The internet can be a pretty unforgiving place, but when the top search for Marilyn Monroe is ‘Marilyn Monroe is a hoe‘ I really have to wonder who is Googling this stuff?! I frequently search for the height of various celebrities, which admittedly is a bit of an obsession of mine (so much so that(…)
I think the tragic disappearance of Flight MH370 is probably pre-occupying all of us at the moment and it goes without saying that all of our thoughts and prayers go out to those missing and the families of all involved. The seemingly impossibly long wait for news got me thinking about some past mysteries and(…)
I turn 40 next week and this milestone got me thinking about all the Hollywood stars who died tragically young and didn’t even make it this far. Their deaths ranged from suicide, to murder, car and plane crashes and even an allergic reaction to a headache tablet. Did I miss anyone out of this list(…)
Wearing a hat versus not wearing a hat is the difference between looking adequate and looking your best. (Martha Sliter) Nothing can make you feel your best like a great hat, it makes me sad to think that so few people wear hats today. In the 40s and 50s most people wore hats everyday, but(…)
Hitchcock’s fair-haired heroines are perhaps those that spring to mind when you think of an ice-cold blonde. They was certainly the type of woman Hitch fixated on: beautiful women who were cold and distant on the exterior but full of passion underneath. However the ice-cold blonde has been around for a lot longer than that,(…)
I really look forward to the vintage events I go to each year, but I tend to stick to the same events each year (mostly Goodwood Revival and various events at Brooklands Museum). It’s not because I don’t want to go out and do more, but just because they are the only events I really(…)
I really should wear jeans a lot less. Part of me really yearns back to a time when it just wasn’t acceptable for women to wear tracky-bottoms and jeans every day, but that’s all I ever see on the school run in the morning. I know it’s easier to chuck on a pair of trousers,(…)
Jayne Mansfield was an iconic bombshell of the 50s and 60s and was known as the ‘Working Man’s Monroe‘. She was a master of self-publicity and pioneered the use of the wardrobe malfunction to raise her profile. “A forty-one inch bust and a lot of perseverance will get you more than a cup of coffee-a(…)
The news this morning is filled with the pictures and winners from last night’s Academy Award ceremony – well, that and the slightly terrifying crisis in Crimea. As always the dresses were gorgeous (at the Oscars that is – I’m woefully under-informed about dresses in the Ukraine) and Jennifer Lawrence continued her Awards tradition of(…)
Veronica Lake was one of the most popular movie stars in the early 1940s. She made her name paired with Alan Ladd and was known for playing sexy femme fatale roles. The image of her looking out from beneath her trademark hairstyle – the peek-a-boo fringe (said to be the inspiration for Jessica Rabbit’s hair)(…)
Beauty in the 1940s was a strange mixture of glamour and practicality. Despite harsh rationing and shortages of makeup and soap women were encouraged to look their best to help keep up morale. Here’s my guide to getting your 1940s makeup right. Let me know if you think I’ve missed anything out! Foundation / Base(…)
The sun is shining gloriously here for the first time in, well, what feels like months! Am I too early to start thinking about sunshine and swimwear? We’re at that longest point of winter where we all start dreaming about lounging on a fabulous holiday somewhere so I’ve rounded up my best vintage swimwear finds(…)
Jean Patchett was one of the best known models of the 1950s. Today, February 16th, was her birthday and she would have been 88 so here’s a look back at the girl that fashion photographer Irving Penn described as A young American goddess in Paris couture. Patchett started modelling in April 1948 and scored her(…)
From the 1920s through to the 1950s Atomic energy was terrifically fashionable. Radium was used in everything from beauty and cosmetics, to household cleaning products (see the photo below of the Radium hand cleaner which ‘takes off everything but the skin’ – yikes!). So, why were people so keen to use radioactive products in every(…)
As the world of fashion’s love affair with all things retro continues, we are once again turning to the Fifties for old Hollywood-inspired glamour. With the world slowly recovering from the traumas of the Second World War, the 1950s heralded an age of social change, economic growth and rock and roll. Inspired by Christian Dior’s(…)
1960s makeup is perhaps one of the most recognizable of the vintage styles of makeup, whether you choose to go for doll-like makeup of Twiggy (above) or a more sophisticated Mad Men style look, it’s definitely all about the eyes… Base/Foundation For a 1960s look go for a good matte foundation topped powder so that(…)
As I’m sure you know by now, I love nothing more than a great vintage 1960s dress – I’m just a sucker for the Sixties! So I had great fun this week looking for the best vintage dresses from that decade and I’ve found some fabulous frocks for you. From mod minidresses, to bright psychedelic(…)
Beauty throughout the 1940s was dominated by wartime shortages and rationing. Clothing rationing ended in 1949 and soap rationing in 1950 so a real ‘make do and mend’ attitude was needed to get through the post-war years (sweets rationing didn’t end until 1953!). I remember my grandma telling me stories how they had to paint(…)