1940s Hairstyles - A Vintage Classic 2nd Edition

1940s Hairstyles by Daniela Turudich Second Edition

As anyone who has ever coveted this wonderful book will know, it has been out of print for quite a few years. Meaning that a copy of the original release retails around the web for, some seriously scary amounts of money ($175 to $311.27...Seriously!!) which is a long way out of the average vintage lasses price range.

So I was really delighted when I learnt, finally, the fabulous 1940s Hairstyles by Daniela Turudich is going to be released as a second edition, from May 2012 you buy a copy of this super little book, at a much more reasonable price of about £15.99.

I have just pre-ordered my copy on Amazon UK (currently £11.84) and am looking forward to finally getting my hands on my very own copy of this vintage gem!

Wendy x

Dedicated Follower of Fashion? Who Me?

I have never been much of a follower of fashion. I have always preferred to be a bit different from the
crowd. Whilst a teenager I would drive my poor mum crazy when shopping, because I knew what I wanted but, never could find it. We wasted many Saturdays traipsing around shopping centres only to come away with nothing. What I wanted, was what I had seen in old movies, though I was much more struck with the 60's fashions back then. That is partly why I took up sewing, though vintage patterns were not as easy to find as they are now, there was no eBay in those days!

Anyway, it looks like due to the massive resurgence in vintage, which is currently being favored by the top designers, I for once have found myself 'Bang on trend' as Gok might say!

Who would have guessed!? Not me!

 Some Elle girls working the Scarf Look! (source elleuk.com)

I spotted this article on the ELLE site, it's short and sweet but essentially the headscarf is the new must have accessory for the coming season as it has been seen on the catwalks of Moschino and Missoni.

I'm sure I am not alone in saying that, I have only really used my headscarves for covering/hiding my rollers while at home or sleeping, to venture outside with my hair so adorned struck a fear within me. But with the beginning of a new year and all that, I decided there is no time like the present to actually show off those lovely headscarves that have been residing in the back of a draw since coming home from the charity shop. So over the past few weeks I have been embracing the headscarf in all its vintage satiny glory and adoring my barnet daily.

Mostly I have been wearing it as an Alice Band with the ends all tucked away, but over the last few days I have been a bit braver and have left a bow. So far I have only had compliments from the guys at work, which is a very strange feeling, as they normally spend their days thinking up 'funny' comments to hurl at my 'interesting' dress sense.

One lady, who certainly knows how to wear a headscarf with pride is the ever so stylish Land Girl 1980 just see her blog for proof! One great tip from the lovely Land Girl, is to use snappy clips I am sure they have a proper name - like the ones you had as a child but without the cartoon character attached (but then again why not!) to hold the scarf in place all day rather than hair grips which just keep sliding out along with the scarf!

 

Next up, I found this video tutorial from Super Kawaii Mama she shows us three more wonderful vintage styles!

And then some more vintage headscarf inspirations from Modcloth



Now, Ladies there is no longer any excuse for not adorning your locks with a satiny square of vintage loveliness post haste!

Wendy x

The Fringe Benefits!

AKA Don't Try This At Home

I have a confession to make, last weekend I did something very stupid, or very brave: I cut my own fringe, please don't tell my mum!

I have for some time now wanted a fringe just like Chuck (Anna Friel) has in pushing daisies which is essentially a 60s peekaboo style. I know it's not really in keeping with my 1940s obsession at all, but I am sure I will still be able to style it into a forties style when I want to.

(Source)

I have attempted to get this style of fringe on no less than three different hair cutting occasions, and each time I have left the salon without my fringe. I think the problem stems from my fear of having my hair cut at all (it's on a par with the dentist for me) as I get very nervous and probably don't explain what I want properly. The best I have had so far, was a long tuft which was swept to one side - which did look OK but it was not what I wanted - no photographic evidence remains, thank heavens!

So, on Saturday evening after re-watching my Pushing Daisies DVD for the umpteenth time, I decided I had enough of my lacklustre hairstyle. I wanted my fringe and I wanted it now! After all how hard could it be to cut your own fringe!? - I should point out before I continue that I am well aware that this could have gone very badly wrong - I once asked the boyfriend (a qualified engineer, by the way, straight lines should be part of the job) to trim an existing fringe, only to end up with right side perfect and left side 1" shorter than right! This was only days before my best friends wedding which I was going to be a bridesmaid, the poor wedding hairstylist had to practically glue the thing in a sweep across my head with hairspray!  My own fault I know so will I ever learn? not likely!

Image Source :The Vintage Wife

So, this time, I did my research and passed on the boyfriend's offer to "cut it for me" his idea of a joke, funny? Armed with Google, YouTube and far too much confidence in my abilities, I decided to to take my hair into my own hands.

Most of the YouTube tutorials I found were all about trimming an existing fringe not creating one from scratch. I was about to give up when I found 'The Vintage Wife's' wonderful blog post all about how to cut your bangs/fringe from scratch no pre-existing haircut needed. Plus the illustration of Audrey gave me the confidence to give it a go!

Firstly I washed and blow dried my hair leaving it just a little bit damp just enough to make it easy to part the hair. I quickly realised that the key to the perfect fringe is to section the hair off correctly. For the style I wanted I needed quite a high upside down v shape (as in the Audrey Picture) lined up with the edges of my eyebrows.

The Before - The After

I also used one tip gleaned from all the YouTube tutorials I waded through, which is to twist the hair tightly in front of your face and then cut across, this seemed to give the fringe a curved shape a little longer at the sides than in the middle, which softens the whole thing. There is a great video by Sam Villa which explains the whole thing!

I gradually worked my way up the sectioned hair getting shorter and shorter until I reached a point where I felt happy. Then I used a pair of thinning scissors (which you can get from most chemist stores) to, you guessed it, thin the ends out a little and take some of the weight off.

The finished result, will I ever get the hang of a selfie!

All in all, I am really happy with it, I have to admit it is just a little too long, but I am going to live with it for a few days and then trim it up a little bit. Let's just hope I don't snatch defeat from the jaws of victory!

If your as crazy as me then here is some YouTube fringe/bang inspiration, but remember To Always Snip Responsibly:

• For a good explanation of how to achieve various different styles look at Miss Curly Locks video.
• For the best 1940s Betty Page Bangs Tutorial take a peek at Strawbwerry Koi Vintage video.
• If Straight Bangs are your thing then biancablovesu's video will be right up you street.

Wendy x