awhile.

The second annual HVG new Year's Eve Bash was held at the Meade Mansion. This year's theme was the prohibition era which spanned 1919 to 1933. I love the 30's- it's my favorite era of fashion along with the 40's, but when it came time to plan my wardrobe for the party I decided upon a vintage 1920's "flapper" pattern in my collection. This pattern has always begged to be made, but the proper occasion has eluded me- until now.

The sac dress is not my favorite silhouette, so some swanky fabrics were in order. My favorite fabric store, Goodwill, came through again with 13 yards of cream lining and floral printed velvet. I also purchased some cream satin for the dress, but decided I liked the sheen on the lining better. This would later frustrate me, but it looked good, and that's all that matters, right?

Other preparations to be made were selecting stockings, the fancier the better since the hemlines were rising in the 20's, and my accessories! Superglue restoration was done to my minkies, along with a good eye cleaning. The leather was too brittle to sew up repairs.

Four whole minks complete the stole that I won at an estate sale.
 I also won a lifetime of eye rolls from Daddy-O!

With only days to go until the party I zipped up my dress with only a few snags (literally). The boxy design is fairly simple and straight forward, but with no instructions, you need to take your time and possibly rip some seams.

At the evening of the party the table was filled with various hors d' oeuvers, Mr. Shimstock was making some mean sidecars, and we popped a bottle of bubbly to start the evening.

Cheers!

I've been lounging on this chair all day!

For details on BoPeep's dress, check out the Willow Homestead.

Just us flapper girls!

BoPeep was fabulously dressed with her new party dress, and the guys even cleaned up nice.

It was a great evening to stay in and have a cold drink and snuggle with our beaus!

Royalty is just a state of mind- 

so think royal thoughts in the coming year!

Happy New Year to you & yours!

Wild Kat's Wardrobe
Pattern- Standard new Idea Designer Pattern circa 1920's
Fabric- Goodwill
Fur Mink stole- estate sale
Jewelry- estate sales
Feather Hair piece- Walmart
Nylons- Gal Stern etsy
Shoes- eBay
Gloves- Bo Peep's collection

Pincurls for Medium-length Hair

Or maybe I should title this post, "Remember to set your hair before you mix your drink." 

Last weekend Wild Kat and her family stayed overnight at my house.  You know the scene; adults sitting with feet propped up in front of the campfire.  Kids running blindly with sparklers in hand.  And a few glasses of Sailor Jerry going down smooth. 

"Wait!  You could set my hair!" she cried.  Out came the spritz bottle, comb and pins.

So Wild Kat and I headed into back into the kitchen...

This is my basic pin curl set.  I did a tutorial a couple years ago and still like this simple set.  I don't set nearly as many curls as you'll find in the vintage hairstyle books.  I use bobby pins and only criss-cross them when necessary.

There are twelve curls (four across, three down) set across the entire back of Wild Kat's head.  The curls down the center row alternate direction, left and right.  All the curls on the left side of her head are rolled forward towards her face.  And the same on the right side. 

I placed three pins on each side of Wild Kat's head, above her ear.

And there are four or five stand up pin curls in her bangs.  I like a little extra height here and these won't get smooshed when she sleeps. 

After Wild Kat was all dolled up, we headed back out to the campfire, visited with Sailor Jerry until 2:30am, discussing children, local politics and religion.  Very therapeutic. 

The following morning, after Wild Kat had done chores for me (I think I like having a clone), she brushed the curls out into a soft wave. 

Wild Kat's hair was 3-4 days old and had some product in it.  We spritzed it with water as we set each curl, and she slept on it. 

Typically I do a full wet set (straight out of the shower) and use gel to help hold.  Followed by hairspray and pins where needed.

Wild Kat pulled her bangs back and pinned up a few rolls.  This is a simple, easy set that takes about 15 minutes to set the night before and 15 to brush out in the morning.  No sleeping on rollers.  No standing in the bathroom feeling your arms go numb from holding up the curling iron.  The soft curls can be left loose or brushed and pinned into many different styles.  Give it a try!

