Today we have a guest post by Ruby of Ruby Armoire! I met her on Instagram, and was immediately at awe of her hairstyling skills. I asked her to talk a bit about styling naturally curly and coarse hair into vintage style coiffures, as it's not something I have experience in, and isn't touched on much in the vintage world. Do check out her blog, and I hope you enjoy this guest post! Thank you so much Ruby!
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Firstly, a disclaimer of sorts. I am not a hair professional, but over the years I have made a few observations about the stuff that grows out of my own skull, and that of my friends. I hope this post will be useful in helping you to understand your own hair and make the most of it!
Hair textures run on a sliding scale from fine and smooth, to thick and coarse. All hair types have frizz issues too, ranging from static flyaways to a general rough appearance.
My extremely crude diagram shows the four main hair types, but if your hair is anything like mine, it is not so easily pigeon-holed. My hair (when it hasn't been heat styled) falls between curly and coarse.
(I only inflict this image on you for illustrative purposes!)
Vintage hair styles are great for making your hair appear smooth and full bodied, which is achievable for almost all textures once you figure out how your hair behaves. Enter my favourite all-purpose styling product and texture barometer: hair spray. Apply a little to your naturally dried hair near the root and comb through. If your hair absorbs it without adhering and smoothing strands together, then your hair will need a bit of heat to achieve a smooth finish. Chances are that your hair is coarse and naturally curly (like mine), which means getting volume and staying-power won't be an issue! Hair spray is only useful on smooth hair, but blow drying or flat ironing can smooth your hair enough for the spray to take.
If the spray sits on top of your hair and helps it to hold a style, your hair won't need much heat styling for smoothing purposes, but you may need it for volume and to maintain a curl. The best way I’ve found to get a curl to survive through the unrelenting rainy British weather is hairspray and heat combined – that goes for pretty much every hair type. Starting with smooth hair, spray a section, comb through quickly then curl with tongs. The resulting curl will feel horrid and crunchy, but as soon as it is brushed out, the crunchiness magically evaporates and the final curl will be practically indestructible.
If you'd like to know more about curling with tongs and hair spray, have a look at my tutorial for a pictorial guide.
Of course, too much heat styling isn't good for any hair type, but just because your hair needs to take a break from heat doesn't mean it can't still look hot! Wet set pin curls are not only authentic, they look great too. If your hair is naturally curly with a bit of frizz, but can be blow dried smooth (use the hair spray barometer on blow dried hair to check), then wet setting could work for you as well as on fine hair types.
There are a few things to watch out for when pin curling if your hair texture only passes the hair spray test after blow drying, which aren't as necessary for smooth textured types (although you'll get a better curl and a nicer wave if you follow them). Solanah's excellent guide will show you the technique, but here are a few extra tips for the natural curlies.
Firstly, you will need to evenly section your hair into small squares so that as much of your hair as possible is contained in the curls. Make sure each section is soaking wet before pin curling – what’s frizzy beforehand will still be frizzy afterwards. Comb the section at right angles to your scalp (this will help the formed curl to sit correctly later) and run your fingers over the length to ensure it is ribbon smooth. Any bumps or slight tangles will be massively magnified when your hair is dry. Use a narrow cylinder to form the pin curl - I use an empty mascara tube. Wrap the end of the section around the barrel of the tube and curl under until it gets about an inch from your scalp. Push your hair off the tube and flatten it so it looks like a tyre. At this point you can twist the pin curl towards or away from your face. I part my hair on an extreme side parting, and then curl each side towards my face.
Cover your hair with a scarf and leave to dry overnight, or help things along with the aid of a blow dryer. Test one or two of the longest sections to see if they’re fully dry before taking out all of the pins, as the curls will disintegrate into a frizzy mess if there’s even the slightest hint of dampness. Another point in favour of using a blow dryer is it will help smooth the curls, which means you won’t have to brush as much to get a silky-smooth ‘do.
{photos by Sam}
I know I've talked about how much I *love* Jitterbuggin blouses, but I can't help myself. They're high quality, locally made reproductions, that are actually tailored, so I get a defined waist and no gaping at the bust.
