I'm leaving to Savannah today for a little over a week to take care of some of my thesis stuff and take some exit exams. I'll be taking a break for a couple weeks to get all my stuff done, in the meantime, here is some vintage eye candy.
Ah, how I love 1930s style so...Click images for larger.
If you are keen on vintage clothing catalogs "juffrouwjo" has scanned in pretty much the entire 1938 Sears & Roebuck spring/summer catalog. Check it out.
I don't think I've ever posted these. I my have made a link to them a year ago or so, but I think they are worth repeating. Its so hard to find good instructions for hair sets. I have a few Hairdresser magazines from the 40s I have yet to scan. I'll probably get around to doing so at the end of May when I'm done with my thesis review.
Here are two more sets for updos. Click for larger images. The original sizes are printable quality so you can have the instructions in front of you aas you work on your hair. If any gals try these out, I'd love to see the results!
With spring on our heels, I've been looking for new ways to style my hair. I have become absolutely smitten with the use of scarves in vintage hair styling. The Clara Bow look above is great, but it doesn't really suit me. Here are some other pictures I've found with vintage ladies in head scarves that I am going to try out as soon as the weather gets warmer. It seems the key to "dressing it up" is tying the scarf to the side.
(Click to view images larger)
I'm not sure where I got this photo, but I absolutely love it! The woman's body language is fabulous (and the outfits on the ladies and gentlemen are wonderful).
This image of Lindy Hoppers at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem (circa 1930) is pretty swell too. I little more action in this photo than the one above, but still something about the jitterbug one really catches my attention. More wonderful jazz photos on klbndc's set, All That Jazz.
I found a funny little pin-up spread with the premise of being able to tell "what a babe is by the way she sits at the lunch counter." I though it was cute, especially because of the vintage inspired outfits series I've done on different "personalities." For those who want to see more than the teaser over to the left, click here . I will warn that is shows bums though, so its probably not proper for the work environment!
This particular spread is from a pin-up collection from Taschen, but I know there are plenty of other books that have a wonderful collection of vintage pin-up spreads. For those who would like to get a steady dose of modern pin-ups with a vintage flair, you should check out Bachelor Pad magazine.
I've been restricting myself from buying dresses for spring and instead am stocking up on separates to allow for more versitality. There is something great about creating a million looks off one pencil skirt. There are plenty of 30s and 40s blouses on Ebay right now, but the one issue I have been finding with them is that they are all sheer. Even modern day blouses modeled after 30s and 40s looks are a bit too see-through for my liking. This, of course, was no issue for the ladies of those eras as they would wear full slips under their outfits, but finding full slips and even camis at reasonable prices are quite hard now a days. (and yet half slips are easy to find, but alas, cover the wrong half of the body for blouses!)
I have been using tank tops underneath the blouses, but never was too happy with the look as it would make the whole thing bulky and not very streamlined. To my joy I found a solution while walking through Target the other day. Hanes has these wonderful camis that solve the see-through issue, look great under sheer blouses and are only $8. What is the best is that they come in several colors, all which work with a variety of blouse colors. I got the black and pink - with the black working with dark sheers and the pink working great with light sheers, even whites. I was so happy with my find that I wanted to spread the word to you and possibly prod you to try bringing out your separates for spring.
So, this is the last in the series and I'm going to take a little break from the glamor for this one. As much as a girl likes to dress up, we also like to take it easy, but still look fab. With that, here is the Lady Collegiate look.
• Sailor-collar sweater from Gap.
• Art Deco Bella top from My Baby Jo.
• Alli jeans from Daddy O's.
• Navy/beige saddle shoes from Muffy's.
I may do more vintage inspired outfits later on, if you ladies are keen on these posts, but this is the end of the series for now. There is only so much eye candy a lady can handle! I hope that these posts have inspired you to try new things in your wardrobe and perhaps even introduce you to some new shops. Now, if only spring could get here so we can wear our cute clothing concoctions!
(If you are interested in hairstyling and make-up to complete your look, check out my Vintage Style Series posts.)
This weekend I was over at the Music Box Theatre (they spell it the old way) for their matinée series. I've been in love with this theater since the moment I moved to Chicago those few years ago and especially love their choices for their matinée shows. This season they are doing a whole line of detective/noir films and on Saturday we caught Murder, My Sweet, which is a Philip Marlowe story. I'm a big fan of Philip Marlowe, mainly through the radio show, because of his smart ass remarks and the like. We enjoyed this film, I would give it 3 out of 5 stars, and would suggest you see it if you are interested in vintage detective stories. Its a bit of a winding story and you are not sure how things relate or will get tied up until the very end, which is just how I like them.
The second to last outfit in this vintage inspired series, and it's all about the 1930s look, my favorite. (Oh yes, and a little movie called Golddiggers of 1933.)
• Kiss curl cocktail hat from Kiss Curl Millinery.
• High-waisted suspender pencil skirt from Go Go Retro. I was never a fan of the high-waisted suspender skirt, until I saw it on a friend of mine and it looked fabulous (and so wonderfully 1930s).
• Tamera Shirt from Forever 21. They change their stock out often, but they have *a lot* of wonderful vintage inspired blouses!
• Tease heels from Poetic Licence or Savoy pumps from Remix Vintage.
Coming up next week...Lady Collegiate.
(If you are interested in stockings and make-up to complete your look, check out my Vintage Style Series posts.)
So here is the second installment of my vintage inspired outfit series. This one is all about 1940s glamor, but taken down a few notches so you can wear it everyday or to a semi-formal affair. By the way, if you haven't seen the film His Girl Friday yet, you should. It's a cute, fast paced black and white.
• Monsieur Reinaert Scarf - a cute alternative to the fox stole, and a great light covering for the breezy Spring season.
• Pleated pencil skirt in chocolate - Will make your bum look stunning.
• Kendra peep-toe shoe from Clark's or the Ada Binding pump from Frye.
• Feather fascinator, like from the last scene of the movie Brick. I made a post on my old blog how to make this, but I can't find it now. Basically, you buy a feather pad of your choosing and hot glue a french clip, barrette or hair comb to the back of it and you have yourself a neat little feather fascinator! If you want to recreate the one from Brick, get the pheasant pad. It is such a simple way to doll-up any look. I always get compliments when I wear mine.
Coming up next week...Golddiggers of 1933.
(If you are interested in stockings and make-up to complete your look, check out my Vintage Style Series posts.)
