Style Icon: Hayley Mills

I have been doing research for a project that brought me across Hayley Mills recently and I had forgotten what a vintage hair icon she is. She had some very simple haircuts that always made her look like the cutest little 1960s pixie. I love it when ladies aren't afraid to mix up their look to keep it fresh.

Ebay Sightings

Some of my latest wants on Ebay these days...click the titles to go...

Vintage Hair dryer/Nail dryer combo...There are many reasons this is so special. For one it dries your nails and your hair, but also is a great color combo. Note the red base with gold speckles, very unique, but very of the time. I also adore the black, red and gold polka dots and beautiful alligator black case with red lining. This is a swanky looking dryer. 

This early 20th century Theatrical makeup tin is really interesting. The description inaccurately claims the tin is from 1902, which is impossible because one of the pictures mentions the 1906 FDA on the label, but the style of the tin definitely puts it right in the first decade. I'll assume the makeup company started in 1902. 

The canister educationally names the colors that this particular makeup came in for any actor's needs for any part s/he played-

White (probably pure white with no color, not caucasian)

Light Pink

Pink

Dark Pink

Darker Pink

Flesh

Brunette

Dark Brunette

Cream

Juvenile Flesh (That sounds like veal.)

Healthy Old Age

Sunburn

Dark Sunburn

Sallow Old Age (probably green or blue color cast)

Olive

Othello (I love their politically correct vernacular.)

Chinese (I'd love to see what they considered the difference between Chinese and Japanese skin color.)

Japanese

Indian

Vintage Mod-Glow makeup mirror and case...How can you say no to orange?

1960s Make-up Tray/Mirror combo...with plenty of cute spaces for your brushes, liners, and lipsticks...and a snug mirror to fit.

This Pink Vintage Hair Brush has some dings and scratches, but it is so pretty.

Oh Norelco...providing the metro-sexual of yesteryear with all of his styling tool needs. Norelco Mod Comb. 

Something to Ponder

As a teenager in the 1990s, I questioned some of the hairstyles from the 1960s and thought the look of the 1930s was very glamorous.

Do you suppose the teenager of the 1950s questioned the look of the 1920s, but coveted the glamour of the 1890s?

I didn't think so either.

I'm a Little Lost and a Little Out of Time

So since I started reading blogs and writing my own blog, I have relied on my Google Reader  to show me all my favorite blogs' entries in a lovely, organized fashion so I can skim thru and catch up on all my favorite writers and muses out there.

But alas Google has canceled their reader and now I only have the silly little shortened piece versions of blog entries instead of full entries in all their glory and if I want to get the full versions I have to click and leave the page to go somewhere else.

I just don't have that kind of time on my hands. I need my life much more streamlined.

What blog readers do you guys recommend to replace my sad loss of Google Reader?

Ladies...Get ready to drool.

There is a new television show out there that has provided me with amazing eye candy only on par with Mad Men. Vintage clothing eye candy I mean to say.

The new reality series L.A. Frock Stars has just started on the Smithsonian Channel and I adore this new show for so many reasons. The show follows L.A. vintage clothing store owner Doris Raymond thru her life of vintage shopping, discovering, and selling for her store The Way We Wore. The first I heard of it I kinda had a little tear in my eye, because I was thinking in my head, "But I don't get the Smithsonian Channel." :'(

Here comes modern technology to the rescue! The episodes, after they have aired can be watched on the Smithsonian Channel website, their YouTube and the Smithsonian Channel app.

The first episode is already up online and features the ever lovely Dita Von Teese shopping at the store and a trip by store owner Doris Raymond to the Santa Monica Vintage Fashion Expo, a destination for any vintage clothing lover. I've been to the expo a couple times myself and I drool every time. There are finds for the high end consumer, but also some really amazing deals.

The Way We Wore on La Brea Ave. in Los Angeles.

Store owner and vintage fashion collector Doris Raymond with Dita Von Teese

Here's why I love this show as compared to other style/store reality shows of this kind. First, the people are great. The "cast", or store employees, are the kind of people I would hang out with. No weird/cranky/snobby/unnecessarily eccentric/annoying people to create unnecessary drama or show attraction. The show is about the clothes; finding the clothes, dating the clothes, labeling the clothes. I'm so thankful for a vintage style show that is based around the style and not the drama.