Late 50s Short Hair Style

The kids went back to school.  The cotton sundresses moved to the back of the closet.  The hotrod scene celebrated its last car show.  One step at a time, Summer had graciously given way to Fall.  And I felt the need to make a change of my own.  So armed with a photo of Elizabeth Taylor, I visited my beauty salon for a shorter, and hopefully, more sophisticated look.

Previously my hair was 6-7" long.  Now I'm down to 4 1/2" on the top and sides.  The back of the neck is 3 1/2" long, just enough to wrap once around a small roller.

I still follow the same setting pattern as I did when my hair was longer.  All rollers are all rolled down, none on the crown of my head.

Needless to say, I do not look like Elizabeth Taylor, but I am enjoying the shorter length.  The curls hold a little better than before and brush out nicely into soft waves between sets.  I may do away with the blonde highlight and go a couple shades darker for the Winter.  Next Summer...platinum!!  Just kidding.

The Symco Shakedown Experience

Symco Shakedown #4 was bigger and better than ever!

I seriously need to consider taking the week before and after Symco off . I probably forgot about ten different things I was going to pack (which makes me think I should make a packing list for next year's shakedown NOW), but still had lots of fun. I was trying to finish a skirt for the pin up contest but ran out of time. Fortunately, my friend came to the rescue on Thursday and loaned me his mother's Mexican skirt from 1943!

 With the Buick packed to the gills we set off for Symco Thursday evening.

Our arrival at Symco Thresheree Grounds.

Let me just say in my defense I am packing for glamour camping or glamping. Which means a whole separate suitcase just for makeup and hair accessories.

Had to steal my vanity mirror from my Wildcat since I forgot my mirror!
Buick is a beauty too!

 I do believe Midnight Maniac and lots of other gals packed this way too, since there were loads of cute gals crawling the Thresheree grounds.

Our home away from home...next year a vintage camper I hope!

Friday evening calendar signing.

So what was new this year?

The fabulous Francesca Alfresca!

Well first off they had a burlesque show on Friday evening. It was my first time and I loved it!
My favorite performer was Francesca Alfresca. She had a cute balloon act and a sexy matador act.

The fashion designer in me LOVES this costume!

Maybe Daddy-O will be lucky enough to get his own private rendition some night. *wink*

Saturday was the big day. This year I accepted BoPeep's invitation to help with the pin up contest and it was a lot of fun. Those girls all brought their A-game this year!

The gorgeous gals all lined up for their time on stage.

My job was to keep the girls in line backstage...literally. Also to make sure they were looking their best before stepping out in front of the crowd.

Whew all done, now to get to work!

After the contest I went with a group of the calendar girls (including Miss Symco) to their photo shoot for the calendar. While trying to stay out of the photographer's way, I did my best to make sure they looked perfect. Some of the girls thanked me for helping out (the best compensation I could get). Those gals were beautiful on their own but with no mirrors available you want someone to make sure you makeup is perfect and your skirt is fluffed just right! My group of girls drew a big crowd everywhere we went.

A photo shoot in front of one of my favorite vintage campers. (Daddy-O was drooling over the Caddy too.)

Such fun, next year I will bring a survival bag. I got sunburned and only had a Mountain Dew (yuck!) until 3 in the afternoon. I took a short nap and then had some fun taking pics until the sun set.

Posing on Jerry's Ford after a meal, nap, and wardrobe change.

Then it was time for the bands.

Here is my one beef with the Shakedown. Too many great bands playing at the same time and no room to dance! Lil' Red and the Howlin' Wolves rocked the saloon Saturday night, and they even played "Johnny got a Boom-Boom" (yes!)  So to sum it all up, I am looking forward to the next Shakedown already, but need the time to catch up on my beauty rest.  I can't wait to see what next year brings!

PS.  Daddy-O was crowned Miss Symco (and got a sweet cut from Chuck the Barber), there were two flame throwing shows, bought some great vintage items, took pin up shots of my new friend Sam, and lots more that you missed out on if you didn't go to Symco!

Aw, rats! For your hair...?!