I've had my other two Roseway blouses over a year, and I wear them at least once a week, machine wash them, and they're still going strong. In fact, they've only gotten better, since they're cotton they get softer, and more like authentic vintage feedsack blouses.
The Siamese cat blouse was recently released, and I mean come on. It kind of needed to be in my wardrobe.
And today through Sunday Jitterbuggin is offering 20% off any purchase with the code "Vixen20". So if you've had your eye on something, now's the time to snatch it up!
You can also follow Jitterbuggin via these links. Be the first to know about new releases and deals!
Siamese cat blouse-Courtesy of Jitterbuggin
Suspender skirt-Urban Eccentric Vintage
1940s hat-Antique show
Shoes-Flashbacks Vintage
Longtime readers might remember last years Fur and Feathers luncheon, but this year I forced everyone to pose for pictures!
We all live pretty spread out around Portland, or the Portland area, so we're trying to get together once a month for a themed event, and I meet new people every time.
We had lunch and cocktails in the beautiful Hubers, and did a little shopping afterward. I tagged along with a few gals (and guy) to some music and dancing that evening, even danced once!
Sorry Jesse, I'll practice...
In attendance were: Janey of Atomic Redhead, Julie of Fab Gabs Vintage, Sarah of Stutterin' Mama's Vintage, Jennifer of Jumbleaya, and Sara of Lillies & Remains.
We had a marvelous time, and received nothing but a positive attitude towards our vintage clothing and vintage furs. (Please keep that same attitude in the comments. Any negativity will be deleted before it hits the page, this is not a forum for debate).
I feel very lucky to know so many accomplished ladies, who share a love of vintage. Can't wait to see them again!
1940s dress set-Bombshell Vintage
1940s faux leopard jacket-Meadowlark Antiques
1940s hat-Antique Expo
Purse-Coach
Shoes-Nordstrom rack
Gloves-Estate sale
Bakelite bangle-Antique shop
About a year ago, I had an idea for a patriotic, WWII type eagle sweater. I knew what I wanted, and I looked and looked for a pattern that would satisfy, but being my picky self, nothing did. Finally I just decided to design one, how hard could it be?
I hadn't done colorwork in about ten years, but I just like to jump right into things. The more you consider how difficult something might be, the more likely you are to back out. So I graphed out the eagle, adapted it to a pattern in one of my 1940s knitting magazines, and got started. I kept adding on as I went, the "VICTORY" was something I decided to do right after I finished the eagle, and the "V" was something I toyed with but once the back was done I just had to add it! I lost my pad of graph paper after I drew the eagle, so the three separate designs are all overlapped onto one sheet! It's a hilarious mess that only I could make sense of.
Despite wanting to make loads of changes to the design, I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I've ordered yarn for my next little novelty sweater, can't wait to get started!
Sweater-Designed and made by me, using Knitpicks palette yarn
Shoes courtesy of-Modcloth
Shoe laces courtesy of-Jim Dandy Laces
Skirt-Fab Gabs
Snood-Virtue to Victory
Bakelite and stockings-Antique expo
A few weeks ago I came across a "send in for pattern" ad in one of my 1940s craft magazines. Having been on the lookout for some cute slippers (natural fibers? Made in U.S.? Not insanely expensive?), the pattern caught me eye, and luckily I found the same patterns for sale on Ebay!
This weekend I went to Fabric Depot and got some wool felt, embroidery floss, and satin rope. If you ever go to Portland and you love sewing, you have to go to Fabric Depot. They have an extensive 30s feedsack selection, as well as a Civil War collection, but some of the prints look so 40s I may get a few yards for a dress next time I go.
I really like the way they turned out. I embellished them, used contrast pieces, and a blanket stitch, but those were my only alterations to the original pattern. It's also worth noting, if anyone is going to make these, that the sizing is a little off. I cut out and made one slipper in my size (I'm a 7, which is marked as large), but they were too big, so I went down to a medium and they fit much better.
There are two other slipper patters included, and I'm thinking in the summer a playsuit and matching shoes would be ideal.
Thought Sam was a little too impressed with my new footwear making skills, and said he really doesn't see any point to buying new clothes, I can just make everything....Dug myself into that hole....