Some Retro Shapes in Spring Colored Nails

There are some color combinations that I am obsessed with this Spring and they are all based around some very on trend colors inspired by the 1950s. I did a little playing with a hand illustration and classic 1930s nail polish style with a twist. In the 1930s style the nail itself would come to a point and the french tip would be rounded. I reversed it since my nails are not long enough for a full on point, so the nail is curved and the french tip comes to a point at the base. You can achieve the point shape by just using scotch tape to mask your base color.

And since I'm doing this, I thought I would come up with the imaginary closet in my dreams that would have the perfect outfits to wear with the nail colors.


For this navy and pale blue nail polish combo, I'd love to have this  skirt from ModCloth.com and Shirt from Spreadshirt.com. It's a men's shirt actually, but I could make it work.

I found a few Etsy items to go with the orange and lime green color combo. An orange wing eyeliner would be fun too. The necklace is seller HawaiiBeads2 and the dress is seller MaPtiteChouette.

I am totally obsessed with red and teal as a color combo right now. The dress is from DressVintage.com and the belt is Rakuten.com.

Victory Pins by the Smith Victory Corp, Buffalo, N.Y.

I picked this Victory Pins packet up on ebay a while back. The language on the packaging is wonderful. I love that there were so many "duties" women had toward the war effort that were directly related to her beauty regime. Not only did advertising constantly remind her it was her responsibility to keep beautiful for her own moral and also the moral of the soldiers and fellow patriots, but it was also important that the tools she used kept the country's war efforts a top priority as well. 

The rationing of raw materials, like metal used for hairpins, made the daily beauty routine much more expensive and difficult. The War Production Board only allotted a certain amount of metal wire to hairpin companies to make hairpins. They could only distribute so many hairpins, so if you showed up at your hair appointment without your hairpins during a time of low inventory, instead of an SOS moment, you could be having an SOL moment. Read more about hairpin rationing here. 

                                           V ital Materials Used

                                            I n Your Hair
                                           C an Be Saved
                                           T o Aid in Winning the War.
                                           O n You We Depend To
                                           R eturn Your Individual Pins For
                                           Y our Next Hairdo.

Saving Own Sanitary

Victory Pins

Is Your Duty and Responsibility

To be Opened by Client

These Pins have been packed under rigid inspection at our factory, and upon sale to you, package should be sealed, thereby guaranteeing you service with pins that have not been used or handled since leaving factory. These pins belong to you and your cooperation in re-using them as often as possible will not only save you money, but save a great deal of steel and guarantee your future hair setting.

Thank You.

Shop Owner

Need Something to do in Denver this Saturday Night?

I am a member of the local chapter of LUPEC, Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails. There are chapters all over. Google it and see if there is a group in your home town. It is a lot of fun to be a part of. 

But I digress...

LUPEC Denver has a yearly Prom to help support a charity that provides formal wear for teens in need and our Prom is this Saturday at the Oriental Theater at 8pm. Would love to see some of you there!

LUPEC Denver believes that everyone should be able to 

attend their prom and we need your help to do it!

A lot of kids can't afford the formal wear necessary to make a big splash at prom.  The Prom Dress Exchange Corp offers hope in the form of ballgowns and  cumberbunds. With only a student ID, these kids can pick up gently used  fancy pants and start to focus the important things...like who to take! We  at LUPEC think this is a great cause and throw our own annual Prom  to help raise donations (clothing or cash). So, please raid your closets for unneeded formal wear and bring it down to  The Oriental Theater for an evening of dancing, cocktail specials,and fun  as we help ThePromDress Exchange Corp make prom happen. WHEN:  January 12, 2013 | 8:00 p.m. WHERE:  The Oriental Theater | 4335 W. 44th Ave. Denver, CO (view map) COST:  $10 - proceeds will benefit The Prom Dress Exchange The evening will feature a fashion show from local designers Kimono Dragons,  Sapphire Stars, Janie G. Couture and 50 Dresses, the Vanity Dollz  Doo=Wop singers, plus belly dance performances to set the LUPEC prom  theme, "Arabian Nights." A Prom King and Queen will be announced and attendees can help the charity  by buying beautiful corsages donated by Perfect Petal, having their picture  taken at our prom photo booth or indulging in cocktail specials. If you are unable to attend the event, you donate your formal wear at one  of our drop off locations, available through February.  View a list of our drop off locations.