For the Miss Symco Pin-Up Contest, I decided to donate wool hair rats for the contestants' goodie bags.  Wild Kat was skeptical, and admittedly they look like nasty drain clogs.  But for the girls who take the time to play with them, the pay-off is huge!  I took a few photos on my first try with these and came out with fabulous Victory Rolls.  Prepare for awesome bathroom pics with bad lighting and dorky expressions.

I used clean brown wool (from Derby) and carded it into small handfuls.

Using the rat like a roller, I started at the end of my bangs, wrapped the hair around the rat and rolled it down towards my scalp.

I did the same with the section above my ear.  The wool really gave the curl stability.  I only used two pins per curl, and they felt very secure.  I made sure to tuck the wool far enough into the curl so it wouldn't be seen.  And I fanned out the end of the roll to create a nice shape.  All followed by lots of spray!

This is by far the best luck I've ever had with Victory Rolls!

Because the wool matches my hair color perfectly, it virtually disappears inside the rolls.  It adds volume and a solid foundation in which to anchor the bobby pins.  And so my sheep have done it again!  Now I'm off to the pasture to say thank you!

Marilyn Monroe Hairstyle for long straight hair

Toying with the idea of getting my haircut like Marilyn Monroe has not tickled Daddy-O's fancy. "Don't you like Marilyn Monroe's look?"  "Yes, but I like your hair long".  So what's a girl to do? A test drive, yes that's it. I'll show him how cute it will look. After pouring over hundreds of Marilyn pics on Bing late one night, I rolled up my hair. I rolled it up as usual except the front bang I rolled it back instead of forward.
On a side note my camera has recently bit the dust, so until it gets replaced there will not be any pictures BUT I do have a video for you! Please keep in mind this is the first time I have a) used our video camera, and b) edited a video. So please have fun chuckling at me!

In the end I decided not to cut my hair. If I can have the versatility of Marilyn one day and long the next, why cut it?

Have fun trying this style gals!

The 1940s Middy Cut

Of course we all know that the infamous Middy is the quintessential cut for most 1940s styles.  And odds are you've have seen the original (and confusing) diagram outlining the precise measurements for every hair on your head.  Some girls like to say they have this cut to prove just how perfectly 'vintage' they are.  I'm here to let you in on a little secret...

click to enlarge

...all you have to do is cut lots of layers.  Kudos to you and your stylist if you can follow these instructions.  But if you've never seen this diagram before, don't sweat it. The official length of the Middy was four inches.  I find that to be ridiculously short.  I tried a 4 1/2 inch cut once and had a hard time wrapping rollers, much less a pin curl.  So after 3 years of tweaking, I think I've figured out my perfect formula.

For me the perfect length is 6 inches, every where, every hair.  My stylist measures as she goes, cutting every layer to 6 inches.  After setting my pin curls, I can brush them into a cascade of curls (that sounds so glamorous!) across the back and set a few sculpted curls near my forehead. 

For special occasions, I set brush rollers (rolled down).  This gives a smoother shape and more volume than a pin curl set.  In these photos, the hair across the back of the neck is cut slightly shorter to a length of 5 1/2 inches.  This raises the weight of the curls off my neck, giving a more lifted, rounder shape to the overall style.

As the layers grow out, I still set the same pin curls, but they brush out to softer waves.  In this photo my hair is closer to 8 inches long.  Nice if you like to style more dramatic up-dos and French Twists.


One thing to consider if you're contemplating a middy-esque cut is how often you plan to set it.  I set my hair 2-3 times per week.  But if you won't be doing it that often, consider going to a longer length.   

Longer layers can be put into a ponytail on the "off" days or worn with the sides pulled back and still have a retro feel.  Check out Wild Kat's tutorial on a cute, no-fuss style.

Shorter layers, like mine, tend to look shaggy if left down and not curled.  On my "off" days, I make full use of a bandana or snood.  Whatever you decide to do, make sure you have a style that you can enjoy and not feel you have to "deal with" each morning. Vintage-styled hair can be worn on a daily basis if you're realistic about your lifestyle and take pleasure in looking your best.  Experiment and have fun!