9 Vintage Beauty New Year's Resolutions

New Year's Resolutions are our opportunity to commit to making our lives better in some way, help us feel better about ourselves. Quitting smoking, exercising more or organizing your life are all opportunities to make a new good habit or get yourself out of a rut.

I suggest adding a small resolution to your list to move forward in your vintage beauty regime. These little ideas will make a world of difference in how you feel about yourself everyday and that is what resolutions are for.

1. Resolve to clean out your old hair and makeup products and get rid of anything you don't use. Clutter is mentally blocking. If you are staring at 100 different beauty products trying to decide which to us, you will waste more time deciding and less timing using. Get rid of the superfluous items and simplify. I should really take my own advice.

2. Resolve to get a haircut with some layers. Layers help significantly in creating form and shape in a vintage style and it will add volume and bounce to your curls.

3. Resolve to master your favorite curling technique. If the only practice you get curling your hair is when you are actually trying to get ready to go out, I am sure you have had many blunders and bad hair days where your hair didn't quite take the curl the way you wanted it to. Spend an afternoon just trying different curls to see which is best for what you want to achieve.

4. Resolve to come up with one new, great vintage looking style you can do in 5 minutes when you are in a rush. I don't care if it is a ponytail that you throw a couple hot rollers in. Make it simple, but there should be at least 2 steps. Take a picture of it and hang the picture on your mirror. That way when you are at the mirror rushing to get out the door, you will be reminded that your hair does have a fast option you can do now.

5. Resolve to wash your face and moisturize it everyday and exfoliate once a week. Trust me on this. Your pores will shrink because you will be getting out all the dirt. Your skin will brighten because you will be getting rid of dead skin cells that are glued on the top layer. Your fine lines will soften because the moisture will plump the cells. It will make you feel younger and prettier. Just do it.

6. Resolve to reshape and fill in your eyebrows. If you are unhappy with your eyebrows, over tweezed them to nothing, or tweeze them not enough, resolve to fix it. Either stop tweezing for a couple months to let them come back so you can rethink their shape or start putting more effort to tweezing in a pleasing shape. And resolve to finish them everyday by drawing them in. Very few of us have those amazing brows that are just beautiful on their own. You may need a sharp pencil to bring the outer point longer or the arch higher or some brow powder to fill in because you dye your hair a darker color. If you put mascara on everyday, eyebrow shaping should be added to your regime. Eyebrows make all the difference in how we look.

7. Resolve to find the perfect red lipgloss, lip stain, or lipstick that you can wear during the day. Pick something you are comfortable with. If lipstick is too bold for you, go for a gloss or stain, but have something to finish your appearance to go to work and look polished.

8. Resolve to practice and perfect the right wing eyeliner for your eye shape. Do it when you have nowhere to go and at least an hour to just draw on your eyeliner. Draw one style on one eye and a different style on the other. Look at them in the mirror and compare which is the most flattering. If you think you can do better, wipe them off and start again. Try different colors...black, brown, plum, navy, combos of one on top of the other. When you come up with one you like, take a picture of it with your eyes open staring straight at the camera and with your eyes closed. Hang these pictures on the mirror so next week when you are getting ready to go out dancing you can remember what you did.

9. Resolve to take better care of your nails. Do they need oil for moisture so they will stop breaking? Do they need polish everyday so you will stop biting? Do they need buffing to shine them up? Whatever it is, make an effort to keep your nails in tip top shape. Pretty, well manicured hands make you feel more feminine and they are nice to look at when you are shuffling thru papers and typing on your computer at work.


I got the idea for writing this from an email I received from www.behindthechair.com.

I miss you guys...

Please be patient. I am doing a complete overhaul of my financial reality for my new accountant and very much looking forward to moving on with my life and writing a bunch of new material after I am done. When I am done, my life will become infinitely more available for what I want to do...write about beauty.

For anyone out there starting a new business or in the seedling stage...a little advice. I don't care how early in the stages you are or how small you think your craft business is going to be. Get Quickbooks now and start using it NOW. You could pay later in hundreds of hours of work if you aren't careful.

If I had seen someone else go thru this 5 years ago I would have made very different decisions. I can't even describe how tedious and time consuming this is and it would have all been saved had I got Quickbooks when I wrote the first book and been more specific in my record keeping.

I'll see you guys in the New Year...xoxo